NM State Aggies vs UMKC Roos Women’s Basketball 1-27-18

I’ve had sleep issues all week, mostly in terms of badly oversleeping.  Saturday morning I had to make sure to get up for this noon game and even set my alarm.  I didn’t need it, but I really didn’t want to get up this morning either and have been dragging my rear all day.  So, in spite of a great game, I was totally under-reacting there and while writing this.  It’s just me; it wasn’t them.

Ron was having multiple family problems and had to cancel on Friday.  For my part, I was gritting my teeth going, because I was missing the Detroit International Auto Show and the 24 Hours of Daytona coverage on TV.  I watch these events every year and enjoy them.  Why couldn’t this have been the usual 2:00 game?  And why were both shows on at the same time?  Why don’t I have Tivo?  #First World Problems.  One of my favorite streamers on Twitch, Winter, a Starcraft player, talked about going to the auto show this week with his girlfriend, who works for a car company.  I had a whole new reason to be jealous of him (though he was paying for the day trip with some exhaustion during his nocturnal stream).            

I must be tired; I’m rambling.  There weren’t any posters up front when I got to the Pan-Am Center.  I had five different people at work who wanted their own Aggie Men’s Basketball Caricature poster after seeing mine.  Oh, well.  For lunch, I got a Pete’s Combo.  I hadn’t eaten at the Concessions in probably two months.  I forgot why I stopped, so it was time to go back.  The bun wasn’t fresh, as usual, but it wasn’t badly stale.  At least the dog is pretty meaty and flavorful.  That raspberry tea soda is really good.  I’m glad I tried that a while back.   

The crowd looked fairly good for the game.  The Old Man was back, though he wasn’t cheering as much as usual in this game.  The Cheerleaders were going around selling something.  They all avoided me, so I didn’t find out what.  Just as well, I was juggling my drink and meal at the time I sat down.  (If that one Goth-y cheerleader or the redheaded one had come by, I probably would have bought anything from them, but they wasn’t even there today.)  Pistol Pete was by the tunnel entertaining a young girl’s team.  They would come out on court to be with the Aggies during player introductions.  They were also seated behind the visiting team and hopefully gave them the business.  The regular, deep-voiced PA was there, Ed Carnathan.  I finally got his name from a newspaper article.  He’s also a pro-wrestler, as I found out from an Internet search. 

I did a double-take when Coach Atkinson came out.  She was clad in a black leather jacket and, I think, skin-tight crimson leather pants.  It was a bold fashion choice.  She filled it out nicely, but it seemed un-coach-ly.  On the other side, there was a good-looking blonde assistant coach for the UMKC Roos.  She was in a more traditional high heels and dress outfit.  (Yes, I’m still fascinated by assistant coaches.)  A young girl came out to sing the Anthem and did a good job.  Let’s start the game.         

First Quarter

I’d read that Gia Pack had a great game last week against Utah Valley (which I didn’t cover, since I was at the concurrent Aggie Men’s game and it wasn’t on the radio anyway).  She picked up right where she left off.  Gia started all the scoring with two quick baskets and a three.  Jasmine Cooper got in a bucket from down low.  Brooke Salas then put in a three.  It was 12-0 Aggies after about four minutes of play.  Timeout UMKC.  I was really impressed with the assists that the Aggies got on those baskets, great passing.  They were also pressing really hard on defense. 

The Roos got their first basket on a three, five minutes in.  Meanwhile, Brooke fell on a pretty blonde Sundancer sitting behind the goal as she went for a layup.  The blonde was smiling afterward, so I guess there was no harm done.  That’s the most interaction between the team and the spirit squads I’ve ever seen.  Monique Mills came into the game sporting a new hairstyle.  It probably wasn’t the best choice, but she’s pretty enough to pull it off.  You could at least more easily tell the difference between her and her identical twin sister, Dominique.  (Have they tried switching uniforms yet to confuse the coach?)  Mo still seems to be lacking the confidence she had earlier in the season though.  She’s either passing up shots or not making them.  If I knew what to say to help, I’d do so, since I know she can play. 

