True Blue SportsFan

1/03--Duke Dismantles NC Central 82-29

2008-01-15T22:23:00.000-08:00

NC Central is in its first year of Division I play so this scoreline, while impressive, is not really indicative of a "turning-point" where Duke has begun to show dominance. Still, it was clearly a game that allowed the players to shine and to put together a confidence boosting game.

Top 5 Scorers:
Chante Black--17
Wanisha Smith--14
Karima Christmas--10
Joy Cheek--10
Abby Waner--10

Top 5 Rebounds:
Joy Cheek--8
Wanisha Smith--8
Krystal Thomas--8
Chante Black--5
Karima Christmas--5

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--7
Jasmine Thomas--4

Top 2 Steals:
Keturah Jackson--6
Wanisha Smith--3
Carrem Gay--3

Top Blocks:
Chante Black--3

Team Comparison
FG%
Duke 45.3% over NC Central 29.2%
3PT%
Duke 26.7% over NC Central 0%
Rebounds
Duke 51 over NC Central 26
Assists
Duke 22 over NC Central 5
Turnovers
Duke 15 over NC Central 31

Worrying Stat of the Day:
Three-point shooting should really be better than 4 of 15.

Attendance:
Cameron Indoor Stadium: 5,512

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball 11-3

12/28--Duke Beats Houston 84-68

2008-01-15T22:14:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Joy Cheek--14
Chante Black--12
Jasmine Thomas--11
Wanisha Smith--8
Carrem Gay--8

Top 5 Rebounders:
Joy Cheek--10
Carrem Gay--9
Chante Black--7
Keturah Jackson--4
Krystal Thomas--4

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--8
Carrem Gay--3

Top 2 Steals:
Chante Black--2
Jasmine Thomas--2
Carrem Gay--2

Top Blocks:
Jasmine Thomas--2

Team Comparison
FG%
Duke 44.8% over Houston 36.2%
3PT%
Houston 31.8% over Duke 25%
Rebounds
Duke 48 over Houston 35
Assists
Duke 17 over Houston 15
Turnovers
Duke 17 over Houston 20

Worrying Stat of the Day:
Lots of points given up to an unspectacular offensive team and 25% 3-pt shooting for Duke.

Attendance:
@Houston: 807 (Seriously?)

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball: 10-3

12/21--Duke Thumps Bucknell 92-49

2007-12-26T08:25:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Joy Cheek--19
Chante Black--19
Abby Waner--16
Jasmine Thomas--12
Wanisha Smith--11

Top 5 Rebounders:

Joy Cheek--8
Chante Black--8
Carrem Gay--8
Jasmine Thomas--5
Karima Christmas--5

Top 2 Assists:
Chante Black--5
Abby Waner--4
Jasmine Thomas--4

Top 2 Steals:
Karima Christmas--5
Abby Waner--4

Top Blocks:
Carrem Gay--3

Team Comparisons:
FG%
Duke 44% over Bucknell 38.5%
3PT%
Bucknell 33.3% over Duke 31.3%
Rebounds
Duke 57 over Bucknell 32
Assists
Duke 25 over Bucknell 9
Turnovers
Duke 12 over Bucknell 32

Worrying Stat of the Day:
Nothing really to complain about in this game although I'm finishing this up a month late so I may have forgotten something.

Attendance:
Cameron Indoor Stadium: 4,868

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball 9-3

12/18--Duke Crushes Utah Valley 95-61

2007-12-20T16:50:00.000-08:00

After an extended break, the Devils came out and played significantly better than in the previous games. This may be a result of the opposition just being less competitive than Duke's previous opponents. It was still a promising result and there are a lot of good things that happened stat-wise.

Top 5 Scorers:
Carrem Gay--20 (From the bench no less)
Abby Waner--19
Joy Cheek--15
Chante Black--15
Karima Christmas--8

Top 5 Rebounders:
Carrem Gay--10
Chante Black---7
Joy Cheek--6
Wanisha Smith--4
A. Waner, Christmas, Mitchell, Jackson--3 each

Top 2 Assists:
Abby Waner--7
Wanisha Smith--5

Top 2 Steals:
Abby Waner--10 (Duke Record and ties the ACC record)
Chante Black--5

Top Blocks:
Chante Black--4

Team Comparisons
FG%
Duke 41.5% over Utah Valley 36.5%
3 PT %
Duke 40.0% equals Utah Valley 40.0%
Rebounds
Utah Valley 49 over Duke 46
Assists
Duke 25 over Utah Valley 15
Turnovers
Duke 15 over Utah Valley 39

Worrying Stat of the Day:
Coach P seems really miffed at giving up 20 rebounds to Utah Valley's center and being outrebounded overall so even if it doesn't look too worrying, I think that's something that should be improved upon.

Attendance
Cameron Indoor Stadium: 4,985
Lower than in previous games but considering it's the holidays, I'm not too surprised. I'll be even more surprised if they break this figure in Friday's game which is even closer to the holidays.

Next Game:
Friday December 21 versus Bucknell

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball 8-3

GO DUKE GO!

Washington Huskies November Report

2007-12-10T10:16:00.000-08:00

November 10, 2007
Washington---61
Kansas State--88

Katelan Redmon
19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 8-14 shooting

November 12, 2007
Washington---72
Gonzaga-----91

Sami Whitcomb
16 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 6-10 shooting

November 16, 2007
Washington---75
Hawaii--------80

Michelle Augustavo
20 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

November 17, 2007
Washington--------83
Northern Arizona--70

Michelle Augustavo
20 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist

November 18, 2007
Washington---58
UC Davis-----69

Jess McCormack
17 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block

November 23, 2007
Washington---73
Idaho---------57

Kali Bennett
18 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists

November 25, 2007
Washington------69
Arkansas State---59

Sami Whitcomb
19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 steals

November Record
Washington Huskies Women's Basketball 3-4

UConn Huskies November Report

2007-12-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

November 11, 2007
Connecticut----98
Stony Brook---35

Maya Moore
21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 2 blocks, 8-12 shooting

November 14, 2007
Connecticut----91
Holy Cross-----36

Maya Moore
31 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks, 14-16 shooting

November 22, 2007
Connecticut--66
Stanford-----54

Maya Moore
19 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block

November 23, 2007
Connecticut-----86
Old Dominion---43

Tina Charles
15 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks

November 25, 2007
Connecticut--74
Duke--------48

Tina Charles
13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block

November 29, 2007
Connecticut---80
BYU----------34

Maya Moore
17 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 8-12 shooting

November Record
Connecticut Huskies Women's Basketball 6-0

12/8--Duke Outlasts Pittsburgh 51-49

2007-12-09T22:26:00.000-08:00

A Win is a Win Part 2

On a Joy Cheek buzzer-beater, the Devils have a two game winning streak. Is Pitt inferior to Duke? By all accounts, they really should be. Is there cause to be worried? Absolutely and without a doubt, the team doesn't look strong at all. Should we celebrate this win? Yes. Relief should be flowing through Duke fans right about now. We've had the opportunity to lose 5 in a row given the closeness and the ugliness of the Rutgers and now the Pitt game. Instead of being 5-5, we're 7-3. The team now has more than a week to recuperate now and clean up their sloppy play. The next few games are at home which must be a relief to the players. Duke's looked atrocious and yet we're 7-3 with easily winnable games (did I just jinx it?) before ACC play. This could be a whole lot worse. Now, there's a lot more to work with and to build from.

On the injury front, which has not been mentioned at all, Wanisha Smith and Krystal Thomas are out probably until the New Year. Wanisha's injury is listed as day-to-day, but she's been day to day for a while and they're still saying the same things about her recovery so this is a little worrisome. Krystal is supposed to be back in January (and they've said so) with a kneecap injury. I'm particularly peeved by Krystal's injury given how productive she was for us and how great she was on the defensive end during her freshman campaign. It bites how this injury has derailed this and I hope she can come back and be as explosive as she was before the injury.

Top 5 Scorers:
Joy Cheek--16
Abby Waner--10
Chante Black--7
Carrem Gay--5
Jasmine Thomas, Karima Christmas--4 each

Top 5 Rebounders:
Joy Cheek--6
Keturah Jackson--5
Chante Black, Abby Waner, Karima Christmas, Carrem Gay--4 each

Top 2 Assists:
Chante Black--4
Abby Waner--3

Top 2 Steals:
Abby Waner--3
Joy Cheek, Emily Waner--2 each

Top Blocks:
Chante Black--6

Team Comparisons
FG%
Duke 40.7% over Pitt 31%
3PT%
Duke 33.3% over Pitt 20%
Rebounds
Duke 42 over Pitt 37
Assists
Duke 14 over Pitt 5
Turnovers
Pitt 18 over Duke 25

Worrying Stat of the Day:
25 turnovers

Attendance:
NA: Madison Square Garden

Next Game:
Tuesday December 18 versus Utah Valley (which took the place of the Texas game. Given our current tribulations, maybe it would be better to take on a cupcake instead of another revenge game)

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball 7-3

GO DUKE!

12/6--Duke Wins at the Line Over Rutgers 49-44

2007-12-09T22:15:00.001-08:00

A Win is a Win Part 1

Ugly game, ugly score, freaking fantastic win!! The revenge game for the Devils went Duke's way. The game ended at the free throw line as well for those of you who love irony (Yes, the free throw shots went in, thank you very much).

After three straight losses, I'll take an ugly win.

Top 5 Scorers: (This should be a sparse category...)
Chante Black--11
Carrem Gay--11
Abby Waner--7
Jasmine Thomas--7
Joy Cheek--5

Top 5 Rebounders:
Chante Black--7
Joy Cheek--6
Abby Waner--5
Bridgette Mitchell--5
Carrem Gay--5

Top 2 Assists:
Jasmine Thomas--3
Carrem Gay--3

Top 2 Steals:
Chante Black, Brittany Mitch, Carrem Gay--2 each

Top Blocks:
Chante Black--6

Team Comparison
FG%
Duke 33.3% over Rutgers 27.6%
3PT%
Rutgers 25% over Duke 7.1% (not a typo, I swear)
Rebounds
Rutgers 44 over Duke 42
Assists
Duke 14 over Rutgers 8
Turnovers
Duke 18 over Rutgers 20

Worrying Stat of the Day:
49 points scored and 7.1% from beyond the arc. Well, they're connected aren't they?

Attendance:
Cameron Indoor Stadium--6,450

Next Game:
Saturday December 8 versus Pittsburgh--Maggie Dixon Classic

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball 6-3

LET'S GO DEVILS!!

12/2--Penn State Surprises Duke 86-84

2007-12-09T22:02:00.001-08:00

Two words: Shocking and Painful

We got down early and then clawed our way back in before eventually losing in the final seconds. I thought we'd be able to gut it out somehow but eventually the comeback took too much out of the team and enabled Penn State to get the surprise win.

Duke has now lost three in a row. I can't remember the year exactly but Duke hasn't lost three games in a row since sometime in 1997 or during that season.

Plus Side: Well, the offense seems better with 84 points scored
Negative Side: We gave up 86 points???

Top 5 Scorers:
Abby Waner--23 (and everyone can breathe easy again. Abby looked much better in this game, which hopefully means she's recovered sufficiently from that doggone ankle injury. She was also big down the stretch for Duke as they were trying to make a comeback. The team definitely needs Abby to be at All-American level this year.)
Chante Black--21 (Consistently our best player. She's been terrific all year)
Jasmine Thomas--17
Karima Christmas--10
Carrem Gay--5

Top 5 Rebounders:
Chante Black--6
Abby Waner--6
Karima Christmas--4
Bridgette Mitchell--3
Jasmine Thomas--3

Top 2 Assists:
Abby Waner--4
Jasmine Thomas--4

Top 2 Steals:
Jasmine Thomas--3
Abby Waner--2

Top Blocks:
Chante Black--2

Team Comparison
FG%
Penn State 54% over Duke 50.7%
3PT%
Duke 52.9% over Penn State 44.4%
Rebounds
Penn State 32 over Duke 29
Assists
Duke 17 over Penn State 13
Turnovers
Duke 14 equals Penn State 14

Worrying Stat of the Day:
Stat wise, this game was not a bad game. In fact, the worst thing about this game was that they scored two more points than us. So I'll say 86 points given up.

Attendance:
at Penn State--6,617

Next Game:
Thursday December 6 versus Rutgers

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball 5-3

I Believe in the Duke Women's Team!! GO DUKE!

11/18--Vanderbilt Outlasts Duke 68-55

2007-12-09T21:52:00.000-08:00

Some people were saying that this was not too much of a shock, but color me surprised. It just didn't seem like a game we would lose even if it was an away game. Duke drops its second straight game.

Top 5 Scorers:
Jasmine Thomas--12
Chante Black--10
Abby Waner--9
Joy Cheek--8
Carrem Gay--6

Top 5 Rebounders:
Chante Black--10
Carrem Gay--9
Bridgette Mitchell--5
Keturah Jackson--3
Krystal Thomas--2

Top 2 Assists:
Chante Black--3
Carrem Gay--2

Top 2 Steals:
Jasmine Thomas--2
Abby Waner, Krystal Thomas--1

Top Blocks:
Chante Black, Joy Cheek, Keturah Jackson--1

Team Comparisons:
FG%
Vanderbilt 38.8% over Duke 38.6%
3PT %
Vanderbilt 50% over Duke 26.7%
Rebounds
Duke 39 over Vanderbilt 29
Assists
Vanderbilt 13 over Duke 8
Turnovers
Vanderbilt 14 over Duke 24

Worrying Stat of the Day:
Turnovers

Attendance:
at Vanderbilt 6,022

Next Game:
Sunday December 2 at Penn State

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball 5-2

GO DUKE!

11/25--UConn Thumps Duke 74-48

2007-12-09T21:35:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I didn't really expect to win this game. Rationally speaking, we shouldn't have won this game anyway. UConn is, in my opinion, the best team in the country. Still, there's much to be said about a scoreline like this. While I didn't expect a win, I expected a good fight and a closer scoreline. Unfortunately, we got shellacked from opening tip to the final buzzer in a game that the rest of the country was finally paying attention to given the fact that it is the anointed Huskies. It was slightly embarrassing and something I have been fortunate enough to have never experienced before as a Duke fan. However, I don't really give a hoot what other people are saying about the team. What's more important is how they are playing out there and that did not look too good either.

Like in all the earlier games, Duke's offense was sloppy-some observers even used the word nonexistent-and their defense was fine but not enough obviously against UConn when your offense is struggling. It's definitely something to be worried about.

Oh yeah, Abby's first game back. :)

Top 5 Scorers:
Chante Black--16
Carrem Gay--6
Emily Waner--5
Bridgette Mitchell--5
Jasmine Thomas, Karima Christmas and Joy Cheek--4 each

Top 5 Rebounders:
Krystal Thomas--5
Jasmine Thomas--4
Chante Black--3
Abby Waner--3
Carrem Gay, Joy Cheek--2

Top 2 Assists:
Abby Waner--4
Emily Waner--4

Top 2 Steals:
Chante Black--3
Carrem Gay--2

Top Blocks:
Carrem Gay, Chante Black--1 each

Team Comparisons:
FG%
UConn 53.2% over Duke 35.7%
3PT %
UConn 40% over Duke 21.4%
Rebounds
UConn 35 over Duke 28
Assists
UConn 18 over Duke 12
Turnovers
Duke 22 equal UConn 22

* As seen by the stats, yuckiness all around

Worrying Stat of the Day:
Hard to pick. I'll go with UConn's field goal percentage and 3 point field goal percentage. That's way too high for a team that's been pretty solid on defense thus far and who has been struggling offensively.

Attendance:
US Virgin Islands--2,985

Next Game:
Wednesday November 28 at Vanderbilt Commodores

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball 5-1

GO DUKE!

Duke Game Reports

2007-11-28T13:08:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know the Duke-UConn game left much to be desired. I am not, however, avoiding the game or wishing it away (well, maybe the last one...) I haven't written the game report yet because I have two ridiculously busy weeks coming up in school. That means I won't have the game reports right away for the next four Duke games. After December 6, I will post my game reports for every game I missed starting with UConn. I have several thoughts about that UConn game which may be cooled by time a little bit, which will enable me to write a more accurate assessment on here. Hopefully, when I get back to blogging about Duke WBB, I'll only be griping about that UConn game.

GO DUKE!

11/23--Duke Squeezes by Temple 64-53

2007-11-24T14:20:00.000-08:00

Okay, my heart officially can't take this. I was ready to die when we needed a good push near the end of the first half to grab a lead into the locker room. I was ready to die somewhere in the second half when Temple had gotten close to us (and I'm not even sure if they tied it because I was frantic over here.)

Having said that, good on our players for buckling down and getting the job done. They didn't panic or throw in the metaphorical towel. They showed great poise and maturity, something I obviously did not have as I was squeezing my couch pillows to a pulp.

I didn't really formulate any coherent thoughts during the game, and I was too drained after it to think of some then, unfortunately. Gutty win by the Devils, but I'm still waiting for the real Duke to show up, please?

Abby Waner suited up, but according to Coach P, it's just part of her rehab to warm up before the game and during halftime and she wasn't really meant to play. I hope she gets on the court soon (again, UConn on Sunday anyone?) because we're really missing her out there. That being said, I'd rather not have her on Sunday than miss her for the rest of the year for ACC play which could happen if they try to rush her back just to win an early season game against UConn. So I'd love to have her back out there but only if she' s ready.

Top 5 Scorers:
Chante Black--13
Carrem Gay--13
Jasmine Thomas--11
Karima Christmas--8
Joy Cheek--6

Top 5 Rebounders:
Carrem Gay--12
Chante Black--4
Karima Christmas--4
Jasmine Thomas--3
Wanisha Smith--3

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--4
Emily Waner and Jasmine Thomas--3

Top 2 Steals:
6 players with 1 steal each

Top Blocks:
Chante Black, Jasmine Thomas, Krystal Thomas--2
*I love point guards who can block. That's pretty darn cool*

Team Comparisons:
FG%
Duke 48.3% over Temple 32.7% (ahh, much better shooting)
3 PT %
Temple 27.3% over Duke 25% (And Abby is coming back when?)
Rebounds
Temple 42 over Duke 41
Assists
Duke 14 over Temple 6
Turnovers
Duke 11 over Temple 14

Worrying Stat of the Day
Oh God, the free throw shooting bugaboo is back! 7-20 from the line. This goes right under things that make you want to weep.

Attendance:
US Virgin Islands--NA

Next Game:
Sunday November 25 vs. UConn Huskies (Paradise Jam)

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball: 5-0

GO DUKE! (please put up a good showing against the Huskies)

11/22--Duke Beats Purdue 53-41

2007-11-24T14:00:00.000-08:00

Positives:
We won the game against a ranked opponent.
Free throw shooting was up significantly

Negatives:
Turnovers
Field goal shooting was awful
Offensively, it was an ugly game

I don't really quite know what has happened to Duke's offense lately. Our posts, while they're doing a great job defensively and a great job running the floor, seem to be having a difficult finishing near the basket. Our guards aren't doing so hotly either, especially with the three pointers. I'm confident that this will come. Hopefully this comes along sooner rather than later (well, tomorrow against UConn would be nice).

Another thing, and this from both games (Purdue and Temple later), I'm left a little annoyed by Coach P's comments after these games. On one hand, you love how she keeps praising the team and building up their confidence. On the other, come on, she has to know that Duke can do so much better offensively than what they are doing, starting with foul shots. Posts missing layups--not going to get it done against better opponents (again, UConn's coming up tomorrow). She keeps on saying how she loves the intensity and the grit, which is all fine and good but people know what Duke can look like and Duke so far has not looked like it. So, Coach P, maybe it's time to start harping the offensive part of the game a little bit? I know you love the heart, but what about the production? I love Duke and support the team wholeheartedly, but it sure has been tough to watch/listen to the team this year. It's been easy to cheer for the team and the individual players, no doubt, with the intensity that they've shown, but clearly something needs to be worked out offensively for everyone to be more productive and to avoid silly mistakes.

