I finally got home from Ames after having to wade through a traffic snarl a few miles south of Ames that took nearly 45 minutes to get through. So here are a few thoughts on today's game...
Going in I felt that this was a game where I expected a slow workmanlike process where the ladies would slowly pull away to a solid win. I was severely wrong on this one.
In the first half what we saw was a Cincinnati team that was playing out of its mind on both ends of the court. If they could bottle what they did in the first half they would be a very dangerous team. Their quick defensive shifts were frustrating the sisters on offense. When Crooks got the ball they quickly converged on her with a double team. They had clearly watched films and knew she often liked to reverse her motion and score. This led to some tie ups and steals on their part. When Crooks was able to get rid of the ball they quickly shifted out to coverage. Even though the sisters would shoot over 40% in the first half, the graduating seniors clearly struggled. Belanger went 1-6 and Diew 0-3 from the field. The sisters shot an inordinate number of threes when it appeared the middle was clogged. At the half the sisters had put up 17 treys, making 6 of them. Meanwhile there were only 14 two point shots. This discrepancy was addressed at the half. Along the way, the sisters didn't shoot a single free thrown while Cincy hit 5 of 6. If you looked at all of the stat lines, shots made, three pointers made, etc. free throws were the difference in Cincy having a 4 point lead at the half. Otherwise, this was a near even ball game. And you take into consideration that Cincy likely played the best half of their entire season. A team that made three treys in the entire game against Baylor hit 5 of 13. There were tear drops, bank shots and I swear an over the back trey would have gone in. Cincy just played that well. What about the sisters? Statistically, they didn't play poorly, but what created a problem was towards the end of the 2nd quarter when the ladies had 7 empty possessions on 8 tries. Those were opportunities to take the lead and were lost. But when you consider Cincy gave it their best shot and the sisters were still right there didn't lead many to panic. At the half it was 36-32 Cincy.
The second half was what everyone was hoping for. In reality most of us just wanted a little scoring surge. We got much more. The first thing that was apparent was Crooks was going to be a focal point. The first possession saw Ryan feed Crooks for two. The second thing I noticed was the defensive intensity picked up dramatically. All of a sudden Cincy was being frustrated into forcing up bad shots and they weren't getting second chances. Iowa State promptly went to the other end and started putting the ball in the hoop. The lead was retaken and then some. Belanger warmed up. Bristow was doing nice things. Crooks was dominating. Ball movement was much better. When all was said and the dust cleared at the end of the third, the sisters had gone on a 28-9 run and had built a nice lead 60-45. But if you guessed that Cincy was through you would be wrong.
The fourth quarter saw the ladies go through a couple of different surges. They continued to build the lead and actually saw it hit 20 points before Cincy employed a full court press and the offense stalled out for a bit. Part of this was Crooks getting into foul trouble and our middle game disappeared. On the other end Cincy started to score and on many possessions seemed to pick up a foul when our ladies breathed on them. Cincy benefited from ten foul shots in the quarter that helped them close the gap. With minutes left the lead had been reduced to 7 points before the sisters re-asserted themselves and slowly pulled away once more. What this showed us was the value of keeping Crooks in the game. It was also the second game in a row in which she fouled out. I'm sure this will be a point of work in practice. But the time all things were over, the ladies had posted a nice 76-60 win and a 12-6 conference record.
Observations
Let's think about this for a second. This team with 7 out of its 9 rotational players being new to the team won more conference games than last year's highly experienced squad did. Prior to the season I can't imagine even the most optimistic (like myself) would have imagined this. Then to think the degree to which we relied on freshmen to score. They accounted for well over 60% of the points this season. It's also quite possible that Audi Crooks could be a first team all conference player.
POG - Crooks. Hits 9 out of 10 shots, 10 boards and 4-5 from the line. Yes, she fouled out. Yes she had 4 turnovers. But here she is with another double-double. And as usual, she was beat up underneath the basket, going to the floor a couple of times and being slapped and pushed every minute she was in.
Ryan - yes, we are all euphoric thinking of her coming back next year. She was coming off a stellar game on Wednesday. We also have been watching the assist numbers as she closes in on the record. So, all she did was make 3 of 6 shots, grab 8 boards and dish out TWELVE assists. TWELVE. Holy buckets batman. Prior to the game I think she needed to average just over 7 per game in three games. Well, now that number has dropped considerably. If you add in the nine missed games with the first nine next year...that "four" year record will be tough to beat.
Belanger - talk about a tale of two halves. The first half she was cold as ice (1-6) and the second was the opposite (5-8). Seventeen critical points that really helped ignite the 3rd quarter run. Nice way to go out on senior night and your last Hilton game. Dream come true for a dreamer.
