Twister Sister Summary - The best team wins!

[acoustimac]

The rubber match for this year. An imposing team with a great pressure point guard. UT was down one guard but incredibly dangerous. For our ladies the usual need to be aggressive on defense and getting shots to fall is the magic equation. Time to find out.
Both teams started out looking a wee bit tight. Missing on their first possessions. Even bunnies. Joens got the scoring started with a three.

Texas responded with two straight scoring trips against a zone that appears to have some holes in it. We will see.
Emily had her first careless turnover against minimal pressure. Ash stole the ball back and went coast to coast for two.
UT got multiple offensive boards on one possession and each time the d stepped up for a stop. Wow. Six min in and the sisters led a low scoring affair 7-4. Neither side was shooting well.
Officials were letting lots of contact go uncalled. Both sides continued to struggle on offense. UT was dominating the offensive boards and it is paying off. Diew got an O board of her own and sliced in for two. Kane took a dish from Joens for two and the sisters led 14-11 after one.
First was marked by lots of UT rebounds but a resilient sisters defense.

The second started with UT netting a three to tie it up. The sisters misfired underneath on the return. After another ISU miss UT ran the floor for the lead. Kane knotted things up after some nifty footwork. Ryan turned the ball over after deciding to pass mid jump shot. UT drives after the steal and retook the lead 18-16.
The offense was just wonky and having to force late shots that weren’t falling. Ryan finally nailed a three to retake the lead in this back and forth game.
Officiating was an inconsistent mess and as usual it was costing the sisters. UT scored back to back baskets and got a weird displacement call to push their lead to 23-19.
Ashley answered back with a three. After a turnover we turned it right back on an errant inbounds pass. Of course UT scored. 25-22 Texas. Our offense has reverted to the bad Ryan dribble dribble late shot.
Donarski drove for two and missed the and one. On the other end UT continues to dominate the offensive glass. Fortunately they also missed a lot. Wow…the officials are letting this game be a scrum. Joens scores to end the half with UT leading 27-26.
Story of the first half is three fold. Texas dominating the boards. ISU missing shots and horrendous officiating.

Kane opened the third quarter scoring with a pair of free throws. UT responded and then Fritz turned it over. After another UT bucket Joens nailed a three. All tied up at 31 early.
UT continued to get offensive boards and somehow kept missing. Joens looked pissed. She started going at UT with a vengeance. Scored a traditional three to retake the lead 36-33. Followed with 1-2 from the line. It was the Joens show on offense. Another feed inside and another UT foul. At the five minute media timeout ISU led 37-33.
Diew picked up her third foul. Joens drove again and picked up a pair at the line. ISU in the bonus the rest of the quarter. Kane made one of two.

ISU was called for back to back fouls on one possession. But they didn’t hurt us. The ladies kept going to the line and missing. Donarski made 1-2. Joens to the line again and again missed one. What’s up with all the misses? We should be up 8-19 and only lead by 5, 42-37.
Donarski got elbowed to the face and somehow gets called for the foul. UT closed to 3. Diew hit for three at the buzzer and ISU led 47-39 after three.

The fourth started with a UT bucket in close. Kane responded in kind. Donarski got a steal, raced full court and…missed the layup. Ryan followed with a travel. But Joens powered in and the lead was ten.
After a couple of back and forth misfires on both squads Donarski drove and collected the two free throws. Boom…Ryan for three and the lead was 56-41. UT was visibly frustrated. Five minutes to go
Both offenses started misfiring. Vic “assaulted” the ref on the court and no technical. Wow. ISU kept coming up empty and UT is slowly crawling back in. After two UT misses UT crashes the board and gets fouled. They keep missing at the line and from the field. Donarski drove for two and UT answers with a three. Lead is 58-48 with two minutes to go.
Joens was fouled again and made a pair. Joens hits one more and UT scores a meaningless three. Game over. ISU wins.

Observations

POG - who else but Joens. She took over this game in the third. You could say the team fit this as they played with grit and determination. Nothing seemed to sway their drive.
All tournament team - Donarski and Joens is MVP

I could talk about each individual player as normal, but this truly was a team win if there ever was one. Key shots, powerful rebounds, and a swarming defense that clearly frustrated Texas the entire second half. They were showing it from the last 4 minutes on.
Free Throws - these were the difference makers, but we missed way too many going 14-20.
Rebounds - stayed even throughout the second half. Fought like crazy for em.
Three pointers. Perfect numbers for an ISU team. Make 40%. Don’t shoot mass quantities (17) and make them at critical times.
Now we wait a few hours and see if two big wins over ranked teams are enough to warrant consideration to host. The ride has begun! Time for a new conference championship sweatshirt to join my ones from 20 years ago.