Top 5 Scorers:
Jasmine Thomas--15
Chante Black--10
Wanisha Smith--7
Joy Cheek--6
Brittany Mitch, Keturah Jackson--4

Top 5 Rebounders:
Chante Black--11
Krystal Thomas--5
Joy Cheek--4
Carrem Gay--4
Jackson, Mitchell, J. Thomas--3

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--2
Jasmine Thomas--2

Top 2 Steals:
Keturah Jackson--3
Jasmine Thomas--2

Top Blocks:
Chante Black--4

Team Comparisons:
FG%
Duke 31.7% over Purdue 29.3% (ermmm...let's get that up, okay?)
3 PT %
Purdue 33.3% over Duke 23.5% (ummm..this too...)
Rebounds
Duke 39 over Purdue 35
Assists
Duke 9 over Purdue 8
Turnovers
Duke 20 over Purdue 25

Worrying Stat of the Day:
Shooting percentages, both FG and 3 PT ones. Our players rock offensively and they just haven't really shown it too much this year. Again, I'm not worried that it won't happen, because I'm confident it will. I just wish it would get here sooner. Speaking of that, when's Abby going to play??

Attendance:
NA--US Virgin Islands

Next Game:
Friday November 23 vs. Temple (Paradise Jam)

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball: 4-0

GO DUKE!

11/18---Duke Trounces UNC-Greensboro 84-39

2007-11-18T16:39:00.000-08:00

My first day using Inside Access. Yes, I gave in and registered which puts me back about 100 dollars for the year, but I couldn't help myself. It was great to listen to the game and it really gave me a better feel for the flow of the game. My only problem was awful sound quality and times when the broadcast would shift to some ESPN radio show. For that much money, you'd think this would be better, but it's so much better than I'm used to so I'm thrilled. My ears may not be so happy though. Awful static, really.

As the final scoreline indicates, Duke completely outmatched the Spartans from the opening tip. They only gave up something like three field goals in the entire first half. Much of the same defensive intensity continued during the second half, with a little lapse somewhere at the beginning of the half. Still, it's definitely not something to complain about given the superb defensive showing by the Devils today. Obviously, as everyone is quick to point out, the quality of the opponents haven't been that great thus far, so the great defensive showing needs to be somehow peppered by realistic expectations as the competition level rises. Still, one has to be impressed with the sustained defensive effort during the game. As the game was slowly coming to an end, Brittany Mitch made two great steals and converted them for layups. That kind of intensity is impressive, given how huge the lead was and how they probably could have sleep walked through the rest of the game and still won.

Offensively, I feel like the Devils started the game a little sloppily once again. It didn't take too long for the posts to start hitting their shots and I ended up actually quite impressed with the offense. Three-point shooting was quite painful, but I was pretty pumped when Bridgette and Joy hit some and Emily drained two of them. I did mention during the post about the last game that I wanted Emily to hit those and she did (along with some other excellent things, I might add) which made a huge difference in the game. I think they actually doubled her one time down the floor. The 3 pt percentage was bad, but, again, everyone needs to remember that Abby and Wanisha are not in the lineup. Another thing to remember is that we have (according to Coach P) four stud posts who should be getting the ball everytime. It's quite apparent that the game plan is to not rely on three point shooting anymore. This may change when Abby gets back, but from listening to Coach P, I feel like she'd prefer they pound the ball more into the post at all times.

Several players had stand out games. Krystal and Chante were monsters down in the post once again. Krystal is super talented and it's pretty neat to think she'll just continue to improve in her next four years at Duke. Yes, this freak of a player is only a freshman. Happy days are sure to stay at Durham. I also loved Emily today. Now, she hit those shots which I absolutely went crazy over but her assists (7) were even more impressive. Brittany was equally as impressive. Try these on for size: 7 steals? 11 pts? And this is from a player who rode the bench pretty much all of last year. She's playing with a purpose and it shows with her hustle and intensity. Although, I will have to point out that sometimes it is exactly this that gets her into trouble with some errant passes and turnovers. Regardless, it seemed like every time she was in the game on defense, she would always somehow be in on the disruption of a play. That is invaluable, no doubt about it.

Once again, everyone who suited up scored. That's a great stat right there.

Top 5 Scorers:
Krystal Thomas--20
Chante Black--17
Brittany Mitch--11
Joy Cheek--11
Jasmine Thomas--8

Top 5 Rebounders:
Krystal Thomas--10
Carrem Gay--7
Chante Black--5
Karima Christmas--5
Joy Cheek--5

Top 2 Assists:
Emily Waner--7
Mitchell, Mitch, Jackson, Cheek--2 each

Top 2 Steals:
Brittany Mitch--7
Carrem Gay--5
*Special note--All Blue Devils apparently recorded a steal!

Top Blocks:
Krystal Thomas--2

Team Comparison:
FG%
Duke 46.6% over UNCG 23.3%
3 PT %
UNCG 28.6% over Duke 26.3%
Rebounds:
Duke 44 over UNCG 30
Assists:
Duke 17 over UNCG 7
Turnovers:
Duke 20 over UNCG 38

* And free throws actually fell today. Good job.

Worrying Stat of the Day:
Well, I guess I'm going to have to nitpick a little and say....turnovers. It's going to have to get a lot neater for them to win against tougher competition. Still, when you're forcing 38....it's really a nitpick.

Attendance:
5,534 at Cameron Indoor Stadium

Next Game:
Paradise Jam at the Virgin Islands: Thursday, November 22 vs. Purdue

*Coach P said that Wanisha and Abby are day to day, with Wanisha being in a better position right now. Now I'm beginning to think that Abby won't play Paradise Jam at all, which would suck against UConn/Stanford right? Wanisha actually dressed today. I think she'll be good to go for Purdue but I don't think that the team will use her unless needed yet just to be on the safe side.

Let's go DUKE!!

Duke Women's Basketball News Links

2007-11-16T19:25:00.000-08:00

I read on TDD that Abby and Wanisha are not going to be playing on Sunday against UNC-Greensboro. I forgot to mention it in my game report but Wanisha injured her hand/wrist somehow in the game. She looked to be in quite a bit of pain. Definitely not good news. These two are the two most experienced players we have. I guess now our scoring punch really and truly has to come from our post players. This isn't really a good start to our season injury wise but a lot of other players on other major schools (Stanford, Cal and Purdue to name a few off the top of my head) have been saddled with even bigger injuries. Right now, our injuries are still claimed to be relatively minor so I guess I can live with that. Still, hopefully they don't miss more than two weeks. Abby's supposedly coming back in the Virgin Islands but I'm not too sure how realistic that is. Wanisha's hasn't been fully reported on yet.

Duke Chronicle (student newspaper) article on South Florida game

http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2007/11/16/WBasketball/Blue-Devils.Run.Through.Bulls-3107479.shtml

Duke Chronicle article on the team's great assistant coaches

http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2007/11/15/WBasketball/Assistants.Bring.New.Perspective-3104078.shtml

Tampa Bay Online's interview with Coach P

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/nov/15/sp-a-conversation-with-joanne-p-mccallie/?sports

Abby's blog on Goduke.com

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=1320381

Quotes from Coach P about the South Florida game

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=22760&SPID=1846&DB_OEM_ID=4200&ATCLID=1313127

11/15---Duke Beats Down South Florida 89-52

2007-11-16T13:06:00.001-08:00

My first actual look at Duke this season was a pleasant one. I hope I get to watch other matchups this season. I think I'll be able to get the others on ESPN but sometimes my sports pack screws up and does not show these games, instead airing some obscure men's basketball game somewhere.

The game itself was not earthshattering. It became obvious early on that we would get the win even if South Florida had an early and very short run which put them above us. Don't get me wrong, I love blow out wins for my Devils. My problem with this game was the referees. I don't usually pay attention to what the refs are calling or whether they are the right calls or not, mostly because I'm not knowledgeable enough about the rules of basketball. I can say, however, that they turned last night's game into a bit of a snoozer, calling fouls left and right, both offensive and defensive.

Abby Waner's injured, so I didn't get to see her play. This was obviously bad news for the team, but it was also bad news for me. I mean, it's not like I get to see a lot of Duke games as it is right? Hopefully it's nothing too serious and nothing that will become a problem as the year goes on. This year, more than ever, the team needs the shooting of Abby on the floor a lot.

Overall, I thought that they played really well. It's obvious that there is a gameplan and that the players are following it. There was a lot of good passing to the post players. It was pretty neat actually. Someone would be holding it on the perimeter, looking like she's still diagramming a play. All of a sudden, woosh, the ball zips inside to our very open post players who just put it in the basket quite easily. This is, in my opinion, a winning strategy (although it works so much better when they make free throws, which I'll get to later), although when Abby gets back, I sense a bit more perimeter play.

Defense was, in a word, astounding. South Florida could get nothing going down low. Our posts forced them to drive in way too much, then they'd close in on the opponents and double team them under the basket. The Bulls couldn't get a shot off from that position and they struggled to pass the ball out as well. Full court was used a lot and was effective pretty much the entire game. I loved the hustle of Duke when getting back into position in the half court. Impressively, once South Florida broke the press, Duke didn't let them just get an easy basket. Instead, the one or two players who weren't pressing at the time would close out on them effectively and everyone would hustle back and begin to torment the Bulls with their half court defense. I was a little worried at the beginning because I felt that this was a risky plan given that our normal speedster, Harding, isn't in Duke blue anymore. I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was effective even with our slower players. What they lacked in speed, they certainly made up for in heart, often pushing really hard to get back in defensive position. By the middle of the first half, South Florida looked flummoxed and defeated.

There were two negative points as well. However, and I'm not being a homer, I feel that these are relatively minor things that pale in comparison with excellently played defense. Number one, three-point shooting. Number two, free throw shooting.

On the first point, I don't really quite understand it since the players looked pretty open when they shot the ball. Most of the shots were off by quite a bit. I believe that this will improve though when Abby comes back. Don't they say that once one person starts hitting, others will likely follow like a ripple effect? If true, then we'll be fine. One person I'd love to see hitting her threes however is Emily Waner. I'm pretty sure she's a great shooter (if I'm not mistaken) and when she starts hitting more of her shots, with her decision making capabilities, she can be a solid option for major point guard minutes.

On the second point...well...hmmm....Okay, I truly don't understand why Duke has been struggling at the line for quite some time. This is something that is of maximum importance to improve. Why? Because we're getting the ball into the post so effectively and efficiently, the other players are forced to foul us. That's great and all, except when we miss free throws. Then it starts to weigh on my head whether or not we should dump it into the post when there are defenders around them. Okay, so just work on those free throws and we'll be fine. One positive is that it definitely got a lot better in the second half, which is important.

By the way, Brittany Mitch and Keturah Jackson got their first starts. I thought they played quite well actually. Brittany had a bunch of really stellar passing plays. How stellar? I actually remember them today still. She's obviously a very smart player and made pretty good decisions out there. There were two possessions, however, when she was pretty open for a three and didn't take it. I'd like to see her be more aggressive in that department. On another note, she had to leave the game to get stitches under her eye at one point, came back with a band aid on it and looked eager to come back in, which she did. She also played pretty well after that. Can anyone say stud? Go Brit! Keturah Jackson was also really good. She was one of those players who I really marveled at their intensity. She was scrapping and fighting for everything. Coach P also gave a special shout out to Keturah's 7 rebounds. Now, you know you must be doing something right for your coach to mention it like that.

Top 5 Scorers:
Chante Black--16
Joy Cheek--15
Krystal Thomas--10
Karima Christmas--9
Wanisha Smith--9

Top 5 Rebounders:
Chante Black--11
Bridgette Mitchell--8
Keturah Jackson--7
Karima Christmas--6
Gay, Cheek--5 each

Top 2 Assists:
Jasmine Thomas--5
Brittany Mitch--4

Top 2 Steals:
Jasmine Thomas--4
Mitch, Christmas, Cheek--2 each

Top Blocks:
Krystal Thomas--6
*special note: Jasmine Thomas--4 (whoa, hello freshmen!)

Team Comparisons:
FG%:
Duke 46.3% over South Florida 27.7%
3 PT %:
Duke 23.5% over South Florida 20%
Rebounds:
Duke 55 over South Florida 42
Assists:
Duke 25 over South Florida 8
Turnovers:
Duke 15 over South Florida 22

Worrying Stat of the Day:
I'll say free throws simply because it's beginning to bother me that I'm beginning to cringe when we're fouled, although the final percentage was a little higher than I expected watching the game. Even Joy mentioned it in their post game huddle ("got to make those free throws!). That's one thing that can really bite the team in close games against better competition. And no, I don't want to be reminded of that school in New Jersey, thank you very much.

Attendance:
St. Pete's Times Forum in Tampa--NA

Next Game:
Sunday November 18 vs. UNC-Greensboro (first regular season home game for Coach P!)

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball: 2-0

Here we go, Devils, here we go!!!

Thank you Basketball Gods!!!

2007-11-14T19:52:00.000-08:00

AAAAAH!!!!

The Duke women's game tomorrow is going to be on here in Toronto on my special sports pack (reminds me why I ordered it in the first place).

I'm so freaking excited. I was supposed to watch a movie in class but then I'm skipping that to get home early for it. It's not required or anything, but...sshhh...even if it were, I'd skip it for DUKE BASKETBALL!!!

Go Blue Devils!!! Beat those Bulls to a pulp.

Nov. 11--Duke Struggles Past Denver 57-37

2007-11-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

Yes, I said struggle. Don't think I've had to say that before.

Sigh...something tells me this may be a strange year. Okay, it was a 20 point win. There were plenty of worrying statistics though, and Denver isn't exactly a top caliber team. I still think this will be a decent year record wise, but it may be more gut wrenching and surprising than any other time in the short time I've been a Blue Devil fan.

On that note, great way to gut out the win, Duke. When things aren't going your way all game, the best way to get past it is to make it even worst for your opponent. Given the final scoreline, they did that. A win is awesome. :-)

Top 5 Scorers:
Abby Waner--16
Joy Cheek--11
Chante Black--8
Jasmine Thomas--7
Wanisha Smith--5

Top 5 Rebounders:
Carrem Gay--12
Krystal Thomas--8
Chante Black--6
Joy Cheek--5
Wanisha Smith--3

Top 2 Assists:
E. Waner, A. Waner, Smith, Mitchell, Mitch--2 each

Top 2 Steals:
Joy Cheek--3
Jasmine Thomas--3

Top Blocks:
Krystal Thomas--3

Team Comparisons:
FG%
Duke 38.2% over Denver 26.7%
3 PT %
Duke 33.3% over Denver 26.1%
Rebounds
Duke 42 over Denver 24
Assists
Duke 13 over Denver 6
Turnovers
Duke 23 over Denver 24

Worrying Stat of the Day:
Yeah, I'm going back there, 23 Turnovers. That's even worse than the last time when I said it was fine because it was an exhibition game. Mark it down, though. This will get so much better in the near future. They just have to get used to a new coach and no Lindsey Harding leading the way. I'll say it will be better by the next game but that there will be consistent improvement by ACC Tournament play. Before that, I think it can be tough and go.

Attendance:
6,635 (for the homecoming of the Waner sisters)--@ Denver

Next Game:
Thursday November 15 @ South Florida

2007-2008 Duke Blue Devils Women's Basketball: 1-0

GO DUKE!!

Upcoming Women's College Basketball Season

2007-11-09T21:01:00.001-08:00

So I stopped blogging during the WNBA Season for a number of reasons:

1. I was extremely busy this summer, starting with a trip to Seattle and New Jersey. When I got back, my sister and I immediately began to look for a new apartment to move into, then we had to pack everything up and move in the same month.

2. The season was just not a great season for me. There was this whole, this might be the last season of the Storm in Seattle thing looming over it. While this should have given me more of a sense of "fan urgency", I found myself drained after games and thinking about games. I listened to them, watched them when I could and chatted with people about them. But I didn't feel like writing about them. This was also partly because this was a shitty season for the team playwise. Once again, there were signs of brilliance in between disappointing play. I love the Storm, but this season was tough.

On a last WNBA note, I LOVED my time in Seattle and, guess what happened to me? I saw the team when I flew out. They were on my plane and I managed to get a pic with Anne Donovan! I almost hyperventilated right there. By the way, she's super nice and meeting her and her being nice to me is going to make me an ardent supporter forever. So anyone who wants to criticize her has to come through me. :)

And in the dorkiest of moments, like always, I was wearing my Storm hoodie. Yeah, pathetic.

----------------

Now it's time for the WCBB season to start! Somehow being in school makes me less busy and I'm thrilled to be blogging about the progression of "The McCallie Era" in Durham. Yes, the Blue Devils are still my team. I wanted to sign up for Duke's Inside Access to catch the games either through watching or listening to them but it was just way too expensive for my student budget. There are other things that I need to pay for first before I even consider that. So, like last year, I'm going to be posting stats only and thoughts based on those stats. I agree that stats never tell the full picture but they're all I have to go by. Besides that, I think I can get some of the intangibles of the game from message boards and DWhoops.com (the best site out there), as well as news outlets from Durham.

I'm going to do a comparison this year between Duke and their opponents stats such as FG%, 3PT%. Also, I'll be keeping track of attendance, just because I want to see whether or not this has grown this year, given all the praise given to Coach P about really selling the program. I hope it does. I'm also going to try to link interesting Duke articles along the way.

I won't be doing UConn stats anymore, even if I'm still a fan just because I was reading through last year's basketball season posts and I got really confused. Instead, I'll be following two teams based on a monthly basis (hopefully, if I remember). They are UConn and UW (First, because it's in Seattle and second because Tia Jackson is now the UW coach). These will have their monthly record, game scores and the best stat line per game.

Can you feel it? That's the excitement of WCBB. I sure can. GO DUKE!

11-09 * Exhibition*--Duke blasts Team Reebok 88-56

2007-11-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

Even if it was only an exhibition game, I'm ecstatic about the game. Apparently, Team Reebok had beaten both Georgia and Georgia Tech and NC State and almost won against Florida State. They also happen to have Sidney Spencer, former Storm camp player Leah Metcalf and Fatima Maddox. So the final scoreline was impressive and exciting. Plus, the season's starting, which is always great.

Top 5 Scorers:
Wanisha Smith--16
Abby Waner--14
Joy Cheek--13
Carrem Gay--10
Jasmine Thomas--10

Top 5 Rebounders:
Chante Black--10
Joy Cheek--8
Abby Waner--7
Gay, Christmas, K. Thomas--5 each

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--5
Brittany Mitch--3

Top 2 Steals:
Black, A. Waner, Cheek, Jackson--2 each

Top Blocks:
Jasmine Thomas--2 (Really? That's so cool.)

Team Comparisons:
FG %
Duke 49.3% over Reebok 30%
3 PT%
Duke 52.6% over Reebok 25%
Rebounds
Duke 52 over Reebok 30
Assists
Duke 22 over Reebok 9
Turnovers
Reebok 17 over Duke 18

Worrying Stat of The Day:
18 Turnovers (But it's the exhibition game, not counting the Scrimmage, so I'm not too worried)

Attendance: Cameron Indoor Stadium--3,246

GO BLUE DEVILS!

