This will be much abbreviated as I’m sitting in a bar watching the men play. Going in I thought this would be a battle and I wasn’t disappointed.
The first half was a legitimate back and forth battle with both teams coming out playing hard and physical. The scoring went back and forth as both teams would make key shots and play inspired defense on alternate possessions. The result was a back and forth battle that resulted in a tie at 29 after one and a small ISU lead at the half. A side note…ISU definitely traveled for this one. 90% of the crowd wore the cardinal and gold.
The second half continued the battle and the teams traded hot and cold shooting partially due to good defense and some messy play at times. We started to see the sisters succumb to the turnover bug in the second half. After the sisters held a five point lead Baylor slapped on a full court press and the turnover bug hit big time. In one period five of seven ISU possessions ended with a turnover. Baylor pulled even and built a small lead that seemed insurmountable the way the ladies were playing. Effort on rebounding was minimal. And then…something happened. The intensity level for the sisters changed. Brown was blasting in for rebounds. The ladies started taking care of the ball. Baylor finally started getting called for fouls and ISU got their first free throws if the game. Slowly but surely the defense got stops and the free throws kept falling and the offense scored just enough. Baylor would go 1-19 on the last shots over three and a half minutes. The sisters would pull even, take a three point lead and then Em would ice the game at the line. The sisters win a true battle with everything left on the court 67-62.
Observations
POG - Addy Brown. She started the game hot for the sisters and ended the game hard with her rebounding. 16 points and a dozen boards.
Crooks - ok the plus was 23 points. The bad was turnovers (7) and lots of missed shots. The fort rebounding seemed to be a step slow all day as well.
Ryan - the floor general iced the game at the line and had 12 points, 10 assists and 7 boards. Overall perfection.
Belanger - not a great game overall. Hit a couple of shots early and then disappeared on offense.
Bristow - a game changer. Came in late and she interjected a huge dose of energy to the team and this started to turn it around. Doesn’t show up in the stat line, but she made a big difference.
Diew - hit one big three and saw limited minutes.
Natabou - good relief minutes in defense. Her off season. Needs to be work in a soft shot. Her close shots are nearly always too hard and miss. Could be a difference maker next year.
Joens - hit a nice trey and grabbed some boards in limited minutes. ALWAYS goes 90 mph.
Free throws - we didn’t get to the line until late in the game despite the physicality of the game. Made them whe it counted making 10-11.
Three pointers - the streak continues as the ladies hit 7-19.
Rebounds - despite what seemed like Baylor grabbing every free ball, the sisters outrebounded the bears 45-38 with many coming late.
Assists - how about 20 in 25 made shots.
Big discrepancy? Baylor shot the ball TWENTY FIVE more shots than ISU.
A huge win for the ladies showing a ton of grit and determination in moving on to the semifinals. I actually feel really good about this team right now. They fight. They are determined. They overcome. I think beating a ranked team today should move them off the 9 line for the dance. How high they go is in their hands. See you all Monday!
The first half was a legitimate back and forth battle with both teams coming out playing hard and physical. The scoring went back and forth as both teams would make key shots and play inspired defense on alternate possessions. The result was a back and forth battle that resulted in a tie at 29 after one and a small ISU lead at the half. A side note…ISU definitely traveled for this one. 90% of the crowd wore the cardinal and gold.
The second half continued the battle and the teams traded hot and cold shooting partially due to good defense and some messy play at times. We started to see the sisters succumb to the turnover bug in the second half. After the sisters held a five point lead Baylor slapped on a full court press and the turnover bug hit big time. In one period five of seven ISU possessions ended with a turnover. Baylor pulled even and built a small lead that seemed insurmountable the way the ladies were playing. Effort on rebounding was minimal. And then…something happened. The intensity level for the sisters changed. Brown was blasting in for rebounds. The ladies started taking care of the ball. Baylor finally started getting called for fouls and ISU got their first free throws if the game. Slowly but surely the defense got stops and the free throws kept falling and the offense scored just enough. Baylor would go 1-19 on the last shots over three and a half minutes. The sisters would pull even, take a three point lead and then Em would ice the game at the line. The sisters win a true battle with everything left on the court 67-62.
Observations
POG - Addy Brown. She started the game hot for the sisters and ended the game hard with her rebounding. 16 points and a dozen boards.
Crooks - ok the plus was 23 points. The bad was turnovers (7) and lots of missed shots. The fort rebounding seemed to be a step slow all day as well.
Ryan - the floor general iced the game at the line and had 12 points, 10 assists and 7 boards. Overall perfection.
Belanger - not a great game overall. Hit a couple of shots early and then disappeared on offense.
Bristow - a game changer. Came in late and she interjected a huge dose of energy to the team and this started to turn it around. Doesn’t show up in the stat line, but she made a big difference.
Diew - hit one big three and saw limited minutes.
Natabou - good relief minutes in defense. Her off season. Needs to be work in a soft shot. Her close shots are nearly always too hard and miss. Could be a difference maker next year.
Joens - hit a nice trey and grabbed some boards in limited minutes. ALWAYS goes 90 mph.
Free throws - we didn’t get to the line until late in the game despite the physicality of the game. Made them whe it counted making 10-11.
Three pointers - the streak continues as the ladies hit 7-19.
Rebounds - despite what seemed like Baylor grabbing every free ball, the sisters outrebounded the bears 45-38 with many coming late.
Assists - how about 20 in 25 made shots.
Big discrepancy? Baylor shot the ball TWENTY FIVE more shots than ISU.
A huge win for the ladies showing a ton of grit and determination in moving on to the semifinals. I actually feel really good about this team right now. They fight. They are determined. They overcome. I think beating a ranked team today should move them off the 9 line for the dance. How high they go is in their hands. See you all Monday!