Bristow - AB is really coming into her own late in the season. She has earned substantial minutes and is capitalizing. Eight points and 3 boards on 3-5 shooting. Her length inside definitely causes defensive problems for the opponent.
AJ - Nine points, 3 boards, 3 assists and ZERO turnovers. She just gets the job done. Was nice to see her hit three treys to light things up.
Natabou - really zero stats to talk about. But, with Crooks again in foul trouble she came in and filled the middle with her length. We def lose the scoring aspect, but it's nice to know you have a big to fill the gap. That's insurance.
Brown - she had a fantastic game on Wednesday back in Kansas and tonight was a mixed bag of sorts. Had a few nice shots and a few that left a lot to be desired. But that's basketball. Only two boards and ten points along with 5 assists, but three turnovers mainly on "what was that?" type passes. I do love that she doesn't seem to think much about the mistakes and just keeps on truckin'.
Joens - nice to see her hit her last shot of the day...a nice trey from the corner. A strange zero rebound game for her.
Diew - getting minutes back again. Clearly hustling out there. Still struggling to find her shot.
Rebounding - first half we were outrebounded. The second half was something entirely different. In the first I watched balls being taken away from Audi. Not in the second. She seemed to take on an attitude of "I'll rip your arm off" in the second. The rest of the team swarmed the defensive boards as well. Final numbers were another win for the sisters 32-28.
Fouls - boy did we get call for a lot of fouls underneath the basket. Someone will have to clarify for me how Audi with arms straight up would be called for a foul when the offensive player jumps into her? Ok, I'll stop the gripes - but the 21-8 free throw discrepancy jumps out at you.
Assists - outside of Ryan's spectacular day the team dished 24 assists on 29 made shots. Folks, that is sharing the ball in a good way. When we have those high numbers it's always a good thing for our offense.
Treys - the record continues. The ladies hit 12 of 30 with most in the second half (we had 5 at the half).
So here we are. Twelve and six and waiting to see if we get a double bye. WVU won their game today. What will Baylor do tomorrow? Kansas beat OU. KSU took care of business and locked up the third seed. I'm hoping MRed can give us a quick update of what is required for ISU to finish fourth ahead of WVU and Baylor.
All that is left in the Big 12 is the tournament. I'll be there and am glad that we will avoid playing Texas until the final. The ladies won their last four with some outstanding play and will be mentally ready for the tournament and well rested. I hope to see some of you down there. Going to be strange not being in Municipal this year and separated from the men's tournament. Hope ISU fans travel like crazy for the Saturday game!
Going in I felt that this was a game where I expected a slow workmanlike process where the ladies would slowly pull away to a solid win. I was severely wrong on this one.
In the first half what we saw was a Cincinnati team that was playing out of its mind on both ends of the court. If they could bottle what they did in the first half they would be a very dangerous team. Their quick defensive shifts were frustrating the sisters on offense. When Crooks got the ball they quickly converged on her with a double team. They had clearly watched films and knew she often liked to reverse her motion and score. This led to some tie ups and steals on their part. When Crooks was able to get rid of the ball they quickly shifted out to coverage. Even though the sisters would shoot over 40% in the first half, the graduating seniors clearly struggled. Belanger went 1-6 and Diew 0-3 from the field. The sisters shot an inordinate number of threes when it appeared the middle was clogged. At the half the sisters had put up 17 treys, making 6 of them. Meanwhile there were only 14 two point shots. This discrepancy was addressed at the half. Along the way, the sisters didn't shoot a single free thrown while Cincy hit 5 of 6. If you looked at all of the stat lines, shots made, three pointers made, etc. free throws were the difference in Cincy having a 4 point lead at the half. Otherwise, this was a near even ball game. And you take into consideration that Cincy likely played the best half of their entire season. A team that made three treys in the entire game against Baylor hit 5 of 13. There were tear drops, bank shots and I swear an over the back trey would have gone in. Cincy just played that well. What about the sisters? Statistically, they didn't play poorly, but what created a problem was towards the end of the 2nd quarter when the ladies had 7 empty possessions on 8 tries. Those were opportunities to take the lead and were lost. But when you consider Cincy gave it their best shot and the sisters were still right there didn't lead many to panic. At the half it was 36-32 Cincy.
The second half was what everyone was hoping for. In reality most of us just wanted a little scoring surge. We got much more. The first thing that was apparent was Crooks was going to be a focal point. The first possession saw Ryan feed Crooks for two. The second thing I noticed was the defensive intensity picked up dramatically. All of a sudden Cincy was being frustrated into forcing up bad shots and they weren't getting second chances. Iowa State promptly went to the other end and started putting the ball in the hoop. The lead was retaken and then some. Belanger warmed up. Bristow was doing nice things. Crooks was dominating. Ball movement was much better. When all was said and the dust cleared at the end of the third, the sisters had gone on a 28-9 run and had built a nice lead 60-45. But if you guessed that Cincy was through you would be wrong.
