If any of you remember reading a brief message from Baylor women's bball expert Geewago, he warned that UTA would not be a pushover. They had a couple of really good players that could cause problems. What we didn't expect were that other players would step up in surprising ways and put a little bit of a shock into the Sisters' system.
This was a game that could be described in two halves. In the first, UTA came out of the gates swinging as they (a team averaging 4 threes a game all season) dropped bomb after bomb and worked slowly but surely out to a double digit lead. In the meantime, the first half sisters were a confused mess. The ladies would miss their first eight three attempts, miss multiple free throws, miss layups and on defense allow UTA to find one open look after another. Then adding to the misery the ladies did something we rarely see them do...foul. Foul so much that UTA was making a living at the line. The lead would grow to twelve points and there just didn't seem to be a quick fix for what ailed the sisters. But just before the half they put just enough of an effort together to narrow the gap to six points. With some halftime adjustments, that was a very manageable deficit.
As part of the ugly first half we got to see some very off the beaten path performances. Ashley Joens would miss three of her first four free throw attempts. Emily had several very lackluster turnovers as she made passes that had no hope of succeeding. M&M would find herself wide open from deep and just couldn't hit the mark. Other players would miss free throws. Our guards and posts would miss layups. The team left a bunch of points out on the court. And yet, they did just enough to pull within six at the half.
The second half showed one of the halftime adjustments right away. There were defensive changes and the energy in that half of the court seemed to change. There was one stop...and then two...it continued to build throughout the quarter. ISU didn't score on every change of possession, but the did enough that they finally moved one single point into the lead. When that happened it seemed as if the roof was going to come off of Hilton as the crowd erupted. The third quarter would see the defensive effort limit UTA to 13 points. After seeing UTA shoot nearly 70% from three and 50% overall through the first half, the nasty Cyclone defense, spurred on by a roaring crowd, put the clamps on big time. And while that was happening the offense started to appear in spurts. By the end of three the Sisters led by 3.
The 4th quarter was a back and forth affair. Nothing came easily tonight. Throughout the game Ashley carried this team on her back offensively. To me the critical point was when Emily started to turn it on offensively. Up to this point I was actually thinking what an off game she was having. Numerous turnovers, missed layups, getting burnt on defense. And then it was like a switch flipped. She nailed a couple of treys that really turned the game in ISU's favor. Passes gained a level of crispness and ball movement increased. Open players were hitting shots inside and out. Don't get me wrong...some of the same weirdness that plagued the team all game were still there. The ladies continued to miss free throws. There were still some missed layups. But that defense...man oh man...the good hands people went to work, blocked shots, stole the ball, limited UTA to one shot and more. Defense is what really won this outing. As time started to run down a five point lead would extend to nine as UTA started to foul. You could literally see the looks on the players and coaches faces as they realized the game had slipped through their grasp. The clock struck midnight (ok...maybe closer to 11) and the sisters had advanced winning 79-71.
Observations
Ashley - the only bad thing I can say about Ashley was her uncharacteristic misses at the line. Like the rest of the team she only shot 50%. Weird. But wow...everything else was pure Joens magic. She sliced and diced UTA all night on her way to scoring 36 points in a surgical combination of drives, free throws and threes. The icing on the cake was her superb defense and rebounding (15). Oh yeah...she played all forty minutes too. Ice bath anyone?
Emily - after a tough first half Em really settled down and also did a little bit of everything. She scored 20 points with 9 of them late to help seal the game. After some early turnovers she made some really nice dishes for 5 assists. Silent, determined. deadly. 40 minutes worth.
Donarski - I actually saw opponent reactions a couple of times when Lexi guarded them. It was pure frustration. She got under their skin. 14 quiet points, but a world of misery for her opponents. Also a forty minute player.
The bigs - Not a lot of help here tonight. UTA was quicker and our bigs didn't seem to recognize that Starr Jacobs had a tendency to go left. Too many times the bigs were left looking as Starr scored. Combined they only played 20 minutes as Coach Fen went to Diew and a five guard rotation to keep up. Two points and four rebounds. Uhfff....