 

[Cycsk]

I’m surprised we did as well as we did with the way the refs were calling the game. And I thought a more physical game would cater to Texas,.

The bottom line is that, although they were more physical, we were more tough! I could see in the faces of some of the Texas players, that they know we’re losing composure. We just got more resolved.

 

[CloneSt8]

Fun quick fun moment. With about three minutes left the camera showed the bench and Bea Jordao nervously chewing a finger nail. Stephanie Soures reached out and pushes Bea's arm away from her mouth! Like: stop that! Ha!

 

[ZorkClone]

Incredibly Proud of our ladies! Very fun environment to be in some times very loud.

 

[CloneSt8]

Another moment. After the game, President Wendy Wintersteen came to the floor and gave Bill a big hug. Bill had tears that he wiped away.

 

[CyclonesRock]

Couldn't believe how the UT coach Vic Schaefer ran onto the floor shouting at the officials while play continued and he was just ignored.
Our ladies showed real toughness as I think there were at least 3 times where they were elbowed, poked, or hit in the face, sometimes leading to blood and tears yet the only foul called was on Lexi when she got hit in the face on a long rebound. It's a good thing they have several days to heal up.

 

[Cyforce]

The rubber match for this year. An imposing team with a great pressure point guard. UT was down one guard but incredibly dangerous. For our ladies the usual need to be aggressive on defense and getting shots to fall is the magic equation. Time to find out.
Both teams started out looking a wee bit tight. Missing on their first possessions. Even bunnies. Joens got the scoring started with a three.

Texas responded with two straight scoring trips against a zone that appears to have some holes in it. We will see.
Emily had her first careless turnover against minimal pressure. Ash stole the ball back and went coast to coast for two.
UT got multiple offensive boards on one possession and each time the d stepped up for a stop. Wow. Six min in and the sisters led a low scoring affair 7-4. Neither side was shooting well.
Officials were letting lots of contact go uncalled. Both sides continued to struggle on offense. UT was dominating the offensive boards and it is paying off. Diew got an O board of her own and sliced in for two. Kane took a dish from Joens for two and the sisters led 14-11 after one.
First was marked by lots of UT rebounds but a resilient sisters defense.

The second started with UT netting a three to tie it up. The sisters misfired underneath on the return. After another ISU miss UT ran the floor for the lead. Kane knotted things up after some nifty footwork. Ryan turned the ball over after deciding to pass mid jump shot. UT drives after the steal and retook the lead 18-16.
The offense was just wonky and having to force late shots that weren’t falling. Ryan finally nailed a three to retake the lead in this back and forth game.
Officiating was an inconsistent mess and as usual it was costing the sisters. UT scored back to back baskets and got a weird displacement call to push their lead to 23-19.
Ashley answered back with a three. After a turnover we turned it right back on an errant inbounds pass. Of course UT scored. 25-22 Texas. Our offense has reverted to the bad Ryan dribble dribble late shot.
Donarski drove for two and missed the and one. On the other end UT continues to dominate the offensive glass. Fortunately they also missed a lot. Wow…the officials are letting this game be a scrum. Joens scores to end the half with UT leading 27-26.
Story of the first half is three fold. Texas dominating the boards. ISU missing shots and horrendous officiating.

Kane opened the third quarter scoring with a pair of free throws. UT responded and then Fritz turned it over. After another UT bucket Joens nailed a three. All tied up at 31 early.
UT continued to get offensive boards and somehow kept missing. Joens looked pissed. She started going at UT with a vengeance. Scored a traditional three to retake the lead 36-33. Followed with 1-2 from the line. It was the Joens show on offense. Another feed inside and another UT foul. At the five minute media timeout ISU led 37-33.
Diew picked up her third foul. Joens drove again and picked up a pair at the line. ISU in the bonus the rest of the quarter. Kane made one of two.

ISU was called for back to back fouls on one possession. But they didn’t hurt us. The ladies kept going to the line and missing. Donarski made 1-2. Joens to the line again and again missed one. What’s up with all the misses? We should be up 8-19 and only lead by 5, 42-37.
Donarski got elbowed to the face and somehow gets called for the foul. UT closed to 3. Diew hit for three at the buzzer and ISU led 47-39 after three.