1st Regular Season Game: Sunday @ Denver

May 23--WNBA Recap

2007-05-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

Western Conference
Seattle Storm 2-0
Los Angeles Sparks 1-0
Sacramento Monarchs 2-1
Phoenix Mercury 1-1
San Antonio Silver Stars 1-1
Houston Comets 0-1
Minnesota Lynx 0-3

Eastern Conference
Detroit Shock 2-0
New York Liberty 1-0
Indiana Fever 1-0
Connecticut Sun 1-1
Washington Mystics 0-2
Chicago Sky 0-2

San Antonio defeats Connecticut 74-71
Silver Stars- Shanna Crossley: 16 pts, 4 rebounds
Sun- Katie Douglas: 21 pts, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal

Seattle defeats Phoenix 100-87
Storm- Lauren Jackson: 31 pts, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
Mercury- Cappie Pondexter: 31 pts, 5 assists, 1 steal

May 22--WNBA Recap

2007-05-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

Western Conference
Seattle Storm 1-0
Phoenix Mercury 1-0
Los Angeles Sparks 1-0
Sacramento Monarchs 2-1
Houston Comets 0-1
San Antonio Silver Stars 0-1
Minnesota Lynx 0-3

Eastern Conference
Detroit Shock 2-0
New York Liberty 1-0
Connecticut Sun 1-0
Indiana Fever 1-0
Washington Mystics 0-2
Chicago Sky 0-2

Detroit defeats Minnesota 85-75
Shock- Deanna Nolan: 21 pts, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Lynx- Seimone Augustus: 19 pts, 5 rebounds, 2 assists

Sacramento defeats Washington 70-52
Monarchs- Yolanda Griffith: 11 pts, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Mystics- Alana Beard: 17 pts, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block

Los Angeles defeats Chicago 81-64
Sparks- Taj McWilliams-Franklin: 13 pts, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Sky- Dominique Canty: 18 pts, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal

May 20--WNBA Recap

2007-05-21T20:14:00.000-07:00

Western Conference
Seattle Storm 1-0
Phoenix Mercury 1-0
Sacramento Monarchs 1-1
Los Angeles Sparks 0-0
Houston Comets 0-1
San Antonio Silver Stars 0-1
Minnesota Lynx 0-2

Eastern Conference
Detroit Shock 1-0
New York Liberty 1-0
Connecticut Sun 1-0
Indiana Fever 1-0
Washington Mystics 0-1
Chicago Sky 0-1

New York defeats Chicago 83-71
* Weird box score

Sacramento defeats Minnesota 74-64
Monarchs- Kara Lawson: 19 pts, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Lynx- Seimone Augustus: 28 pts, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

May 19--WNBA Recap

2007-05-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

Western Conference
Sacramento Monarchs 0-1
Seattle Storm 1-0
Los Angeles Sparks 0-0
Minnesota Lynx 0-1
Phoenix Mercury 1-0
Houston Comets 0-1
San Antonio Silver Stars 0-1

Eastern Conference
Detroit Shock 1-0
New York Liberty 0-0
Connecticut Sun 1-0
Indiana Fever 1-0
Washington Mystics 0-1
Chicago Sky 0-0

Results:

Detroit defeats Sacramento 75-68
Shock- Plenette Pierson: 22 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks
Monarchs- Kara Lawson: 14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Connecticut defeats Washington 89-80
Sun- Lindsay Whalen: 18 points, 3 rebunds, 3 assists, 4 steals
Mystics- Chastity Melvin: 22 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal

Indiana defeats Minnesota 83-64
Fever- Tan White: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Lynx- Nicole Ohlde: 15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Phoenix defeats San Antonio 81-72
Mercury- Diana Taurasi: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
San Antonio- Sophia Young: 14 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Seattle defeats Houston 82-69
Storm- Lauren Jackson: 23 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks
Houston- Ashley Shields: 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists

May 19--Storm Rallies Past the Comets 82-69

2007-05-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

Holy crap, what a great way to start the season!!!!! It was probably the most frustrating first half ever with the Storm going down by 20 points or so. Then that frigging unbelievable comeback. It would have been nice to have an easier game (just for the heart), but it's a good sign that the Storm is as gritty as this. If the Storm can come back like this against Houston, with Swoopes and Thompson, on opening day when our two stars haven't practiced nearly enough with our current unit, then I think it bodes well for the season.

Izi was the hero of the first half, really keeping us relatively close. At one point she had hit all six of her shots. She was the highest scorer in this game. This is awesome. We now know that we have five legitimate starters who can step up when they need to. LJ of course would be the first option to score at will. But if she feels crappy that day, Betty will knock her shots down. If not Betty, find Izi who's quick and deceptive and can definitely shoot really well. If that shot is not going down, then pound it down the middle to JB who has become so good at laying those shots right in. The ball will be in Sue's hands and she'll look for these options but if they are all not working, which is kind of frightening, then she can run her pick and roll and knock down her own shot. Then we have Gearlds and Palmer off the bench, one inside and one outside option if our starters are tired. Did I mention I love my team? Anyway, here are the stats.

Birdy
11 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers

B-Money
15 points, 5 rebounds 4 assists, 1 turnover
- Okay, I love this stat line for Betty. She shot well (50%), she only had one turnover which both mean that she wasn't forcing anything and was in control the whole time. Very balanced as well in terms of 4 assists. This, for me, is the best Betty. What a stat line.

Izi
25 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 turnover

LJ
23 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 1 turnover
- Classic LJ performance, including a half court shot to end the game. Classic, meaning spectacular of course.

JB
3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block, 3 turnovers.
- She only played 13 minutes. I wonder if something is wrong.

Okay, I'm not even gonna bother with the bench because no one did anything great. No one played horribly but they just weren't a factor. This was probably due to the fact that we were trying to mount a comeback and needed our starters in more than usual. Still though, I wonder when we can get a viable threat from our bench. A-Rob seems to be our choice for that and she had two blocks.

Anyway, Seattle Storm, 1 and freaking 0 for the season.

1-0

1-0

LET'S GO STORM!!!!!!!!!

Closing Up the Duke Season

2007-05-09T15:55:00.000-07:00

I've been so absent from this blog and so much has happened in Duke Women's Basketball.

First, Coach G left Duke and went to the Longhorns. It feels weird typing this out because it happened ages ago. Stupid schoolwork. Needless to say, I was pretty upset about it for a while. Okay, very down about it actually. I actually cried, which is really all dumb and all. I was mad for some time as well, both at her and at that stupid school down in Austin. You'll be happy to know that I'm totally over it now and am even ashamed at my initial anger. Still, how sweet would it be for the Devils to beat Texas next year? Both coaches (more about our new coach later) seem to not want to play that game. The players want to though and hell so do I. I'd love to watch that game.

Okay, so Coach G left and is now a Longhorn. What about the Devils?

For the next few weeks, there was a lot of chaos surrounding the program, with people calling for heads to roll (particularly that idiot AD). Joanne Boyle, a Duke alum, an assistant coach at Duke for a long time in the 1990s, who is now the head coach at California, turned down the position in a shocking move that I totally did not expect. I was already reading up on Coach Boyle when she turned it down.

Through this all, the Duke players hung tough and took leadership of their program that had suddenly been left in the dust. Immediately after Coach G spoke to them, they had a team meeting by themselves and reaffirmed their commitment to their team. They contacted recruits for both 2007 and 2008 and assured them that the world at Duke was not going to fall apart. Finally, they made it clear to the Athletic Department that they were going to be involved in the process of finding a coach. All of these helped to ease the fears of Duke fans and alums and, more importantly, recruits. As of this time, all three of our recruits for next year are still coming and Shay Selby, the next great Duke point guard is still intent on going to Duke. What they did also sent a clear message across the women's basketball world. This team was not going to flame out. This program was not going to flame out. This program is strong and, gosh darn it, full of talented players. Watch out. Very impressive job by the players and I'm truly proud to be a Duke fan.

Our new coach was finally hired. Joanne P. McCallie, formerly of Michigan State, has an impressive resume filled with a national championshoip game and numerous NCAA tournament appearances. From what I've read and watched of her, she's passionate, energetic and intelligent. She obviously knows basketball well enough to coach at a top school in a good conference. She also seemed excited to be at Duke, calling it her dream job. Okay, OT but what is it with all these coaches saying their new jobs are their dream jobs? Coach G did it when she went to Texas, Coach P did it and the MSU replacement did it. It upset me when Coach G did it and while i felt better when it was said about the school I'm rooting for, it still didn't seem right. Sure, before you took that new job, your old job was the best in the world. Why don't you just say that it's a great opportunity and a great job for you at that time? Anyway, rant over.

Coach P, in my opinion, is a great choice. I've heard initial negative reactions but I think she's done enough to soothe Duke fans' fears a bit. I mean, she's one of the most well known coaches, which is great for Duke. We deserve a well known and reputable coach. Also, it's not like we can get anyone so obviously better than what we had. I think we actually have had the highest winning percentage in the last few years.

After that helluva month of Duke women's basketball, I'm ready for next season to start. I'm looking forward to Abby Waner showing another huge jump in her game (she improved dramatically from her freshman year to her sophomore year), Joy Cheek becoming an even more consistent bruiser down low, Carrem Gay continue to put up all around good numbers, the freshman Thomases coming in and living up to their billing, Wanisha Smith emerging as a tried and true leader, Chante coming back strong from her injury, Brittany and KJ coming back for their second year of actual playing more experienced and more productive and Bridgette becoming an even bigger offensive and defensive threat in the paint. I'm looking forward to Coach P's first year on the bench wearing Duke blue, along with her assistant coaches, Al Brown, one of the most well respected assistant coaches in the world, Samantha Williams and Shannon Perry, who decided to stay at Duke and show her loyalty to the program and provide some familiarity for the team.

All in all, it was a huge Duke season. Undefeated regular season. We may not have gotten a national championship but I can guarantee you that I could not be more thrilled that I'm a Duke fan. National Championship? We'll get that next year, trust me.

GO DUKE GO!

Random NCAA Women's Basketball Stuff

2007-03-27T20:56:00.000-07:00

Elite Eight is done and Final Four is set.

UNC will take on Tennessee
Rutgers will take on LSU

First of all, the moment I decide to cheer for UConn the rest of the way, they lose. Needless to say, I'm losing all faith in my predicting power and I'm gaining more faith in my being a jinx to the teams I root for.

Still though, I thought I'll give the Final Four a chance. Anyway, I dislike both UNC and Tennessee so it doesn't matter if I jinx who I pick. It'll be Tennessee. Candace Parker will play fantastically and Ivory Latta will go around making those bug-eyed faces (When her eyes get really REALLY big) and flexing her muscles while hitting a woeful percentage from the floor. Erlana Larkins will be the one to keep UNC moderately close in this game. In the end, Pat Summitt and her Vols will reach the National Championship game.

On the other side, I think I like LSU better. I'm torn with Rutgers. Do I want them to be beaten really badly after beating my Dukies? Or do I want them to win it all so that I can say that my Dukies lost to the eventual champs? I don't know. Regardless, I think that whoever gets out of this game loses to the winner of the other game. Anyway, I'll go LSU but if they lose I swear I'm not even going to wear Storm gear this WNBA season. I'm too dangerous.

Lindsey Harding won WBCA Defensive Player of the Year honors. :) This is great, great news and well deserved. I still hope Phoenix trades that number 1 draft pick to one of those teams looking for a PG so Harding can get taken number one. Come on, Merc. It's your duty. :) Besides, I don't think they'll take Ali at number 1 so it will probably be Davenport. Meh, I want a Dukie to go number one.

Duke has allowed Texas to contact Coach G. Five minutes after I hear this news (well, read it), people are swearing that she's in Austin already! Waitasec, didn't we just play a game on Saturday? I swear I thought that it would take at least a week for them to attempt to hire her. Howsabout a really really bad week for the Duke players, huh? On ESPN, Kara Lawson and Nancy Lieberman apparently said that it's basically in the bag.

Ok, how's this for how I'm feeling. Yes, I knew that there was always a huge possibility that she'd take the Texas job. I mean, all the signs were pointing to it. Isn't this kind of soon though? One reason is that there are so many coaching vacancies open that everyone is trying to land their right candidate/their right job quickly to avoid getting lost in the shuffle. Still, three days after mourning the Duke loss and already I think I might have something else to mourn about. I've disliked everything Longhorns for awhile (Because of their football mind you, not women's basketball). Does this mean I need to start lookin at those Texas baseball caps that are everywhere? Ugh. Duke fans on message boards I've read are being very classy about this whole thing. It's great to see.

Longhorn fans are so excited on their board. Great, they should be. Still doesn't make me feel any better though.

Fingers crossed still. But really, what the hell else would she be doing in Austin? Checking out the facilities?

Oh yeah, and on an unrelated but sigh-inducing note. Bruce Pearl, Tennessee men's head coach, was offered a job (for the life of me I can't remember the school and it's not really important anyway to my story so I just won't name it) and he turned it down right away saying that he wanted to end speculations and show his commitment or something to the fans, admin, etc.

When the Texas rumors started swirling around first and Coach G gave a very politically correct answer, I told my sister: Well, it's not like she could say anything else at that point, whether it be absolutely no or absolutely yes. From Bruce Pearl: I guess you can. Damnit, damnit, damnit. Fuggedaboutit...I'm going to start hounding the web for Seattle Storm news. (Speaking of, has Birdy signed yet???)

Heartbreaker: Duke Falls to Rutgers in the Sweet Sixteen

2007-03-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

There's only one word that can describe what I've been feeling for the past five or so hours.

Ouch.

In stunning fashion, Duke's "dream" season ended 53-52 to Rutgers. I was worried about this game for a number of reasons (see my post previewing Duke's NCAA Tournament) and I was worried about this match up since it got set. Somewhere in me, however, I always hoped that I was just being pessimistic and we could pull this off. Heck, Duke's been able to pull it off numerous times this season.

As I was watching the livestats on my computer, I started getting a little worried because it seemed to me that our players were not hitting their shots. We were down early but Duke woke up and grabbed the halftime lead. At this point, I started telling myself that we were going to be okay.

Second half I was pacing and pulling my hair, biting my nails, waiting for the frigging game to end with us snatching the victory to move into the Elite Eight.

It was not to be. Late in the game, Rutgers grabbed a one point lead. However, Lindsey Harding was fouled with practically no time left on the clock. She had 2 free throws to steal the game from Rutgers. Heartbreakingly and shockingly, Harding missed both free throws pretty badly. Game over and season over for the Duke Blue Devils.

I was stunned for about half an hour. Kind of stunned now as well but more saddened. I was depressed for a bit about it but then it turned into a lesser version of disappointment. I saw the video of Harding lying on the court after the game. She was just covering her face and not moving. Her teammates were all around her, I guess trying to make her feel better. It honestly broke my heart. Lindsey was the engine of this team this year. Apart from this, she was the heart. I don't think anyone played with as much heart as she did, leading this Duke team to a remarkable season. She must feel like crap but I don't want her to. It could have happened to anyone. Sadly for her, it happened to her. Still, this 30-2 season, so unreal for so many reasons, can be attributed to Lindsey Harding. She's a Duke hero and I doubt anyone, apart from bandwagon fans, will be calling for her head for this. I know that she's still my hero. She's going to go on to the WNBA and the national team and blow up and become a spectacular professional player. She deserves it and she will take it. I know that I'm going to be cheering for whichever team is lucky enough to get her. Sadly it won't be my Storm who pick seventh.

Those freethrows don't tell the whole story. This whole game, the shots weren't falling, Rutgers seemed to be playing better. I honestly don't know what happened. To be honest, this seemed to be the way Duke was playing since the Temple game. I remember that they won over Temple but they didn't play convincingly enough for me.

Alison Bales, our other great senior, was a force today. And I mean a "damn she's not going to be in Dukie blue next year" kinda force. 21 pts, 4 blocks, 3 assists and 4 rebounds. I feel bad for her too because I think she left it all out there today. She did everything in her power to get this victory for her team and she just fell short. The good news is that she was probably the only Dukie to really play at championship caliber level today and, considering that the Phoenix Mercury are looking for a post player, she could just have played herself into a No. 1 Draft Pick. Again, like Lindsey, I'll instantly become a fan of whatever team Ali gets to play for. She's been a great Duke player, that's for sure.

As for the rest of the players, I think Carrem Gay had the best overall night (based on stats) among the rest. She looked pretty solid. Sadly, for me and obviously for her, Abby Waner did not play well today. She just wasn't shooting the ball very well. Was it a product of good defense? I know one thing. Abby's had some incredibly awesome shooting nights and some really oddly absent shooting nights. If this is a product of superb defense, I think she needs to work a little harder on trying to get open because we're going to need her to be hot every game next year to contend. I love Abby Waner and she's still my fave Devil but I'd love for her to be a little bit more consistent. I feel bad for Abby now as well because she always seems to take everything basketball-related very hard. I read somewhere that she couldn't really speak so much during the press conference because she was holding back tears or something. I know last year, after the loss to Maryland, she was inconsolable. I hope she wins one while at Duke. Two more years, girl. Hold your head up.

Now for the other variable: Gail Goestenkors and Duke. Now let the posturing begin. Which school will offer the highest prize? Is it going to be Texas, Florida, LSU? There are a lot of coaching vacancies this year, making this even more exciting. Okay, I'm hiding my anguish at the thought of her leaving Duke. I'd be one happy Devil fan if I find out that she's staying. I just don't see it happening. I kept asking myself and my sister before this loss whether Coach G would be more likely to leave if they won the national championship or not. Now I believe that she'll leave because of all the disappointment she's experienced at Duke. Maybe she feels like she can't win one while at Duke and she'd like to try something fresh and new. This would suck for Duke. Some people question her coaching style and her effectiveness during the big games. While these are meritous arguments, I'm going to make an emotion-driven statement. I'd like her to stay just because I respect her and I like her. Period. Well, okay, there's the fact that she's winning a whole lot of games every year, making it an awesome college basketball season for me. But there's the bigger picture here. I respect her and thus I respect her product, regardless of what it is. Still though, I believe she'll leave. The funny thing? I want her to be successful at her new school. I think she deserves the success and a national championship eventually. I just hope Duke finds a respectable, likable and effective coach to replace her.

Anyway, the stats don't really seem to matter to me too much right now. I'm not going to put them up.

UConn-NC State game going on right now. UConn is my second favorite team but I'd also like Kay Yow's great run to continue. Whoever gets out of this game will get my support.

Thank you to all the Blue Devils players and coaching staff. This was an amazing, amazing year. It was something that I'll always remember for the excitement and emotion. I'm proud to be a Blue Devil fan.

Coach Goestenkors Rumors

2007-03-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

Apart from watching the NCAA Women's Tournament closely and devotedly, I've been following this piece of news with horror and dread.

Yes, there has been much more shocking news in women's basketball in the past few weeks. One of them being the Pokey Chatman scandal. She resigned as LSU's head coach right before the tournament. While no evidence has come out yet, the rumblings are that she was found to have exhibited inappropriate conduct with a former player. Yes, this is definitely bigger and more damaging than the rumor that is now playing tricks on my mind.

As a Duke fan though, that takes second seat to much scarier rumblings.

Coach G leaving Duke after this season.

Rumors started after Jody Conradt resigned as Texas HC on Selection Monday. At this point, I was just sad that she had resigned. Then the articles started coming out and forums have been buzzing. Coach G heads their list of potential successors. People on the Texas board were thrilled to hear this. As they should be.

The way Coach G handles herself and conducts her program, her class and integrity, have made it easy for me to be a Duke fan, to root for them. I started out as a die-hard UConn fan. When I realized I wanted to cheer for a program for it being what it is instead of being Sue Bird's alma mater, I searched for a team that I could follow and latch on to. Duke had signed a fantastic shooter in Abby Waner. So check that off my list. I love pure and damn good shooters. I also found out that they had a superb point guard in Lindsey Harding. Okay, I need a team with a great point guard to kinda be Birdy-like. Check that one off. Other teams had one or even both of these. What pushed it over the edge for me was the entire quality of the program. I read press conference quotes, read about their history. I loved Coach G and the job she had done in building that program and assembling a classy group of players. She also seemed like someone I'd like to play for (with another foot in height of course).

I know I'm a noob in terms of being a Duke fan but I am one and I have been for the past two years. Losing Coach G, maybe because some stupid, idiotic, *%&($ Athletic Director decides not to match the money some other big program offers her, would hurt a lot. Alleva makes some dumbass comments about how coaches like Auriemma and Summit bring money to their programs while the Duke program does not. But then he goes and says that he hopes Coach G would stay. Umm....after saying that? Basically trashing the program saying, you know, we don't need to match because she's not really an elite coach? That's bull.

Should we review the past fifteen years Coach G has dedicated to Duke? Should we review wins, losses, recruiting, NCAA appearances? How about something that may not translate into numbers? Respectability, class, integrity? How about putting the Duke women on the map, garnering attention as one of the top...TOP programs in the country?

Duke's athletic department would be insane to let Coach G walk. Insane. Okay, tell me. Who the hell are you going to get to replace her that can be as successful or more successful than she has been? DON'T. DO. IT.

On a more pragmatic note, my problem with this is how this will affect future recruiting and even the competitiveness of this program. My problem with this, on a personal note, is if they get some annoying personality on the Duke sideline. It would be very hard for me to cheer for them.

If Coach G chooses to leave, then that's another story. I can't really blame her for it. But it would sadden me greatly.

Anyway, I'll just keep my fingers crossed for now.

There's still this NCAA Tournament to follow. :) GO BLUE DEVILS!!!!

2nd Round NCAA Duke Escapes Temple 62-52

2007-03-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

I was a little worried about the game and apparently, according to the message board I read, Duke wasn't very sharp in this game. On one hand, it's good to win when you aren't playing your best. It gives you more confidence going ahead. On the other hand, at this point of the season, after losing only once before the tourney, they really shouldn't be having bad nights at this point. Six games of absolute full throttle control. It's a little crazy because they won by 10 points, by no means a narrow escape. It's a double digit win against a Temple team that, in my opinion, has a lot of talent (while others may not hold this same opinion). But Duke has set the bar high this season with their racking up win after win after win. A performance like this seems subpar from them. Hopefully they can use this as motivation to play freakingly well for four more games. Starting to worry a little bit. Still though, I'm very proud of them for getting to the Sweet Sixteen. Good going. :)

Top 5 Scorers:
Lindsey Harding--18
Wanisha Smith--15
Carrem Gay--13
Abby Waner--8
Bales, Cheek--4

(and actually, that's it. Those are the only people who scored....)

