First score showed the growth in this team. Pass went in to Crooks, she was doubled and she IMMEDIATELY passed out to Belanger for the open three. Well, the team opened with three straight treys. Troy answered with a 10 zip run mainly due to some poor defense and turnovers. The sisters would respond and tighten things up. And then…Emily Ryan enters the game! The rest of the quarter was pretty much an act of futility as the offense was a bunch of forced shots with limited ball movement and too much standing on defense. End of one the sisters lead 16-12.
Second saw Troy start making mistakes and missing. Meanwhile the three rain kept coming as B and Diew hit them for a ten point lead. Diew just sizzling…15 points so far. Ryan scored he first of the season with a beautiful steal and drive for two and the harm. We got to see some good things with assists from Crooks and Ryan. Brown was her usual Miss Hustle getting boards, following shots and cleaning up after the boards. Crooks continues to show good hands and movement. Belanger benefits from that in the assist column as she keeps finding a way to get Audi the ball. Literally everyone is scoring. End of the half it’s 47-31 on some outstanding shooting (53% from the field). Way too many turnovers with 13.
The third saw Troy’s defense really frustrate our offense. More turnovers and forced shots. Crooks continued to dominate and Natabou looked solid as well. I was impressed watching AJ. She handled the ball quite well and even took one to the hoop for a nice bucket. Overall the quarter had little flow to it and while the ladies maintained a 20 point lead they couldn’t expand it. Shooting was just off. Have to give Troy credit…their full court defense really frustrated the flow. Missed bunnies left and right. Just a disjointed quarter for the sisters seeing Troy essentially playing the sisters even. After three it was ISU 68-49. Very sloppy.
The fourth started looking as out of control as the third. We were seeing a recipe for causing us problems…a hustle press. Our defense also seemed to have disappeared. Troy was making lots of shots, contested or not, to play even with the sisters. Every time a big shot was made Troy countered. That’s the way the quarter went. The sisters would score after working their tails off and Troy would quickly counter with a score of their own. Honestly, I was impressed with Troy’s shooting. What they couldn’t counter was our rebounding. Every loose ball had cyclone hands on it. Lots of unnecessary fouls by Troy kept the ladies on the line. The game closed with a rain of treys by the sisters. That and the line broke the back and forth stalemate open. Wouldn’t you that a trey by Bristow pushed the score over 100 points. Final of a game where we celebrated the return of a star and learned valuable lessons as well…105-68.
Observations
Free throws - probably the worst free throw shooting team we’ve seen in a long time. It will get better, but it might cost us until it does. The end result was 70% and that was only because Joens was at the line several times in the 4th. 19 of 27 isn’t good. If your name wasn’t Jackson or Joens…you hit 50%.
Three ball - this sure counters the free throws. Hottest shooting exhibition from deep all season. It started in the first and continued all game. 16 of 30 is phenomenal with only Jackson (she will find her deep shot some day soon) and Ryan not making an attempt. Even Crooks nailed another and looks very comfortable at the top of the key.
Rebounding - this team is flying all over after loose balls. Won the rebound contest 53-36. If there was a loose ball we were on it.
Assists - how about 26 assists on 35 made shots? How about shooting 53% from the field no matter where you took the shot?
Turnovers…this was a bad part of the game and I give Troy lots of credit. Their press reminded me of the old Arkansas 60 minutes of hell defense. OK, not quite that good, but it bothered us. 18 turnovers is way too many, but the second half was better than the first.
POG - no doubt in my mind. I have to give it to Crooks with Diew a close second. Crooks continues to show incredible maturity and poise on the court. Great hands and court vision. He game just continues to grow as we see her continue her fantastic control inside, but also seeing outside for assists.
Diew - it was one of her hot games. I wish she were this way more often. Six of seven from deep. Only two turnovers. This is the excellent Diew that we need more of.
Belanger - she was a pretty good game manager in the first half. She was either scoring or dishing assists inside. Some of the passes she got to Crooks made me scratch my head. Missed a bunch of bunnies, but overall a very good game.
Bristow - had a rough start to this one. Looked a little timid. But man did she warm up in the second half. Ended up with 17 points on fantastic shooting and pulled down 4 boards. Again…this is what we need from her.
Natabou - the only criticism I have of her (and Crooks spoils me) is many of her shots go up hard and she ends up missing on the bounce. A little softer shot and she would be scoring in droves. Three points and six boards, but valuable time on defense.
Joens - this was a quiet offensive game for her. Defense was salty. Nine points and four boards in only 13 minutes. That’s not too shabby. When we needed someone to take the ball and go in the 4th quarter, who was it? Joens. Gritty.
Brown - not her best day shooting, but she still stuffs a good stat sheet. Thirteen points, 14 boards and 6 assists. Geesh…the woman just hustles her butt off. I mean FOURTEEN boards?
Jackson - I’ve been enjoying watching her develop at the point. She handles the ball well. She has good court vision (six assists). Just needs to find that sweet shot we know she is capable of.
I’ll save the best part of the game for the last. Emily Ryan is back. The standing O when she came in the game was fantastic. The grins on her teammates faces was pure love. Played nine minutes and had five points, 4 boards and 2 assists. Had one of the prettiest baskets of the game on a fade layup (and got fouled). Welcome back Em.
