Tuesday 11/5 games

[nwhoopfan]

Nothing like the onslaught of games on Monday, but a few of interest. Gonzaga kicks off their season against Montana. They have a big showdown with Stanford coming up this weekend.

Also Van Lith's debut at TCU.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Looks like Jaloni Cambridge is having a big debut with Ohio St.

 

[maple]

Checking in from the Syracuse/Niagara game, from court side … after one half, Syracuse is up 47-32.

The game feels closer than it should be. Niagara is doing a defensive press and Syracuse is rushing to move the ball up court. Lots of long ‘Cuse passes that either get intercepted or wind up with the ball out of bounds/player out of position to score.

If Niagara was able to capitalize on all of Syracuse’s TOs, this would be an even closer game.

Niagara is being very physical and the refs are mostly letting them play. Syracuse does not seem to be handling it well. Let’s see if the whistles come alive in the second half.

Biggest takeaway though is mostly that Syracuse is playing rushed and disorganized. I imagine they will come away with the W but there’s very clearly some early season jitters/rust.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Ho hum. Cambridge drops 31 on 12-14 shooting. Not bad. Ohio St. blew out Cleveland St., who has been one of the better teams in the Horizon for a number of years.

 

[nwhoopfan]

LSU was just a bad fit for Van Lith. She's cookin' in her TCU debut. Slow start for the Frogs but they are rolling now and Van Lith has outscored Houston Christian by herself.


edit--Houston Christian went on a run while I was typing this and made a liar out of me

 

[nwhoopfan]

TCU has a lot of guards, but Emma-Nnopu and Scherr haven't played so far. 3 new transfers started for TCU--Van Lith, Hunter and Bigby.

 

[maple]

Syracuse 73
Niagara 63

One more quarter to go. Niagara is hanging tough, still forcing Syracuse to beat the press — which they are mostly doing, but very sloppily. This will have to be a point of emphasis for them to improve upon. Also, Syracuse better toughen up because they are still struggling against the physical play. Props to Niagara for playing hard and sticking to their game plan.

Let’s see how the last 10 minutes shakes out.

 

[maple]

Final score:

Syracuse 108
Niagara 84

Whistles started coming out this quarter. Niagara gave them a game though; they should do well in their conference.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Davidson overcame a 15 point deficit and edges Florida Gulf Coast by 1.

 

[nwhoopfan]

TCU has looked kind of out of sorts, can't buy a 3, but they're pressuring Houston Christian and forcing a bunch of TO's. HCU with no size at all so they can't deal w/ Prince. She and Van Lith were really all TCU needed. 29 and 21 points. HCU has 38. Prince also has 7 reb and 5 blocks. Van Lith w/ 7 assists and 6 steals.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Uh oh. Houston lost to UT Rio Grande Valley.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Gonzaga got off to a great start w/ a 31 point 1st quarter, but a bit sloppy as the game continued. Never in danger but kinda let Montana hang around. 82-69 final. Bettencourt looked solid at the point. Great first half for her but not so much after halftime. Freshman guard Allie Turner made a big splash w/ 18 points (led the team), 5-8 behind the arc.

 

[packwrap]

Bettencourt 16 points 5 assists in Gonzagas win over Montana. Nice start, plenty of playing time.

 

[typhaon]

Final score:

Syracuse 108
Niagara 84

Whistles started coming out this quarter. Niagara gave them a game though; they should do well in their conference.

It has worked for them in conference the last few years and they're in the mix with a couple of other teams for the 2/3/4 spot in the MAAC. I don't think Niagara is the easiest place to recruit to, so their coach may have found a nice efficiency of play style vs. results. They do give up tons of open 3's and layups - while they turn it over often, themselves - just hoping to turn their opponent over enough to make up for it.

I suspect they are very annoying to play against.

 

[CBus13]

Ho hum. Cambridge drops 31 on 12-14 shooting. Not bad. Ohio St. blew out Cleveland St., who has been one of the better teams in the Horizon for a number of years.

I heard she was fast, but seeing her in person get down the court and through people without truly being rushed was so impressive to see. She also had a pretty full stat line outside shooting, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals [Jacy Sheldon is that you?], and 2 blocks. And only 2 turnovers in her first college game.

Rebounding may still be a concern, but I think Elsa Lemillä will get more confident and stronger in the future. Ajae Petty, had some struggles, but she and Elsa are such different post players for Ohio State compared to the past. They both move really well for their sizes. I know it was early but it was nice to see him play his whole bench [minus four who were not dressed for play]. Also, Cotie McMahon 4/5 from Three was a huge surprise for the crowd, last year, the most she scored from three in a game was 2 and that happened twice.

 

[JellyBean]

Bettencourt 16 points 5 assists in Gonzagas win over Montana. Nice start, plenty of playing time.

Watching that game and seeing Bettencourt not only starting but playing solid minutes and playing well. Then seeing and hearing the announcers (They had to be Gonzaga student announcers) praise the point guard skills & shot making ability of Bettencourt was pretty nice. She played well out there.

 

[nwhoopfan]

(They had to be Gonzaga student announcers)

One of them was a former assistant coach at GU, I'm not sure about the other but he was much older than a student.

 

[YoDore]

Ho hum. Cambridge drops 31 on 12-14 shooting. Not bad. Ohio St. blew out Cleveland St., who has been one of the better teams in the Horizon for a number of years.

I've been following Jaloni since she was a kid because she is the little sister of my all-time favorite Vandy player, Jordyn Cambridge. She is 5'6 and weighs 150 pounds. She's all muscle and speed and has great skill and IQ. Sadly, Vandy never seemed in play for her even though her big sis was a big advocate for the university and for coach Ralph. I believe she wanted to carve her own path instead of following her sister. If she is not national freshman of the year, I will be shocked.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I believe she wanted to carve her own path instead of following her sister.

Well, Kennedy Cambridge arrived at Ohio St. before Jaloni did, so there's that.

 

[12au]

Well, Kennedy Cambridge arrived at Ohio St. before Jaloni did, so there's that.

Seems like they recruited Kennedy to improve chances of landing Jaloni. 4d chess from McGuff

 

[nwhoopfan]

Seems like they recruited Kennedy to improve chances of landing Jaloni. 4d chess from McGuff

Not the first time it's been done.

My own Washington Huskies have tried it a few times. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. They got 2 Mendiola sisters many years ago, one was a star and the other turned out to be more productive than was probably expected. A while after that they got Justin Holiday w/ hopes that Jrue, would follow, but he didn't. Justin turned out to be pretty solid for them though.