Top 5 Rebounds:
Carrem Gay--10
Wanisha Smith--7
Alison Bales--6
Lindsey Harding--3
Joy Cheek--3

Top 2 Assists:
Lindsey Harding--4
Wanisha Smith--3

Top 2 Steals:
Wanisha Smith--4
A. Waner, Harding--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--2

Okay, some things I'd like to see in the next round (and I'm praying I'll see)
1. Alison Bales with more blocks and a higher shooting percentage
2. Better shooting from Wanisha Smith
3. More steals! We used to have tons of steals...
4. Can someone please get over there and tell them to practice free throws? I'll cry if they end up losing a game because of missed free throws.

Anyway, go Blue Devils! I can't believe I missed the live stats thing for this game because of frigging economics class...how dumb is that. Then again, I would have been tearing my hair out...

Tuesday's NCAA Women's Tourney Results

2007-03-20T17:31:00.000-07:00

(1) Duke defeats (8) Temple 62-52
Duke PoG--L. Harding 18 pts, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Temple PoG--K. Hairston 16 pts, 2 assists, 10 rebounds

(1) Tennessee defeats (8) Pittsburgh 68-54
Tennessee PoG--C. Parker 30 pts, 4 assists, 12 rebounds
Pittsburgh PoG--M. Walker 19 pts, 2 assists, 9 rebounds

(7) Mississippi defeats (2) Maryland 89-78
Mississippi PoG--A. Price 29 pts, 5 assists, 7 rebounds
Maryland PoG--M. Coleman 20 pts, 12 rebounds

(4) NC State defeats (5) Baylor 78-72
NC State PoG--K. Whittington 23 pts, 11 rebounds
Baylor PoG--B. Mosby 26 pts, 6 rebounds

(4) Rutgers defeats (5) Michigan State 70-57
Rutgers PoG--K. Vaughn 16 pts, 7 rebounds
Michigan State PoG--V. Lucas-Perry 17 pts, 3 assists, 10 rebounds

(1) Connecticut defeats (9) Wisconsin Green Bay 94-70
Connecticut PoG--T. Charles 22 pts, 7 rebounds
Wisconsin Green Bay PoG--N. Berglin 28 pts, 3 assists, 6 rebounds

(7) Bowling Green defeats (2) Vanderbilt 59-56
Bowling Green PoG--A. Flynn 19 pts, 3 rebounds
Vanderbilt PoG--L. Sherwood 18 pts, 5 rebounds

(1) North Carolina defeats (9) Notre Dame 60-51
North Carolina PoG--I. Latta 17 pts, 2 assists, 4 rebounds
Notre Dame PoG--C. Allen 21 pts, 4 rebounds

Tuesday Games: NCAA Women's Tourney

2007-03-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

5:00 PM

(1) Duke versus (8) Temple

7:00 PM

(1) Tennessee versus (8) Pittsburgh

(2) Maryland versus (7) Mississippi

(5) Baylor versus (4) NC State

(5) Michigan State versus (4) Rutgers

9:00 PM

(9) Notre Dame versus (1) North Carolina

(9) Wisconsin Green Bay versus (1) Connecticut

(7) Bowling Green versus (2) Vanderbilt

Monday's NCAA Women's Tourney Results

2007-03-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

(3) Oklahoma defeats (6) Marquette 78-47
Oklahoma PoG--C. Paris 24 pts, 10 rebounds
Marquette PoG--E. Osagie-Landry 10 pts, 8 rebounds

(3) Georgia defeats (6) Iowa State 76-56
Georgia PoG--T. Humphrey 21 pts, 7 rebounds
Iowa State PoG--T. Ross 11 pts, 9 rebounds

(13) Marist defeats (5) Middle Tennessee State 73-59
Marist PoG--N. Flores 21 pts, 3 rebounds
MTSU PoG--C. Givens 16 pts, 6 rebounds

(5) George Washington defeats (4) Texas A&M 59-47
George Washington PoG--K. Beck 18 pts, 4 assists, 5 rebounds
Texas A&M PoG--T. Starks 16 pts, 3 rebounds

(3) LSU defeats (11) West Virginia 49-43
LSU PoG--S. Fowles 21 pts, 13 rebounds
West Virginia PoG--A. Powell 13 pts, 3 rebounds

(2) Purdue defeats (7) Georgia Tech 76-63
Purdue PoG--K. Gearlds 26 pts, 4 rebounds
Georgia Tech PoG--S. Higgs 25 pts, 8 rebounds

(10) Florida State defeats (2) Stanford 68-61
Florida State PoG--M. Freshour 15 pts, 3 assists, 5 rebounds
Stanford PoG--C. Wiggins 19 pts, 5 assists, 5 rebounds

(3) Arizona State defeats (6) Louisville 67-58
Arizona State PoG--B. January 22 pts, 4 assists, 2 rebounds
Louisville PoG--J. Covington 11 pts, 12 rebounds

Oh my God...what a horrible day for my picks. I don't even want to talk about it. Good thing I don't put money on these things....I'm almost afraid to make picks for tomorrow...

Thank God (for my picks) LSU was able to pull it off. YES. Pull it off. They were down for awhile against the Mountaineers? What the hell???

My record today: 4-4 and it could have been a lot worse. LSU almost got beaten by WVU and Arizona State barely beat Louisville....

Anyway, GO BLUE DEVILS!!!!

I'm so nervous about tomorrow I won't be able to sit through my 5-8 class thinking about this game...

Monday Games: NCAA Women's Tourney

2007-03-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

7:00 PM

(6) Marquette vs. (3) Oklahoma

(6) Iowa State vs. (3) Georgia

8:00 PM

(13) Marist vs. (5) Middle Tennessee State

(5) George Washington vs. (4) Texas A&M

9:00 PM

(11) West Virginia vs. (3) LSU

(7) Georgia Tech vs. (2) Purdue

10:00 PM

(10) Florida State vs. (2) Stanford

(6) Louisville vs. (3) Arizona State

For the record, when I first did this, I had all the higher seeds winning. I decided my choices needed a little excitement so I picked Iowa State. :) Hope they pull the upset then.

1st Round NCAA: Duke Beats Down Holy Cross 81-44

2007-03-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

YES!

Duke gets through their first round game fairly easily. Abby Waner shot the lights out. The team shot a very good 54.2% from the field and had 12 offensive rebounds. The only downside for me for this game was that the free throw shooting was atrocious (56.3%). I remember that game against North Carolina where we kept missing free throw after free throw. At that time, it didn't hurt us because the lead was pretty comfortable at that point. Today, obviously, we were blowing them out so it didn't really hurt. Down the road, however, against a team like Tennessee or UConn, and we're up by only five or less, those misses are going to kill the game for Duke. They need to bring that percentage up. Really.

Top 5 Scorers:
Abby Waner--26 (and 6-8 from the 3 pt line)
Alison Bales--13
Carrem Gay--10
Joy Cheek--10
Lindsey Harding--7

Top 5 Rebounders:
Alison Bales--8
Wanisha Smith--6
Bridgette Mitchell--5
Gay, Waner, Jackson, Cheek--3

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--9
Alison Bales--3

Top 2 Steals:
Abby Waner--4
Harding, Gay--3

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--5

Duke will play the winner of the Temple-Nebraska game going on right now on Tuesday. Come on Duke!! :)

Sunday's NCAA Women's Tourney Results

2007-03-18T14:26:00.000-07:00

(7) Mississippi defeats (10) TCU 88-74
Mississippi PoG--A. Price 21 pts, 6 assists, 7 rebounds
TCU PoG--A. Davis 24 pts, 12 rebounds

(4) NC State defeats (13) Robert Morris 84-52
NC State PoG--M. Dickens 25 pts, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Robert Morris PoG--S. Monsac 20 pts, 4 assists, 18 rebounds

(2) Vanderbilt defeats (15) Delaware State 62-47
Vanderbilt PoG--C. Wirth 17 pts, 6 assists, 6 rebounds
Delaware State PoG--R. Collier 22 pts

(9) Notre Dame defeats (8) California
Notre Dame PoG--C. Allen 13 pts, 2 assists
California PoG--A. Walker 20 pts, 13 rebounds

(2) Maryland defeats (15) Harvard 89-65
Maryland PoG--S. Doron 21 pts, 7 rebounds
Harvard PoG--E. Tay 16 pts, 3 rebounds

(5) Baylor defeats (12) UT-Chattanooga 68-55
Baylor PoG--B. Mosby 12 pts, 3 assists, 7 rebounds
UT-Chattanooga PoG--A. Anderson 16 pts, 2 assists, 10 rebounds

(7) Bowling Green defeats (10) Oklahoma State 70-66
Bowling Green PoG--A. Mann 16 pts, 4 assists, 13 rebounds
Oklahoma State PoG--A. Riley 20 pts, 5 assists, 3 rebounds

(1) North Carolina defeats (16) Prairie View 95-38
North Carolina PoG--J. Breland 14 pts, 10 rebounds
Prairie View PoG--G. Werema 8 pts, 5 rebounds

(1) Tennessee defeats (16) Drake 76-37
Tennessee PoG--C. Parker 13 pts, 6 rebounds
Drake PoG--L. Whorton 9 pts, 4 rebounds

(9) Wisconsin-Green Bay defeats (8) New Mexico 59-52
Wisconsin-Green Bay PoG--N. Soulis 15 pts, 5 rebounds
New Mexico PoG--J. Briody 11 pts, 5 rebounds

(1) Duke defeats (16) Holy Cross 81-44
Duke PoG--A. Waner 26 pts, 3 rebounds
Holy Cross PoG--B. O'Dell 3 assists, 2 rebounds

(5) Michigan State defeats (12) Delaware 69-58
Michigan State PoG--V. Lucas Perry 14 pts, 8 rebounds
Delaware PoG--T. Smith 19 pts, 4 rebounds

(8) Pittsburgh defeats (9) James Madison 71-61
Pittsburgh PoG--M. Walker 20 pts, 15 rebounds
James Madison PoG--T. Young 16 pts, 6 rebounds

(1) Connecticut defeats (16) UMBC 82-33
Connecticut PoG--C. Houston 15 pts, 3 assists, 6 rebounds
UMBC PoG--B. Hughes 9 pts, 2 assists, 3 rebounds

(8) Temple defeats (9) Nebraska 64-61
Temple PoG--F. Maddox 18 pts, 5 assists, 6 rebounds
Nebraska PoG--K. Hardy 23 pts, 2 rebounds

(4) Rutgers defeats (13) East Carolina 77-34
Rutgers PoG--M. Ajavon 20 pts, 3 rebounds
East Carolina PoG--C. Mills 13 pts, 8 rebounds

My haul today:

14-2

Hmm....I'm sensing a pattern here...

Sunday Games: NCAA Women's Tourney

2007-03-17T18:23:00.000-07:00

12:00 NN

(10) TCU versus (7) Mississippi

(13) Robert Morris versus (4) NC State

(15) Delaware State versus (2) Vanderbilt

(9) Notre Dame versus (8) California

2:00 PM

(15) Harvard versus (2) Maryland

(12) UT-Chattanooga versus (5) Baylor

(10) Oklahoma State versus (7) Bowling Green

(16) Prairie View versus (1) North Carolina

7:00 PM

(16) Drake versus (1) Tennessee

(9) Wisconsin Green Bay versus (8) New Mexico

(16) Holy Cross versus (1) Duke

(12) Delaware State versus (5) Michigan State

9:00 PM

(9) James Madison versus (8) Pittsburgh

(16) MD Baltimore versus (1) Connecticut

(9) Nebraska versus (8) Temple

(13) East Carolina versus (4) Rutgers

I think I did pretty well on my first day of picks but I swear I can make the wrong pick for each one of these games except for that Duke game. I'm getting really really nervous and excited. :)

LET'S GO BLUE DEVILS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday NCAA Women's Tourney Results

2007-03-17T18:04:00.000-07:00

(3) Oklahoma defeats (14) SE Missouri State 74-60
Oklahoma PoG--J. Plumley 20 pts, 7 assists, 4 rebounds
SE Missouri State PoG--S. Daugherty 25 pts, 10 rebounds (4 offensive)

(6) Iowa State defeats (11) Washington 79-60
Iowa State PoG--L. Medders 12 pts, 10 assists, 5 rebounds
Washington PoG--C. Hicks 19 pts, 3 assists, 3 rebounds

(10) Florida State defeats (7) Old Dominion 85-75
Florida State PoG--A. Gladden 18 pts, 6 assists, 4 rebounds
Old Dominion PoG--T. Green 17 pts, 7 rebounds (5 offensive)

(4) Texas A&M defeats (13) Texas Arlington 58-50

(6) Marquette defeats (11) La LaFayette 87-58
Marquette PoG--C. Quaye 17 pts, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
La LaFayette PoG--J. Colbert 17 pts, 5 assists, 2 rebounds

(3) Georgia defeats (14) Belmont 53-36
Georgia PoG--A. Houts 10 pts, 6 assists, 4 rebounds
Belmont PoG--A. Clark 12 pts, 13 rebounds (7 offensive)

(2) Stanford defeats (15) Idaho State 96-58
Stanford PoG--B. Smith 29 pts, 3 assists, 9 rebounds (5 offensive)
Idaho State PoG--N. Doma 32 pts, 7 rebounds (4 offensive)

(5) George Washington defeats (12) Boise State 76-67
George Washington PoG--J. Adair 15 pts, 21 rebounds (11 offensive), 2 assists
Boise State PoG--N. Begay 26 pts, 2 assists, 4 rebounds

(5) Middle Tennessee State defeats (12) Gonzaga 85-46
Middle Tennessee State PoG--C. Givens 24 pts, 4 assists, 5 rebounds
Gonzaga PoG--M. Elliott 17 pts, 4 rebounds

(11) West Virginia defeats (6) Xavier 65-52
West Virginia PoG--C. Cole 21 pts, 12 rebounds
Xavier PoG--A Harris 19 pts, 10 rebounds

(6) Louisville defeats (11) BYU 80-54
Louisville PoG--A. McCoughtry 24 pts, 9 rebounds
BYU PoG-- D. Kubik Wright 12 pts, 7 rebounds

(7) Georgia Tech defeats (10) DePaul 55-54
Georgia Tech PoG--C. Nnamaka 14 pts, 11 rebounds
DePaul PoG--A. Quigley 17 pts, 3 assists, 5 rebounds

(13) Marist defeats (4) Ohio State 67-63
Marist PoG--J. Viani 24 points, 3 rebounds
Ohio State PoG--A. Trebilcock 23 points, 6 rebounds

(3) LSU defeats (14) NC Asheville 77-39
LSU PoG--R. LeBlanc 15 pts, 2 assists, 3 rebounds
NC Asheville PoG--A. Elder 5 pts, 3 assists, 9 rebounds

(3) Arizona State defeats (14) UC Riverside 57-50
Arizona State PoG--B. January 15 pts, 2 assists, 4 rebounds
UC Riverside PoG--K. Nkele 16 pts, 6 rebounds

(2) Purdue defeats (15) Oral Roberts 63-42
Purdue PoG--L. Wisdom-Hylton 14 pts, 8 rebounds
Oral Roberts PoG--E. Turek 16 pts, 11 rebounds

My First Day Haul:

14-2

Not bad.

Most shocking to me was the Ohio State loss. I thought that they were going to win for sure. I had a strange feeling about the West Virginia-Xavier game but I didn't follow my instinct.

Day One of the Women's Tourney is done. :) On to Day Two.

Saturday Games: NCAA Women's Tourney

2007-03-16T22:56:00.000-07:00

My picks are in bold

12:00 NN

(14) SE Missouri State vs. (3) Oklahoma

(11) Washington vs. (6) Iowa State

2:00 PM

(10) Florida State vs. (7) Old Dominion

(13) Texas Arlington vs. (4) Texas A&M

2:30 PM

(11) La LaFayette vs. (6) Marquette

(14) Belmont vs. (3) Georgia

4:00 PM

(15) Idaho State vs. (2) Stanford

(12) Boise State vs. (5) George Washington

8:00 PM

(12) Gonzaga vs. (5) Middle Tennessee State

(11) West Virginia vs. (6) Xavier

(11) BYU vs. (6) Louisville

(10) DePaul vs. (7) Georgia Tech

10:00 PM

(13) Marist vs. (4) Ohio State

(14) NC Asheville vs. (3) LSU

(14) UC Riverside vs. (3) Arizona State

(15) Oral Roberts vs. (2) Purdue

Duke Blue Devils NCAA Preview

2007-03-16T00:23:00.000-07:00

I'm done with my "March 13 from hell" where I had two essays and a midterm so now I can finally immerse myself (almost) completely into March Madness. :)

Duke is the number one overall seed in the tourney, which means they get to play in the Greensboro Region. They play their first game on Sunday at 7:00 PM against Holy Cross, a team that has not even had a .500 season this year. They managed to get in by winning their conference tournament, something that I have to admit the Blue Devils didn't do. I'd say I'm pretty darn optimistic about this game but I don't want to write it off either (because there's still a superstitious part of me).

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/ncaatourney07/bracket

Here's a look at the bracket. If the Blue Devils get past Holy Cross (Okay, I'm actually hoping they manhandle them just so I can start relaxing a bit about this whole darn thing), they may get to go against the Dawn Staley-led Temple Owls, a game I'd kill to see.

Other things about the Duke-side of the bracket, Rutgers is our number 4 seed. Now I spent the whole season telling Kilcher (a die-hard Uconn-er) that UConn would breeze past any Big East opponent and they were really on a whole different level from the rest of the Big East. Then comes the conference tournament finals where, for some unfathomable reason to me, Rutgers beats UConn. THEN they appear in my side of the bracket. Part of me still thinks that Rutgers is just not that good this year but they're apparently better than I previously thought. Now I'm going to be extremely uneasy about them. There's nothing worse than saying all year that a team just isn't up to par and then having that same team ruin your team's season.

As for the other seeds in the Duke bracket apart from Rutgers, Vanderbilt and Michigan State kind of pop out to me as possible stumbling blocks. I know Arizona State is the 3rd seed but I haven't kept track of them all year so they are an unknown variable to me right now.

Overall, I'm cautiously pleased about our bracket. I don't think there's anything there that's unfair or insurmountable. If you want any of that, you may want to look at the Dayton bracket. :) Tennessee, Maryland, Oklahoma and Ohio State...yeah, that's pretty much a killer right there. If anything, that portion of the bracket should be getting the most air time. I'm definitely excited to see those games. Whoever gets out of this bracket will have been through the fire and back and survived. Either they'll be scarily good or scarily exhausted both physically and mentally.

I shall be wearing all Blue Devil gear every day that Duke has a game. Shirt, Sweater, Cap and maybe I can even get my sister to draw the Blue Devil logo on my arm. I'm really really excited.

Argh, six games to the title. I'm only a spectator but I think I'm going to go crazy every single day til this whole thing ends.

GO BLUE DEVILS!!!

March 3--ACC Semifinals: Duke Falls to NC State 70-65

2007-03-03T19:08:00.000-08:00

Well, the dream run has ended...for now. I am still extremely hopeful that Duke will get the National Championship in a few weeks.

I wasn't able to watch this game so I don't really know how it went in terms of momentum, etc. I did notice however some pretty bad shooting nights from our two seniors. Harding was 3-13 and Bales was 4-13. That means our most experienced players were 7-26. They shot about 27% from the field. Obviously, this was a factor in this game.

Anyway, I'm pretty disappointed that my team lost but I have a feeling they'll be able to bounce back from this. Now they CANNOT lose a single game. If there's any team that can do it, it's Duke.

