I don't think I blogged about our last game, but it was physical! Crazy physical. And I had just come from the doctor where I got a hormone injection and had to get a few vials of blood drawn. I was exhausted and feeling sick the whole game (which was probably the beginning of my little bug that lasted 5 days!). It was rough. But we won and that's always a good feeling. We only had 4 people and the other team had EIGHT!! And instead of playing us 4 on 4, like most teams do, they played 5 on 4 the WHOLE GAME!
Here's the unofficial recap from Big Al:
Here is the official game report with pictures (from the official team photographer) of the stunning and dominating win by the I Dubs over a big, nasty, 8 player team with a strong desire to crush anything Incarnate. The team features Angie Lewis of Lafayette and SLU fame among others. The I Dubs showed up with only 4 players and try as they might at the last minute were unable to recruit any subs so they had to play with 4. Most teams would have graciously offered to play them 4 on 4, but not this group. Their desire to win at all costs overcame their sportsmanship and a 5 to 4 advantage would insure victory. When one of their girls did offer to play with the I Dubs, one of her teammates shouted that she would be a loser if she did that, because they (the I Dubs) were going to lose, so she went back to the bench with the score 10 to 10 saying she thought the I Dubs were doing just fine at that point.
As the game unfolded the I Dubs slowly increased the lead to 10 points and that's about what it was at half. The game was extremely physical and Meghan spent a lot of the time splattered on the floor. Angie was actually run over by a dump truck wearing a red uniform as she tried to catch a long high pass. (and yes, both teams wore Red so it was extremely hard to tell who was on which team - the ref called the other team the "gold" team) As an indication of the rough stuff it noteworthy that the I Dubs were in the 1 on 1 minutes into the second half and in the double bonus a few minutes later. So, free throws became very important.
Fortunately the I Dubs featured 2 college players, who played for Nancy Fahey, and we all know how Nancy views missed free throws) and Maggie a huge star at Loyola. But, all the girls shot well from the line. A few were missed, probably out of sheer exhaustion, but most were made. I would guess the team shot about 80% from the line.
The I Dub lead was 10 or more thru the rest of the game until the end when they were out of reach and the brick shooters hit a few 3's getting within 6 once, and the game ended with the I Dubs winning by about 10.
The game featured 4 strong individual performances and a lot of teamwork.
Michelle was superb at bringing the ball up most of the time against that intense, rough, fouling, physical defense only a Matthews-Dickey disciple could inflict. She contributed a few points, made her free throws, and was her usual brilliant self as a passer.
Meghan was fresh from a doctor's visit where they apparently held her down and administered a shot of some kind with a needle the size of a railroad spike, and of course this made her woozy and more than a little pissed when the contact started. She contributed many critical baskets, free throws and matched the physical play of her opponent blow for blow. One thing I have always liked about Meghan. She really gets it into gear when somebody has the nerve to challenge her. If you want to see Meghan go to the rack, just pressure her. Goodbye!
Angie has always been a clutch performer. She was a big part of Wash U's first national championship team and her Fahey indoctrination has never left her. She hit quite a few shots while facing the basket, had some "put backs" and played stout defense against the dump truck among others. Also a fine free throw shooter who hit them when they counted most.
Last but not least is Maggie, who was brilliant on offense and especially on defense. She patrolled the lane like an animal sniffing blood, but it was not blood she was after....it was an opponent stupid enough to think she could get a shot off with Maggie around, and there were a lot of idiots out there. Maggie made several severe blocks, the kind that say. "get that thing out of here". The kind that bring the crowd to their feet. Other times she was content with a finesse block with the ball usually ending up in an I Dub's hands. Maggie's rebounding was superb too and of course her offense was magnificent. It was almost impossible to shoot under the hoop against the maulers so Maggie spent a lot of time at the line and she showed that beautiful stroke, making several critical shots when the "gold" team made some mini runs.
But this game was not about individual performances. It was about teamwork, unselfishness, and the guts to suck it up when you were so tired you couldn't move, a condition which struck all the girls early in the first half in spite of their great conditioning. These 4 girls (and Jane when she's there....she was out of town) play together like an orchestra playing Mozart. They make beautiful music. Some of the best passing you will ever see by all the girls and unselfish play make them a joy to watch.
Girls, you covered IWA and yourselves with glory and honor and respect. Great game!!
Big Al
Official team photographer and scribe
Thanks Big Al!!
Here's a few pictures of our team after the game:
We were exhausted!!
No comments:
Post a Comment