RebKell's Junkie Boards

[Queenie]

It'll be Boston College at St. John's on Thursday night, as BC knocked off Vermont and St. John's held on against Iona (for which game notes will be forthcoming).

_________________
Ardent believer in the separation of church and stadium.

[Marquette Fan]

[beknighted]

Congratulations to St. John's, the Illini and Marquette. Nice work by Jolette at Illinois. We RU fans always knew she'd be good.

[Queenie]

Okay, so it's not the important dance, but it's nice to have one of my teams dancing unexpectedly, as St. John's picked up a win against Iona tonight at Carnesecca Arena.

Clearly our band decided that they didn't have to show anything remotely resembling effort- not that they're very good in the first place, but tonight was exceptionally awful. We were wincing by the end of it, it was that bad. I got the sense during early shootaround that some of the Red Storm didn't care about this game as much as they would about a normal game, but that got shaken out of them in a hurry; perhaps they expected Iona to be an easy opponent?

I owe Iona a big favor for last year- indirectly, they're responsible for my bragging rights in the bracket challenge by giving me cause to take Marist over Ohio State. They also produced Martina Weber, so I have to give them some love for that. They play tough, they play physical, and they fear no one and nothing. The MAAC may be a two-team league, but those two teams are pretty damn bad-ass. They have a big center, Anna McLean (who obviously confused the daylights out of St. John's fans who are used to McLean being one of the good guys), who isn't afraid to use her size to get inside. They bring (or brought) forward Jessica Smith, who's got a nicely balanced game, and off the bench they had a Serbian forward, Anda Ivkovic, who's only a freshman and has a gorgeous shot- I'd like her a whole lot better if she weren't a dirty player with a nasty set of elbows. Lauren DeFalco bombed a couple of deep, deep threes- we're talking professional range, maybe even NBA range. Their coach is a little insane- okay, a lot insane- but he's done well with what he has. I'm not sure how long Iona can hold on to the #2 slot in the MAAC; they're losing a lot to graduation, although they have some good freshmen in Ivkovic and Catherine Lutz.

For St. John's, this game was all about the second half. While Tiina and Sky did all their scoring in the first half- and for Sky, that scoring was almost completely neutralized by her boneheaded mistakes and Coach's odd insistence on using her as a point guard when there were actual point guards on the floor- Kelly and Joy combined for 13, and Kia loaded up on free throws and layups to score 12 of her 14, in the second half. Kia wanted this game too much, I think; she didn't play as smartly as she knows how to, although she steadied in the second half, and her hustle in the paint was unfreakingbelievable. Monique took over on offense, and for a change she wasn't forcing bad shots. Sky, on the other hand- we will not talk about Sky's shot selection or her court vision tonight. Tiina… so inconsistent. So blonde. So Euro. Joy was dead quiet in the first half- I thought she was having flashbacks to the preseason NIT game last year, when she was one of the only five Red Storm players remaining for the second half against an Iona team that lacked Martina Weber but that pushed Marist all through MAAC play. Someone kicked her in the ass during halftime, though; she came out hustling more like herself, going up strong with the ball instead of trying to bring it down and getting stripped, and performing what's become her signature offensive move, the pell-mell drive down the lane capped by a sweeping hook from the right side. Off the bench, Kelly made some great defensive plays against the baseline and hit a big three that got St. John's some breathing room from the stubborn Gaels. Sheree got a lot of time, and I liked that; she's become our sparkplug, the catalyst for a backcourt trap that makes me all tingly inside. The more I see of her, the more I like her, because she brings so much energy and because she balances the enjoyment of the game with attention to the game. Some of our players have so much fun that they seem to forget to pay attention to what they're supposed to be doing. Recee came in to try and balance out McLean, because that big girl was doing all kinds of bodily harm to our skinny posts. Kristin and Coco got minutes; I don't think Coco did much with her minutes, though she certainly had enough of them.

I wasn't expecting genius from the zebras tonight, since anyone who's worth a good goddamn should be calling the NCAA tournament, but there were some pretty egregious misses, and some questionable out of bounds calls. I'm still trying to figure out how Coco got called for her first foul.