I'm left wondering what Coach G said to her players after that game. I wonder if there was a lot of screaming or just positive reinforcement. :)

Top 5 Scorers:
Alison Bales--17
Abby Waner--17 (She shot a very good 6-9 from the field. Yay, the shooting's back I guess)
Lindsey Harding--10
Wanisha Smith--9
Joy Cheek--8

Top 5 Rebounders:
Alison Bales--7
Joy Cheek--5
Lindsey Harding--4
Wanisha Smith--4
Carrem Gay--3

Top 2 Assists:
Abby Waner--4
Lindsey Harding--4

Top 2 Steals:
Alison Bales--1
Lindsey Harding--1
(Very little steals this game. Maybe this was also a big factor since Duke usually breaks a game open with their transition game)

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--3

No idea when or against whom the next game is. :( It will be the First Round of the NCAA tourney. Come on Devils, it's winning time again.
:)

ACC Quarterfinals--Duke Beats Virginia 79-58

2007-03-02T17:02:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Abby Waner--24
Alison Bales--13
Joy Cheek--10
Carrem Gay--10
Harding, Smith, Waner--6

Top 5 Rebounders:
Wanisha Smith--9
Alison Bales--8
Abby Waner--6
Joy Cheek--6
Mitch, Waner, Gay--2

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--8
A. Waner, Harding--4

Top 2 Steals:
Alison Bales--3
Harding, Smith--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--6

Next Game:
ACC Semifinals Duke Blue Devils vs. NC State
March 3 Saturday, 2 pm ET

Feb. 25--Duke Pulls Past UNC 67-62

2007-02-25T15:34:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Alison Bales--16
Lindsey Harding--15
Abby Waner--13
Joy Cheek--8
Wanisha Smith--8

Top 5 Rebounders:
Joy Cheek--14
Alison Bales--12
Lindsey Harding--8
Abby Waner--4
Wanisha Smith--3

Top 2 Assists:
Alison Bales--4
A. Waner, Harding, Smith--3

Top 2 Steals:
Abby Waner--6
Lindsey Harding--3

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--4

29-0 and an undefeated regular season for the Blue Devils. :)
There were plenty of times in the game when the Devils would play sloppily. Due to this, Carolina would creep back into the game slowly and take a slight lead. Impressively, however, the Devils would make some key shots and some key steals during the final minutes of the game to win this one. There were some weird turnovers that had me pulling my head out but UNC happened to have more hair-pulling turnovers (20-15). Abby Waner had some excellent steals during the final minutes of the game. She also scored in double figures so maybe this means her little slump was over. It was a little worrying at the beginning becaus she was missing a lot of her shots.

Strangely enough, our free throw shooting was terrible. I trust that Coach G will have them practicing that for the next two days or somethng. As a whole, the Devils shot 15-33 from the charity stripe which converts to 45.5%. If they were to lose that game, that would really haunt them and their fans as well. As it is, it didn't hurt them as much as it could have. The Dukies are pretty good free throw shooters but today everyone had a problem. 3 of 7...2 of 7...4 of 8...3 of 7.
I figure, if we can beat a good UNC team while shooting this horribly from the FT line, then we have a good chance to win games when they can actually hit from there.

The Cameron crowd was intense and it was so great to watch that game. They had cool signs and at the end of the game (if I heard right) I think they were chanting "un-de-fea-ted" :)

Hopefully Duke can keep this up as pretty much everything is a must-win from now on considering one of their goals is to win the ACC tournament as well.

Congratulations to the Blue Devils on a great regular season! 29-0! 29-0!

Feb. 18--Duke Eases Past Maryland 69-57

2007-02-19T21:59:00.000-08:00

We beat the Terps! We beat the Terps!!!!!

Top 5 Scorers:
Lindsey Harding--29 :) Just like in every big game this year, she stepped up.
Carrem Gay--14
Alison Bales--12
Wanisha Smith--7
Joy Cheek--4

Top 5 Rebounders:
Alison Bales--12
Wanisha Smith--7
Abby Waner--5
Harding, Mitchell, Cheek--4

Top 2 Assists:
Abby Waner--4
Bales, Cheek--2

Top 2 Steals:
Abby Waner--3
Joy Cheek--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--2

On the Maryland side, I noticed that Kristi Toliver and Marissa Coleman had poor shooting nights (5--16 and 5-17).

On a personal note, damn I wish I could have seen this game. :(

Final regular season game for Duke next Sunday against North Carolina. It will be Senior's night as well. And, again, it's not on here. Good thing for LiveStats....

GO DUKE!!!

28-0

Feb. 15--Duke Blasts Boston College 73-52

2007-02-16T21:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know I usually just put the stats in and leave it at that. And considering I had no access to this game whatsoever, I don't really have anything to say about the game. I WOULD like to say this though....

THIS BLUE DEVIL TEAM HAS ME SO STOKED!!!!

I'm a newbie Devil fan, really only coming on at the start of last year. I was more of a UConn fan before that. But man has this been fun. Maybe it's only the fact that they're undefeated. But I couldn't watch them at the start of the year and while I followed and supported them, it was from a little farther out. Then I FINALLY got to watch them and I LOVE the way they play. I wish they aired more games up here in Toronto. :(

Anyway, onto the game.

Top 5 Scorers:
Bridgette Mitchell--20 (Whoa, that's incredible)
Wanisha Smith--13
Carrem Gay--10
Alison Bales--9
Abby Waner--9

Top 5 Rebounders:
Bridgette Mitchell--10
Abby Waner--9
Carrem Gay--6
Alison Bales--5
Brittany Mitch--4

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--7
Abby Waner, Lindsey Harding--3

Top 2 Steals:
Alison Bales--3
Carrem Gay--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--6 (Okay, I can live again.)

And just on a sucky note, I subscribed to this special sports pack thing which gets me all forms of basketball possible here in Canada. Sometimes, when we're lucky, we get regional broadcasts of women's basketball games. So I was eagerly looking for the Duke--Maryland game and they didn't have it. Hello? How can we not have this?? Stupid waste of money...

LET'S GO DEVILS!!!!!

Toronto Varsity Blues vs. Ryerson Rams =)

2007-02-14T20:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, I saw the final home game of the Varsity Blues tonight. I had to wade through deep snow and blistering wind to get there too. Luckily, we won, so I went home a happy camper.

Toronto played really well. They utilized a lot of backdoor cuts and they executed their transition game.

I'm not a regular at these games as they're on weekends and I head home on weekends so I'm not familiar with the players. They missed a bunch of easy layups in the 2nd half when Ryerson was almost back in the game. Overall, though, my team was much better than the other team and we finish the season at 12-10.

One thing I did note was that their level of play seemed at least one level below that of the NCAA schools I watch most of the time. This isn't meant to be a diss to the Varsity Blues because I really enjoyed my time at the game awhile ago. This is just an observation. A lot of weird turnovers and out of control plays. Everytime someone would steal the ball and go the other way, it didn't turn out well probably 40% of the time.

Still, however, I had a blast and I'm looking at a way to get involved in that team next year which will be impossible since:
A. I'm not in the Physical Education Program (I think they get their managers from there)
B. I've never played basketball in my life
C. I'm probably the most un-sporty looking in the world.

Anyway, I'll see what develops. Maybe I can ask to cover women's sports for our newspaper, who knows.

On another note, the Varsity Blues play in a gym. With bleachers. It's not even an arena. It's in the middle of the sports and recreation centre. :( So much for that college basketball experience. I should have just gone to school in the US. :)

Feb. 11--Duke Pushes Past Wake Forest 77-45

2007-02-14T20:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know that winning by 32 points is a pretty big margin. According to the article, however, it was much tighter than that with the Blue Devils playing very much unlike the no. 1 ranked team in the country. It took a yelling session by Coach G to get them out of it and recover in the 2nd half to get this kind of score. Even as I looked ahead to the treacherous two games we have left with Maryland and North Carolina, a part of me was nervous about a letdown after that UNC win. There may have been a slight letdown but in the end, they pulled it out to remain undefeated. They get a little bit of a rest before going against Boston College on Thursday.

Top 5 Scorers:
Lindsey Harding--13
Joy Cheek--13
Wanisha Smith--11
Bridgette Mitchell--9
Alison Bales--9

(Shocking, no Abby Waner who had 6 points on atrocious 2-11 shooting. She missed all 6 of her 3 pointers. I can't believe she can actually have a bad game. S'okay, she's going to light it up against BC)

(On another note, everytime there's a game that the Blue Devils have a hard time winning or when they are struggling, Lindsey Harding is almost always the leading scorer. That's what you call leadership and stepping it up)

Top 5 Rebounders:
Lindsey Harding--8
Wanisha Smith--7
Bridgette Mitchell--7
Joy Cheek--6
Alison Bales--5

Top 2 Assists:
Abby Waner--4
Wanisha Smith--4

Top 2 Steals:
Bales, A. Waner, Mitch--2

Top Blocks:
NONE

Okaaaay, weirded out by the no blocks bit.....hmmm.....Ali only played 22 minutes so maybe that's why....

Next up is Feb. 15 vs. Boston College.

LET'S GO DUKE!!!

Feb. 8--Duke Crushes UNC 64-53

2007-02-08T22:29:00.000-08:00

Yess!!!! I saw this game and the Devils rocked. I actually had an uneasy feeling the whole game, thinking the Devils were going to falter. At the half, if I'm not mistaken, they had somewhere between an eight to ten point lead. I turned to my sister and said: okay, I love the Blue Devils but methinks they're going to find a way to lose this game. Indeed, they started the second half really sluggishly. They let UNC come back to tie the game. THEN the Blue Devils showed what they're made of. They regrouped, they never panicked, and they put those damn Latta-led Tar Heels away. I think there were about 2 minutes left and they began making some shots (which weren't falling in the first part of the 2nd half) and I began to feel this overwhelming feeling of pride and joy. Granted, this is not the National Championship game. For this fan anyway, this win should be taken as a good sign, as well as a bragging point. The sign of great teams are when they are able to win even when they were just clutching onto the game with a single finger.

Huge, huge game for Lindsey Harding. She was a master point guard during this game. I was so impressed with the way she calmed the offense down (even with some pretty bad turnovers in the game, not necessarily by her).

Wanisha Smith kept making her shots, which was instrumental to this win. There was this point in the first half when Ali and the rest of the bigs kept missing their easy shots (yes, I was yelling my head off over here). Anyway, she'd pull up from midrange and hit those shots, keeping us with the advantage in the first half.

Not sure about Alison Bales shooting, etc. (and she got blocked like 3 times at least), but her defense was awesome. She had 7 blocks, fyi, and I didn't even notice it. She was doing something else more impressively. She wouldn't let the UNC players post up. Almost always, she'd force them out of the key and take away that shot, forcing them to pass or to make a lower percentage shot. She was just too strong and Duke will need her to be that good at defending the paint for them to have a shot at the NCAA tournament.

Abby Waner seemed to me to have a slow game at the beginning. But I checked out the stats and she had a pretty good game. She missed all her three-pointers, but she scored this one key basket at the end of the game that just took the winds out of UNC's sails. Also, there was this one shot in the first half where she drove baseline and made this little scoop shot which hit nothing but net. Now THAT was cool. There was this other posseession when she had the ball and was maneuvering through the UNC defense when for some strange reason, they just parted and she had this really nifty looking layup. :) Funny how I remember actual Waner possessions. Obviously, I'm a Waner fan.

The rest of the team played well as well. Good effort from the whole team.

I was also very impressed with Coach Goestenkors. I was freaking out over here and it's not even my team. She seemed to be calm the whole time. In fact, when the Devils were trying to seal the game with FTs, Lindsey Harding missed her two shots.Then someone else tried to hit from the stripe. They showed Harding and Coach G talking and Coach G was laughing about it with Harding and was like "What are you doing?" Then she did a pretend free throw. Harding was laughing sheepishly as well and trying to explain something (not sure about this. maybe she was just talking about the next play). Anyway, if I had to play for a coach, I'd want to play for someone like that. Also, love that at the end of the game, she was REAALLY happy. Almost giddy in fact. Go Coach G!!!!!

Top 5 Scorers:
Wanisha Smith--17
Abby Waner--16
Lindsey Harding--16
Alison Bales--7
Joy Cheek--6

Top 5 Rebounders:
Alison Bales--14
Lindsey Harding--9
Carrem Gay--5
Abby Waner--4
Wanisha Smith--4

Top 2 Assists:
Lindsey Harding--7
Bales, A. Waner, Smith--2

Top 2 Steals:
Alison Bales--4
Abby Waner--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--7

LETS GO DUKE!!!!!!!

Feb. 5--Duke Thrashes Clemson 105-53

2007-02-08T22:25:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Alison Bales--21
Carrem Gay--18
Abby Waner--16
Wanisha Smith--13
Brittany Mitch--9

Top 5 Rebounders:
Bridgette Mitchell--9
Alison Bales--8
Abby Waner--6
Carrem Gay--5
Smith, Mitch, Jackson--4

Top 2 Assists:
Lindsey Harding--6
Brittany Mitch--6

Top 2 Steals:
Bales, Cheek, Jackson--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--3

Feb. 2--Duke Gets Past Virginia 76-61

2007-02-08T22:11:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Lindsey Harding--21
Wanisha Smith--13
Abby Waner--12
Alison Bales--11
Joy Cheek--8

Top 5 Rebounders:
Alison Bales--12
Abby Waner--6
Bridgette Mitchell--5
Joy Cheek--3
Gay, Harding, Mitch--2

Top 2 Assists:
Lindsey Harding--4
Gay, Bales, A. Waner--2

Top 2 Steals:
A. Waner, Harding, Cheek--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--4

Jan. 29--Duke Bounces Past Virginia Tech 75-65

2007-02-08T22:05:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Abby Waner--18
Alison Bales--17
Lindsey Harding--15
Wanisha Smith--9
Bridgette Mitchell--6

Top 5 Rebounders:
Alison Bales--11
Abby Waner--6
Carrem Gay--5
Lindsey Harding--5
Wanisha Smith, Bridgette Mitchell--3

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--6
Lindsey Harding--2

Top 2 Steals:
Abby Waner--5
Lindsey Harding--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--5

Jan. 25--Duke Beats Florida State 73-60

2007-02-08T22:00:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Alison Bales--15
Carrem Gay--14
Abby Waner--13
Wanisha Smith--12
Lindsey Harding--10

Top 5 Rebounders:
Alison Bales--9
Carrem Gay--8
Lindsey Harding--6
Brittany Mitch--5
Abby Waner--3

Top 2 Assists:
Lindsey Harding--5
Wanisha Smith--3

Top 2 Steals:
Abby Waner--4
Alison Bales, Lindsey Harding--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--5

Jan. 22--Duke Escapes With a Win Over Tennessee 74-70

2007-02-08T21:56:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Abby Waner--24
Lindsey Harding--21
Wanisha Smith--15
Alison Bales--8
Joy Cheek--4

Top 5 Rebounders:
Alison Bales--8
Carrem Gay--7
Abby Waner--5
Lindsey Harding--3
Emily Waner, Joy Cheek--2

Top 2 Assists:
Lindsey Harding--7
Alison Bales--4

Top 2 Steals:
Lindsey Harding--2
Alison Bales, Abby Waner--1

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--4

Jan. 18--Duke Beats NC State 65-51

2007-02-08T21:52:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Lindsey Harding--10
Brittany Mitch--10
Abby Waner--9
Emily Waner--8
Alison Bales--8

Top 5 Rebounders:
Carrem Gay--9
Abby Waner--7
Lindsey Harding--4
Joy Cheek--4
Alison Bales--4

Top 2 Assists:
Abby Waner--5
Wanisha Smith--5

Top 2 Steals:
Bridgette Mitchell--2
Wanisha Smith--2
Alison Bales--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--4

Jan. 13--Duke Avenges NC Loss Vs. Maryland 81-62

2007-02-08T21:44:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Lindsey Harding--28
Alison Bales--18
Wanisha Smith--15
Abby Waner--11
Bridgette Mitchell--4

Top 5 Rebounders:
Alison Bales--12
Lindsey Harding--8
Carrem Gay--7
Wanisha Smith--5
Abby Waner--4

Top 2 Assists:
Abby Waner--7
Lindsey Harding-4

Top 2 Steals:
Emily Waner--4
Abby Waner--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--7

Jan. 10--Duke Zips Past Georgia Tech 83-51

2007-02-08T21:40:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Abby Waner--27
Carrem Gay--16
Lindsey Harding--16
Joy Cheek--10
Alison Bales--7

Top 5 Rebounders:
Alison Bales--7
Carrem Gay--5
Joy Cheek--4
Abby Waner, Wanisha Smith, Bridgette Mitchell--3

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--6
Lindsey Harding--5

Top 2 Steals:
Carrem Gay--4
Wanisha Smith, Emily Waner, Keturah Jackson--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--6

Jan. 7--Duke Trounces Virginia Tech 86-54

2007-02-08T21:36:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Abby Waner--20
Lindsey Harding--20
Wanisha Smith--14
Carrem Gay--11
Bridgette Mitchell--6

Top 5 Rebounders:
Joy Cheek--9
Carrem Gay--6
Bridgette Mitchell--5
Alison Bales, Abby Waner, Lindsey Harding--4

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--6
Lindsey Harding--5

Top 2 Steals:
Carrem Gay--3
Abby Waner--3

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--5

Jan. 3--Duke Blasts Past Miami 72-42

2007-02-08T21:31:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Carrem Gay--12
Alison Bales--11
Abby Waner--10
Lindsey Harding--9
Wanisha Smith--8

Top 5 Rebounders:
Carrem Gay--10
Alison Bales--9
Emily Waner--7
Joy Cheek--6
Bridgette Mitchell, Lindsey Harding, Abby Waner--5

Top 2 Assists:
Abby Waner--5
Lindsey Harding--4

Top 2 Steals:
Carrem Gay--4
Bales, A. Waner, E. Waner, Mitchell, Mitch--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--3

Dec. 30--Duke Breezes Past Boston U 71-43

2007-02-08T21:27:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Carrem Gay--22
Lindsey Harding--17
Alison Bales--12
Abby Waner--6
Wanisha Smith--6

Top 5 Rebounders:
Carrem Gay--10
Wanisha Smith--7
Alison Bales--6
Abby Waner--6
Emily Waner, Bridgette Mitchell--4

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--5
Brittany Mitch--4

Top 2 Steals:
Gay, Harding, Smith, Mitchell--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--4

Dec. 29--Duke Downs Dartmouth 77-40

2007-02-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Abby Waner--18
Alison Bales--12
Lindsey Harding--12
Emily Waner--12
Bridgette Mitchell--10

Top 5 Rebounders:
Alison Bales--9
Bridgette Mitchell--7
Brittany Mitch--7
Carrem Gay--5
Wanisha Smith--4

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--6
Alison Bales--4

Top 2 Steals:
Carrem Gay--4
Abby Waner--3

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--4

Dec. 21--Duke Rolls Over Pittsburgh 72-51

2007-02-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Lindsey Harding--22
Carrem Gay--12
Wanisha Smith--11
Abby Waner--10
Alison Bales--8

Top 5 Rebounders:
Lindsey Harding--5
Alison Bales--4
Wanisha Smith--4
Bridgette Mitchell--4
Brittany Mitch, Carrem Gay--3

Top 2 Assists:
Lindsey Harding, Wanisha Smith, Brittany Mitch--3

Top 2 Steals:
Brittany Mitch--3
Carrem Gay, Joy Cheek--2

Top Blocks:
Lindsey Harding Alison Bales--2

Dec. 20--Duke Batters SMU 75-45

2007-02-08T21:14:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Carrem Gay--12
Abby Waner--12
Alison Bales--10
Brittany Mitch--10
Lindsey Harding, Wanisha Smith--8

Top 5 Rebounders:
Joy Cheek--10
Alison Bales--9
Carrem Gay--6
Bridgette Mitchell--6
Keturah Jackson--5

Top 2 Assists:
Lindsey Harding--7
Abby Waner, Wanisha Smith--3

Top 2 Steals:
Abby Waner--3
Bridgette Mitchell--2
Brittany Mitch--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--4

Dec. 19--Duke Wins Over Bowling Green 55-46

2007-02-08T21:10:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Alison Bales--13
Lindsey Harding--13
Wanisha Smith--11
Abby Waner--9
Carrem Gay--4

Top 5 Rebounders:
Carrem Gay--9
Alison Bales--8
Wanisha Smith--6
Abby Waner--4
Lindsey Harding--3

Top 2 Assists:
Lindsey Harding--6
Wanisha Smith--4

Top 2 Steals:
Lindsey Harding--3
Abby Waner, Alison Bales--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--7

Dec. 10--Duke Beats Texas 80-52

2007-02-08T21:04:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Wanisha Smith--18
Lindsey Harding--14
Abby Waner--13
Alison Bales--10
Carrem Gay, Emily Waner, Bridgette Mitchell--7

Top 5 Rebounders:
Wanisha Smith--8
Joy Cheek--6
Alison Bales--5
Abby Waner--5
Carrem Gay--4

Top 2 Assists:
Lindsey Harding--4
Abby Waner, Wanisha Smith--3

Top 2 Steals:
Abby Waner--6
Joy Cheek--5

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--4

Duke Blue Devils

2007-02-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

I'm officially about 15 games behind schedule now on doing this stat thing but the great Blue Devil win over UNC today inspired me. I'll get to that game last but for now, here's the rest of the Blue Devil scores from December, all of them adding up to a 25-0 start!!!