Diew - she seems to be coming of age late in the season. Much more comfortable. Playing good/solid defense. Six points, 4 boards and 3 blocks. Her quickness and length sure came in handy tonight.
M&M - wasn't her night. Made several mistakes on defense and just couldn't get her shot to fall on offense. Was on a short leash, but was given several chances to make a difference. No points on the night even though she had some really nice looks at the hoop.
Free Throw Shooting - was there something in the water tonight? A team that shoots 82% only makes 57% on the night? Clank after clank by everyone on the team. 15 of 26 attempts total. That's a lot of points left lying there. This has to be corrected before the next game.
Three point shooting - this one started out cold as ice. Missed the first eight before finally getting one. Then went on a 4 out of 5 streak before cooling off again.
UTA - I really wanted to be able to tell the UTA coach and players what a scrappy bunch they were. They were focused, fought hard and they have some really talented players. They move to the WAC next year so it will be interesting to see how they do with better competition. They showed they belonged tonight.
Yes, I have to do it. Overall the officials still miss about 50% of the calls on the floor. Was it Texas bad? No. It went both ways, but woof they sure missed some obvious stuff out there.
Last note - the crowd. The crowd has to be mentioned. This group was loud and rattling the place. Heck, my ears are still ringing four hours later. Let's do it again Sunday.
Deep breath. They got it done. We weren't playing an Illinois State tonight that's for sure. A much bigger test shows up Sunday. Watching Georgia I saw a dominating inside double headed monster that could score, rebound and shoot free throws. As Georgia beat Dayton, they dominated at the line. That was 100% the difference in the game...oh...and getting offensive board after offensive board. They are big and fast. We are currently 0-3 all time (all in the NCAA tournament) against Georgia so its time for a little payback. It's going to require fixing what wasn't functioning tonight. But you know what? What we saw tonight was a team that refused to lose. They fought and scratched and found a way. I expect nothing less on Sunday in our fight to reach the Sweet Sixteen. See you all at Hilton.
This was a game that could be described in two halves. In the first, UTA came out of the gates swinging as they (a team averaging 4 threes a game all season) dropped bomb after bomb and worked slowly but surely out to a double digit lead. In the meantime, the first half sisters were a confused mess. The ladies would miss their first eight three attempts, miss multiple free throws, miss layups and on defense allow UTA to find one open look after another. Then adding to the misery the ladies did something we rarely see them do...foul. Foul so much that UTA was making a living at the line. The lead would grow to twelve points and there just didn't seem to be a quick fix for what ailed the sisters. But just before the half they put just enough of an effort together to narrow the gap to six points. With some halftime adjustments, that was a very manageable deficit.
As part of the ugly first half we got to see some very off the beaten path performances. Ashley Joens would miss three of her first four free throw attempts. Emily had several very lackluster turnovers as she made passes that had no hope of succeeding. M&M would find herself wide open from deep and just couldn't hit the mark. Other players would miss free throws. Our guards and posts would miss layups. The team left a bunch of points out on the court. And yet, they did just enough to pull within six at the half.
The second half showed one of the halftime adjustments right away. There were defensive changes and the energy in that half of the court seemed to change. There was one stop...and then two...it continued to build throughout the quarter. ISU didn't score on every change of possession, but the did enough that they finally moved one single point into the lead. When that happened it seemed as if the roof was going to come off of Hilton as the crowd erupted. The third quarter would see the defensive effort limit UTA to 13 points. After seeing UTA shoot nearly 70% from three and 50% overall through the first half, the nasty Cyclone defense, spurred on by a roaring crowd, put the clamps on big time. And while that was happening the offense started to appear in spurts. By the end of three the Sisters led by 3.
