This was the debut for Coach Lyndsay Gottlieb's team against the Univ of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine, coached by former USC assistant and legendary Mt. SAC head coach Laura Beeman.
First, Hawaii was overmatched from a talent and athleticism perspective by the WOT. After a lackluster first half, which saw the team go 0 -7 shooting to start the game, and lead by only 9 points at the half (35-26), Coach Gottlieb's team come out after halftime with a new sense of purpose and drive and the result was a 40 point blowout win 90-50. The Trojans shot 52% FG for the game, thanks to an over 60% effort in the second half. They outrebounded the smaller Wahine 49-33 and had 10 steals, but had 16 turnovers, including a string of 4 or 5 consecutive failed opportunities to get the ball inside or to a lead runner on a fastbreak.
Generally, the WOT tried to push the ball up the floor and when they were under control this paid dividends. The defense seemed to play intensely in man-to-man, but I was bothered when they played zone and left the corner shooters wide open. If Hawaii shot better than 7-26 (27%) from deep, this would have been a bigger issue. Still, collapsing the zone to clog up the middle is fine, but the zone needs to stretch and find the shooters and not leave them virtually uncovered in the corners.
In addition to shooting 52% FG, the WOT shot 53% 3FG (9-17) and 72% from the FT line (Rayah Marshall and Jordan Sanders were both 4-4).
Player impressions:
Starters were: Pili, Jenkins, Sanders, Reed, Caldwell
Stars of the game were Jordan Sanders and Rayah Marshall (with the Lynwood Girls Basketball team and coaches there to support). They were by far the two best athletes on the floor and the ones with the best basketball IQ. We know about Jordan, she is a grad student now and has had success at both UCI and SC. She is an experienced scorer who can create and drive to the hoop or pull-up for mid-range jumpers. She was very fluid in her 3-pt shots (3 for 3), and has definitely improved her range and comfort level from deep. She rebounds, blocks shots, plays good D and is just a complete player.
Rayah was as good as advertised and was a rebound shy of a double-double in her debut. She finished with 15 pts, 9 rebs, 3 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in only 21 minutes. She is very fluid on the court, but does not shy away from contact and plays good D without fouling. I loved her game, she is a very natural and tremendously skilled player. For most of the game, she was the best player on the floor, I think she is going to do big things for us this season.
VCU grad transfer Tera Reed got the start and was efficient with the ball. She was 5-7 shooting, including a 3-pointer for 11 pts, third highest on the team and one of 6 players in double digits scoring. She had a team high 5 assists (tied with Bella Perkins), and only one turnover. Nice player, fits in well with the team.
Jordyn Jenkins played very well, next to Sanders and Marshall, she's the best athlete of the remaining players, has a nice skill set around the basket and gets out quickly on fastbreaks. She was very active in this game with 10 pts, 6 rebs, 3 steals, 2 blocks and only one TO. She continues to improve.
Pili was not the Pili we know in this game, she appeared to be a little hobbled in the second half. She played only 19 minutes and finished with a paltry 5 points, 3 rebs and had 4 TOs, to lead the team in this dubious category. Hopefully, she regroups for the next game at UVA, coached by WOT and WNBA legend Tina Thompson.
Desi Caldwell I felt was more confident in her game, she is in great shape and pushed the ball up the court. If she could only score she could be good, but in 27 minutes she netted only 2 pts on 1-6 FGs. She had only 1 assist, not what you want from your PG and a couple of bad passes resulting in 2 TOs. She is a leader and captain, but will not be mistaken for a quality PG. When I asked my wife on the drive home what she thought of the team, she said "We need a point guard, I miss Endyia Rogers." That about sums that up, which brings me to true frosh PG Bella Perkins.
Bella was very active and possesses good basketball IQ and quickness and she seems to be fearless, traits I think that might make her our future starter at PG. In only 15 minutes of playing time, she scored 5 points (including a 3), had 5 assists, 4 rebs and only 1 TO. I like her game a lot, I think she will be playing major minutes for us.
Angel Jackson was a slimmed down and more dominant version of her past self, she was hustling on both ends of the court and finished with 11 pts, 3 rebs, 2 blks,2 steals. I was down on her last season, feeling that she was not serious about her game, this performance seemed to make me reconsider, I think Angel will be big for us. She will have to be as our highly touted 6' 6" frosh center Clarice Akunwafo is very much still a work in progress. She played 10 minutes with 2 pts, 2 rebs and a block. She is comfortable around the basket, but not very athletic and has no outside game. She needs to be quicker and more aggressive, which will come and she settles into the stepped up competition from what she faced in HS.
