"Showdown on the Rez": #23 Arizona State vs. #4 Baylor

[Striper69]

Yeah I was there and it was truly weird. ASU, as usual, just looks and plays like a typical middle-of-the-pack PAC-12 sorta of “intramural” looking team. Baylor was MUCH larger, and even their non-aircraft carrier/battleship type players looked much stronger and more athletic than any of the ASU players. Yet ASU kicked their butts the whole first half. Go figure.

NyLyssa Smith was very impressive in the 2nd half. She’s a beast. Legs like FloJo. Unlike Cox & Brown she is extremely athletic. She will be an elite player. Baylor must have a serious weight program - those girls are ripped. Cox has really bulked up - she’s easily 2 of ONO. And Brown is 2 of Cox. But the whole Baylor team looked very strong.

Very cool event. Very nice high school gym - every one of the 6500 seats had a seat back & arm rests, plenty of legroom, etc - much more comfortable than Gampel. Packed house, at least 95% Native Americans. Lots of ceremonies & Navajo performances at every timeout. They were very appreciative of the 2 schools and ESPN for pulling this off on their turf. And they are crazed basketball fans. Baylor had maybe 40 fans there from Waco (pretty conspicuous) but, although most of the locals cheered (wildly) for ASU, there were probably 500 or so cheering for Baylor.

Kim was in full metal jacket (and pants). Before the game they presented Charli & Kim with fancy Navajo coats, which they tried on and modeled for the crowd (pics to follow later). I agree with others who would have preferred an anthem singer with the range to hit all the notes, but the little girl was cute. Lots of people in dress-up costumes - this was a big deal. Miss Fort Defiance (obviously a beauty queen) sat right in front of me, in full costume, with a crown that looked like it must have weighed 10 lbs.

Brown got into foul trouble in the first half and Baylor had trouble scoring without her. They didn't cover the 3 point shooters well and ASU was hitting them.
Brown played most of the second half and ASU couldn't stop their inside game. Baylor started guarding the 3 point shooters closely.

 

[j66kicker]

If Kim throws this coat it will wipe out the whole first row!

 

[j66kicker]

This was THE place to be in WBB tonight...

 

[j66kicker]

Holly with the Full Metal Jacket...

 

[azfan]

Outstanding event for women's college basketball. Baylor is to be commended for making the trip up to Fort Defiance and kudos to coach Thorne for making this happen. The Sun Devils played outstanding the first 17 minutes of the game a great game plan. Superior inside defense and they controlled the pace of the game. The Sun Devils have another trademark great defensive team. With no player in the rotation tall enough to match up with Baylor's frontline the Devil's played amazing team defense. Baylor was clearly frustrated and let's not discount the trip that they had to make although the Devil's had a similar drive. Courtney Ekmark playd a great first half. I think she was worn down from banging against that huge front line. Kianna Ibis is a player to watch.

The broadcast team of Holly, Rebecca, and Kara was unbelievable. They stayed until every single fan who wanted to talk, have a selfie, or an autograph was satisfied. I left an hour after the game and they were all still there. I personally think Kara and Rebecca make up one of the best basketball announcing teams. This was a high point for me I've never seen this high rank to team play the Sun Devils and the opportunity to get a chance to meet Holly in person is something I'll always treasure.

 

[Bigboote]

A few belated remarks:

I just LOVED them honoring the Navajo code-talkers. I had no idea that that had been kept under wraps after WWII -- evidently they were still using it in Viet Nam. I loved the ceremonies, and I hope Kim wears that coat to some future game.

Baylor misses Kristy Wallace more than UConn misses Kia Nurse (and that's saying something). I kept thinking through the first half that Kristy wouldn't let them play with such a low energy.

I still think highly of Lauren Cox. Even if she's not scoring, she's the best passer of her size in the NCAAW, and she's an excellent defender. Cox-to-Brown is a nightmare to defend. Brown I'm still not that impressed with. I'd take McCowan over her any day for offense, defense, and energy.

Kudos to ASU for their success in the first half and their overall effort. And along with others, I'm not that impressed with Baylor. I know there's a long way to go before UConn plays them, but I think between now and then, UConn will improve more than Baylor will.

 

[Dillon77]

Interesting early-season encounter that give some glimpses of positives and challenges.

