ISU v Auburn
The first half was quite the up and down battle. Early on it seemed that Auburn’s game plan was the logical one…smother Hal. At first it didn’t seem to be working as State would work out to a 9-5 lead behind two slashes to the basket by Seanna and Hal doing her thing - working hard. Buckley was the driving force early with some nifty steals that led to scores.
Then…the wheels fell off. All of a sudden we couldn’t hit anything and Auburn couldn’t miss. They not only worked back into a tie, but the continued miscues by our ladies and their hot shooting allowed them to take the lead and extend it to 17-12 with only a Kidd three and a slew of misses for State.
Our ladies were really struggling from deep with the exception of Kidd. Miss after miss clanked off the rim. Hal was having the toughest time of her season as well being held to 4 points half way through the first stanza. Somehow we stayed in the game only being down 8, 28-20. That would extend to 11 as State missed two more including a Buckley layup and Auburn answered with a three. Ugh. Ugh. Ugly.
Auburn was practicing a very physical, almost ATM like defense and the officials were letting quite a few things go. It finally started to catch up with them as State began a comeback at the line. Six straight FT’s from Seanna and Hal. The comeback would continue primarily keyed by Seanna and some help by Hal. These two are our offense right now. At the half State would finally lead 33-32. They really withstood a tough stretch! Give a lot of credit to some adjustments on defense that helped to cool off a very hot (unusually so) Auburn team. As expected, Muhammad was having a big impact as she was their leading scorer at half with 9.
The second half started a big jerky and was back and forth. Auburn would take a one point lead, but would be countered by a Hal lay in and another by Seanna. It seems that only Seanna and Hal know how to make a layup! Have to love these freshmen.
State would pull away just a bit 40-34 behind a rare 3 pointer by Brynn. A steal and lay in by Buckley would extend that lead further to 44-36. It was exciting to hear the pro-ISU crowd cheer with each basket.
The real battle in this one, and a good test for what we will see much of the season, is rebounding. The ladies in red were holding their own, but there were some missed opportunities in handling a few.
Muhammad again came through for Auburn with a big three to cut the lead to five, but Hal would answer with a two on the other end to push it back to 7 and then Moody would hit a 3 to move it to ten. The ladies were just blistering hot from the field so far this half.
Strangely, the whistles appeared to all be going Auburn’s way. Hoped that would change.
Again, Seanna would drive the lane and be sent to the line. The first half she only hit 50% so that has to improve. She has been doing so well this year. This time she hit both to keep the lead at 10 .
I swear that I’m going to stop mentioning when a team is a poor three point shooting team. As someone pointed out in my preview thread, they hoped this wouldn’t be a repeat of the Georgia game last year. Montgomery would hit another to cut the lead to 7. Auburn wasn’t backing down at all. Some teams would feel this pressure and wilt. Not this time.
(Note…with 11 minutes to go, the ladies were shooting 87% from the field in the second half!)
Auburn continued to be cold from the field. Of course some of this was due to good defense by the Sisters. Even better was the rebounding effort by our ladies. Auburn was a one and done team much of the time. Hal and Seanna were leading the way for State as they maintained a 10-12 point lead with about 9 min left. The other big threat was Kidd. She was SMOKING from deep. The lead would extend to 13 with 8 left after another Kidd three.
And then State went a bit out of kilter with a turnover and two straight misses. Auburn would go on a 6-0 run with three layups. Another steal and Auburn would be on the line and would cut the lead to 5 with 6 left in the game. The offense is very forced…out of whack. Brynn would hit two FT’s to extend it to 7 again.
With 4 to play it was a 61-54 ISU lead. Nail biter to the end this one would be (that’s my best Yoda impersonation…sorry).
This was definitely a team battle as it wasn’t just Hal doing what needed to be done. She def contributed, but each cog in this wheel was contributing as a unit. I like that.
This game was coming down to free throw shooting. Like the “pros†they are our ladies would calmly get to the line and hit their shots. Hal and Moody would each hit a pair to extend the lead to 10 once again. Seanna would also contribute to this effort. It was a ten point lead with two minutes to go. Starting to breathe easier, but still some game to play.
It was pretty much over when Auburn missed once again and Hal appropriately pulled down the board. Hal would miss the shot, but by then the clock was all but expired. In the end it was the Sisters hitting their free throws and Auburn missing their opportunities that sealed the deal.
Good, tough win by Iowa State over a gritty Auburn squad. This one will look good come tournament time I think. Final score - ISU 68 Auburn 57.
Observations
In each and every game I can’t help but smile thinking about the future of Cyclone women’s ball with players like Buckley and Seanna on the court. Great recruiting by our coaches! Buckley is a cool head and strong presence on defense and Seanna is fearless on offense.
One thing that continues to plague this team is the poor shooting of Moody. In her two tournament games she is shooting something like 15% from the field. Its just not pretty in any way shape or form. She also had some unforced turnovers. Probably her two worst games this year. She needs to be one of those team leaders and get things together and soon!
This game was a good preview of how well we can handle pressure type defenses. They switched in and out of zone and man defenses.
Hal showed that in spite of being the focal point of a physical defense, she can still get the job done. Her streak of scoring more than 20 per game ended as she had 18 tonight along with 8 boards. Very tough performance for her!
Seanna continues to be an offensive threat with another great game and 17 points and 5 boards.
Three pointers were key tonight with Kidd hitting 4. Team hit 7 total.