Kyra White is very athletic, and handles the ball well, we all knew that, but she was reluctant to shoot last season and her shot was rather unorthodox (or ugly as I used to say). Someone has worked with her to change her shot and I think that will help a lot with consistency. She was in for 13 minutes and had 6 pts on 2-2 FGs and 2-3 FTs. She had 2 rebs, 1 steal, 3 assists and no turnovers. She will be useful this season as a backup guard.
Madison Campbell has also slimmed down and appears free of the back injury that hurt her game last season. She is our designated 3 point shooter and came into the game and promptly knocked down her two 3-pt attempts, scoring 6 pts in 6 minutes. She also had a rebound and assist. SC will need her shooting as we go through the year and the schedule gets much tougher. Her fellow 3-pt shooter Alyson Miura was in street clothes and her injury and recovery time is not known (at least by me).
Amaya Oliver and India Otto got a few minutes in garbage time and the mysterious Shemera Williams was nowhere to be seen. If it wasn't for the fact that she is still listed on the team's roster, albeit with last year's picture in a yellow uniform (this year the photos were in red uniforms), I would conclude that she is not a part of the program anymore. No one seems to have the scoop on her, so the mystery continues.
The students actually turned out for this game and were probably the majority of the 1147 in attendance. This number pales in comparison to real women's basketball programs where the women's teams outdraw the men's, but it is a step in the right direction. Mike Bohn sat with his wife in the area we were sitting (looks like he put on the pandemic 15 -haha) and there were many WOT alums invited to the game. We sat behind Tammy Story (SC's #2 all-time in steals, behind Cheryl Miller, and #10 in made 3FGs) and teammate Teresa Strickland from the '89-'92 time period. They are both currently school teachers. Former USC and WNBA star Shay Murphy, recently named the Laker's first women's assistant coach was on hand and shot FTs at halftime with DJ Malski and scored t-shirts for the crowd. I saw Jamie Hagiya, Cassie Harberts, and Kirsten Simon (I think), but there were many that I could not identify by sight as everyone has changed so much over the years.
Fight on everyone and get to Galen for the next home game on Thursday 11/18 against Western Michigan.
First, Hawaii was overmatched from a talent and athleticism perspective by the WOT. After a lackluster first half, which saw the team go 0 -7 shooting to start the game, and lead by only 9 points at the half (35-26), Coach Gottlieb's team come out after halftime with a new sense of purpose and drive and the result was a 40 point blowout win 90-50. The Trojans shot 52% FG for the game, thanks to an over 60% effort in the second half. They outrebounded the smaller Wahine 49-33 and had 10 steals, but had 16 turnovers, including a string of 4 or 5 consecutive failed opportunities to get the ball inside or to a lead runner on a fastbreak.
Generally, the WOT tried to push the ball up the floor and when they were under control this paid dividends. The defense seemed to play intensely in man-to-man, but I was bothered when they played zone and left the corner shooters wide open. If Hawaii shot better than 7-26 (27%) from deep, this would have been a bigger issue. Still, collapsing the zone to clog up the middle is fine, but the zone needs to stretch and find the shooters and not leave them virtually uncovered in the corners.
In addition to shooting 52% FG, the WOT shot 53% 3FG (9-17) and 72% from the FT line (Rayah Marshall and Jordan Sanders were both 4-4).
Player impressions:
Starters were: Pili, Jenkins, Sanders, Reed, Caldwell
Stars of the game were Jordan Sanders and Rayah Marshall (with the Lynwood Girls Basketball team and coaches there to support). They were by far the two best athletes on the floor and the ones with the best basketball IQ. We know about Jordan, she is a grad student now and has had success at both UCI and SC. She is an experienced scorer who can create and drive to the hoop or pull-up for mid-range jumpers. She was very fluid in her 3-pt shots (3 for 3), and has definitely improved her range and comfort level from deep. She rebounds, blocks shots, plays good D and is just a complete player.
Rayah was as good as advertised and was a rebound shy of a double-double in her debut. She finished with 15 pts, 9 rebs, 3 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in only 21 minutes. She is very fluid on the court, but does not shy away from contact and plays good D without fouling. I loved her game, she is a very natural and tremendously skilled player. For most of the game, she was the best player on the floor, I think she is going to do big things for us this season.
