What a pleasure this team is to watch. I’ve touted so many characteristics of this team that make it a joy to watch. First and foremost...they are a team in every sense of the word. They care about each other and I mean care about every member of the team. They are selfless. Sharing. Hard nosed. Supremely talented. They find joy in the game. If you haven’t seen them yet, you have one more chance at Hilton.
Today's game started out with both teams showing they could hit the three. Right out of the blocks it was one team offsetting the other with a basket and suddenly it was 8-8. That was the last time the game was close. From there the Sisters would clamp down on defense and continue scoring and the lead was 8 before you knew what happened. Early on it was done with limited contribution by Carlton. Middleton was putting on a clinic of ball handling and slicing to the hoop. One move out did the next all night long. The threes were falling as Joens would connect...heck...nearly everyone was connecting. I could go on about each player (EVERY player on the team scored), but this was a team win. The extra passes, the rebounding, the offensive boards, everything just took the spirit out of NMSU. The team literally ran them to death. By the end of the first half NMSU looked gassed. It showed on the scoreboard as well as the ladies led 50-26.
The third quarter was more of the same. Shut down defense, steals, break away baskets, crisp passing, it was all too much for NMSU as they led 80-44 when the bench started to see the court. I have to mention one player right off the bat. Nez was a monster out there today. She was like a magnet on the boards pulling down FOURTEEN of them. She was strong and aggressive. She helped on double teams. She had assists. She scored half a dozen points. She was inspiring to watch and received a standing ovation when she left the floor. Though Kristen wasn’t connecting from deep she had post moves that would make Shaq jealous. She made the NMSU players look pedestrian. Middleton not only hit for 15 points, but dished out 9 of ISU's 22...yes...22 assists on 34 made shots. Carlton was all over the floor. Not perfect, but the awesome senior leader doing her thing. Her 23 points were very workmanlike and we saw her end up on the floor many times.
One of my favorite stats is always free throw shooting. How does 87% sound? And on 23 attempts? Yep, these ladies just swished one after another hitting 20 of them. If fouls would have been called that were obvious we probably would have shot close to 40. The strength of this game was illustrated when Coach Fen substituted out all the starters with nearly nine minutes left in the game. While the subs didn’t score a lot, they still played salty defense against the NMSU starters. Every time a sub would score, the team on the bench would jump and clap. The crowd would go nuts. Especially fun was seeing A D Camber hit her first two treys. The smile on Coach Fen's face spoke volumes. When Mills scored the last points of the game, the team rushed her like she had set a record. What a fun group.
Monday will bring a much bigger challenge. Missouri State has some really good three point shooters. They play aggressive defense and can take you out of your flow. If the officials let them get away with their physical play it could be a close game. Of utmost importance is not leaving their shooters open on the perimeter. Are they as good as ISU? No. But they beat a higher seeded team and smacked Drake around twice this year. They are a very real threat. If we get the effort we had today and continue to hit our shots the Sisters will be ok. Defense will be critical. Let’s really pack the Hilton. Let’s get the men's team fans and the students in Hilton to make the place rock and roll. See you there!
