To quote a famous Star Trek character by the name of Khan, revenge is a dish best served cold. That is what would best describe the shooting of TCU in the second half tonight. Cold.
This was a game that will never be called beautiful except in the sense that it was a win. To get there was a twisty, messy pathway that was littered with three point shots, jitters against the press, and a game that always felt closer than it really was.
The ladies came out with confidence and were never really threatened throughout. As strange as that sounds, they always answered everything that TCU did with something of their own, or at times, something more. What we ended up seeing tonight was a solid first half in which the ladies struggled at times with the speed of the personnel TCU put on the floor. What made the difference in the first half was something that we usually gripe about…officiating. In this game, the officials were calling fouls the way they needed and should be. They never allowed TCU to play their brand of bully ball and instead the fouls racked up quickly and ISU was in the bonus with 13 minutes left. They would make them count, going 8-9 from the line in the first half. That was the difference in the score at halftime. Also of interest was seeing that the scoring for the sisters was nicely distributed in the first half. Everyone seemed to contribute bits and pieces here and there. Of particular importance was turnovers. At the half, the ladies had a manageable number at six.
What turned this game was how the women came out in the second half. They started it off with a 10-2 run that put some distance between them and the Frogs that was never relinquished. I would lay odds part of the halftime talk related to something the women will never forget – the 65 point half at TCU. The women kept the pressure on throughout and did enough to actually extend the lead to 22 at one point before our offense took its one hiatus and allowed TCU to hit a slew of free throws to pull within 12. But that was it. If it wasn’t for the sweet shooting of Hamilton the defeat would have been much worse. The Frogs had trouble hitting practically anything in the second half. I do have to say that Hamilton did everything offensively for them. She swished contested shot after contested shot. She has one sweet stroke. It just wasn’t enough on this night. Even when Moody went down with a sprained ankle the Sisters fought through it. Moody was a trooper to come back in and, as gimpy as she was, she guided the team to victory. Victory was sweet and the ladies have moved to a 4-2 conference record with a 80-62 victory.
Observations
POG could go to several people. Kidd hit some killer threes and after starting this game again showed she has grit and brings a killer mentality to our game. Moody had another good game with 15 points and 6 assists. Her scoring was deadly accurate from three. Her fortitude in sticking this one out speaks volumes. Finally you have to talk about Bre. She hit long ones and short ones and took advantage of TCU all night long on her way to 18 points and 6 boards. Finally, there’s Seanna. She quietly worked her way to a double-double with 15 points and 13 boards. Ms. Consistent is her name.
So what does this tell us? It was a TEAM win tonight. As mentioned earlier, everyone contributed in solid ways.
The three point shoots continue to fall. The team hit 46% on 13 of 28 tonight. Each one was a dagger to TCU.
Free throws. Whatever funk we may have been in for a while seems to have disappeared (send that guru to work with the men’s team!). The ladies were a spectacular 13-14 from the line tonight. They are back to being a team you don’t dare foul.
Officiating. I enjoyed seeing the refs call the rough stuff in the first half, but alas they pretty much disappeared in the second half. It honestly seemed like it was only the last few minutes before the first foul shots were shot.
Officiating part II – The mystery. Imagine this. Moody is laid out on the floor in pain. Grasping her ankle. The officials REFUSED to allow the ISU trainer on the court to tend to her. Then they MADE her shoot her free throws. Wow.
The details. Turnovers 9. Wonderful. Free throws 13-14. Fantastic. Rebound margin 43-34. Awesome. Assists 20. Great assist to turnover ratio. These are the things that win ball games.
Next up the rematch with Texas. It was horrible news to hear that Enemkpali tore her ACL and will miss the rest of her senior season. Texas is in a bit of a funk right now having lost 3 of their last 4 games. Will be a tough matchup in Texas, but stranger things have happened and this sisters’ squad is playing well right now. Let’s hope the time until Sunday allows Moody’s ankle to be game worthy.
This was a game that will never be called beautiful except in the sense that it was a win. To get there was a twisty, messy pathway that was littered with three point shots, jitters against the press, and a game that always felt closer than it really was.
The ladies came out with confidence and were never really threatened throughout. As strange as that sounds, they always answered everything that TCU did with something of their own, or at times, something more. What we ended up seeing tonight was a solid first half in which the ladies struggled at times with the speed of the personnel TCU put on the floor. What made the difference in the first half was something that we usually gripe about…officiating. In this game, the officials were calling fouls the way they needed and should be. They never allowed TCU to play their brand of bully ball and instead the fouls racked up quickly and ISU was in the bonus with 13 minutes left. They would make them count, going 8-9 from the line in the first half. That was the difference in the score at halftime. Also of interest was seeing that the scoring for the sisters was nicely distributed in the first half. Everyone seemed to contribute bits and pieces here and there. Of particular importance was turnovers. At the half, the ladies had a manageable number at six.
What turned this game was how the women came out in the second half. They started it off with a 10-2 run that put some distance between them and the Frogs that was never relinquished. I would lay odds part of the halftime talk related to something the women will never forget – the 65 point half at TCU. The women kept the pressure on throughout and did enough to actually extend the lead to 22 at one point before our offense took its one hiatus and allowed TCU to hit a slew of free throws to pull within 12. But that was it. If it wasn’t for the sweet shooting of Hamilton the defeat would have been much worse. The Frogs had trouble hitting practically anything in the second half. I do have to say that Hamilton did everything offensively for them. She swished contested shot after contested shot. She has one sweet stroke. It just wasn’t enough on this night. Even when Moody went down with a sprained ankle the Sisters fought through it. Moody was a trooper to come back in and, as gimpy as she was, she guided the team to victory. Victory was sweet and the ladies have moved to a 4-2 conference record with a 80-62 victory.
Observations
POG could go to several people. Kidd hit some killer threes and after starting this game again showed she has grit and brings a killer mentality to our game. Moody had another good game with 15 points and 6 assists. Her scoring was deadly accurate from three. Her fortitude in sticking this one out speaks volumes. Finally you have to talk about Bre. She hit long ones and short ones and took advantage of TCU all night long on her way to 18 points and 6 boards. Finally, there’s Seanna. She quietly worked her way to a double-double with 15 points and 13 boards. Ms. Consistent is her name.
So what does this tell us? It was a TEAM win tonight. As mentioned earlier, everyone contributed in solid ways.
The three point shoots continue to fall. The team hit 46% on 13 of 28 tonight. Each one was a dagger to TCU.
Free throws. Whatever funk we may have been in for a while seems to have disappeared (send that guru to work with the men’s team!). The ladies were a spectacular 13-14 from the line tonight. They are back to being a team you don’t dare foul.
Officiating. I enjoyed seeing the refs call the rough stuff in the first half, but alas they pretty much disappeared in the second half. It honestly seemed like it was only the last few minutes before the first foul shots were shot.
Officiating part II – The mystery. Imagine this. Moody is laid out on the floor in pain. Grasping her ankle. The officials REFUSED to allow the ISU trainer on the court to tend to her. Then they MADE her shoot her free throws. Wow.
The details. Turnovers 9. Wonderful. Free throws 13-14. Fantastic. Rebound margin 43-34. Awesome. Assists 20. Great assist to turnover ratio. These are the things that win ball games.
Next up the rematch with Texas. It was horrible news to hear that Enemkpali tore her ACL and will miss the rest of her senior season. Texas is in a bit of a funk right now having lost 3 of their last 4 games. Will be a tough matchup in Texas, but stranger things have happened and this sisters’ squad is playing well right now. Let’s hope the time until Sunday allows Moody’s ankle to be game worthy.
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