Re: Baylor:

- They've got more than a few tools in that front-court kit of theirs, don't they? Brown and Cox as starters and Smith coming into work with either of them. I'd imagine that Egbo will get to that point. I liked what I saw of her in the post-HS all-star games and think she'll grow into a very solid player.

- Brown. Still a case of sometimes yes, sometimes no. Luckily for Baylor, there are other front-court options.

- Cox has matured into a different direction than I might've imagined when she was touring HS campuses. Has obviously been in the weight room and bulked up, To me she's most effective from the elbow in. See's the floor well, passes well (she and Jessica Shepard are very good at this). Rebounds. Will be interesting to see what happens when Brown heads to the pro's and shes' paired with Smith and/or Egbo.

- Agree with the comment(s) that the development of the guards and wings are the critical area for Baylor. Who, if anyone, can be Kim's brains on the court, like Wallace seemed to be? Jackson is a talented player but it's hard to come in and mesh all those parts.

Once again, still early but good to see one of these early match-ups (like Oregon and the 'Cuse).

 

[HopJim]

wow ...forgot that Eckmark had gotten into serious shape last year....she's almost unrecognizable.....looks quicker then what I remember when she was at UConn....

Yes, Eckmark looked in great shape and played with poise, confidence, and quickness I had not seen before. Suspect she would be in running for starting or top sub at UConn if still there. Enjoyed watching her play. May sound strange, but would be interesting to know if she has a graduate year available. Would love to see someone with her skills transfer to the beautiful Northeast.

 

[HopJim]

A few belated remarks:

I just LOVED them honoring the Navajo code-talkers. I had no idea that that had been kept under wraps after WWII -- evidently they were still using it in Viet Nam. I loved the ceremonies, and I hope Kim wears that coat to some future game.

Baylor misses Kristy Wallace more than UConn misses Kia Nurse (and that's saying something). I kept thinking through the first half that Kristy wouldn't let them play with such a low energy.

I still think highly of Lauren Cox. Even if she's not scoring, she's the best passer of her size in the NCAAW, and she's an excellent defender. Cox-to-Brown is a nightmare to defend. Brown I'm still not that impressed with. I'd take McCowan over her any day for offense, defense, and energy.

Kudos to ASU for their success in the first half and their overall effort. And along with others, I'm not that impressed with Baylor. I know there's a long way to go before UConn plays them, but I think between now and then, UConn will improve more than Baylor will.

Looking at Cox and Brown play, you understand the value of UConn coaching. Both show great skills but still have holes in their game. While I suspect both would have had issues with Geno early on, his, CD's, etc. coaching would have made them a lot of money by producing a more complete player.

 

[uconnfan68]

True. My brother was in the military. He went from Fairbanks, AK to the Mojave Desert. Relative comfort levels at various temperatures change rapidly. At one point 20 or 30 below zero was normal for him in the winter ("but it's a dry cold" he always said), but after he moved to Cali it wasn't long before he considered 60 degrees a chilly day.

Stationed in San Diego, arrived in August, went to a night baseball game in my tee shirt, and all the natives had winter coats on. Took about a year to become one.

 

[DallasBUFan]

I just love how any player would be better if Geno or Chris coached them. That is not true. Yes they are amazing coaches, but you have to have the right player listening to the coach. Geno could try and make them better but if he isn't the right coach it would still work.

We are in our 3rd game of the season. Baylor played 3 opponents in the first week of the season. Brown needs fire put under her. I think this game opened her eyes. Kalani averaged more points than McCowan did last year and 1 or so rebounds. Please tell me did she have a player at the caliber of Cox playing next to her? Brown has to fight for rebounds against another Elite AA player. It's the 3rd game of the season. Plus of the 12 players on the roster 6 are new! A lot to figure out that will not be figured out in the first week.

Keep in mind in 19 seasons Kim has still lost under 100 games at Baylor.

 

[LoTrader]

Not much chatter about ASU, but ASU will also learn a lot from this game. I still believe ASU is going to do some damage in the PAC-12. Not sure why ASU resorted to shooting in the 1st 10 seconds of the shot clock in the 2nd half. They were controlling the tempo of the game, by not shooting until the last 10 seconds of the shot clock. In any case, ASU is going to ruin some teams chances to win the PAC-12, and, probably the same in the NCAA tournament.