VCU grad transfer Tera Reed got the start and was efficient with the ball. She was 5-7 shooting, including a 3-pointer for 11 pts, third highest on the team and one of 6 players in double digits scoring. She had a team high 5 assists (tied with Bella Perkins), and only one turnover. Nice player, fits in well with the team.
Jordyn Jenkins played very well, next to Sanders and Marshall, she's the best athlete of the remaining players, has a nice skill set around the basket and gets out quickly on fastbreaks. She was very active in this game with 10 pts, 6 rebs, 3 steals, 2 blocks and only one TO. She continues to improve.
Pili was not the Pili we know in this game, she appeared to be a little hobbled in the second half. She played only 19 minutes and finished with a paltry 5 points, 3 rebs and had 4 TOs, to lead the team in this dubious category. Hopefully, she regroups for the next game at UVA, coached by WOT and WNBA legend Tina Thompson.
Desi Caldwell I felt was more confident in her game, she is in great shape and pushed the ball up the court. If she could only score she could be good, but in 27 minutes she netted only 2 pts on 1-6 FGs. She had only 1 assist, not what you want from your PG and a couple of bad passes resulting in 2 TOs. She is a leader and captain, but will not be mistaken for a quality PG. When I asked my wife on the drive home what she thought of the team, she said "We need a point guard, I miss Endyia Rogers." That about sums that up, which brings me to true frosh PG Bella Perkins.
Bella was very active and possesses good basketball IQ and quickness and she seems to be fearless, traits I think that might make her our future starter at PG. In only 15 minutes of playing time, she scored 5 points (including a 3), had 5 assists, 4 rebs and only 1 TO. I like her game a lot, I think she will be playing major minutes for us.
Angel Jackson was a slimmed down and more dominant version of her past self, she was hustling on both ends of the court and finished with 11 pts, 3 rebs, 2 blks,2 steals. I was down on her last season, feeling that she was not serious about her game, this performance seemed to make me reconsider, I think Angel will be big for us. She will have to be as our highly touted 6' 6" frosh center Clarice Akunwafo is very much still a work in progress. She played 10 minutes with 2 pts, 2 rebs and a block. She is comfortable around the basket, but not very athletic and has no outside game. She needs to be quicker and more aggressive, which will come and she settles into the stepped up competition from what she faced in HS.
Kyra White is very athletic, and handles the ball well, we all knew that, but she was reluctant to shoot last season and her shot was rather unorthodox (or ugly as I used to say). Someone has worked with her to change her shot and I think that will help a lot with consistency. She was in for 13 minutes and had 6 pts on 2-2 FGs and 2-3 FTs. She had 2 rebs, 1 steal, 3 assists and no turnovers. She will be useful this season as a backup guard.
Madison Campbell has also slimmed down and appears free of the back injury that hurt her game last season. She is our designated 3 point shooter and came into the game and promptly knocked down her two 3-pt attempts, scoring 6 pts in 6 minutes. She also had a rebound and assist. SC will need her shooting as we go through the year and the schedule gets much tougher. Her fellow 3-pt shooter Alyson Miura was in street clothes and her injury and recovery time is not known (at least by me).
Amaya Oliver and India Otto got a few minutes in garbage time and the mysterious Shemera Williams was nowhere to be seen. If it wasn't for the fact that she is still listed on the team's roster, albeit with last year's picture in a yellow uniform (this year the photos were in red uniforms), I would conclude that she is not a part of the program anymore. No one seems to have the scoop on her, so the mystery continues.
The students actually turned out for this game and were probably the majority of the 1147 in attendance. This number pales in comparison to real women's basketball programs where the women's teams outdraw the men's, but it is a step in the right direction. Mike Bohn sat with his wife in the area we were sitting (looks like he put on the pandemic 15 -haha) and there were many WOT alums invited to the game. We sat behind Tammy Story (SC's #2 all-time in steals, behind Cheryl Miller, and #10 in made 3FGs) and teammate Teresa Strickland from the '89-'92 time period. They are both currently school teachers. Former USC and WNBA star Shay Murphy, recently named the Laker's first women's assistant coach was on hand and shot FTs at halftime with DJ Malski and scored t-shirts for the crowd. I saw Jamie Hagiya, Cassie Harberts, and Kirsten Simon (I think), but there were many that I could not identify by sight as everyone has changed so much over the years.
Fight on everyone and get to Galen for the next home game on Thursday 11/18 against Western Michigan.
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