MilfordHusky
Voice of Reason
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- Aug 26, 2011
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I decided to take in the Mystics game at Verizon Center last night to see the always exciting Moriah Jefferson.
First, I should note a Bria Hartley sighting (I think). Someone who looked a lot like Bria with the right hairstyle was wearing civvies and sitting immediately behind the Mystics' bench. A youngster sitting near me had a ball autographed by Bria, so she was somewhere in the building. It wouldn't surprise me that Bria is around and supporting her teammates.
Second, Leilani Mitchell has taken Bria's roster spot, and Lara Sanders/LaToya Pringle has taken the slot of Tianna Hawkins, who continues to have concussion symptoms. I like both additions, particularly LaToya, but neither player has added too much in their first 2 games.
Third, the Mystics and Coach Mike gave the retiring Dan Hughes a gift in a brief pre-game ceremony. Hughes is a 16-year coach who has led 3 teams to the post-season.
The game was surprising. Washington had scored 32 points in the fourth quarter in Indiana the night before to blow open the game. Well, they apparently were tired from a short turnaround and put up only 14 points in the first last night, followed by a dismal 6 in the second. San Antonio, who has been scoring-challenged in the absence of Kayla McBride, found the mark and led 43-20 at the half. Washington made a nice run to cut the lead to about 9 a few times, but San Antonio held them off and captured the 85-74 upset win.
It's always interesting to see how big the players are and how physical the game is. Jayne Appel is very big. Stef is tall and looks 10 pounds lighter than before the Olympic break. Moriah looks fairly small, though she's taller than the average American woman. She was a little harder to pick out, partly because she has ditched the red sneakers and partly because she's a blur. She has to be the fastest player in the league. At one point, the backcourts consisted of Moriah (now listed at 5'6" in some places), Sydney Colson (5'8"), Ivory Latta (5'6"), and Leilani Mitchell (5'5").
The game was full of contact, fouls, and bad calls. There were 31 fouls called on S.A. and 21 on Washington. As a result, the game ran about 15 minutes long. Several attempts at blocked shots resulted in fouls calls, despite no or very limited contact. Sanders got 2 fouls in a brief span that led to substantial booing (or was it mooing?). One of the Mystics was called for a foul when she tied up the Stars player after a rebound. It was a rather clear jump ball. A San Antonio defender was called for a defensive foul when Tierra Ruffin-Pratt lowered her shoulder and accelerated on a drive to the basket. Moriah was called for one while defending Tayler Hill on her drive to the hoop. Moriah gave ground, kept her hand up, and made no contact, but still got called. Mo had 3 fouls in the first half and 5 for the game. Despite that, she hustled and harassed on defense as no one else does. She played 33 minuted of energetic basketball. Tayler Hill had a career-high 26 points, but most of those were when someone other than Moriah was guarding her. At one point, Jayne Appel and Stef were tangled up. Jayne got called for a fouls and protested vehemently. The replay clearly showed that Jayne had hooked Stef with her hand around Stef's waist before she threw her to the ground.
San Antonio surprised me on offense. Moriah hit a few pull-up jumpers, one or two layups, and two tear-drop floaters over the reach of Stef Dolson, totaling 15 points, but that wasn't the surprising part. Monique Currie had 16 and 10 in her return to D.C. Jaz Gwathmey, the rookie from JMU, had 16 points. Kayla Alexander had 12 and 6. Astou Ndour, with a silver medal from Rio, had 16 and 7. Five Stars scored in double figures! That was helped by Moriah's 9 assists. Mo did an excellent job of penetrating and dishing.
Stefanie played pretty well, finishing with 11 and 5. As noted earlier, she looked svelte. She shot only 5-8 on FTs. In one sequence, she missed 3 FTAs in a row (she got a bonus as a result of a lane violation), with all of them clanking off the left rim. On her next FTs, both went in but grazed the left rim. On the following sequence, both FTs were straight, with one missing off the back rim. It was interesting to note the temporary and consistent missing, which was easily visible from my sight line.
The Mystics had a much better second half, putting up 54 after only 20 at the break. But the 23-point hole was too deep to climb out of. San Antonio's performance was a cause for some optimism. They shot 48% overall and 23-25 on FTs. As the players get used to playing with Moriah, the offense should get smoother. Mo is a star in the making.