Iona brought a big loud fan contingent. Major props to them- yes, I know, it's not exactly a long trip, but I didn't know how many Iona fans there were out there. At some points, they were drowning us out. It's good to see a good team well supported. Good for the game, good for the team, good for the other fans.

The VIP seats went to a couple of McLeans. I wasn't sure if they were Monique's, Anna's, or completely random McLeans until the end of the game, when Monique came upstairs, hugged the lady McLean, and called her momma. Papa McLean said he wasn't sure if he could make it up on Thursday, but he's going to have to, and Papa Wright's just going to have to wear that tie again, because we need all the help we can get against a big, strong Boston College team.

We had the pleasure of sitting next to a couple of fellow Liberty season ticket holders (they have better seats than we do, though). If by sheer dumb luck, you happen to be one of those Section 70 ladies, holler.

I thought the ride was over against Louisville, so I'm just holding on for dear life and grinning from ear to ear. I'll go as far as my team takes me, bay-bee.

_________________
Ardent believer in the separation of church and stadium.

[shock6666]

[IllogicalVulcan]

Side note on last night's St. John's/Iona game: according to the Iona fans I was sitting near, in the middle of the first half, Lauren DeFalco broke Iona's 3-point record.

[ChiChi]

NC State 72-69 South Carolina
Dang, for just the WNIT, and the usual crowd, Reynolds was rockin!!! That was some of the best 2nd half atmosphere in awhile. We've been blessed - another home game Thursday .
Shayla was on fire too.

Senior's play turns Pack around

[Youth Coach]

Nice to see some chatter about the WNIT.

6 of my 8 picks for the Elite 8 are still alive (and all four of my Final Four picks as well).

Western Carolina I thought would do well in the tournament but sadly they got their heads handed to them in the first round by Middle Tennessee.

My main rooting interest is Boston College. I root for the men and women to begin with but really got into the women's team as they came up with a great season when no one expected them to do much of anything.

I coach youth basketball, both a boys and a girls team. I took my girls (3rd - 5th graders) up to see Boston College play NC State on January 6th and it turned out to be a real eye opening experience for them. They had a blast and got to meet the team after the game.

So I'm really hoping that the Eagles can continue to win in the WNIT starting against St. John's on Thursday.

[Queenie]

[Youth Coach]

[bullsky]

Marquette ends the season for my Illini 72-64. Tough game, but overall, it was a pretty good season, especially with a new coach.

Congrats to MarquetteFan and your team. We pushed you guys, and you guys responded well. Good luck in the future!

_________________
"Don't do something until you get it right, do it until you can't do it wrong."
- Geno Auriemma

[Youth Coach]

All three games ended up in the losing column for me tonight. With Texas Tech and Illinois losing, I have now lost 1 of my Final Four picks and one of my championship game participants.

Tomorrow is the BC game and I'm hoping that the link provided on their home page will work so I can watch the game online.

[Marquette Fan]

[bullsky]

http://fightingillini.cstv.com/sports/w-baskbl/recaps/032608aaa.html

[mzonefan]

Michigan beat Southern Miss tonight in Ann Arbor, 59-45, leading by as many as 26 points in the 2nd half.

In-state rivals Michigan State and Michigan meet Sunday in East Lansing at 2:00.

They split the Big Ten season, with each team winning at home.

[Koopster]

[mzonefan]

[mzonefan]

TCU vs Colorado
Marquette vs. Kentucky
Michigan vs. Michigan State
St. Johns vs. NC State

Other than MSU, I don't know which are the home teams.

[ChiChi]

NC State 80-55 Florida
31 pts. for Shayla Fields
I think KD had a dbl/dbl of course
whooho... quarterfinals vs. St. Johns (dang it, why'd BC have to go and lose . Our game against the Red Storm was one of the worst all year!).

[Queenie]

[Marquette Fan]

[Youth Coach]

My picks are all shot to hell.

Now I've only got North Carolina State left alive and I have them as the NIT Champions, so maybe there will be some salvaging of this bracket.

[shock6666]

[mzonefan]

[shock6666]