The first half was quite the up and down battle. Early on it seemed that Auburn’s game plan was the logical one…smother Hal. At first it didn’t seem to be working as State would work out to a 9-5 lead behind two slashes to the basket by Seanna and Hal doing her thing - working hard. Buckley was the driving force early with some nifty steals that led to scores.
Then…the wheels fell off. All of a sudden we couldn’t hit anything and Auburn couldn’t miss. They not only worked back into a tie, but the continued miscues by our ladies and their hot shooting allowed them to take the lead and extend it to 17-12 with only a Kidd three and a slew of misses for State.
Our ladies were really struggling from deep with the exception of Kidd. Miss after miss clanked off the rim. Hal was having the toughest time of her season as well being held to 4 points half way through the first stanza. Somehow we stayed in the game only being down 8, 28-20. That would extend to 11 as State missed two more including a Buckley layup and Auburn answered with a three. Ugh. Ugh. Ugly.
Auburn was practicing a very physical, almost ATM like defense and the officials were letting quite a few things go. It finally started to catch up with them as State began a comeback at the line. Six straight FT’s from Seanna and Hal. The comeback would continue primarily keyed by Seanna and some help by Hal. These two are our offense right now. At the half State would finally lead 33-32. They really withstood a tough stretch! Give a lot of credit to some adjustments on defense that helped to cool off a very hot (unusually so) Auburn team. As expected, Muhammad was having a big impact as she was their leading scorer at half with 9.
The second half started a big jerky and was back and forth. Auburn would take a one point lead, but would be countered by a Hal lay in and another by Seanna. It seems that only Seanna and Hal know how to make a layup! Have to love these freshmen.
State would pull away just a bit 40-34 behind a rare 3 pointer by Brynn. A steal and lay in by Buckley would extend that lead further to 44-36. It was exciting to hear the pro-ISU crowd cheer with each basket.
The real battle in this one, and a good test for what we will see much of the season, is rebounding. The ladies in red were holding their own, but there were some missed opportunities in handling a few.
Muhammad again came through for Auburn with a big three to cut the lead to five, but Hal would answer with a two on the other end to push it back to 7 and then Moody would hit a 3 to move it to ten. The ladies were just blistering hot from the field so far this half.
Strangely, the whistles appeared to all be going Auburn’s way. Hoped that would change.
Again, Seanna would drive the lane and be sent to the line. The first half she only hit 50% so that has to improve. She has been doing so well this year. This time she hit both to keep the lead at 10 .
I swear that I’m going to stop mentioning when a team is a poor three point shooting team. As someone pointed out in my preview thread, they hoped this wouldn’t be a repeat of the Georgia game last year. Montgomery would hit another to cut the lead to 7. Auburn wasn’t backing down at all. Some teams would feel this pressure and wilt. Not this time.
(Note…with 11 minutes to go, the ladies were shooting 87% from the field in the second half!)
Auburn continued to be cold from the field. Of course some of this was due to good defense by the Sisters. Even better was the rebounding effort by our ladies. Auburn was a one and done team much of the time. Hal and Seanna were leading the way for State as they maintained a 10-12 point lead with about 9 min left. The other big threat was Kidd. She was SMOKING from deep. The lead would extend to 13 with 8 left after another Kidd three.
And then State went a bit out of kilter with a turnover and two straight misses. Auburn would go on a 6-0 run with three layups. Another steal and Auburn would be on the line and would cut the lead to 5 with 6 left in the game. The offense is very forced…out of whack. Brynn would hit two FT’s to extend it to 7 again.
With 4 to play it was a 61-54 ISU lead. Nail biter to the end this one would be (that’s my best Yoda impersonation…sorry).
This was definitely a team battle as it wasn’t just Hal doing what needed to be done. She def contributed, but each cog in this wheel was contributing as a unit. I like that.
This game was coming down to free throw shooting. Like the “pros†they are our ladies would calmly get to the line and hit their shots. Hal and Moody would each hit a pair to extend the lead to 10 once again. Seanna would also contribute to this effort. It was a ten point lead with two minutes to go. Starting to breathe easier, but still some game to play.
It was pretty much over when Auburn missed once again and Hal appropriately pulled down the board. Hal would miss the shot, but by then the clock was all but expired. In the end it was the Sisters hitting their free throws and Auburn missing their opportunities that sealed the deal.
Good, tough win by Iowa State over a gritty Auburn squad. This one will look good come tournament time I think. Final score - ISU 68 Auburn 57.
Observations
In each and every game I can’t help but smile thinking about the future of Cyclone women’s ball with players like Buckley and Seanna on the court. Great recruiting by our coaches! Buckley is a cool head and strong presence on defense and Seanna is fearless on offense.
One thing that continues to plague this team is the poor shooting of Moody. In her two tournament games she is shooting something like 15% from the field. Its just not pretty in any way shape or form. She also had some unforced turnovers. Probably her two worst games this year. She needs to be one of those team leaders and get things together and soon!
This game was a good preview of how well we can handle pressure type defenses. They switched in and out of zone and man defenses.
Hal showed that in spite of being the focal point of a physical defense, she can still get the job done. Her streak of scoring more than 20 per game ended as she had 18 tonight along with 8 boards. Very tough performance for her!
Seanna continues to be an offensive threat with another great game and 17 points and 5 boards.
Three pointers were key tonight with Kidd hitting 4. Team hit 7 total.