First, I should note a Bria Hartley sighting (I think). Someone who looked a lot like Bria with the right hairstyle was wearing civvies and sitting immediately behind the Mystics' bench. A youngster sitting near me had a ball autographed by Bria, so she was somewhere in the building. It wouldn't surprise me that Bria is around and supporting her teammates.
Second, Leilani Mitchell has taken Bria's roster spot, and Lara Sanders/LaToya Pringle has taken the slot of Tianna Hawkins, who continues to have concussion symptoms. I like both additions, particularly LaToya, but neither player has added too much in their first 2 games.
Third, the Mystics and Coach Mike gave the retiring Dan Hughes a gift in a brief pre-game ceremony. Hughes is a 16-year coach who has led 3 teams to the post-season.
The game was surprising. Washington had scored 32 points in the fourth quarter in Indiana the night before to blow open the game. Well, they apparently were tired from a short turnaround and put up only 14 points in the first last night, followed by a dismal 6 in the second. San Antonio, who has been scoring-challenged in the absence of Kayla McBride, found the mark and led 43-20 at the half. Washington made a nice run to cut the lead to about 9 a few times, but San Antonio held them off and captured the 85-74 upset win.
It's always interesting to see how big the players are and how physical the game is. Jayne Appel is very big. Stef is tall and looks 10 pounds lighter than before the Olympic break. Moriah looks fairly small, though she's taller than the average American woman. She was a little harder to pick out, partly because she has ditched the red sneakers and partly because she's a blur. She has to be the fastest player in the league. At one point, the backcourts consisted of Moriah (now listed at 5'6" in some places), Sydney Colson (5'8"), Ivory Latta (5'6"), and Leilani Mitchell (5'5").
The game was full of contact, fouls, and bad calls. There were 31 fouls called on S.A. and 21 on Washington. As a result, the game ran about 15 minutes long. Several attempts at blocked shots resulted in fouls calls, despite no or very limited contact. Sanders got 2 fouls in a brief span that led to substantial booing (or was it mooing?). One of the Mystics was called for a foul when she tied up the Stars player after a rebound. It was a rather clear jump ball. A San Antonio defender was called for a defensive foul when Tierra Ruffin-Pratt lowered her shoulder and accelerated on a drive to the basket. Moriah was called for one while defending Tayler Hill on her drive to the hoop. Moriah gave ground, kept her hand up, and made no contact, but still got called. Mo had 3 fouls in the first half and 5 for the game. Despite that, she hustled and harassed on defense as no one else does. She played 33 minuted of energetic basketball. Tayler Hill had a career-high 26 points, but most of those were when someone other than Moriah was guarding her. At one point, Jayne Appel and Stef were tangled up. Jayne got called for a fouls and protested vehemently. The replay clearly showed that Jayne had hooked Stef with her hand around Stef's waist before she threw her to the ground.
San Antonio surprised me on offense. Moriah hit a few pull-up jumpers, one or two layups, and two tear-drop floaters over the reach of Stef Dolson, totaling 15 points, but that wasn't the surprising part. Monique Currie had 16 and 10 in her return to D.C. Jaz Gwathmey, the rookie from JMU, had 16 points. Kayla Alexander had 12 and 6. Astou Ndour, with a silver medal from Rio, had 16 and 7. Five Stars scored in double figures! That was helped by Moriah's 9 assists. Mo did an excellent job of penetrating and dishing.
Stefanie played pretty well, finishing with 11 and 5. As noted earlier, she looked svelte. She shot only 5-8 on FTs. In one sequence, she missed 3 FTAs in a row (she got a bonus as a result of a lane violation), with all of them clanking off the left rim. On her next FTs, both went in but grazed the left rim. On the following sequence, both FTs were straight, with one missing off the back rim. It was interesting to note the temporary and consistent missing, which was easily visible from my sight line.
The Mystics had a much better second half, putting up 54 after only 20 at the break. But the 23-point hole was too deep to climb out of. San Antonio's performance was a cause for some optimism. They shot 48% overall and 23-25 on FTs. As the players get used to playing with Moriah, the offense should get smoother. Mo is a star in the making.