The fourth quarter saw the ladies go through a couple of different surges. They continued to build the lead and actually saw it hit 20 points before Cincy employed a full court press and the offense stalled out for a bit. Part of this was Crooks getting into foul trouble and our middle game disappeared. On the other end Cincy started to score and on many possessions seemed to pick up a foul when our ladies breathed on them. Cincy benefited from ten foul shots in the quarter that helped them close the gap. With minutes left the lead had been reduced to 7 points before the sisters re-asserted themselves and slowly pulled away once more. What this showed us was the value of keeping Crooks in the game. It was also the second game in a row in which she fouled out. I'm sure this will be a point of work in practice. But the time all things were over, the ladies had posted a nice 76-60 win and a 12-6 conference record.
Observations
Let's think about this for a second. This team with 7 out of its 9 rotational players being new to the team won more conference games than last year's highly experienced squad did. Prior to the season I can't imagine even the most optimistic (like myself) would have imagined this. Then to think the degree to which we relied on freshmen to score. They accounted for well over 60% of the points this season. It's also quite possible that Audi Crooks could be a first team all conference player.
POG - Crooks. Hits 9 out of 10 shots, 10 boards and 4-5 from the line. Yes, she fouled out. Yes she had 4 turnovers. But here she is with another double-double. And as usual, she was beat up underneath the basket, going to the floor a couple of times and being slapped and pushed every minute she was in.
Ryan - yes, we are all euphoric thinking of her coming back next year. She was coming off a stellar game on Wednesday. We also have been watching the assist numbers as she closes in on the record. So, all she did was make 3 of 6 shots, grab 8 boards and dish out TWELVE assists. TWELVE. Holy buckets batman. Prior to the game I think she needed to average just over 7 per game in three games. Well, now that number has dropped considerably. If you add in the nine missed games with the first nine next year...that "four" year record will be tough to beat.
Belanger - talk about a tale of two halves. The first half she was cold as ice (1-6) and the second was the opposite (5-8). Seventeen critical points that really helped ignite the 3rd quarter run. Nice way to go out on senior night and your last Hilton game. Dream come true for a dreamer.
Bristow - AB is really coming into her own late in the season. She has earned substantial minutes and is capitalizing. Eight points and 3 boards on 3-5 shooting. Her length inside definitely causes defensive problems for the opponent.
AJ - Nine points, 3 boards, 3 assists and ZERO turnovers. She just gets the job done. Was nice to see her hit three treys to light things up.
Natabou - really zero stats to talk about. But, with Crooks again in foul trouble she came in and filled the middle with her length. We def lose the scoring aspect, but it's nice to know you have a big to fill the gap. That's insurance.
Brown - she had a fantastic game on Wednesday back in Kansas and tonight was a mixed bag of sorts. Had a few nice shots and a few that left a lot to be desired. But that's basketball. Only two boards and ten points along with 5 assists, but three turnovers mainly on "what was that?" type passes. I do love that she doesn't seem to think much about the mistakes and just keeps on truckin'.
Joens - nice to see her hit her last shot of the day...a nice trey from the corner. A strange zero rebound game for her.
Diew - getting minutes back again. Clearly hustling out there. Still struggling to find her shot.
Rebounding - first half we were outrebounded. The second half was something entirely different. In the first I watched balls being taken away from Audi. Not in the second. She seemed to take on an attitude of "I'll rip your arm off" in the second. The rest of the team swarmed the defensive boards as well. Final numbers were another win for the sisters 32-28.
Fouls - boy did we get call for a lot of fouls underneath the basket. Someone will have to clarify for me how Audi with arms straight up would be called for a foul when the offensive player jumps into her? Ok, I'll stop the gripes - but the 21-8 free throw discrepancy jumps out at you.
Assists - outside of Ryan's spectacular day the team dished 24 assists on 29 made shots. Folks, that is sharing the ball in a good way. When we have those high numbers it's always a good thing for our offense.
Treys - the record continues. The ladies hit 12 of 30 with most in the second half (we had 5 at the half).
So here we are. Twelve and six and waiting to see if we get a double bye. WVU won their game today. What will Baylor do tomorrow? Kansas beat OU. KSU took care of business and locked up the third seed. I'm hoping MRed can give us a quick update of what is required for ISU to finish fourth ahead of WVU and Baylor.
All that is left in the Big 12 is the tournament. I'll be there and am glad that we will avoid playing Texas until the final. The ladies won their last four with some outstanding play and will be mentally ready for the tournament and well rested. I hope to see some of you down there. Going to be strange not being in Municipal this year and separated from the men's tournament. Hope ISU fans travel like crazy for the Saturday game!
