I didn’t know what to expect going into this game. UNI is normally a team that gives ISU fits regardless of how good the sisters are. The fact they were short handed and sitting at 1-7 would make you think it might be a mismatch. But…
The first quarter saw UNI get off to a fast start including hitting three treys while the sisters looked lost on offense. You’d almost swear they had reverted back to first week freshmen when in fact it was more about the team speed of UNI bothering us than anything. The typical ISU game plan is feed the ball to Crooks and they tried with zero success. UNI was double and triple teaming her and for some reason the ladies weren’t able to get the ball in and back out to open shooters. But, bit by bit the fought back. UNI maintained a lead throughout the quarter until late when the sisters would tie it up at 16. That’s not a lot of points by either team, but it was a dog fight out there.
I’ll add an editorial opinion here…the officials shouldn’t have received a paycheck tonight. Ok, back to the summary…
The second quarter saw some early back and forth, but slowly the sisters were able to gain an advantage. The predominant reason was defense. They made it tough on UNI. Add to it, the ladies started to settle down and make shots. What was crazy was watching McDermott for UNI seemingly effortlessly make shots. Several threes. UNI hit four in the second and yet, the sisters matched that shot for shot. The big difference was the other shots that were made and getting to the line. ISU made more free throws than UNI shot. By halftime there appeared a breath of separation as the sisters led 42-34.
The beginning of the third was a brick laying contest by both teams. For the first few minutes it didn’t matter what kind of shot was made it clanked off the rim. But then things started to settle down. For the sisters it all began with that salty defense. Getting stops and rebounds led to a very nice transition game and buckets. The sisters also forced turnovers and very successfully converted those to points..something UNI fared very poorly at. What was very fun to watch in this one was the Emily Ryan effect. Not just in the third, but throughout the game. When she comes in, magic happens. More on that later. The third is where everyone started to hit open looks. There was much better ball movement, fewer turnovers (only 4 in the second half) and throughout the quarter the defense stymied UNI. The Panthers went 0-7 from deep and only made 4 of 17 shots. That defense was the primary reason the ladies stretched the lead to 65-48. One side note…this felt like the LONGEST quarter time wise of any game I’ve sat through in a long time. Part of it was the inconsistent calls by the officiating crew. Too many reviews and…I digress. Things were looking solid at this point.
The fourth saw the ladies edge out to a 21 point lead partially due to the Ryan factor and some of the bench players really stepping up. The fourth saw Crooks come to life primarily due to amazing assists from Ryan. You can see her senior experience in everything she does. She helped bring Crooks from a middling 5 points up to another solid double digit game that also included another swished trey. The quarter would see UNI knock the lead down to 13 at one and I was getting nervous. Ryan was on the bench and likely done for the day. But a few players like Joens really stepped up and made some fantastic plays to ice this one down the stretch. Final 87-70
Observations
Folks, this one shouldn’t have been this close. I have to give McDermott credit as she was one of the best players on the court. She's quick and has a silky sweet shot. But she was pretty much all UNI had. So, why shouldn’t it have been this close? The inconsistent officiating cost ISU in so many ways. It’s just unfortunate they can have such a big impact. BUT, sometimes you have to beat 8 and not 5 on the court. That’s exactly what our sisters did tonight.
POG - this one is easy. TEAM. When starters struggled bench players made a huge difference. Every single player made huge contributions whether it was AJ playing defense or Joens being the blue collar worker nabbing boards and getting the dirty work done. Six players were in double figures. Second time that’s happened this year. Someone do the homework and figure out the last time ISU has two games in a single season where that happened.
The Ryan Factor - it was great to see Em back last game. What we saw this game was Ryan 2.0. She looked like the senior all conference player she is. Steals for baskets. Beautiful assists. Sweet shots. Calm and cool.
Crooks - I remember someone posting that guards don’t drive on Audi…they tried tonight and they paid dearly. She was playing physical ball tonight and was doing things we hadn’t seen her normally do from a physicality standpoint. She took some hard knocks and had a few bad calls along the way. She withstood it all. She really shined when Ryan was distributing the ball. It seemed like the two had been playing together for more than parts of two games. Sixteen points and 5 boards along with three fouls (ok, 5 technically..but a couple were pure BS).
Brown - she really struggle out of the gates. She was guarded well and struggled on offense to find any openings. But her defense was stellar and as the game ground on she took advantage of opportunities to collect 11, 12 boards and 7 assists. When she wasn’t scoring she was dishing…many in the second half. She just finds a way to contribute.
Joens - You can tell she was used to playing ball with bigger sisters in the driveway. She is a junkyard dog who knows how to scrap. She does things the “Joens way." Her effort off the bench was outstanding. Key rebounds. Key shots. Put backs off a rebound. Free throws. Sixteen points, 5 boards and 2 very scrappy steals. Yes, I’ll take more.
Natabou - maybe her best overall game. She showed she is being coached. First time I’ve seen her not dribble every time she gets the ball. Starting to just turn and shoot. Fought for some rebounds. Showed some attitude that netted her a flagrant foul. Eleven points and ten boards along with six…yes, six fouls. Note…both of our posts fouled out.
Belanger - hit a couple of nice shots tonight, but kind of disappeared for some stretches. She ended up in double figures, but really struggled to break free much throughout the game. Moved well on defense which made a difference.
AJ - she had the tough job of guarding McDermott for much of the game. She was bounced off of screens…many of which were moving screens…and just kept on going. Handled the ball well and finally hit a nice trey. Stat line doesn’t show it, but this young lady battled tonight.
Diew - as she often is, she can be hot (last game) and cold from the field. Tonight was a cold night. So, instead she grabbed 7 boards and played gutsy defense. She ended up assigned to McDermott with AJ out and did a pretty good job of staying with her and frustrating her shot with those long arms. Yeoman's work.
Bristow - she reminds me of a young thoroughbred horse. You see glimpses of what’s there and other times they look the clumsy colt. She just struggled tonight and it really limited her game in this matchup.
Big stat - the ladies absolutely dominated the boards 49-25. That’s us utter dominance.
The Three - the shots keep falling. Fifty percent from the arc with 11 of 22 going through.
Free throws - sometimes an adventure…the ladies hit one goal of improving to 76% for the game. That’s decent. Not ISU good, but decent.
Assists - this team was struggling with assists through the first half. The second started seeing things happen due to the Ryan Effect. Seventeen for the game on 30 made shots. Of importance…most of the buckets in the second half had assists tied to them.
I told my wife after the game it appeared that the UNI game plan was to make this a dog fight. They rotated players for fresh sets of fouls every chance they could. They had one player who kept them in the game and the officiating benefitted the game plan. It became rough and tumble like a playground game. Several players fouled out. There were multiple flagrants called. The ladies had to find a way to be dogs in a dog fight (they did) and also find ways to be themselves as the moments allowed (they did). In the end it was a seven on one game and the seven walked away victorious,
So, the end of the non-con is here. The team sits and 7-4 and have won 5 of their last 6 with but a close loss to the #3 team in the country the only blemish. Think what this team looked like early on. Young, figuring each other out, trying to develop flow. They are a 100% different team today than they were at the beginning of November. Being freshmen is no longer an excuse, it’s something to be proud of. Next up is Okie State down in red dirt after some well earned rest. It’s exciting. I’m excited anyway…let’s have some fun!
Merry Christmas to you all. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday!
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