Baby Steps for Seton Hall Women's Team (Recap of Seton Hall v. St John's WBB game)

The Big East started conference play on Saturday in both men's and women's basketball.  And while Villanova and Syracuse were on national TV in a battle of undefeateds, the St John's Women's team hosted Seton Hall's women's team at Carnesecca Arena on ESPN3.  

For my friend Tony Terentieff and I, along with my son Matthew, it was another opportunity to see our good friend Tony Bozzella coach the Pirates, along with seeing his family; his wife Maria, his daughter Samantha, his son Joseph and Coach Bozzella's mom, who were alll in attendance.  Also in attendance, covering the game was my good friend, Jaden Daly. the omnipresence in New York City metro college basketball.  

The Pirates entered the contest vs. the Red Storm with an 8-2 record.  Their only two losses were at #13 South Carolina, where the Pirates only trailed by two at the half and by one point at Illinois, a team that made the WNIT last season.  Meanwhile, the Red Storm came into the game at 6-4.  St John's was coming off a win over nationally ranked Texas A&M 72-70.    

The game also featured the two top leading scorers in the Big East; Aliyyah Handford at 20.8 ppg and Tabatha Richardson-Smith at 20.7 ppg.   Considering both teams' records and a matchup of the two leading scorers in the confierence, it figured to be a close game on Saturday between the two long time Big East members and it turned out to be exactly that.

The start of the game saw Seton Hall struggle from the field as St John's took a 5-0 lead.  But the Pirates responded with an 11-1 run.  Ka-Deidre Simmons scored the last six points of the spurt all on layups to give Seton Hall an 11-6 lead with thirteen and a half minutes left in the first half.   

St John's would battle back and tie the game at sixteen on two jumpers by Jade Walker.  Later with the game tied at twenty, the Red Storm would get back to back three pointers by Danejah Grant and Keylantra Langley to go up 26-20.

The Red Storm would maintain the lead and actually extended it to seven, 37-30.  But the Pirates scored the last four points of the half.   Sidney Cook's jumper would make the score 37-34 after an entertaining first twenty minutes of the game.    The Pirates had ten more field goal attempts than the Red Storm. But the difference in the first half was St John's shooting four of eight from beyond the arc while Seton Hall was one of six.

The start of the second half saw Seton Hall come out with an 8-2 spurt.  Breanna Jones would hit four free throws to cap the run to put the Pirates up 42-39.  St John's would respond by scoring the next six points as Amber Thompson's put them up 45-42.   Seton Hall would follow with four straight points by Bra'shey Ali and Simmons to go back up 46-45 with 12:49 left in the game.

St John's would take the lead on a Grant three pointer to go up 48-46.  After another Red Storm basket put them up four,  Simmons hit Richardson-Smith with a pretty bounce pass for an assist to cut the lead to two, 50-48.   However, Grant would later follow up with a layup and two free throws to extend the St John's lead to five, 54-49.   The Red Storm would go up by as much as seven, 58-51 with seven minutes left in the game.

Then came the turning point in the game.  After Ali hit a jumper to cut the Red Storm lead to five, 58-53, Langley missed a three for St John's.  Seton Hall grabbed the rebound and Cook appeared to hit a layup and one as the Red Storm player was moving her feet as Cook drove up for the layup.  However, the referee wrongly thought otherwise and called an offensive foul on Cook.  Instead of a chance to cut the lead to two with a layup and one free throw, the Red Storm maintained a five point lead, which they extended to seven, 60-53 on two free throws by Brianna Brown.

A Langley three extended the Red Storm lead to eight, 63-55 with a little under five minutes left.  But the Pirates refused to quit and scored six of the next eight points to trim the lead to four, 65-61 on a Cook Jumper with a little over two and a half minutes left.   

But failing to defend the three pointer, which had been Seton Hall's biggest problem all day, would come back to haunt them one final time.  With two seconds left on the shot clock, Brown buried a three pointer to put St John's up 68-61.    The Red Storm would win the game 72-63.

In a game that featured the two leading scorers in the Big East, the irony was that neither player was much of a factor in the game.  Handford was one of seven from the floor and only scored four points.  Meanwhile, Richardson-Smith was four of eleven from the floor and only scored nine points.  

Brown led all scorers with twenty points, while Grant and Langley each had sixteen points.  The Red Storm shot seven of fourteen from beyond the arc and forty four percent from the field for the game.  They also had seventeen assists, though they also had eighteen turnovers.

The Pirates were led by Ali with seventeen points.  Simmons, who was a wizard all day with the ball, added fourteen points, had five assists and even more impressively zero turnovers.   Cook finished with a double double with eleven points and fourteen rebounds.   Since they only committed nine turnovers,  the Pirates had nineteen more field goal attempts than the Red Storm.  However, they couldn't take advantage of it from the field.   The Pirates shot one of eleven from beyond the arc and thirty four percent from the field, including twenty seven percent in the second half.

It was a tough loss for the Pirates.  But it was only their third loss in the season and again, Seton Hall was very competitive against good competition.  Considering where the program has been in the last few seasons, this is a step in the right direction in Bozzella's first year at the helm.