The fourth started with a UT bucket in close. Kane responded in kind. Donarski got a steal, raced full court and…missed the layup. Ryan followed with a travel. But Joens powered in and the lead was ten.
After a couple of back and forth misfires on both squads Donarski drove and collected the two free throws. Boom…Ryan for three and the lead was 56-41. UT was visibly frustrated. Five minutes to go
Both offenses started misfiring. Vic “assaulted” the ref on the court and no technical. Wow. ISU kept coming up empty and UT is slowly crawling back in. After two UT misses UT crashes the board and gets fouled. They keep missing at the line and from the field. Donarski drove for two and UT answers with a three. Lead is 58-48 with two minutes to go.
Joens was fouled again and made a pair. Joens hits one more and UT scores a meaningless three. Game over. ISU wins.

Observations

POG - who else but Joens. She took over this game in the third. You could say the team fit this as they played with grit and determination. Nothing seemed to sway their drive.
All tournament team - Donarski and Joens is MVP

I could talk about each individual player as normal, but this truly was a team win if there ever was one. Key shots, powerful rebounds, and a swarming defense that clearly frustrated Texas the entire second half. They were showing it from the last 4 minutes on.
Free Throws - these were the difference makers, but we missed way too many going 14-20.
Rebounds - stayed even throughout the second half. Fought like crazy for em.
Three pointers. Perfect numbers for an ISU team. Make 40%. Don’t shoot mass quantities (17) and make them at critical times.
Now we wait a few hours and see if two big wins over ranked teams are enough to warrant consideration to host. The ride has begun! Time for a new conference championship sweatshirt to join my ones from 20 years ago.

Wanted to get your opinion, if Soares doesn't return/ get a waiver who do you see as the 5th starter next year?

 

[BCClone]

Couldn't believe how the UT coach Vic Schaefer ran onto the floor shouting at the officials while play continued and he was just ignored.
Our ladies showed real toughness as I think there were at least 3 times where they were elbowed, poked, or hit in the face, sometimes leading to blood and tears yet the only foul called was on Lexi when she got hit in the face on a long rebound. It's a good thing they have several days to heal up.

Throw in Harmon slamming the ball going to the bench. The ball went high enough that it literally shot up and too high for the camera. Players will get T’d for stuff like that if they just spike it and walk away. Another time I saw Vic even crossed the half court line in the sidelines. I won’t miss their temper tantrums.

 

[acoustimac]

Wanted to get your opinion, if Soares doesn't return/ get a waiver who do you see as the 5th starter next year?

That’s a tough question. Izzi likely has the opportunity to step up. She made great strides this year. I'm high on Crooks, but if she doesn’t adjust fast I could see Izzi going in the early season with Diew mixed in. As we’ve seen, Diew is better off playing away from the basket. Vick is the wild card.

 

[seadog]

I think that Brown is a contender for post starter as a 6-3 McDonalds player

 

[pourcyne]

Thanks for the great reporting, Acoustimatic!

 

[mred]

I think that Brown is a contender for post starter as a 6-3 McDonalds player

It's possible if we're playing small ball, but Brown plays enough like a wing that we might not want her there too much. I haven't seen much Bristow, but I believe she's the same. I think our ideal lineup has Crooks and Izzi sharing time in the post while Fritz/Diew/Brown/Bristow(/Vick) share the 3/4 slots (plus some 5 and 2). But that all depends on player development -- can Izzi make the next step? Are the freshmen bigs all ready for significant minutes immediately? If Crooks isn't ready for more than 10-15 mpg and Izzi isn't either, then we could definitely see Brown and/or Bristow at the 5.

 

[VeloClone]

Couldn't believe how the UT coach Vic Schaefer ran onto the floor shouting at the officials while play continued and he was just ignored.
Our ladies showed real toughness as I think there were at least 3 times where they were elbowed, poked, or hit in the face, sometimes leading to blood and tears yet the only foul called was on Lexi when she got hit in the face on a long rebound. It's a good thing they have several days to heal up.

I was really proud of Izzi when she took one to the face. She got elbowed in the face while she was posting up just as the ball was passed. She still made the catch and scored the basket even though she likely couldn't see from the tears. She has gotten tough fast. It was only when she was running down the court to play defense that she acknowledged that she was really hurt.

I noticed a few minutes later she took another shot to the face when defending. I don't know if it was another tough shot or just normal contact to an already tender area but she was grabbing her face again.

