Spirit 53, Boro 36
Today was the second day in a row that I have seen impeccable ball movement leave a high-pressure defense dizzy, yesterday it was Wilson as the victim and today it was the Boro. Spirit passed the ball just beautifully this afternoon in Chimeraland, and looked much improved from the last time I saw them, against Wilson. Sykes is a great player, of course, but the girls that made the difference today were Froumy and Kofeldt. Maybe Sykes' time out of the lineup allowed these two to get more comfortable with the ball, because they didn't make too many mistakes today. In fact, every single starter on the team had at least one assist. How's that for a statistic.
I'm also well aware that I didn't see Willingboro's best effort today. I give a lot of credit to Tiffany Musgrove for carrying the flag for the Boro -- off the bench no less -- but she was basically alone out there after the first quarter. The Chimeras' vaunted D had very little swarm today, not that I think it really would have mattered. The game wasn't that close.
I understand Boro had an especially tough practice on Tuesday, and that many of the players had sore legs. I'm not sure what the thinking was behind it -- that is true -- but I'm still not sure how I feel about it. A team has to practice hard sometime, though the coaching staff had to know that Spirit was going to try to wear them down and make them chase for long half-court possessions if they got the lead. I agree with the need to work hard, even the day before a big regular season game, but it seems like it gave the players a ready-made excuse to give up when they were down late.
The addition of this last wave of transfers definitely gives Spirit some real depth, especially in the front court. Marsh had a really nice second half today, especially defensively, and I continue to be impressed with the ability of the freshman, Jesse Frasier. She's like another Chelsi Johnson in that I could see her handling the ball and shooting mid-range jumpers as well as banging inside. She's not quite as big as Johnson, I don't think, but she has made up for it with speed the two times I've seen her. In many ways, the fact that Marsh had to sit out the 30 days had a real positive effect on Frasier's season, as it gave her a chance to start a bunch of games, get a lot of time and esstablish herself in the rotation. The way she played when I saw them against Wilson, I don't know how you keep her off the court for long.
As far as I can tell, this cements Spirit as the No. 2 seed in SJ Non-Public A, setting up a potentially awesome semifinal matchup with Red Bank Catholic on the Spartans' home court. That bracket is really stacked from top to bottom, from CC all the way down to Paul VI and St. John Vianney. That, along with SJ Group 1 and Group 2, will be the unpredicatble brackets of the playoffs, I think. CC is a clear favorite with major big-gaem questions to answer in N-P A, and plenty of teams there are very ready to ask them. Those two small public groups are really without favorites whatsoever. SJ Group 4 and Group 3 both have clear and tested big dogs in Gami and Wilson.
Tomorrow, I'll be down at Mainland for the Ocean City game. It was an 11-point contest at the OC almost exactly a month ago, but I expect a tighter matchup this time around, on the Mustangs' home floor. If I'm not mistaken, this will be my first trip to Mainland that is not for the Shootout at the Shore, my absolute favorite of the annual weekend showcase events. Should be fun. See you there.
I'm also well aware that I didn't see Willingboro's best effort today. I give a lot of credit to Tiffany Musgrove for carrying the flag for the Boro -- off the bench no less -- but she was basically alone out there after the first quarter. The Chimeras' vaunted D had very little swarm today, not that I think it really would have mattered. The game wasn't that close.
I understand Boro had an especially tough practice on Tuesday, and that many of the players had sore legs. I'm not sure what the thinking was behind it -- that is true -- but I'm still not sure how I feel about it. A team has to practice hard sometime, though the coaching staff had to know that Spirit was going to try to wear them down and make them chase for long half-court possessions if they got the lead. I agree with the need to work hard, even the day before a big regular season game, but it seems like it gave the players a ready-made excuse to give up when they were down late.
The addition of this last wave of transfers definitely gives Spirit some real depth, especially in the front court. Marsh had a really nice second half today, especially defensively, and I continue to be impressed with the ability of the freshman, Jesse Frasier. She's like another Chelsi Johnson in that I could see her handling the ball and shooting mid-range jumpers as well as banging inside. She's not quite as big as Johnson, I don't think, but she has made up for it with speed the two times I've seen her. In many ways, the fact that Marsh had to sit out the 30 days had a real positive effect on Frasier's season, as it gave her a chance to start a bunch of games, get a lot of time and esstablish herself in the rotation. The way she played when I saw them against Wilson, I don't know how you keep her off the court for long.
As far as I can tell, this cements Spirit as the No. 2 seed in SJ Non-Public A, setting up a potentially awesome semifinal matchup with Red Bank Catholic on the Spartans' home court. That bracket is really stacked from top to bottom, from CC all the way down to Paul VI and St. John Vianney. That, along with SJ Group 1 and Group 2, will be the unpredicatble brackets of the playoffs, I think. CC is a clear favorite with major big-gaem questions to answer in N-P A, and plenty of teams there are very ready to ask them. Those two small public groups are really without favorites whatsoever. SJ Group 4 and Group 3 both have clear and tested big dogs in Gami and Wilson.
Tomorrow, I'll be down at Mainland for the Ocean City game. It was an 11-point contest at the OC almost exactly a month ago, but I expect a tighter matchup this time around, on the Mustangs' home floor. If I'm not mistaken, this will be my first trip to Mainland that is not for the Shootout at the Shore, my absolute favorite of the annual weekend showcase events. Should be fun. See you there.
posted by SMc. @ 9:15 PM
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