After the game, we hung around the lobby of Carnesecca Arena, saying our goodbyes to the Bozzella family and to Pirates Assistant Coach, the awesome Lauren DeFalco.   I never got a chance to say goodbye to Coach Bozzella, who know doubt was answering all of Jaden Daly's good questions in the press conference.   Tieff, Matthew and I had to run, since we had to get to the Barclay's Center for the rest of the tripleheader.   

That's always been the beauty of college basketball season in New York.  If you time it right on a weekend, you can catch two, even three Division I games on the same day if you try hard enough That's because there is more than enough NYC local basketball to go around.   And the basketball, whether it's men's or women's basketball is usually very entertaining.  

Such was the case on Saturday.

Guest Blogging Again on Daly Dose of Hoops

Once again, my friend, Jaden Daly has asked me to write a scouting report for his great site.  This time it's a scouting report of South Carolina, St John's next opponent Thursday night.  Enjoy!

Guest Blogging on A Daly Dose of Hoops

If you want a scouting report of Charleston as they take on St John's tonight for the Charleston Classic (game time 5:00 PM Eastern on ESPNU), take a look at my friend Jaden Daly's excellent blog "A Daly Dose of Hoops".  Jaden was kind enough to let me do an article reviewing the College of Charleston and their win over Towson.  Enjoy.

Additional Thoughts from St John's Win over William and Mary

If you are one of the few, the proud, the loyal readers of this site, you know my focus tends to be towards mid major teams.  However, I do try to do write about Power Six conference teams when I watch their games live.

Much has been made of St John's vaunted recruiting class, one of the best in the nation. Lately, it's been overshadowed by Steve Lavin's fight with prostate cancer.  Lavin was not coaching Monday night, but he had to be pleased with the results. Having been in attendance for Monday night's win over William and Mary, I made some notes about the Red Storm's play.

• The first half, the Red Storm struggled in half court offense.  It's to be expected in the first real game of the season.  I thought they played much better in their half court offense in the second half.
• St John's struggled from beyond the three point arc, shooting 4 of 15.  As the season progresses this obviously needs to improve for the Red Storm to be successful.  Especially with their quickness, opposing teams will play a lot of zone against St John's.  They have to keep those teams honest with better outside shooting.
• The Red Storm were 12 of 25 from the free throw line. Enough said.
• As I noted in my previous post, the tide turned when St John's went to a half court press.  The Tribe guards, notably freshman Marcus Thornton who had seven turnovers, really struggled against the press.  Don't be surprised if the Red Storm use the press a lot more as the season progresses.  It fits really well with their athleticism and opens up the transition game, which they are much more comfortable in than in half court offense.
• But it wasn't just their press that forced turnovers.  St John's half court defense was so much better than the first half.  Due to being so quick, they really got out on the William and Mary shooters.  The Tribe had only eleven three point attempts in the second half as opposed to twenty one in the first half.  
• For such a young team, to have a 3-1 assist to turnover ratio (thirteen assists, four turnovers) is very impressive.  If that continues, the Red Storm will win more than their share of games this season.
• Outside of Moe Harkless, no other St John's player was in foul trouble. That being said, William and Mary had no inside presence the entire night (in fairness, two of the Tribe's big men, Tim Rusthoven and Kyle Gaillard were injured and didn't play).  When the Red Storm play a team with an inside game, that will put more pressure on a seven man rotation. 
• This is my main concern with the Red Storm.  St John's doesn't have anyone taller than 6-8. And they were outrebounded 29-26 by a Tribe team that is not exactly Drexel when it comes to the frontcourt (for those of you not familiar with the CAA, look up Drexel's rebounding statistics). 
• I liked the Red Storm's balance a lot.  Four players scored in double digits and only Moe Harkless took more than twelve shots (he was 7 of 17). D' Angelo Harrison had 14, God's Gift Achiuwa, and Harkless each had 17, while Nurideen Lindsey had 19.   They distributed the ball well and in the second half they really worked it inside a lot.  

Overall, if you are a St John's fan, you have to be pleased by your team's performance.  To force twenty one turnovers on a William and Mary team that I believe is well coached, while only having four turnovers, that's a pretty good night.   The Red Storm just need to play to their strengths; pressure defense and run as much as an uptempo game if possible.  St John's fans will have to be patient with this team.  Considering their lack of depth and youth, this season may be a learning curve for them.  But if this team stays intact next season and gets a little more size, they will be really good.

Another Season Begins with St John's Defeating William and Mary

This recap is also on the Mid Majority Site here as part of the 800 Games Project.

Sometimes, I often don't decide to go to a basketball game until the last minute.  I wasn't sure if I was going to the William and Mary vs. St John's game last night, which was the first night of the college basketball season.  But I found out in the afternoon from my friend Mal that he and our friend Tony were going to the game.  You can't have the Hoops Trifecta without the third person.  So I told Mal I was in as well. 