 

[VeloClone]

Throw in Harmon slamming the ball going to the bench. The ball went high enough that it literally shot up and too high for the camera. Players will get T’d for stuff like that if they just spike it and walk away. Another time I saw Vic even crossed the half court line in the sidelines. I won’t miss their temper tantrums.

Slamming the ball like that without catching it before it goes high in the air is supposed to be an automatic technical. The female ref was five feet away looking right at her when she did it and she just appeared to tell her to not do it again instead of T'ing her up.

I know that Rori Harmon is a really good player but I am beyond sick of her getting away with bodying up and knocking people off their line and slapping. So many players slap and even if they get all ball the ref will call the foul because it looks bad. She has this reputation as an awesome defender so they almost always give her the benefit of the doubt when she reaches in.

 

[Royalclone]

It's possible if we're playing small ball, but Brown plays enough like a wing that we might not want her there too much. I haven't seen much Bristow, but I believe she's the same. I think our ideal lineup has Crooks and Izzi sharing time in the post while Fritz/Diew/Brown/Bristow(/Vick) share the 3/4 slots (plus some 5 and 2). But that all depends on player development -- can Izzi make the next step? Are the freshmen bigs all ready for significant minutes immediately? If Crooks isn't ready for more than 10-15 mpg and Izzi isn't either, then we could definitely see Brown and/or Bristow at the 5.

Izzy has really grown over this season. That may be one positive out of Soares injury. While we may have missed out on an extra special season, it forced the coaches to focus much more on Izzy’s development. If Steph is not back, I do see Audi and Izzy playing major minutes in the post. They are not likely to total 40 minutes, so a forward will fill the extra time like Diew did this year. Could be Bristow, Brown, or Ny.

 

[VeloClone]

Izzy has really grown over this season. That may be one positive out of Soares injury. While we may have missed out on an extra special season, it forced the coaches to focus much more on Izzy’s development. If Steph is not back, I do see Audi and Izzy playing major minutes in the post. They are not likely to total 40 minutes, so a forward will fill the extra time like Diew did this year. Could be Bristow, Brown, or Ny.

I love Ny's versatility, but it would be nice if she could showcase her play at the 2 and 3 next year. At the next level that is where she will have to play so the more she can show off what she can do there, the better it will be for her.

 

[Cyforce]

Izzy has really grown over this season. That may be one positive out of Soares injury. While we may have missed out on an extra special season, it forced the coaches to focus much more on Izzy’s development. If Steph is not back, I do see Audi and Izzy playing major minutes in the post. They are not likely to total 40 minutes, so a forward will fill the extra time like Diew did this year. Could be Bristow, Brown, or Ny.

It seems Bill likes to split between having a big and going small. Even though we still had two true bigs we played quite a bit of small ball. I can see a combo of Dew, Bristow and Brown teaming up at the 4/5 quite a bit next year.

 

[Cyfan1965]

Slamming the ball like that without catching it before it goes high in the air is supposed to be an automatic technical. The female ref was five feet away looking right at her when she did it and she just appeared to tell her to not do it again instead of T'ing her up.

I know that Rori Harmon is a really good player but I am beyond sick of her getting away with bodying up and knocking people off their line and slapping. So many players slap and even if they get all ball the ref will call the foul because it looks bad. She has this reputation as an awesome defender so they almost always give her the benefit of the doubt when she reaches in.

The offensive foul call she got was complete BS after she road Ryan down the court like a donkey. She might have shoved her but it was to get her off her back, literally.

 

[CascadeClone]

I thought Morgan Kane played a fantastic game. She was a beast underneath on both ends, and played a lot of minutes against bigger players, and just busted her butt and played great. By far, best I have seen her play.

 

[Cycsk]

Slamming the ball like that without catching it before it goes high in the air is supposed to be an automatic technical. The female ref was five feet away looking right at her when she did it and she just appeared to tell her to not do it again instead of T'ing her up.

I know that Rori Harmon is a really good player but I am beyond sick of her getting away with bodying up and knocking people off their line and slapping. So many players slap and even if they get all ball the ref will call the foul because it looks bad. She has this reputation as an awesome defender so they almost always give her the benefit of the doubt when she reaches in.

All three refs for the game with Texas appeared to be female.

The refs turned away from two T's. The ball slam. And Vic running out on the court nearly into the action during a live ball to complain about a turnover that happened right in front of him. For the record, I thought it was a bad call and I think the refs didn't want to double-down by giving him a T, even though he deserved it.