An Edwards runner rims out, but Princeton forces a turnover on the other end. Miller misses a jumper from the elbow, but redeems herself by drawing a foul on Stevens. Rasheed exits, to the applause of the crowd; although it didn't end the way she would have liked, it's hard to have a better rookie season than she did.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
3:52 2nd, 61-41 St. John's
Allgood gets another shot to drop, pulling the Tigers back within 20 at the last media timeout. FSU fans are now here in full force, as the sidelines are now probably 80% full.
4:15, 61-39 St. John's
Rasheed is starting to take this game over offensively, driving from the top of the key and hitting a pull-up jumper. Tigers still can't get stops, though.
5:50 2nd, 55-37 St. John's
Da'Shena Stevens can't handle a feed under the hoop, and St. John's turns the ball over. On the other end, Rasheed makes a beautiful pass from the free throw line to Edwards cutting backdoor, the kind of play I'm sure head coach Courtney Banghart wishes she had seen more of earlier this game.
6:48 2nd, 55-35 St. John's
Rasheed makes a very athletic steal in transition, but is stripped going to the hoop, and the ball goes out of bounds. Princeton runs a nice inbounds play and gets Micir open under the basket, resulting in a three-point play.
7:13 2nd, 55-32 St. John's
Cheryl does a nice job of defending Da'Shena in a Stevens-on-Stevens matchup, but the latter rebounds her own miss and finishes. Micir misses a pair of triples on the other end.
9:06 2nd, 53-31 St. John's
After a turnover, Princeton brings its starters back, minus Allgood and plus Stevens. Edwards drives but misses a tough floater in the lane, the rebound is a held ball, and the arrow points to the Red Storm.
10:00 2nd, 52-31 St. John's
Kate Miller swishes home a long two from her favorite spot, the right baseline. But Sky Lindsay answers on the other end with a jumper from the top of the key.
11:23 2nd, 50-29 St. John's
After a pair of free throws from Allgood, Krystal Hill almost banks in a three from NBA range, but it spins out. Johnson is called for a foul on the other end, and Joy McCorvey is shooting two.
13:03 2nd, 50-27 St. John's
A Rasheed jumper from the right baseline falls, and the Red Storm switch into a zone, forcing the Tigers to shoot from the outside. Rasheed misses a six-footer, and Johnson airballs a three, while Smith picks up four points on the other end.
14:00 2nd, 45-25 St. John's
Sky Lindsay hits an acrobatic layup, but Laura Johnson answers with Princeton's first three-pointer of the game.
Around the Country
No. 1 Tennessee has a commanding lead over No. 16 Austin Peay, 49-22. In other action, No. 7 LSU is beating No. 10 Hartford 51-22, and No. 5 Michigan state holds a slim 51-46 lead over No. 12 Bowling Green.
And in the men's bracket, Villanova and St. Mary's are tied at 17. BYU and Kansas State tip off at 8:05, during my plane ride home, which angers me because I think that game will be great.
15:15 2nd, 43-22 St. John's
St. John's is running a full-court trap, not a strategy you usually see from a team with a 20-point lead. It works once, forcing a turnover that leads to a fast-break bucket by Smith. But the next time down the court, Princeton beats the press, resulting in an easy layup for Rasheed.
16:22 2nd, 41-20 St. John's
Princeton called for an offensive foul off the ball, which has been relatively common for them this season - they're physical to create space, but if the refs are calling tight, they can get burned. St. John's misses on the other end, but a loose rebound leads to a bucket and one from Da'Shena Stevens.
18:00 2nd, 38-20 St. John's
After another look that goes in and out, Micir finds Polansky for a backdoor layup. But Stevens answers with a pair of layups, extending the lead to 18.
Halftime Stats
Really, the entire game boils down to this: Princeton is shooting 20% (7-35) from the field, without any made threes. That's easily their worst shooting output of the season, and would even be lower than any they've allowed.
The perplexing thing is, from my vantage point right in the Princeton frontcourt, I don't feel like they're taking that many low-percentage shots. They're not getting the wide-open looks that they often have, but considering the fact that they're playing against a top-20 team I feel like they're getting pretty good attempts. I don't know if it's the big gym (which sometimes is said to affect shooting) or if they've just been unlucky, but the shots aren't falling. Up and down the lineup: Edwards is 2-10, Allgood 2-8, Rasheed 2-7, and Micir 0-7.
St. John's is 15-32 from the field (47%), which is the entire difference. Princeton is outrebounding the Red Storm (12 of 28 possible offensive rebounds, compared to 6 of 20 for St. John's), losing the turnover battle but only 7-4, and even in free throw attempts. Edwards is having a terrific day on the glass, with 10 boards already.
Although the game seemed pretty hectic near the beginning, this is actually a slow-paced game: 33 possessions, below Princeton's average. They'll want to pick up the pace in this half, though; more possessions means more scoring opportunities, which they need to get back in this.
End 1st, 34-18 St. John's
Micir gets an open look from beyond the men's line, but it too gets halfway down and comes out. Princeton goes into halftime down by 16 - the largest deficit the Tigers have faced at any point this season.
:25.3 1st, 34-18
Princeton forces a miss, and will hold for the last shot. But they'll have to beat the Red Storm press first.
:55 1st, 34-18 St. John's
Two consecutive shots from Allgood hit inside the cylinder but don't fall. After another Red Storm bucket, Edwards gets free for a midrange jumper from the baseline, but misses short.
1:08 1st, 32-18 St. John's
Edwards beats her defender and gets to the rim with a beautiful baseline drive...but it hits the inside of the rim and bounces out. It's been that kind of day for Princeton on the offensive end. Smith hits a jumper on the other end, and the lead is 14 again.
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