Back from the Big East Tourney

[huskybill]

And it was tough getting back with sleet on the roads. Glad I wasn't driving.

The games were really competitive as theu usually are. Providence-Syracuse started off the first doubleheader. And it was a slow start. Prov didn't get their first bucket until 13:30 but with 7:01 to go it was only 12-11 Cuse. When Okafor gets her 3rd foul it looked like Cuse would run away with but they only led 23-18 at the half. Both teams had trouble shooting and the first three was not made until the last minute of the half. Prov came out strong and closed the gap to 29-28 at the 15:57 mark. But the Cuse got on fire and opened up a 46-30 lead with 7:48 to go. Okafor picked up her 4th foul in this stretch and Leary was much too strong for anyone else. She finished up with 14 and Alexander had 15 so Cuse got 29 from their posts. Hemingway was her usual self driving to the basket and had 15. Final ended 57-47 I believe but I forgot to write it down.

The second game was USF & Pitt and mirrored the kind of game you often get on the first 2 days of the tourney. Just when you think a team is out of it they come roaring back. USF was led out of the gate by Orekhova (hereafter Inga) and she was hitting threes all the first half. It was 21-9 at the 11 min mark and around this time Burgess got her third foul. The score went to 26-12; then 30-16 and ended the half at 39-20. Inga had 21 points with 5 threes. It looked like a USF runaway. Not so fast. Pitt came out determined to get back in the game and closed to 41-29 at around 17:00. At 13-26 it was 41-35. Leading the charge was Kiesel with help from Burgess on the inside. Meanwhile Inga had cooled down. At a timeout with 3:14 to play, it was 55-53 but Kiesel missed 2 foul shots for the tie. Still Pitt took the lead 57-55 with 1:42. The Wynne tied it up but missed the foul shot for a three point play.At 0:53 Wynne injured her knee?; looked very serious. Pitt put in a rebound to take a 2 pt lead, but Smith hit a three to make it 60-59 Bulls with 15 seconds to go. Kiesel could not hit the gamewinner and USF squeaked out the win. I think Inga and Kiesel each scored 25 pts.

I'm tired so if I get a chance I'll pick it up tomorrow.

 

[DaddyChoc]

2 good games... I passed on the evening games but they appear to have been good ones all.

I didnt see you today Bill

 

[ThisJustIn]

2 good games... I passed on the evening games but they appear to have been good ones all.

I didnt see you today Bill

well, what do you expect, he's so tiny.... easy to lose him in the crowd.

 

[DaddyChoc]

well, what do you expect, he's so tiny.... easy to lose him in the crowd.

very true

 

[huskybill]

Hey DC...I went to the meeting site at 119 at half time and after the first game. Where were you? And there seemed to be an even smaller crowd for the night doubleheader than the afternoon one.

'Yarders; lots of eating places giving 20% off with your ticket stub. We ate in the Black Bear Saloon.

 

[huskybill]

Here's my take on the night doubledip. Two wonderfully exciting games except that JJ's team lost. Nova vs. Seton Hall with a somewhat subdued General Harry. Of course it may be that I don't hear as well as I used to because his arms were flying at 100 miles an hour. Another game that started very slowly. It was 16 all with 6:48 to go. Then Hall went on a tear and with 2 minutes to play led 30-17. Harry called a timeout and Nova hit the last 8 points for 30-25 Hall at the break. Nova was hurt by Sweeney's foul trouble which caused her to miss several minutes. Nova quickly tied the game at 34 and it was 37-36 N with 11 to go. But at 8:26 Sweeney got called for her 4th and she had been affective in the 2nd half after a quiet 1st half. Hall inched ahead 43-39 At this point Sweeney and Burford were leading Nove and Morris and Crew were leading Hall. With 3:41 it was Nova 49-47 but shortly after that Sweeney got a disputed 5th foul on a rebound effort. Most thought she was the one fouled. She went out with 13 points. Still Nova seemed to be pulling away for good and it was 54-47 with 1:42 left. The Hall decided to simply give the ball to Crew and the strategy worked It was 61-60 with half a minute left but Crew's miss in the final seconds gave Nova the win. Hall was far more athletic than Nova (well who isn't) but it's still hard to believe theybut Chishly win one BE game.