The 4th quarter was a back and forth affair. Nothing came easily tonight. Throughout the game Ashley carried this team on her back offensively. To me the critical point was when Emily started to turn it on offensively. Up to this point I was actually thinking what an off game she was having. Numerous turnovers, missed layups, getting burnt on defense. And then it was like a switch flipped. She nailed a couple of treys that really turned the game in ISU's favor. Passes gained a level of crispness and ball movement increased. Open players were hitting shots inside and out. Don't get me wrong...some of the same weirdness that plagued the team all game were still there. The ladies continued to miss free throws. There were still some missed layups. But that defense...man oh man...the good hands people went to work, blocked shots, stole the ball, limited UTA to one shot and more. Defense is what really won this outing. As time started to run down a five point lead would extend to nine as UTA started to foul. You could literally see the looks on the players and coaches faces as they realized the game had slipped through their grasp. The clock struck midnight (ok...maybe closer to 11) and the sisters had advanced winning 79-71.
Observations
Ashley - the only bad thing I can say about Ashley was her uncharacteristic misses at the line. Like the rest of the team she only shot 50%. Weird. But wow...everything else was pure Joens magic. She sliced and diced UTA all night on her way to scoring 36 points in a surgical combination of drives, free throws and threes. The icing on the cake was her superb defense and rebounding (15). Oh yeah...she played all forty minutes too. Ice bath anyone?
Emily - after a tough first half Em really settled down and also did a little bit of everything. She scored 20 points with 9 of them late to help seal the game. After some early turnovers she made some really nice dishes for 5 assists. Silent, determined. deadly. 40 minutes worth.
Donarski - I actually saw opponent reactions a couple of times when Lexi guarded them. It was pure frustration. She got under their skin. 14 quiet points, but a world of misery for her opponents. Also a forty minute player.
The bigs - Not a lot of help here tonight. UTA was quicker and our bigs didn't seem to recognize that Starr Jacobs had a tendency to go left. Too many times the bigs were left looking as Starr scored. Combined they only played 20 minutes as Coach Fen went to Diew and a five guard rotation to keep up. Two points and four rebounds. Uhfff....
Diew - she seems to be coming of age late in the season. Much more comfortable. Playing good/solid defense. Six points, 4 boards and 3 blocks. Her quickness and length sure came in handy tonight.
M&M - wasn't her night. Made several mistakes on defense and just couldn't get her shot to fall on offense. Was on a short leash, but was given several chances to make a difference. No points on the night even though she had some really nice looks at the hoop.
Free Throw Shooting - was there something in the water tonight? A team that shoots 82% only makes 57% on the night? Clank after clank by everyone on the team. 15 of 26 attempts total. That's a lot of points left lying there. This has to be corrected before the next game.
Three point shooting - this one started out cold as ice. Missed the first eight before finally getting one. Then went on a 4 out of 5 streak before cooling off again.
UTA - I really wanted to be able to tell the UTA coach and players what a scrappy bunch they were. They were focused, fought hard and they have some really talented players. They move to the WAC next year so it will be interesting to see how they do with better competition. They showed they belonged tonight.
Yes, I have to do it. Overall the officials still miss about 50% of the calls on the floor. Was it Texas bad? No. It went both ways, but woof they sure missed some obvious stuff out there.
Last note - the crowd. The crowd has to be mentioned. This group was loud and rattling the place. Heck, my ears are still ringing four hours later. Let's do it again Sunday.
Deep breath. They got it done. We weren't playing an Illinois State tonight that's for sure. A much bigger test shows up Sunday. Watching Georgia I saw a dominating inside double headed monster that could score, rebound and shoot free throws. As Georgia beat Dayton, they dominated at the line. That was 100% the difference in the game...oh...and getting offensive board after offensive board. They are big and fast. We are currently 0-3 all time (all in the NCAA tournament) against Georgia so its time for a little payback. It's going to require fixing what wasn't functioning tonight. But you know what? What we saw tonight was a team that refused to lose. They fought and scratched and found a way. I expect nothing less on Sunday in our fight to reach the Sweet Sixteen. See you all at Hilton.