Dec. 4--UConn Busts Holy Cross 83-64

2006-12-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Charde Houston--22
Renee Montgomery--16
Brittany Hunter--12
Kalana Greene--10
Thomas, McLaren--9

Top 5 Rebounders:
Brittany Hunter--7
Charde Houston--6
Kalana Greene--6
Tina Charles--4
Renee Montgomery--4

Top 2 Assists:
Renee Montgomery--7
Ketia Swanier--4

Top Steals:
Houston, McLaren--4

Top Blocks:
Tina Charles--2

Nov. 30--UConn Breaks Purdue 66-55

2006-12-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Renee Montgomery--26
Charde Houston--9
Mel Thomas--8
Tina Charles--6
Green, McLaren--5

Top 5 Rebounders:
Brittany Hunter--9
Charde Houston--7
Kalana Greene--5
Ketia Swanier--5
McLaren, Montgomery--4

Top 2 Assists:
Charde Houston--5
Montgomery, Swanier--3

Top Steals:
Charde Houston--4

Top Blocks:
Charde Houston--4

Nov. 28--UConn Knocks Out Boston U 84-51

2006-12-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Mel Thomas--14
Charde Houston--12
Tina Charles--12
Kalana Greene--11
Brittany Hunter--10

Top 5 Rebounders:
Charde Houston--11
Kalana Greene--9
Tina Charles--8
Brittany Hunter--7
Meghan Gardler--4

Top 2 Assists:
Ketia Swanier--6
Mel Thomas--4

Top Steals:
Ketia Swanier--3

Top Blocks:
Houston, Hunter--2

Nov. 16--UConn Tramples Colgate 81-37

2006-12-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Tina Charles--18
Mel Thomas--15
Renee Montgomery--12
Brittany Hunter--12
Charde Houston--10

Top 5 rebounders:
Tina Charles--17
Brittany Hunter--10
Kalana Greene--8
Charde Houston--6
Kaili McLaren--4

Top 2 Assists:
Kalana Greene--4
Houston, Montgomery, Hunter--2

Top Steals:
Houston, Swaner--3

Top Blocks:
Tina Charles--5

Nov. 13--UConn Puts Down Richmond 84-50

2006-12-07T19:19:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Mel Thomas--23
Charde Houston--20
Kalana Greene--14
Renee Montgomery--12
Tina Charles--5

Top 5 Rebounds:
Tina Charles--10
Charde Houston--9
Kalana Greene--7
Mel Thomas--6
Ketia Swanier--4

Top 2 Assists:
Renee Montgomery--7
Ketia Swanier--5

Top Steals:
Ketia Swanier--4

Top Blocks:
Houston, Charles, McLaren--2

Nov. 8--UConn Defeat Houston 102-61

2006-12-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Mel Thomas--28
Renee Montgomery--17
Tina Charles--16
Kalana Greene--16
Charde Houston--7

Top 5 Rebounders:
Tina Charles--14
Charde Houston--9
Kalana Greene--6
Kaili McLaren--6
Montgomery, Thomas, Swanier--3

Top 2 Assists:
Renee Montgomery--7
Ketia Swanier--4

Top Steals:
Houston, Montgomery, Thomas, Swanier--2

Top Blocks:
Kalana Greene--3

Dec. 7--Duke Downs Vanderbilt 69-48

2006-12-07T19:07:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Alison Bales--16
Lindsey Harding--15
Abby Waner--14
Wanisha Smith--13
Bridgette Mitchell--6

Top 5 Rebounders:
Carrem Gay--9
Alison Bales--9
Wanisha Smith--7
Bridgette Mitchell--5
Abby Waner and Lindsey Harding--4

Top 2 Assists:
Lindsey Harding--4
Wanisha Smith--4

Top Steals:
Lindsey Harding--2
Wanisha Smith--2

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--5

:( Our shooting was below 50% tonight. There goes the streak...ohhhh weelllll.....Vanderbilt was undefeated before this game by the way.

We are now 8-0!!!!!! Here come the Devils!!!

Dec. 4--Duke Tramples Rutgers 85-45

2006-12-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, the box score's all weird so I can't put up stats....sigh....

According to the story...

Abby Waner scored 21 points
Lindsey Harding--19 points
Alison Bales--11 points

Carrem Gay--10 rebounds

Duke shot 51% from the field, the third time in a row they shot over 50% from the field.

Nov. 29---Duke Defeats Old Dominion 89-40

2006-12-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Abby Waner--16
Carrem Gay--13
Joy Cheek--12
Keturah Jackson--11
Alison Bales--10

Top 5 Rebounds:
Alison Bales--7
Carrem Gay--6
Lindsey Harding--4
Brittany Mitch--4
Cheek and Jackson--3

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--7
Carrem Gay--5

Top Steals:
Abby Waner and Brittany Mitch--4 each

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--4

Nov. 25--Duke Levels Michigan 92-47

2006-12-06T20:08:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Lindsey Harding--19
Alison Bales--14
Abby Waner--14
Carrem Gay--11
Joy Cheek and Brittany Mitch--7

Top 5 Rebounds
Alison Bales--7
Abby Waner--6
Brittany Mitch--4
Gay, Harding and Smith--3

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--6
Abby Waner--4

Top Steals:
Abby Waner--6

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--6

Nov. 21 Duke Defeats Penn State 70-42

2006-12-06T20:04:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Abby Waner--16
Lindsey Harding--11
Alison Bales--9
Wanisha Smith--7
Bridgette Mitchell--7

Top 5 Rebounders:
Alison Bales--6
Lindsey Harding--5
Joy Cheek--5
Wanisha Smith--4
Carrem Gay and Emily Waner--3

Top 2 Assists:
Lindsey Harding--6
Alison Bales--4

Top Steals:
Wanisha Smith--5

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--9

Nov. 19--Duke Trounces Houston 81-35

2006-12-06T20:01:00.000-08:00

Top 5 Scorers:
Alison Bales--16
Bridgette Mitchell--16
Abby Waner--15
Wanisha Smith--11
Lindsey Harding--8

Top 5 Rebounders:
Bridgette Mitchell--12
Carrem Gay--8
Joy Cheek--7
Alison Bales--6
Abby Waner--6

Top 2 Assists:
Abby Waner--6
Lindsey Harding--6

Top Steals:
Abby Waner--3

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--5

Nov. 17--Duke Wins Over Marist College 71-50

2006-12-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

Hmm...a little closer game than the rest have been but a great scoreline nonetheless.

Top 5 Scorers:
Carrem Gay--14
Abby Waner--14
Alison Bales--12
Lindsey Harding--9
Wanisha Smith--8

Top 5 Rebounders:
Carrem Gay--10
Wanisha Smith--8
Abby Waner--7
Bridgette Mitchell--7
Alison Bales--5

Top 2 Assists:
Wanisha Smith--5
Abby Waner and Lindsey Harding--2

Top Steals:
Abby Waner--4

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--4

Nov. 11--Duke Downs Northeastern 102-49

2006-12-06T19:50:00.000-08:00

B-L-O-W-O-U-T

Just what I want to see.

Once again, the Devils had a huge rebounding edge, 63-29. Bridgette Mitchell, yes the frosh, had 11 Offensive boards. Holy crap.

Top 5 Scoring:
Bridgette Mitchell--18
Abby Waner--16
Carrem Gay--16
Joy Cheek--12
Brittany Mitch--10

Top 5 Rebounding:
Bridgette Mitchell--13
Alison Bales--11
Joy Cheek--11
Carrem Gay--6
Waner sisters--4 each

Top 2 Assists
Wanisha Smith--5
Lindsey Harding--4

Top Steals:
Abby Waner and Lindsey Harding--5 Each

Top Blocks:
Alison Bales--5

I love the balance on the team. Ok, I admit that I was apprehensive at the start of the year because I did not think that Lindsey and Ali were the leaders that Mo and Mistie were. It seems like the whole roster is stepping up now and contributing to the cause.

Duke Beats Premier Players 96-47

2006-12-06T19:44:00.000-08:00

Finally, I'm back to this.

Anyway, since I have a lot of games to go through, I'll just post the key stats of the game and the key players.

Abby Waner's stat line was incredible tonight. 50% shooting from the floor for 16 points. She had 7 rebounds and 2 steals.

The rebounding was exceptional tonight with everyone doing their fare share of it. How about a 60-32 edge in rebounding for the Devils which included 27 offensive boards? Awesome. Carrem Gay and Alison Bales contributed 10 each to this effort.

Scoring was pretty even too. Abby and Ali each scored 16. Joy Cheek got 14, Lindsey Harding and Bridgette Mitchell got 13 and Wanisha Smith had 11.

Anyway, good solid game. Some of the young players (sophomores and freshmen) are really shining. I don't know if it's because it's lesser competition or what but they're certainly beginning to raise my hopes for the season.

You'll Be Safe Here by Rivermaya

2006-11-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's not nationalistic but I love this song. :)

http://www.lyricsmansion.com/result_east.php?number=2879

Nobody knows
Just why we're here
Could it be fate
Or random circumstance
At the right place
At the right time
Two roads intertwine
And if the universe conspired
To meld our lives
To make us Fuel and fire
Then know
Where ever you will be
So too shall I be

[Chorus:]
Close your eyes
Dry your tears
'Coz when nothing seems clear
You'll be safe here
From the sheer weight
Of your doubts and fears
Weary heart
You'll be safe here

Remember how we laughed
Until we cried
At the most stupid things
Like we were so high
But love was all that we were on
We belong
And though the world would
Never understand
This unlikely union
And why it still stands
Someday we will be set free.
Pray and believe

[Chorus:]
When the light disappears
And when this world's insincere
You'll be safe here
When nobody hears you scream
I'll scream with you
You'll be safe here
Save your eyes
From your tears
When everything's unclear
You'll be safe here
From the sheer weight
Of your doubts and fears
Wounded heart
When the light disappears
And when this world's insincere
You'll be safe here
When nobody hears you scream
I'll scream with you
You'll be safe here
In my arms
Through the long cold night
Sleep tight
You'll be safe here
When no one understands
I'll believe You'll be safe,
You'll be safe
You'll be safe here
Put your heart in my hands
You'll be safe here

Liwanag sa Dilim by Rivermaya

2006-11-21T19:04:00.001-08:00

http://www.lyricsmansion.com/result_east.php?number=2865

Ituring ang iyong sariling
Tagahawi ng ulap
Sa kalangitang kulimlim
Kampanang yayanig
Sa bawat nilalang
Magigising ang lupang
Kulang sa dilig

Ikaw ang magsasabing
Kaya mo to
Tulad ng isang tanglaw
Sa gitna ng bagyo
Isigaw mo sa hangin
Tumindig at magsilbing
Liwanag
Liwanag sa Dilim

Harapin mong magiting
Ang bagong awitin
Ikaw ang
Liwanag sa Dilim

At sa paghamon mo
Sa agos ng ating kasaysayan
Uukit ka ng bagong daan
Ikaw ang aawit ng
Kaya mo to
Sang panalangin
Sa gitna ng gulo

Posible by Rivermaya

2006-11-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

I'm on a huge nationalistic kick right now. I'm dying to get home. Anyway, I'd like to share these songs that either warm my heart or incite me.

Taken from Lyrics Mansion

http://www.lyricsmansion.com/result_east.php?number=3717

Posible kayang labanan ang agos ng paghamon
Mabuwal at madapa man, sabay tayong aahon
Posible kayang mabura alinlangan sa sarili
Ang tapang sa loob makikita
Taglay mo ang dugong bayani

Sulong, laban, 'wag uurong
Pakinggan sa 'yong puso ang sigaw na dating bulong
Sulong, laban, 'wag uurong
Pakinggan sa 'yong puso ang sigaw na dating bulong
Posible

Posible kayang matikman tamis ng gintong minimithi
Sa kagat ng bawat laban magtatagumpay ka muli
Sulong, laban, 'wag uurong
Pakinggan sa 'yong puso ang sigaw na dating bulong
Posible

Sulong, laban, 'wag uurong
Pakinggan sa 'yong puso ang na dating bulong
Posible
Sulong, laban, 'wag uurong
Pakinggan sa 'yong puso ang na dating bulong
Posible

Sulong, laban, Pilipino
Pakinggan sa 'yong puso ang na dating bulong

Posible
Posible
Posible

Bad Signs and Basketball Update

2006-11-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

I had my economics midterm today. I had a class at 9 AM so I had to get up early to go to that. My test was still at 6 pm. Anyway, my alarm woke me up at 7:45. I was like, ah, I'll sleep in for another 5 minutes. Usually, it works. I fall in and out of sleep every minute or so then I eventually get up. This time, I dropped into slumber and when I got up with a start it was already 8:40. Forget breakfast and a shower I guess. I zipped right out of there. Anyway, I got to class in time but I was wondering if this really boded well for my entire day. Scary considering 1/4 of my economics grade would be decided today. It wasn't too bad though. It was just really long and tiring although I knew the answers. Not an A+ but maybe a B-? Good enough. As long as it's not an D....

I haven't been updating either the UConn or Duke teams results yet since their first games and, honestly, I won't put the results up til after December 5, after my final midterm. For now, it's just too much mindless work at this crucial time. All you need to know is that...ho-hum, they've won all their games.

UConn Defeats Team Concept (And Sue) 101-87

2006-11-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

Admittedly, I was much more into this game than the Blue Devils against Anderson. Can it be that I'm starting to enjoy UConn more once again? Or could it just be because Sue was in the game? Hmm...Anyway, this will be a first. I'll be doing the stats for a game with Sue in it but I won't be doing her stats. Interesting...not that I haven't digested it anyway. :) But this post is for the UConn Huskies who, in my opinion, handed in a spectacular performance (at least from what I could observe from live stats)

But as a quick side note, Sue did have seven assists. :) Okay, seriously, that's it.

Charde Houston had a monster game. A Freakishly Awesome Game. She shot 14-20 from the field (hello???) and ended up with 30 points, 19 frigging rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 6 steals. In 28 minutes. Yup. Okay, I never kept up with her stats before (only the final scores) but does she always do this? Because if she did....you know....there's a Storm uni waiting for her in 2008....

Tina Charles, yes the frosh, had a great game. She shot 8-14 from the field and had 16 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, a block and a steal. Welcome to the Huskies. :) I wonder how much of a chance Duke had of nabbing her. :( I'd like those 13 rebounds on the Devils.

Renee Montgomery only had 9 points but she compensated with 6 assists (yes! Sue still beat her in that area :) sorry, I'm forever gonna compare them) She also had 3 rebounds.

Mel Thomas had 12 p0ints (on slightly atrocious 3 point shooting percentage), an assist and a steal. Ok, I think that maybe she can do better than that. Apart from her probably jacking up threes and missing most of them, she should have tried to get into other aspects of the game. I mean, she's one of the older ones on the team right? Hence, more experience.

Kalana Greene had 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.

Tahirah Williams only played 6 minutes which seems a bit on the low side for an exhibition game. In those minutes, she managed to get 1 foul and 2 turnovers to her name. Ouch.

Ketia Swanier had 6 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal.

Jacquie Fernandes only played 3 minutes. She had 2 points and a rebound.

Meghan Gardler had 5 points and 2 rebounds in limited action

Kaili McLaren had 11 points and 11 rebounds along with an assist and a block.

Cassie Kerns had a rebound and an assist in 5 minutes of action.

My question for any UConn fan out there is: If this was only an exhibition contest, why did Geno skew his minutes so much with 3 of his players getting only from 3 to 6 minutes? It wouldn't really have mattered had he let them play would it and they lost? Hmmm....

Duke Demolishes Anderson University 107-37

2006-11-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

Great start for my Devils, although the score is quite sad for the other team. Hopefully, the Dukies didn't try to run up the score on them....

I liked the distribution of minutes by Coach G considering it was an exhibition game. Everyone got their fair shots at the floor.

Carrem Gay had 7 points, 2 blocks, 4 steals and 8 rebounds. She only shot 50% from the FT line though and only 2-8 from the floor.

Ali Bales had 20 points, 8 blocks, 2 steals and 10 rebounds. I'm sooo happy she had a good game. I feel like, if she continues to play like she did to the latter part of last season, we have a good chance to win the NC. And this was a pretty darned good performance.

Abby Waner had 16 points, 2 assists, 4 steals, and 5 rebounds. Yay for the scoring. I became a Duke fan because of Abby so I'm hoping she goes and blows the competition away either this year or next when no one is really expecting it.

Lindsey Harding had 8 points, 4 assists, 3 steals and a rebound. Ermm...I don't know. That's the problem about not watching games. I can't really judge how well she handled the team, etc. Stats don't always tell the story, but that's all I'm going to have to go on every time for these college games. After all, I'm not going to pay to listen to their games (I'm a suffering college student, remember). I wish they had one of those free live streaming radio stations like the Storm has.

Wanisha Smith had 8 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

Emily Waner had 11 points, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 rebounds. It's only an exhibition so I'll look past the 3-10 from the 3 point line, but seriously.... :(

Bridgette Mitchell had 11 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 3 steals. Not a bad stat line at all for a frosh. In fact, pretty impressive.

Joy Cheek 10 points, 7 rebounds, a block and 2 steals.

Brittany Mitch had 8 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals

Keturah Jackson had 8 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals.

Anyhoo, important thing is that they won pretty big and it looks like everyone had a pretty even stat line.

Fight Devils!

Happy Birthday!

2006-10-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Sue!

Yup, Birdy's turning 26 today. :) I hope she has a good one. I actually had it programmed into my phone but I forgot about it. So I was on the GO train when my phone started buzzing like crazy. It was really early too so I was half-asleep. I was like, "What on earth?" Then I fished around my pockets for my phone and saw "Sue Bird 26"

Anyway, here are my birthday wishes for her with between now and her next birthday (Selfish ones, take note)

1. In the 2007 WNBA Season, she'll get back on First Team All-WNBA. Just to shut the "haters" up....wouldn't that be sweet?

2. Winning the Dish& Assist Award. Just because I think she's the best passer out there and the best person at recognizing when and how to pass the ball. I can't believe she's only won it once. But next year will be her second.

3. A nose that will stay mended. :) I swear if she breaks her nose again, I'm personally gonna go over there and permanently stick that mask to her face. It brings too much anxiety for me when she breaks it.

4. A WNBA Championship. Well, we need at least two don't we?

5. A Perfect WNBA Season--Hahaha! Ok, this is the selfish one and highly unlikely one. But you never know. It would be sweet to go through the season with victory...after victory...after victory...:)

Anyone else wanna add anything feel free to comment. :) There can never be too many birthday wishes, right?

Anyway, happy happy birthday Sue!

Two years ago...

2006-10-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

...on this date...the Seattle Storm won their WNBA Championship. :)

I've been a little busy with other things and I've been trying to de-obsess myself with the Storm (because, well, they're gone until next May anyway). However, I saw the headline on the Storm website and I allowed myself to sit back and savor that moment once again. It was absolutely incredible. Anyway, I just wanted to write about it. Back then, since that was the first year I started watching them and I was known to flip flop between obsessions (Martina Hingis, Annika Sorenstam...yada yada...), when they won and I was screaming and jumping around the place, my mom and my sister basically ignored me. They were just like, "That's nice." Two years later, when they win, they get all excited for me, and when they lose, they stay the hell away from me. :)

Happy Anniversary Storm! Thanks for being a part of my life for the past two years.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2006-10-07T21:49:00.000-07:00

Yesss!!!! I'm so happy it's Thanksgiving this week. I know my class schedule is pretty light and everything, but it still feels great to get a holiday. Plus Thanksgiving means a great big meal at my aunt's house. :)

I spent the day trying to write my outline for my Lit class. It's supposed to be about the predicament of the character in Eliot's poem "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". Mainly, I'm writing the outline using lines from the book as explanations. Like if I say that Prufrock feels like he is disconnected from the world, I'll cite lines and then explain how they do support my claim. Anyway, the big problem is that it's supposed to be for an essay that is 4-5 pages long. But the outline is supposed to be contained in 1 page WITH the supporting details in it. WTF??? So now I'm trying desperately to cut it down. And it's not like my points are very extraordinary anyway...sigh....

