This was a game with a lot at stake. If Oklahoma could beat OSU in their game (they did) and ISU could beat Texas Tech, the ladies would lock down the three seed for the conference tournament. This could also be the last time this group of seniors played on the Hilton court (depending on how the tournament goes and NCAA seeding).
As is often the case on senior day, the team had all the available seniors in the game and they started out cold. After a quick 2 point lead, there were a couple of bad misses from deep by M&M and Joens and TT went on a 9-0 run. Tech fans needed to enjoy that because that's pretty much all they got from a positive standpoint.
Even when Diew came in she got burnt badly right away on D. ISU was sloppy with the ball and missing from all distances including bunnies. Woof. Joens starts 0-4 including missed treys and layups. Team is 1-6 from deep.
Ryan takes an assist from Fritz after a steal for a trey to start things rolling for the sisters. One thing I noticed and this would be the case throughout the game was TT subbing freely. Joens hit a trey and it’s 11-8. She follows with a bunnie after a steal.
The sisters continued to control the game with good defense leading to steals and Tech having to transition on the other end. They just couldn't keep up once the ladies got rolling a little bit. The first quarter ended with ISU leading 16-13.
The second quarter saw the defense staying salty and the team being aggressive on offense and boards. The team was finally popping on all cylinders and the defense in particular was driving Tech nuts. Several steals led to baskets on the other end. Things stayed close for the first couple of minutes of the quarter before Fritz got open for a long distance delivery. Izzy came in the game after Kane picked up her second foul. She played outstandingly, grabbing rebounds and battling inside for points. She very quickly made two free throws, and a basket to stretch the Iowa State lead to 25-16.
It seemed like everyone was hitting and the sisters slowly, but surely, pulled way in the quarter. The real bombshell was when there were back to back to back three pointers by Fritz, Donarski and Joens. In a matter of four minutes, the lead had ballooned to 39-21.
The end of the quarter was the epitome of the entire quarter. Texas Tech turning the ball over and Iowa State smoothly finding open shots and scoring. Ryan closed the quarter with two straight layups. 27-11 quarter for the sisters. This is the team that’s darn near impossible to beat. End of the half and the sisters had a big lead at 43-24.
The sisters picked right up where they left off scoring the first six points of the third quarter behind a triple from Fritz and a traditional three by Joens. Kane picked up her third foul early and Izzi reentered the game with 7:30 left. And then things just screeched to a halt on the offensive side.
After a nearly 3 minute scoring drought by the sisters Donarski made a nice drive for two. To add to the mess, all of a sudden the officials are calling everything and yet misses some of the most obvious like a major mugging of Joens. Those are Big 12 officials for you.
The sisters were holding serve and with five minutes left the lead was still 25, but Fritz picked up her third foul on a really cheap call (in my opinion). Neither team was exactly playing their best game at this point with sloppy ball control.
A very welcome sight at this point was seeing M&M nail a three pointer. At the same time, I’ve been very impressed with the effort by Izzi on both ends of the court. Ryan followed up with another three and extended the lead to 61-32.
On a crazy sequence, after a bad pass to Izzy, Texas Tech steals the ball, headed down the court 2 on 1 defended only by Ryan who was actually trailing. They missed the layup, got the rebound and then Donarski blocked the shot from behind and we got the rebound. This was the day for Tech.
We were seeing some really exemplary defense by the sisters in this quarter. Even when the ladies miss a shot, I never really felt concerned because I knew at the other end Texas Tech was in for a meat grinder. The third quarter ended and the sisters lead by 29, 63-34.
Kane started the fourth quarter off with a nice layup. Shortly after Fritz picked up her fourth foul on a solid hustle play.
Things started to get a little bit messy a couple minutes into the quarter as the sisters turn the ball over a couple of times and the shots stopped falling. Fortunately, on the other side, Tech was faring little better. Joens put an end to the three plus minute scoring drought with another deep three.
A beautiful play by a senior… Kane was back in the game and after a missed three from Joens she grabs the rebound and effortlessly put the ball in the hoop. That was "right place, right time" hustle.
At this point, it was time to recognize the seniors as M&M, Kane, and finally Joens came off the court for potentially the last time at Hilton. As they leave the court, the lead is 30 points, 72–42.
If there’s one thing that pisses me off, it’s seeing the opponent throw on a full court press against the reserves when they have not been doing it all day. It was nice to see coach call a time out with just under two minutes left to actually coach up the reserves as they continue to face a full court press. On the offensive side, the girls were trying, but just not getting anything done. On the defensive end they were adequate, but the effects of the full-court press was clearly flustering them.
Diew would get the final points of the regular season at the line. Final 76-52. A game "closer" than it really was thanks to some late points for Tech against the reserves.
BTW I loved seeing coach have a few words with the Texas Tech coach about the, I’m assuming, full court press by starters on reserves. He wasn’t happy.
Observations
First of all, congratulations to the team for finishing third in the conference. They locked it up with their victory today and the Oklahoma State loss to Oklahoma earlier this afternoon.
On another note, I think the same thing applies to this team as it does to the men’s team. Good defense leads to good offense. The ladies were aggressive, moved to where they needed to be to cut off drives, blocked shots, stole the ball, and essentially did everything you could ask them to do from a defensive standpoint.
POG - you have to go with our record-setting Senior Ashley Joens. Twenty two points and 10 rebounds in her final regular season game at Hilton.
Donarski - nothing really stands out today with a 9 point 3 rebound performance. As always solid defense.
Fritz - she really seems to be coming on like a veteran here at the end of the season. We couldn’t ask for a better time for this to happen. Nine points and four rebounds, great defense, and aggression.
Kane - plagued with foul trouble throughout most of the game she still worked her butt off. She made her minutes count as she picked up eight points, four rebounds, and two steals.
Ryan - this may have been one of her better all around games of the season. Had a double double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Those are numbers I love to see every game.
Izzi - this is the most confident that I’ve seen her look at any point in the season. All of those minutes she has been getting backing up Kane are starting to pay dividends. Nine points and five rebounds.
M&M - not much happened here statistically. Finally hit a three point shot which was fun to see. Got in some valuable minutes.
Diew - only four points and two rebounds. Her minutes were greatly reduced today as we saw Izzi get valuable time. She has played at the 5 much of the season after the Jordao and Soares injuries. At the end of the game she was at the 1.
Free throws. This is Iowa State basketball 16–17 from the line.
It seems like we made a lot more three point shots than we actually did. They just came in spurts. 10 out of 32.
The ladies completely, 100%, absolutely dominated the boards today 45–29.
The good news is, the ladies have the third seed for the big 12 conference tournament, which starts next Thursday. This puts them in a day to 7 PM game. Looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible there.
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