So, the final was about what one would expect in a game like this. But take a look at some comparisons. Troy has played Georgia (86-70), Tennessee (100-73), Ball State (86-71) and Memphis (100-88). Yes, all losses, but that is good competition. Look at our score. Lowest point total of them all. Highest point total of them all. Folks…this was a good win. Troy is expected to win their conference this year. We learned things (yes, we will see a press again). The best part? This young team continues to grow. Let’s keep the love coming.
Second saw Troy start making mistakes and missing. Meanwhile the three rain kept coming as B and Diew hit them for a ten point lead. Diew just sizzling…15 points so far. Ryan scored he first of the season with a beautiful steal and drive for two and the harm. We got to see some good things with assists from Crooks and Ryan. Brown was her usual Miss Hustle getting boards, following shots and cleaning up after the boards. Crooks continues to show good hands and movement. Belanger benefits from that in the assist column as she keeps finding a way to get Audi the ball. Literally everyone is scoring. End of the half it’s 47-31 on some outstanding shooting (53% from the field). Way too many turnovers with 13.
The third saw Troy’s defense really frustrate our offense. More turnovers and forced shots. Crooks continued to dominate and Natabou looked solid as well. I was impressed watching AJ. She handled the ball quite well and even took one to the hoop for a nice bucket. Overall the quarter had little flow to it and while the ladies maintained a 20 point lead they couldn’t expand it. Shooting was just off. Have to give Troy credit…their full court defense really frustrated the flow. Missed bunnies left and right. Just a disjointed quarter for the sisters seeing Troy essentially playing the sisters even. After three it was ISU 68-49. Very sloppy.
The fourth started looking as out of control as the third. We were seeing a recipe for causing us problems…a hustle press. Our defense also seemed to have disappeared. Troy was making lots of shots, contested or not, to play even with the sisters. Every time a big shot was made Troy countered. That’s the way the quarter went. The sisters would score after working their tails off and Troy would quickly counter with a score of their own. Honestly, I was impressed with Troy’s shooting. What they couldn’t counter was our rebounding. Every loose ball had cyclone hands on it. Lots of unnecessary fouls by Troy kept the ladies on the line. The game closed with a rain of treys by the sisters. That and the line broke the back and forth stalemate open. Wouldn’t you that a trey by Bristow pushed the score over 100 points. Final of a game where we celebrated the return of a star and learned valuable lessons as well…105-68.
Observations
Free throws - probably the worst free throw shooting team we’ve seen in a long time. It will get better, but it might cost us until it does. The end result was 70% and that was only because Joens was at the line several times in the 4th. 19 of 27 isn’t good. If your name wasn’t Jackson or Joens…you hit 50%.
Three ball - this sure counters the free throws. Hottest shooting exhibition from deep all season. It started in the first and continued all game. 16 of 30 is phenomenal with only Jackson (she will find her deep shot some day soon) and Ryan not making an attempt. Even Crooks nailed another and looks very comfortable at the top of the key.
Rebounding - this team is flying all over after loose balls. Won the rebound contest 53-36. If there was a loose ball we were on it.
Assists - how about 26 assists on 35 made shots? How about shooting 53% from the field no matter where you took the shot?
Turnovers…this was a bad part of the game and I give Troy lots of credit. Their press reminded me of the old Arkansas 60 minutes of hell defense. OK, not quite that good, but it bothered us. 18 turnovers is way too many, but the second half was better than the first.
POG - no doubt in my mind. I have to give it to Crooks with Diew a close second. Crooks continues to show incredible maturity and poise on the court. Great hands and court vision. He game just continues to grow as we see her continue her fantastic control inside, but also seeing outside for assists.
Diew - it was one of her hot games. I wish she were this way more often. Six of seven from deep. Only two turnovers. This is the excellent Diew that we need more of.
Belanger - she was a pretty good game manager in the first half. She was either scoring or dishing assists inside. Some of the passes she got to Crooks made me scratch my head. Missed a bunch of bunnies, but overall a very good game.
Bristow - had a rough start to this one. Looked a little timid. But man did she warm up in the second half. Ended up with 17 points on fantastic shooting and pulled down 4 boards. Again…this is what we need from her.
Natabou - the only criticism I have of her (and Crooks spoils me) is many of her shots go up hard and she ends up missing on the bounce. A little softer shot and she would be scoring in droves. Three points and six boards, but valuable time on defense.
Joens - this was a quiet offensive game for her. Defense was salty. Nine points and four boards in only 13 minutes. That’s not too shabby. When we needed someone to take the ball and go in the 4th quarter, who was it? Joens. Gritty.
Brown - not her best day shooting, but she still stuffs a good stat sheet. Thirteen points, 14 boards and 6 assists. Geesh…the woman just hustles her butt off. I mean FOURTEEN boards?
Jackson - I’ve been enjoying watching her develop at the point. She handles the ball well. She has good court vision (six assists). Just needs to find that sweet shot we know she is capable of.
I’ll save the best part of the game for the last. Emily Ryan is back. The standing O when she came in the game was fantastic. The grins on her teammates faces was pure love. Played nine minutes and had five points, 4 boards and 2 assists. Had one of the prettiest baskets of the game on a fade layup (and got fouled). Welcome back Em.
So, the final was about what one would expect in a game like this. But take a look at some comparisons. Troy has played Georgia (86-70), Tennessee (100-73), Ball State (86-71) and Memphis (100-88). Yes, all losses, but that is good competition. Look at our score. Lowest point total of them all. Highest point total of them all. Folks…this was a good win. Troy is expected to win their conference this year. We learned things (yes, we will see a press again). The best part? This young team continues to grow. Let’s keep the love coming.