I just started to read my Max Weber book for my other report and it's been going well so far. Basically, he believes that capitalism did not only arise due to economic goals but also because of religious goals. He says that capitalists see earning more and more profit as a "calling" and that not doing so to the best of one's ability would make God unhappy. It's an interesting take on it even if it's not something I can completely feel comfortable with. However, Weber does cite various historical examples to back his claims. I'm still struggling, however, with figuring out whether or not he approves of capitalistic enterprises because of his theory. It probably does not matter in the long run (i.e. my paper), but it's something that I'm just wondering about. It's possible that he's just talking about his theory of capitalism while not showing his opinions on the morality of it all.

My sis and I went to Red Lobster today and had their "endless shrimp" special. We had it on my birthday but we couldn't enjoy it too much because we got this really creamy shrimp pasta that prevented us from eating more shrimp. Anyway, we vowed to go back one time, not order that pasta, and eat plate after plate of shrimp....Thinking about it now, maybe it wasn't such a good game plan... :)

BTW, the Maple Leafs lost today against Montreal. Out of three games, they've only won one (yesterday's 6-0 drubbing of Ottawa). I'm pretty bummed. As if this wasn't bad enough, the other team I just began minorly rooting for (because of their goalie, Cam Ward), the Carolina Hurricanes, don't have a win yet in the new season after winning the Stanley Cup last year. I think I really am the cursed fan...sigh....

Oh yeah, and in the Yankees-Tigers series at least, I was rooting for the Yanks....that didn't turn out very well at all.

So I'm going to try and change it up a bit...I really don't like whoever is going to get out of the Cardinals-Padres series so I'm gonna cheer on whoever wins this series to win the whole thing. :)

UConn Huskies Season Primer

2006-10-05T21:26:00.000-07:00

UConn Roster

# 11 Ketia Swanier G Junior
# 24 Charde Houston F Junior
# 25 Mel Thomas G Junior
#44 Brittany Hunter C/F Junior
# 2 Tahirah Williams G Sophomore
# 20 Renee Montgomery G Sophomore
# 32 Kalana Greene G Sophomore
# 51 Cassie Kerns C/F Sophomore
# 13 Jacquie Fernandes G Freshman
# 14 Meghan Gardler F Freshman
# 22 Kristen Phillips C Freshman
# 31 Tina Charles C Freshman
# 41 Kaili McLaren F Freshman

Thurs Nov. 2 Team Concept 7:30 PM
Wed Nov. 8 Houston Jaguars 7:30 PM
Mon Nov. 13 Richmond 7:00 PM
Thurs Nov. 16 Colgate 7:30 PM
Tues Nov. 28 Boston U 7:30 PM
Thurs Nov. 30 Purdue 7:00 PM
Mon Dec. 4 at Holy Cross 7:00 PM
Thurs Dec. 7 at Georgetown 7:30 PM
Mon Dec. 18 at Virginia 7:00 PM
Thurs Dec. 21 Colorado State 7:30 PM
Sat Dec. 23 Oakland 12:00 PM
Fri Dec. 29 Hartford 7:00 PM
Sun Dec. 31 Sacred Heart 12:00 PM
Tues Jan. 2 at West Virginia 8:00 PM
Sat Jan. 6 Tennessee 4:00 PM
Tues Jan. 9 Seton Hall 7:30 PM
Sat Jan. 13 Syracuse 2:00 PM
Mon Jan. 15 at North Carolina 7:00 PM
Wed Jan. 17 at Providence 7:00 PM
Sun Jan. 21 at St. John's 4:30 PM
Wed Jan. 24 DePaul 7:30 PM
Sat Jan. 27 Notre Dame 7:00 PM
Tues Jan. 30 at Cincinnati 7:00 PM
Sat Feb. 3 at Marquette 8:00 PM
Tues Feb. 6 Rutgers 8:00 PM
Sun Feb. 11 at LSU 3:00 PM
Tues Feb. 13 Louisville 7:30 PM
Sat Feb. 17 Pittsburgh 12:00 PM
Tues Feb. 20 at South Florida 7:00 PM
Sat Feb. 24 Villanova 12:00 PM
Mon Feb. 26 at Rutgers 7:00 PM

Duke Blue Devils Season Primer

2006-10-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen many Blue Devil games. I just look at the stats during the season and whether they win or lose. Anyway, since the Dukies are my favorite team, I thought I'd just post their roster and their schedule. Throughout the year, I hope to post more about them time permitting.

Duke Roster
# 10 Lindsey Harding G Senior
# 43 Alison Bales C Senior
# 2 Emily Waner G Junior
#23 Wanisha Smith G Junior
# 11 Chante Black C Junior
# 30 Carrem Gay F Sophomore
# 4 Abby Waner G Sophomore
# 22 Brittany Mitch G/F Freshman
# 31 Keturah Jackson G/F Freshman
# 15 Bridgette Mitchell F Freshman
# 21 Joy Cheek F Freshman

Sun, Nov 05 Anderson University Durham, N.C. 2:00 p.m.
Thu, Nov 09 EA Sports Durham, N.C. 7:00 p.m.
Sat, Nov 11 Northeastern Durham, N.C. 2:00 p.m.
Fri, Nov 17 Marist College Durham, N.C. 7:00 p.m.
Sun, Nov 19 Houston Durham, N.C. 2:00 p.m.
Tue, Nov 21 Penn State Durham, N.C. 7:00 p.m.
Sat, Nov 25 Michigan at Ann Arbor, Mich. 7:00 p.m.
Wed, Nov 29 Old Dominion Durham, N.C. 7:00 p.m.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jimmy V Women’s Basketball Classic
Mon, Dec 04 Rutgers at Piscataway, N.J. 7 p.m.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thu, Dec 07 Vanderbilt Durham, N.C. 7:00 p.m.
Sun, Dec 10 Texas Durham, N.C. 1:00 p.m.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Caribbean Classic
Tue, Dec 19 Bowling Green or SMU at Cancun, Mexico TBA
Wed, Dec 20 Bowling Green or SMU at Cancun, Mexico TBA
Thu, Dec 21 Pittsburgh at Cancun, Mexico TBA
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blue Sky Resort Classic
Fri, Dec 29 Dartmouth at Hanover, N.H. 7:00 p.m.
Sat, Dec 30 Dayton/Boston University at Hanover, N.H. 5:00 p.m./7:00 p.m.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wed, Jan 03 Miami * Durham, N.C. 7:00 p.m.
Sun, Jan 07 Virginia Tech * at Blacksburg, Va. 12:30 p.m.
Wed, Jan 10 Georgia Tech * Durham, N.C. 7:00 p.m.
Sat, Jan 13 Maryland * Durham, N.C. 12:30 p.m.
Thu, Jan 18 N.C. State * at Raleigh, N.C. 7:00 p.m.
Mon, Jan 22 Tennessee at Knoxville, Tenn. 7:00 p.m.
Thu, Jan 25 Florida State * at Tallahassee, Fla. 7:00 p.m.
Mon, Jan 29 Virginia Tech * Durham, N.C. 7:00 p.m.
Fri, Feb 02 Virginia * at Charlottesville, Va. 7:00 p.m.
Mon, Feb 05 Clemson * Durham, N.C. 7:00 p.m.
Thu, Feb 08 North Carolina * at Chapel Hill, N.C. 7:00 p.m.
Sun, Feb 11 Wake Forest * at Winston-Salem, N.C. TBA
Thu, Feb 15 Boston College * Durham, N.C. 7:00 p.m.
Sun, Feb 18 Maryland * at College Park, Md. 6:00 p.m.
Sun, Feb 25 North Carolina * Durham, N.C. 5:00 p.m.

Subway accident

2006-10-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

I was on my way home with my sister last Friday from a hockey game. By the way, it was a great hockey game. It was the Marion Hilliard tournament here at the U of T at Varsity Arena. I thought that we'd see the Varsity Blues but instead we saw the U of Ottawa against the U of Alberta. It was the first hockey game I've ever seen and it was fun even if I was freezing my butt off. It was free too so my sis and I were seated in the front row.

Anyway, on the way home, I was lugging my heavy laptop and my school bag. My sister had my laundry bag. We were entering the subway at Museum to get to Union. The people in front of us were taking soooo loooong getting into the train. Finally, when we were getting in already, the whistle came on signaling that the train doors were closing. I rushed in and the doors began to close. I quickly put my hands out to stop the doors. While doing this, my brain just shut down completely and my right foot fell into the gap between the subway and the platform. I thought I had just tripped so I tried to stand up. Instead, my foot was stuck. I heard people screaming behind me and these really nice girls were helping my sister keep the door open so that the train wouldn't move. I finally managed to yank it out after hours it seemed. It turns out it was more like five seconds. Anyway, I think I have a bone bruise now and it really hurts. Thankfully though it wasn't anything more serious.

Thank God for those nice girls that helped me out. Because of me, they weren't able to catch the train. I was wondering whether my pride or my ankle hurt more. After a few seconds, my ankle definitely won out.

:) Anyone know anything about the parliamentary system, please email me ASAP. Stupid Machiavelli report. It's supposed to be 15 minutes long but Machiavelli says about eight lines about it in The Prince. Anyway, I've realized I've got to spout some BS to stretch my report out.

Feeling a little overwhelmed

2006-09-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

I've literally been reading about a hundred pages a day (and then I have to read some over again to actually understand them). I just found out that we have this paper on Marx and Weber due in a month and it's supposed to be the hardest paper to do. Apart from this, at about the same time, I'm going to have my Plato paper due. Oh yeah, and I have to work on my Machiavelli report really soon. I don't even want to know when my English introduction is due.

On the bright side, I found my POL 200 class really interesting today. My professor is pretty cool. I was just telling myself how much Socrates sounds so sarcastic and arrogant in the works of Plato. Anyway, I was telling myself that it was just because I was sore that I had to read it (although I did find it interesting). When I got to class awhile ago, though, he was pretty much making fun of Socrates as well. And Plato (slash Socrates I guess since he was the one supposed to be speaking even if Plato wrote it) asked a very apt question. Is it worth it to act justly if there are no benefits and people still persecute you or they deem you unjust when someone who is acting unjustly is getting rewarded? I mean, I know it seems like a pretty closed answer. Of course you should. But really, would I? Or would it be all blurred as to what is the just thing? Heck, justice is hard enough to define as it is.

Anyway, I'm planning to do some heavy studying tomorrow. Really. I promise myself even. I'm gonna head out to a coffee place and bring all my study materials....

I'm feeling sleepy right now but tomorrow, I'm going to be feeling very intellectual. :)

Rant (Please don't read if you worship Anne Donovan)

2006-09-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy lately I haven't updated this in awhile. It takes a dumb loss by the US Women's Team to get me out of this and get me back to blogging.

I'd like to start by saying that, up to this point (the semifinals), the US has been winning, and winning pretty easily. It would be unfair for me to go on this rant and not mention this. They weren't exactly crisp wins. In fact, they played sloppy sometimes, but they'd win by twenty points or so. In other words, the US got the job done.

Ah, here they are, in the semifinals now. The Aussies made it past Brazil and my dreams of Lauren and Sue going up against each other in the finals has just gotten so much brighter. I mean, surely, the US can beat Russia right?

They come out and Russia is shooting the lights out. I'm getting a little nervous but I think that we can still pull the win out. I mean, sooner or later, the US will have to realize that they have to play better to win this and they'll step it up. Damn, end of the first quarter, we're down 25-13. Hell, they'll wake up. What on earth, people like Tina Thompson are missing shots, and she's bound to make them in the second quarter.

The second quarter starts and the US struggles but manages to outscore Russia 19-12. So at the end of the half, the US is only down by five points. Wait a sec! I just screamed, at the end of the first quarter, that if the US gets it down to five by the end of the half, we can still win this. Woohoo!!! I feel the good stuff coming on now.

So despite, you know, a dismal performance really, one where the US looked a little out of synch, I still believed that there was a chance.

Okay, start of the third quarter. This is the ridiculous part. As a Storm fan, I fear the third quarter. But while cheering for the Americans, I never really did. They were too talented to let things slip. They used to just keep pounding and pounding until the lead swelled. But, oh my God!!! We're not scoring!! Holy cow, Russia is scoring from everywhere. They were hitting their shots taken as far as Russia, for crying out loud. Then the US went on bad possession after bad possession. At the end of the third quarter? We were down by 20 points. 20 f***ing points! Here's the weird part about all of this, okay? And this is where I'm really going to get on my rant a little bit. The US Coaches (yes, I'm going to criticize Anne Donovan here and mainly rant about her which was something I never thought I'd ever do) did nothing to stop the bleeding. Nothing. No opportune time outs, no big substitutions to kind of turn the game around. Nothing. I guess you could say that, hell, these ladies can play. Any combination on the floor would have been able to go off at any time. True, but they were frustrated. They weren't hitting anything. They weren't getting any defensive stops. We only scored six points in the quarter. ANYTHING would have been better than just staying with the status quo who obviously had a hard time at that point. Some huge Russian play would happen and they'd focus the camera on AD. And here I am saying, okay Anne, make your move. She didn't.

Fourth quarter. Things are looking pretty desperate. I notice, to my surprise, that I haven't seen Sue in awhile. Okay, here's where it gets interesting for me. I'm a huge Sue Bird fan. I'm not doubting that. To me, she can walk on water. When I was beginning to get frustrated that Sue wasn't coming in, I first tried telling myself that it was just because I was biased. I was like, okay, calm down. Maybe it's just because you want her in the game at all times.

So here I am expecting her to at least start the fourth quarter. I mean, down by twenty, 10 minutes left. I don't care how many shots you've missed or whatever. You have to start your starting point guard. Damn this, she was your only true point guard. Newsflash to Anne and maybe Gail Goestenkors who might have had a hand in having Beard play so many minutes: She's not a point guard. She's not even remotely good at the point.

And Sue doesn't start. No. Sue is on the bench. Diana was getting really really good looks and was hitting her shots. the US comeback begins. Oh, hang on, Anne Donovan decides to PULL Diana Taurasi out of the game!!!! Huh??? Isn't she like, the only player hitting her shots? Isn't she the only player actually getting a remotely good percentage of free throws in? Isn't she the only player, at that point, making things happen? Alana Beard is still in. Haha. Turnover, bad possession, name it. I frankly don't care about Beard's stats. I don't care if it turns out she had a pretty good game after all. The fact is, I'm not comfortable when she's on the floor. Things just don't flow right and isn't that what a point guard is supposed to take care of?

FINALLY, with about three and a half minutes left in the damn game, Anne finally lets Sue back in. Sue quickly scores about eight points. She cuts the deficit to five (I believe, or something close to that number). Which leads me to the question....why on earth do you wait until that time to bring her in??? Um, hello? She's your starting point guard? She also gets a lot of flak but, come on, Sue Bird has hit so many big time shots and won so many big time games. You MUST realize this, especially since, you know, you kind of coach her in Seattle as well?

And then they foul a player and she misses her shots. They're down five. They bring the ball up the floor. Oh, and finally Taurasi is in the game. Yes, so is Katie Smith. Good, good, they can hit the three. By the way, this is with a few seconds left in the game. So it needs to be a three at this point. What??? Why do they keep passing the ball? Hello, the clock is running out. Darn, that's three three-point attempts not taken. And by very good shooters as well. They PASS IT TO THE MIDDLE??? Whaaaat????

Game over. Candace Parker didn't make the shot but it wouldnt have mattered anyway. I don't even know if it was the coaching staff that told them, pass it to the middle to try an easy 2 (If it was, it was boneheaded because Russia is taller than the US and they've basically shut them down the whole game except for some very difficult shots the US made). Maybe it was the players being tentative to take such a big shot (But this shouldn't be the case because all these girls are superstars. On their WNBA teams, they're always the ones taking those shots).

I could go on and on about everything. Abysmal play in the third quarter. The US didn't really play well at all the whole game. However, things like this will happen. What bugs me about this, and this is the rant, is that good coaching could have netted them this win. They caught up in the late stages of the fourth quarter when the coaching staff decided to finally make some changes. My question is, you've been outplayed by Russia from the start. When the team got down by a large margin in the third quarter, why weren't more changes or adjustments made? There was a point when the team on the floor just couldn't do anything anymore. I think they were tired and frustrated. At any point during that long stretch of time, Anne could have done something. I'm not saying that it would have definitely worked. But she could have tried. Instead, she sits on the sideline looking all frustrated, but she's seated and she's not making a move to change anything. In fact, she's not even talking to her assistants to show that she's trying to do something. Was she just expecting the players to wake up on their own?

The US team boasts a deep team. It's a team full of All-Stars and high-caliber players. Yet at the point where it mattered the most, the depth was not utilized. Why? Because the same set of players stayed on the floor as the lead grew...and grew...and grew. Don't get me wrong, I'm not blaming the players at all. I think they all tried their best and they clearly weren't playing their best tonight. That much was obvious. It happens. But when it happens, I fully expect the coaches, the supposed geniuses of the sideline, to compromise. They have all the skill at their disposal on that bench. Yet they just watched. Was it a waiting game? When do you finally decide to stop waiting and to fire something into your players on the court? Maybe it isn't when you're getting beat by twenty plus. Maybe you only do that when you're down thirty, I don't know.

Okay, I'm a huge Anne Donovan believer. Really, I am. It may not sound like it here, but I'm currently very emotional. I don't want her to quit coaching my team (the Storm) or anything. I'm just UPSET about how she handled this game. More importantly, I'm stunned. People have said in the past during Storm games that Anne was outcoached by so and so, blah blah blah. And I've always defended her. Always. Now, I have to say it. Anne Donovan was outcoached. In fact, seeing how she coached this game with all the talent she had, I am now even willing to say that she may have been outcoached at various points during the Storm season. Including those losses against LA. It's worrisome to say the least for me to admit this. Why? Because I've always held on to the fact that AD is one of the greatest coaches out there. Yet she's being outcoached by a lot more than one other coach it seems.

Also, I wish people wouldn't use the youth excuse with this team because it's just not valid. If youth was such a detriment, Candace Parker would be a nonfactor. Yet she was incredible in practically every game she has played. No, this team is talented enough and was talented enough to win. I've got my opinions as to why they lost and I guess everyone has their own.

The good news, the only thing that's cheering me up right now is that Lauren Jackson is going for the gold. I'm behind the Aussies 100% now. GO LAUREN! GO AUSTRALIA! BEAT THOSE RUSSIANS!!!

Oh yeah, once I clear my head and talk to some level-headed, sane Storm fan (Kilcher most probably), I'll probably do a recant of everything I just said. I mean, my emotions are high right now. Haha

Finally in school

2006-09-12T08:12:00.000-07:00

I just had my first two classes. The first one, which was my 199 seminar course, had about 22 students. It was a quiet little setting. I looked at what we're going to be talking about and its pretty interesting. I think that we're going to be looking at all different aspects of Machiavelli's thoughts. The professor was nice and she seems like someone who won't bore me, which is awesome. I actually spent the entire hour of lecture listening intently. Now THAT's something. My second class, which ended an hour ago, was this huge 100 level class with about 400 students. We were seated in this theatre with soft, comfortable chairs. It was a little hard to concentrate because there was this really tall girl seated in front of me so I couldn't see over her head for bits of it. It was a little intimidating, actually, because he asked a question and these people gave these answers I don't think I could have thought about ever.

Oh yeah, and FINALLY my internet's working. YEAH!!!

Storm Withdrawal Symptoms

2006-09-01T14:06:00.000-07:00

Ever since the Storm got knocked out of the playoffs, I've been suffering from Storm withdrawal symptoms. I can't seem to stay off the internet to get any new information on them, etc. This is going to be a looong ten months or so. There are, of course, the finals to pay attention to, but I am too lazy to post anything about them except maybe for the final result of the entire series. I should be worrying about moving into my residence this Sunday but I can't really get my mind off Storm basketball. This is bad, folks.

Anyway, some little Storm tidbits.

* Lauren Jackson was inducted into the Australian Institute of Sports' Hall of Fame. This is great news. Congrats to her.

* LJ also made it to the WNBA First Team. Go LJ! Sue didn't make it. :( At least next year she won't have too much pressure on her. I'm gonna look for her to completely bust out and make those voters believers again.

* I read the new issue of the Women's Basketball magazine and there is a Sue Bird article in it. It's a great article about her running the point this year for the US team. There's this great AD comment on Sue:

"She is who you would want your daughter to be. She looks like the All-American kid who is easy going and doesn't have a care in the world, but she wants to win every drill in practice. She's very friendly and a great teammate, but you don't see the edginess and competitiveness."