I have known Mal and Tony for over twenty five years.  I went to college with Tony at Hofstra.  Mal was friends with him in high school at Glen Cove.  We all share a love of sports, especially college hoops.   The Hoops Trifecta has been going to college basketball games for years.  We have gone to countless games at Madison Square Garden.  They have been my partners in crime for Hofstra season tickets for years.  Mal, Tony and I all went together to the CAA Tournament in 2006 and 2007.   And in 2008, the Hoops Trifecta went to the NCAA First Round Regional in Raleigh.  Our last road trip together was a weekend excursion of Jets football, Atlantic City and Hofstra vs. Drexel in during New Year's weekend this past January.  

Mal had left for St John's earlier in the afternoon and Tony was coming in from the city to join up with him.  That left me driving alone to meet them there.  Once I got home, I changed and wolfed down two peanut butter granola bars, the first food I had all day.  Then I raced out of the house and headed off for the trip to Queens.  When I started my drive, it was 5:45 PM.  I figured I had plenty of time to get to St John's.  As usual, I was mistaken.

Living on Long Island, you are used to traffic, especially weekday evening rush hour traffic. Attempting to drive east or west during this time is often an act of futility.  Last night was no exception.  The Northern State/Grand Central Parkway was a giant parking lot from exit 28 to exit 19, the exit for St John's.  Ten exits took an hour to drive.  

Somehow I found a relatively close parking spot to the Carnesecca Arena and met Mal right at the entrance.  I got there a little after the game started.  William and Mary was up 7-4 and we headed to our seats where Tony and his friend Lawrence were there to greet us.  

The Tribe was taking on a young St John's team that featured six new players in their seven man rotation. Meanwhile, William and Mary returned their three starting guards from last season; Julian Boatner, Brandon Britt and Quinn McDowell, a second team All CAA player.  It was a contrast in styles. The athletic Red Storm vs. the perimeter based shooting of the Tribe.

When I last saw William and Mary play, it was in the CAA Tournament in March.  In the first round, McDowell set the all time scoring record for points in a game when he put in thirty five points in an upset win over James Madison.  For the Tribe to pull out a road win, McDowell would need another big game.

Early on, it was obvious what William and Mary and the Stache, Coach Tony Shaver, were trying to do against St John's.  They wanted to play a half court game and force the talented but inexperienced Red Storm to play a half court offense, negating St John's athletic advantage.  Meanwhile on offense, the Tribe was content to shoot the three.  Of their first twenty seven shots in the first half, William and Mary shot twenty one three pointers.  That wasn't a misprint.  Only six of their shots in the first half were two point shots.  

The Red Storm struggled from the field in the first half shooting barely over 30 percent and only hitting 2 of 9 from beyond the arc.  Shaver's plan was working to perfection as the young St John's team was frustrated by the slower pace.  

Midway through the first half, McDowell found his stroke, burying three shots from the outside, including two threes to help put the Tribe up 33-26 at the half.   He had ten points in the first twenty minutes as William and Mary basically silenced the St John's home crowd.  

As halftime started, on the advice of Mal, I went to the upper corner concession stand.  My first real meal of the day consisted of a hot dog and a pretzel braid.  As I sat back in my seat, a local fourth grade CYO team played a split squad game during the intermission.  The crowd was more enthusiastic during this brief period of time than for most of the first half.  They cheered loudest for number 20, by far the smallest kid on either of the CYO squads.  It was ironic to see a Power Six conference team's fans cheer for the little guy. 

At the start of the second half, McDowell continued his hot shooting, burying another jumper.  McDowell's long range two pointer gave William and Mary their biggest lead 35-26.  It looked like the Stache was going to pull off another upset.

Then St John's went to a press and everything changed.  The Red Storm hounded the Tribe's guards into numerous turnovers and as a result had numerous fast break attempts.  What had been a nine point lead for William and Mary quickly evaporated in the span of four minutes.  A D ‘Angelo Harrison three pointer put St John's up 39-37 with nearly fifteen and a half minutes left in the game.

With an energized crowd and the young Red Storm now playing to their strengths, the Tribe needed to regroup and at least slow down the momentum.  Julian Boatner's three pointer did that and cut the lead to one, 41-40.  But William and Mary was their own worst enemy as they continue to commit turnover after turnover and St John's seemingly cashed in on every opportunity.   Before long, the rout was on and St John's athleticism was too much on both ends of the court.

McDowell did what he could, as he would score another eight points to give him twenty on the night.  But the Tribe lacked an inside presence all evening and St John's limited William and Mary to only eleven three point attempts in the second half.  Boatner was the only other W&M player in double digits with twelve points.  Throw in twenty one turnovers and you had the recipe for the Red Storm outscoring the Tribe by twenty two in the second half.   St John's would win the game 74-59.

Towards the end of the game, the Red Storm cheerleaders were throwing t-shirts up into the crowd.  One of the cheerleaders tossed a high arc towards my section.  I perfectly laid out my arms for the throw and snatched it from the person in the row below me.  No over the back call here and my older son had another basketball t-shirt for his collection.   

As we headed out of the arena, Mal and Tony said goodbye to me as they were heading back together along with Tony's friend Lawrence.   However, we knew it wouldn't be long before we see each other again.  The Hoops Trifecta will be back together Friday night when LIU plays Hofstra at the Mack Center.  We wouldn't have it any other way.