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Part of my birthday deal was promising my wife that I would get out of my own way and take a night off. So I didn't go to the game (dinner with Megan instead...it was great) and that's why I'm just now getting to these notes. As someone that didn't watch the game, I'm not going to do a lot on it, but here are a few thoughts:
* Who said A&M can't rebound? I know that it is still a concern against the truly elite, big teams (the ones that you meet in the NCAA Tournament), but the Ags out-rebounded Purdue, 41-27 and that's huge for a team that starts two smallish guards and hybrid-type players at the four and five positions. That puts a lot of pressure on the three players to get in there and grab boards. And it's even tougher when Assarian doesn't play, which she didn't. It helped that Gilbert played 20 solid minutes and got seven rebounds (six offensive). Also, White and Carter did step up and get four boards, which helps. The rebound margin was good to see.
* It was just a highly efficient night of basketball all the way around! The Ags shot 48.6 percent from the field, 58.8 percent from three-point range and 81.5 percent at the line. They had 24 assists with just nine turnovers...so they really shared the basketball. They also locked up the Boilermakers all night, holding them to just 37 percent shooting and forcing 26 turnovers. You couldn't ask for a much better all-around effort that that.
* Leading the way was the best player in the Gary Blair era...Danielle Adams! The senior had a career-high 27 points in just 20 minutes, fighting through foul trouble most of the game. She also had seven boards and was 3-of-5 from downtown.
* It was a very productive 15 minutes of action for Sydney Colson, who scored 10 points with three assists and two steals. She was 4-of-6 from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from three-point range. I think the Ags are at their best when Syd Colson is shooting the ball well. When that happens, teams have to guard her and that allows her to use her quickness to blow right by defenders. She's a great player and a true two-way threat offensively (dribble-drive and shoot).
* Sydney Carter was outstanding...nine points, eight assists (just one turnover) and four rebounds! And perhaps the biggest thing (for her) is that she was 2-of-3 on three balls. She had struggled throughout the season with her shot but is known as a solid outside shooter (streaky, for sure). It appears that Carter is finding her shot.
* Adaora Elonu is solid and sometimes she gets forgotten when thinking about this team. But every time, Elonu puts up 11 and seven and just goes about her business, being productive as heck. And she did that tonight. She's just a hard-working, very productive basketball player and I hope that she can take that next step and become a true star. It seems as though she's on the brink of that.
* Get ready...she's coming! Karla Gilbert, that is! The true freshman had her most productive 20 minutes of her career, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven boards...with six of those coming on the offensive end. She got to the line six times (which she will almost always do...get to the line a lot) and made five shots (which she's also pretty darn good at). The learning curve is starting to pick up and looks for Gilbert to continue to get more and more time on the floor as the year progresses.
There you go...a few quick thoughts on the game last night! I'll be back at Reed on Sunday for the game against TCU.
Part of my birthday deal was promising my wife that I would get out of my own way and take a night off. So I didn't go to the game (dinner with Megan instead...it was great) and that's why I'm just now getting to these notes. As someone that didn't watch the game, I'm not going to do a lot on it, but here are a few thoughts:
* Who said A&M can't rebound? I know that it is still a concern against the truly elite, big teams (the ones that you meet in the NCAA Tournament), but the Ags out-rebounded Purdue, 41-27 and that's huge for a team that starts two smallish guards and hybrid-type players at the four and five positions. That puts a lot of pressure on the three players to get in there and grab boards. And it's even tougher when Assarian doesn't play, which she didn't. It helped that Gilbert played 20 solid minutes and got seven rebounds (six offensive). Also, White and Carter did step up and get four boards, which helps. The rebound margin was good to see.
* It was just a highly efficient night of basketball all the way around! The Ags shot 48.6 percent from the field, 58.8 percent from three-point range and 81.5 percent at the line. They had 24 assists with just nine turnovers...so they really shared the basketball. They also locked up the Boilermakers all night, holding them to just 37 percent shooting and forcing 26 turnovers. You couldn't ask for a much better all-around effort that that.
* Leading the way was the best player in the Gary Blair era...Danielle Adams! The senior had a career-high 27 points in just 20 minutes, fighting through foul trouble most of the game. She also had seven boards and was 3-of-5 from downtown.
* It was a very productive 15 minutes of action for Sydney Colson, who scored 10 points with three assists and two steals. She was 4-of-6 from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from three-point range. I think the Ags are at their best when Syd Colson is shooting the ball well. When that happens, teams have to guard her and that allows her to use her quickness to blow right by defenders. She's a great player and a true two-way threat offensively (dribble-drive and shoot).
* Sydney Carter was outstanding...nine points, eight assists (just one turnover) and four rebounds! And perhaps the biggest thing (for her) is that she was 2-of-3 on three balls. She had struggled throughout the season with her shot but is known as a solid outside shooter (streaky, for sure). It appears that Carter is finding her shot.
* Adaora Elonu is solid and sometimes she gets forgotten when thinking about this team. But every time, Elonu puts up 11 and seven and just goes about her business, being productive as heck. And she did that tonight. She's just a hard-working, very productive basketball player and I hope that she can take that next step and become a true star. It seems as though she's on the brink of that.
* Get ready...she's coming! Karla Gilbert, that is! The true freshman had her most productive 20 minutes of her career, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven boards...with six of those coming on the offensive end. She got to the line six times (which she will almost always do...get to the line a lot) and made five shots (which she's also pretty darn good at). The learning curve is starting to pick up and looks for Gilbert to continue to get more and more time on the floor as the year progresses.
There you go...a few quick thoughts on the game last night! I'll be back at Reed on Sunday for the game against TCU.