Great quote. :)

The End of the Storm Season

2006-08-27T12:37:00.000-07:00

I wasn't able to see the last few games of the playoffs so it's a little weird for me to be doing this. It seems almost unreal that it has ended and there's going to another long offseason to live through. I hate the offseason. It takes me a while to warm up to the Storm team the coaches have assembled and the end of the season comes too quickly for me. I know that, in a few months, big changes will be made and the Storm team I had lived and died with would be changed.

Contracts and the Storm Roster

On the Storm website, they have listed the contract status of our players from this year. Under contract for next year are Lauren, Betty, Wendy, Ashley, Barb and Tanisha.

Unrestricted free agents (meaning they can go to any team they choose to) are Janell Burse and Tiffani Johnson.

Restricted free agents (the Storm has the right to match any offer another team gives them) are Sue Bird, Iziane Castro Marques and Shaun Gortman.

Edwige is apparently a reserved player (which is something I've never heard of before), which means she can only negotiate with the Storm.

Out of all the people under contract, Tanisha seems to be the only one that might not be in a Storm uniform next year. Obviously, LJ, Betty, Wendy and Barb, provided they are healthy, will be there. Ashley should be there, given how much AD loves making post players better. She might also be useful considering JB and LJ want to play through their injuries during the WNBA offseason which makes it more likely that they'll be injured sometime during next season.

On the other hand, Tanisha, who is in her second year with the Storm, has been a nonfactor in most games. She'll kill minutes on the floor the moment either Sue or Betty need a rest, but she'll also make some bad turnovers. I can't remember how many times she's run the point, hold the ball forever, then try and drive to the basket. Most of the time, she loses the ball or gets called for the offensive foul. While I would like to give her another chance, I just think that that roster spot should go to someone else who can be more productive for us. Who knows, really. If she comes to training camp next year and significantly improves her game and her decision making, she could still get on. If she plays the way she has this year, however, I don't see her making the roster and I don't see her deserving a spot on the roster.

I've already posted about the need to re-sign JB so I won't go into details on this. Other teams' fans are giddy about the chance for JB to play for them. In recent articles, JB gave the expected answer of how she wants to stay in Seattle but she knows her agent is going to ship her around (or something like that). Frankly, I would hate it if she goes to another team, comes back to face us and kills us with the post moves she learned under OUR coach. I know this is an unfair way to think and she should really do what is best for her financially. However, it's something that I just can't help thinking about. I don't know much about our salary situation and if we can even afford to keep her but in recent comments by Anne Donovan, she seems to know that paying JB the max is something that is important.

As for Tiffani Johnson, I'm kind of torn. On one hand, I cringed and complained during the regular season whenever she'd play. Too many "I don't know what I'm doing" moments. All of a sudden, in the playoffs, she goes out there and becomes a consistent and threatening player. What on earth? I guess her experience really did matter because she stepped it up when it mattered the most. My question now is which is the real Tiff? Which one can we expect to see? Another issue is that she's been in the league for a really long time so she might command a higher salary than someone else fulfilling her role with less experience. The thing is, if she plays like she did during the regular season, then that extra money might not be worth it and we should just get a rookie or a second year player play that spot. I'm split on this one. I really don't know what's the right thing to do or what should be done.

Now on to the restricted free agents. Sue will most likely re-sign with the team. In fact, I don't see a reason why she won't be with the Storm next year. It's a scary thought, however, when you allow yourself to think about it. I mean, we can't even secure a back-up point guard. If she ever decides to leave the Storm then we'd start who exactly? Anyway, I don't think there's much of an issue here.

As for Izi, I'd be surprised if Anne doesn't offer her another contract. She's been inconsistent at times this year, but she's been incredible at other times. She split some of the starting time this season with Barb Turner and I actually liked what I saw. Izi is this fast player who can get those wide open shots and layups. This is great for a momentum push. When we need to get more physical, however, we can insert Barb into the line-up and have her push and post up. I think that re-signing Izi will give us great flexibility in that position. Also, you never know how Barb will turn out next year (See Tanisha Wright). If she regresses at any point and we don't have Izi, it will be ugly. Izi has said that she just wants to play in a place where she'll get her minutes. According to an article I read, she's been known to get frustrated when she doesn't get her minutes. Anne pulled her out of the starting line-up for awhile but then she regained it by the end of the year. I'm not sure what part this will play in her decision to come back or not. Last year, everyone was so high on Barb Turner so this may affect the decision on whether to offer Izi another contract. I mean, if they have so much faith in Barb and feel that she can start on a regular basis next year, they may just decide to let her go.

Shaun Gortman wasn't exactly a major player on the team last year when she was playing. But, boy, you really saw her importance when she went down. Different people just kept going off on us offensively. As she has stated, her best asset is her defense and this is something sorely lacking from the Storm team through the years. I'm not sure how much Shaun would get (based on years played, etc) so this may very well dictate whether she will be on the roster next year. I hope she recovers quickly from her ACL injury and gets back to her aggressive defense. If she can and she doesn't cost too much, I can see her on the roster next year.

I think Edwige will be on the team next year. She brings stability at the back-up point and may just be the answer to our cringe-filled prayers. Depending on the amount of good quality and low priced point guards available on the market next year, Edwige has the best chance of everyone on the bubble of getting on the roster by virtue of the fact that she's a true point guard who can actually shoot and make good decisions on the floor. On a personal note, I really really like Edwige and I wish to see her in a Storm uni.

On another note, Lauren Jackson is, in my opinion, making a very curious decision that could very well mean that she won't be playing next year in the WNBA. She's going to Korea to fulfill her supposedly million dollar contract there. It's a short season, I think. I just read that she's also looking to go to Russia after that and play until the middle of Storm training camp. Oh yeah, and there's the world championships squeezed in there where she'll probably be on the floor every minute of the game. I understand everything she has in plan except for that weird part about playing in Russia. Umm.....what happened to her injured shins and plantar fascitis? She's getting a very good deal in Korea which will give her the money she needs really. Of course, Russia has money as well, but she's putting herself at a very BIG RISK. She'll be playing year round now? This leads me to believe that she may be skipping next season. Let's face it. She's paid absolutely nothing to play in the WNBA. I hope not because then I wouldn't get to follow her play as much. Also, I hope she's not pushing herself too much. She just has to be cautious about her health.

Players' Offseason Plans

Again, this is courtesy of the official Storm website, which is absolutely, incredibly loaded with information. It's seriously the best team site I've ever seen.

Birdy's going to play in the World Championships where she'll be the starting point guard (YES!) and lead USA to another gold medal. I hope she racks up a lot of points and assists (as long as they aren't passes to Lisa Leslie....I wonder if we could somehow talk her into doing that). After that, she'll probably playing in Russia if she gets a passport (or something like that).

JB is going back to Prague instead of rehabbing her shoulder which bugs me to no end. It bugs me even more that I can see where she's coming from. She played really well there last year so I think she's gonna be a stud on that team.

Izi is also going to the World Championships and then she'll probably play in Europe as well. With as many players going to Europe, maybe I should backpack around Europe to see them play. It shouldn't be too hard, right?

Shaun is going to spend her offseason rehabbing her knee. I hope everything goes well with it.

Lauren is going to the World Championships, where she will absolutely school Lisa Leslie (okay, I added that part). I'm a little conflicted here. I'd like to see LJ get gold for Australia, finally. On the other hand, I don't want Sue to lose her first tournament as the starting PG. She'd be crucified for it, I have no doubt. Anyway, I'm leaning towards cheering for the US just because I became a Birdy fan before I became an LJ fan. It's a loyalty thing although I switch allegiances every few minutes. After that, she's going to Korea and then, apparently, Russia. Russia?? Sigh...I don't understand at all.

Tiff is also playing overseas but she doesn't know where yet.

Edwige, to my great surprise, turned down the French National team to rest up after years of all year basketball. I kinda thought we'd have four Storm players there but I guess not. She'll be in Russia soon enough though, playing for Samara.

Betty is playing overseas in a league with a short season. I should really do my research and see which leagues these are.

Wendy is gonna be rehabbing and she might be coaching again but it depends on her rehab. I'm sooo excited to have her for all 34 games next year instead of the five this season. I still think she was that one injury that really prevented us from getting further.

Ashley is playing in Kazan, Russia.

Barb is also playing overseas, although, as with most players, she's unsure of what team she'll join.

Tanisha is going to Israel.

Now that everyone is going their separate ways, I guess it's time to officially say good bye to the 2006 Storm Season. It's been a rollercoaster ride for sure that made me cheer and weep at practically the same time. Although this is the second year we've made an exit in the first round, I'm proud of the Storm and all that they've accomplished this season. In fact, I'm even prouder to be a Storm fan. Right now, I'm filled with sadness as I look at the long offseason and I think of the changes that are going to be made to the team. I've said that I've grown to love everyone that's put on a Storm uniform. Even if I know that some people really shouldn't be on the team next year, I'd still feel sad. On the other hand, I'm excited about next season and I know that it's going to be another great season.

2006 SEATTLE STORM
SEEING IS BELIEVING.

Now on to the 2007 Season.

GO STORM!

My Trip To Ottawa

2006-08-25T22:24:00.000-07:00

Monday- August 21

My sis and I got up extremely early and got to the station where we needed to buy our tickets at about 9:00. I had stupidly decided to bring my laptop and stuff my bag with way too many shirts and socks. It turned out that we had to walk a LOOONG way just to get to the bus stop. It was all the way on the other side of the highway. I was there, trudging under the hot Toronto sun, cursing the entire situation. I was literally just dragging my bags over the walkway. On the way, this old lady passes by me and speeds off as I struggled with my heavy bags. It was so embarrassing. When we finally got to the bus stop, I told my sister that this must be my penance and since I had completed it, Sue Bird's nose couldn't possibly be broken. It turned out, later on, that it wasn't broken. Hehe. Cool stuff.

We got to Ottawa at about 5 pm. The hotel, although it wasn't our first choice, was actually very nice. It was located at ByWard Market, which is this place chock-full of restaurants, which was excellent for us. Our first dinner there was at Zak's Diner, which served burgers and stuff.

We tried to look around the little stalls around the restaurant but then it was pretty late and there were lots of beggars approaching us, which kind of freaked me out. They were very polite but it was just a little scary to be in a strange land, looking like a tourist and everything.

Tuesday- August 22

We wanted to get a Grey line tour with a hop on and hop off bus. When my sister called the place and asked for a pick up, they said it's near enough to walk to it. So off we went, trekking through Canada's capital, past the Parliament and everything. It was NOT near at all. We sat through one full tour of the bus so we could decide where to go. Then we took the next one out to the War Museum. Interesting enough, it was the same tour guide that took us the second time and she was saying the exact same lines as she did earlier. It was hilarious. I guess if you give these tours everyday, you'd come up with a script in your head and just stick with it.

I LOVED the War Museum. It had everything from pictures, to sound bites and actual objects. On the exterior of the museum, spelled out in small windows is the Morse code for "Lest we Forget". Also, it is shaped like a bunker to make it more realistic. At the end of the exhibits, there was this part about what would you do and what you are willing to stand up for. It was very well done. It wasn't meant to inspire people to go to war all of a sudden and support their country. In fact, in some sense, I felt it was promoting peace and avoidance of war. It was also a tribute to those who have given their lives to give Canada and Canadians what they have today. There were even cards there where you could write to officials to tell them what you thought. They had words and quotes on the walls that were inspiring. It was a moving museum, especially given all the conflicts in all parts of the world nowadays.

After this, we went to the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) Stables. There's this thing called the "Musical Ride" where the Mounties and the horses put on a show. It's kind of like dancing, except with the Mounties on their horses. We didn't see the dance or anything but we saw the stables where they kept these horses. It was pretty neat because these horses were all picked carefully. You have to be a certain color, height, weight, etc. in order to be considered. When we got back on the Grey Line bus, we decided to sit at the top of the open-air double decker bus. She was on the side and I was beside the aisle. As we were passing this park, the tour guide says, "Ooh, careful of the branches there." The bus was too near some trees and the people on our side of the bus were going to get hit by the leaves. Miraculously, everyone in front of us gracefully batted the leaves out of their way. They didn't even looked fazed by it. By the time it got to my sister, she tried to bat them away, but the leaves just kept coming and she ended up yelping and battling with the branches with both arms, swinging madly. Hehe. We couldn't stop laughing on the way home.

That night, my sis and I walked to Parliament to catch the Sound and Light Show projected onto the walls of the Central block of Parliament. It was the most incredible thing ever. There were hundreds of people seated on the bleachers, on the ground, even standing. The images themselves were impressive, but it was made even more impressive with the exterior of Parliament backing it up. Sometimes, they'd just have this huge flash of light illuminating the entire exterior of Parliament with a different color which just made everyone gasp. At the end of the show, they played the Canadian National Anthem as images flashed across it. It was truly inspirational. I know I'm not Canadian or anything, but at that point, you couldn't help but fall in love with the country.

Funny stuff on the way home. My sis and I were moving along with the throng of people leaving the show. No one was pushing or anything, and my sister and I were walking pretty fast. It was about 9:30 already and we wanted to be off the streets as early as possible. All of a sudden, behind me, I hear an "Oh, Fudge!!!" and a thud. I turn around to see who on earth had fallen and see my sister on the ground. I know this may seem bad that I'm laughing, but if you know my sister, she's the clumsiest person in the world. Not a trip goes by without her falling somewhere. I was concerned initially, but she got up pretty quickly and we moved to the side of the sidewalk to let her gather her composure. People were really nice and stopping and asking her if she was alright. They were genuinely concerned about her. She later told me that she hadn't tripped over anything on the road or it wasn't slippery. She just felt herself falling and then she fell. She left with only a bruise, thankfully and we had something interesting to laugh about all night long.

I broke my promise to my sis and checked out the Storm game online. Bad enough that I broke my promise, but they lost the game too. Yuck.

Wednesday- August 23

We took in the Museum of Civilization first. It was a pretty good museum, but I'm not really interested in learning about how the Aboriginal people lived back then and their jewelry and stuff. It was really well done, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. My sis loved it though. During lunch, we ended up eating in this way overpriced place with average food because we didn't know there was a cafeteria in the museum. I was alright walking all over the place before, but I got injured sitting down for lunch. Weird, isn't it? I sat down without any pain and when I stood up, the back of my left knee hurt like crazy. It was buckling and I couldn't straighten it out very well. It hampered me for the rest of my trip.

After that, we went to the Aviation Museum. I LOVED that place. They had tons of aircrafts all over the place and even a display on engines and everything. I think I took the most pictures here. Of course, I was forced to limp through displays. Sigh. Anyway, it's not like I'm a huge fan of aircrafts or anything, but I do love looking at them and marvelling at how they are designed and all. We went to the gift shop and my sister said I could get a model toy plane. This sounds kind of childish but ever since I was a kid, I've always wanted model cars and planes. I'd never get them, of course, by virtue of being a girl. I went in all excited until I saw two little boys deciding which toy to get. I was hit by my self-conscious side and decided against it. One day, I will really get over my fears of how I look to other people.

Thursday- August 24

In the morning, my sister and I went to Parliament Hill to catch the changing of the guards. It was a pretty amazing experience. They started off with the guards parading from Rideau Hall, which is where the governor-general's house. They march their way onto Parliament Hill with a marching band and everything. There's this whole big ceremony thing that, frankly, I didn't understand very well but it was visually amazing.

After that, we took a tour of Parliament. We chose the Centre block to tour. We saw places like their library, the Senate room and the House of Commons. The architecture is amazing. The entire place just feels like it came out of a storybook. Everything was so grand.

We walked to the Supreme Court after that for a picture. Of course, this was with me limping all the way. After that, my sister took pity on me and said we could WALK all the way back to the hotel so I could REST my achy knee. The walk was torture, really. It kept buckling in pain and I kept stopping to grab my sister's arm. It got me thinking about what my favorite athletes have to go through when they play in pain. I mean, LJ plays with shin splints and she's moving all over the place. I was shuffling along with a majorly less severe injury and I was whimpering all the way. Yeah, I'm such a baby.

We got to the hotel and rested for about two hours. Actually, it was only supposed to be for an hour, but my sister fell asleep while watching this Court TV show. We had to drag our butts out of bed because we were both so lazy but my sister really wanted to see the art gallery.

We walked to the National Gallery (actually, I staggered there). We got to see this special exhibit of Emily Carr artwork. She's this famous Canadian artist whose works concentrate on nature and totem poles. Seriously speaking, she's an amazing artist. I'm not very sophisticated, however, so I was yawning my way through some inspirational works. The thing I don't get with art galleries is that everyone thinks they need to be as quiet as mice in there. Even I was whispering. It adds to the stiffness of the place for me, which makes it less exciting for me. Anyway, there was this guy in the wheelchair who saw me limping around the place, wincing and grabbing my leg every now and then. He kindly comes over to me and informs me that they have free wheelchairs downstairs that I could use since I looked like I was really hurt. It was really nice of him and he was genuinely being helpful but I was a little embarrassed because it wasn't like I was really injured in the true sense of the word. We went to all the other galleries including one on Aboriginal art. My favorite part was the European art section. I guess I just like the more traditional works. There was this section on contemporary art, and while I appreciate their creativity, some of them were just crappy. They had blocks stacked high. Another one was just a piece of rope. Anyway, it was funny because I was just thinking how weird and dumb some of the things were when we passed by this dude who said out loud "It's amazing what some people will call art." My sister and I looked at each other and burst out laughing, especially after his mom shushed him all horrified.

We ate at Fat Tuesday's, went home and watched UFC on TV. Yeah, I got to see my Storm scores and my sister got to see her UFC. We both got what we wanted.

Friday- August 25

Greyhound screw us up. They sold us a ticket from Toronto to Mississauga. When we got to Toronto after a looong trip, they said that there were no more buses going to Mississauga. My sister and I had to drag our heavy bags to the subway, to the GO Bus, and finally to a Mississauga Transit bus just to get home. I was swearing under my breath how I would sue Greyhound until they had no more money for gas. Hehe, I was pretty steamed.

It was an awesome trip. It was fun on every level and it's good to just hang with my sister especially since I'm leaving for university in a week. Ottawa is a place I recommend everyone visit. It's culturally stimulating and the leisure activities aren't so bad either.

Damn WNBA Playoff Results August 20

2006-08-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

Connecticut- 68
Washington- 65

* Don't know...don't care right now. I should have put something down before the Seattle game.

* Oh yeah, Connecticut wins.

* Connecticut vs. Detroit in the eastern conference finals

Los Angeles- 78
Seattle- 70

* On one hand, I should be glad that the Storm was the only lower seed to win one game. On the other hand, they lost this game in such an unbelievable way.

Let me break this down for you. Seattle was up by 7 at the end of the half. I thought, hmm...okay, Seattle is a mature and experienced team, they should be able to hold on and produce a sweep.

Let me also say that Sacramento is resting right now and IF we win Game 3, they'll have a major, major advantage over us. Lauren Jackson is going to have to play major minutes on Tuesday and then play again on Thursday, this time at home where they're under pressure to win.

Let me say, that we were outscored 26-15 in the third quarter. Unbelievable. Part of me is chastising myself for being so negative right now towards the team, but I can't help it. They let themselves lose this game because of their turnovers and ugly mistakes.

Now what? Sue Bird may have broken her nose again. Lauren Jackson is going to limp off the floor again, except this time there's no positives from a win cheering her up. Betty Lennox is battling some kind of injury. And, oh yeah, they have to play LA again on Tuesday when everyone else is resting.

I love this team, and no amount of negativity I am expressing here should get you to think otherwise. But this was dumb. I hope they win the next game, but they've given LA a chance now. In my opinion, they've dug their own grave. I just hope they stay out of it and push LA in instead.

I was so annoyed by what was happening, I actually started cursing in my head in Filipino.

I don't want to go into stats too much, but there's this one unforgivable stat. Lauren Jackson only had 4 shot attempts. What the fuck? Seriously.

On one hand, Betty Lennox scored the most points, which is good. On the other hand, she had more than double the shot attempts of everyone. She shot 7-19. I really shouldn't be criticizing her but this seems to me to be a reversal to the old Betty who just used to jack up shots.

Tanisha Wright: I'm sorry, but I'm thankful that she only had about 2 minutes on the floor (where she promptly turned the ball over).

As a Sue Bird fan, my mind is switching from being annoyed by the loss and being worried about her nose. Not again, please.

Anyway, game 3, for a berth in the Western Conference Finals is on Tuesday.

GO STORM! BEAT LA!