Now we had seen two 1 pt games yesterday and it was hard to choose betweem Marq and Cincy so I was expecting another close one. It was close most of the first half but a burst at the end made it 28-21 from 20-19. Reeves had 11 while Young had 9. Meant to mention that the Blind Lady (bonita Spence) reffed this game so there were many fouls called. FYI Dennis reffed the first game and Dee Kantner was in the second. Anyhow the Blind Lady was not letting them play and there seemed to be far more fouls called in Marq-Cincy. At halftime the Marquette dance team displayed their talents...WOW. They wonmy vote for best team there. BTW, Prov did not bring their band. Must be too long a trip. Cincy stayed in front at the beginning of the second half but Chisholm got her 4th foul at 15:16 and a minute later Marq was up36-34. Marq got up 4 and then it seemed as though Cincy would cut the lead to 2 and Marq would get it back to 4 for the longest time. At 2:03 it was Marq 50-49 and they increased that to 52-49 with 1:10 left. At that time the coaches decided to use all their unsed timeouts and they used 5 in the last 70 seconds. JJ had to use the last with 14.5 to go and her tesm down 52-51 and they could not get the ball in bounds from the right sidelights. Cincy did get it in but missed the shot and was forced to foul Morse with 2.2 seconds left. She made both shots (she's a freshman) for a 54-51 lead. Reeves gave us all a thrill when her over half court shot narrowly missed tying it up. What a great doubleheader!

 

[huskybill]

Forgot to say that at the end of the Nova game Crew took a shot that looked to be at least halfway down before spinning out. But it was no more exciting than the last shot of the final game.

 

[Buckaroobanzai]

All four games on the first day were well-played, exciting and close. The Seton Hall-Villanova and Marquette-Cincinnati games were particularly fun to watch. It is amazing and heartening how much WCBB has improved over the past ten years. Back when the tournament was at Rutgers and then moved to Hartford, the first day's games were usually uncompetitive and the quality of play was painfully mediocre (and "mediocre" may be too positive). Friends, the times they are a-changing! If you have the opportunity to get to the tournament, my advice is GO! It will be worth the trip.

 

[justML]

Thanks so much for the detailed updates. Looking forward to watching today's games!

 

[DaddyChoc]

All four games on the first day were well-played, exciting and close. The Seton Hall-Villanova and Marquette-Cincinnati games were particularly fun to watch. It is amazing and heartening how much WCBB has improved over the past ten years. Back when the tournament was at Rutgers and then moved to Hartford, the first day's games were usually uncompetitive and the quality of play was painfully mediocre (and "mediocre" may be too positive). Friends, the times they are a-changing! If you have the opportunity to get to the tournament, my advice is GO! It will be worth the trip.

totally agree... some have no clue of what they're missing. The USF girl put on a showing clinic in the 1st half vs Pitt

 

[Buckaroobanzai]

Check out the restaurant deals available in conjunction with the tournament. My spouse and I received a 20% discount @ Hot Tomatos by showing our ticket. Today we plan to sup @ Salute - same discount in place. With a helpful and courteous staff at the XL Center, reasonably priced parking ($10 for the day) and solid restaurant discounts, Hartford appears to be catching on that the BE tournament is an opportunity to sell the city!

 

[DaddyChoc]

FYI street parking is FREE during the wknd and after 6pm during the week

 

[AboutWeston]

Thanks everyone for your reports!!!

 

[huskybill]

MEA CULPA. Yesterday I reported that the USF player who was injured was Wynne. But I misread my notes. The player was #5, Sasha Bernard. She did not play today.