After the start of the game, a large group of 4-H members started streaming in.  They took up more than a full section.  It was 4-H Day at the arena, since NMSU was hosting a retreat for the group.  A couple of different promotional videos were shown during the game, though they didn’t say what the 4-H stood for.  (Or maybe I should have paid better attention.)  Most of the club members were from around the state and out-of-town, so initially, they were a bit uninvolved in the game.  It was 25-11 Aggies after 10 minutes.         

Second Quarter

Little basketballs got tossed into the crowd between quarters.  Part of me really wanted one, but there were a bunch of little kids around me who wanted them more and probably deserved them.  One came my way and I decided to just dodge it and let someone behind me get.  The 4-H section got really excited about the giveaway.

This wasn’t a good quarter for the Aggies.  The only highlight I have listed was Brooke making a flying block about three minutes in.  Jeneva Toilolo got a basket after the rebound, but gave a hard foul and put the other girl into the goal, much like what happened to her a couple of weeks ago (1-13-18).  I think it was Aries Washinton who was injured.  The air went out of the building until she was able to get up and go to the sidelines.  She came back in later, though Kristen Moore shot the free throw for her.  It was hard to read Jeneva’s reaction to the event.   

The Aggies didn’t score for several minutes, while the Roos got back into the game.  The crowd was taken out of it.  One memorable turnover had Gia making a no-look pass into the lane right to a Roo player.  Brooke finally broke the drought with a three with under a minute left.  The Aggies were still well ahead at the half, 32-23, but Coach Atkinson slammed her hand into the press desk at the buzzer.  She was furious.  My God, everyone in the Pan-Am Center could hear her yelling at the team all the way from the locker room during halftime.  Just kidding, but I’m glad I wasn’t anywhere near that team meeting.     

Halftime

On court, a group of Aggie Women’s Basketball alumni were honored.  Afterward, a kid hip-hop dance troop performed to the delight of the crowd.  While I was in the bathroom, a member of the band was there and another fan asked him about their new Aggie hockey sweaters.  The fan said what I was thinking, “They should be selling those to the public.”  I had a large water-based Vitamin C drink right before going to the game and that large raspberry drink while there.  I ended up in the bathroom three times over the course of two hours.  Back at my seat, I could see Pistol Pete talking with the kids of the alumni on the sidelines.  He’s not just a mascot; he’s an ambassador.     

Third Quarter

Coach Atkinson stalked back out on court, still angry.  The team seemed fairly loose though.  The Mills sisters were smiling as they chatted.  The crowd stayed fairly quiet as neither team dominated during the first several minutes.  About four minutes left, Zaire Williams hit an open three that ignited the crowd and the team, as Brooke scored right after.  Brooke picked up a foul on the other end under the basket right after that.  The Roo girl let off a scream at her.  Brooke just stood there nonplussed and looked at her with an expression that said, “What?”  During the break, the 4-H officers were introduced on court.  They were all women and several had truly spectacular hair.  Is cosmetology part of 4-H?  One of the girls even had a punkish, short, slightly orange cut that looked good.             

Back to the action, Jasmine soon after went down under the Roo basket, grabbing her knee.  The contact didn’t seem that bad, but she was in some clear pain.  Once again, the building went quiet.  Coop couldn’t walk off court, but was able to walk it off on the sidelines.  Her teammates’ reactions were a bit odd.  They ignored Coop’s situation and were laughing about something.  For the players in any sport, sometimes it seems like they treat injuries as contagious or totally deny what they just saw.  Later, an errant Roo pass later went down the tunnel to the locker rooms.  A Roo player had to run down the hallway to get it before play resumed, just like at a schoolyard.  Brooke took a half court shot a second after the buzzer.  It hit the rim.  The Aggies increased their lead 50-36. 

Fourth Quarter

I was sitting in the section behind the Aggie bench, where I usually sit when I’m by myself.  (Ron prefers mid-court on the other side.)  I was right in front of the loudest female Aggie fan in the building.  She’d been behind me before, but she was really into it today.  It turned out that the team needed that this afternoon.  Being where I was, I could see the reserves.  There was a player there I couldn’t identify.  She wasn’t suited up and wasn’t on the roster, but she wasn’t a coach or assistant.  Who is the mystery woman? 

Aaliyah Prince started this quarter.  She’d come in near the end of the third.  Prince was the only other reserve player who came into the game.  The Roos started the fourth with a six-point run.  Timeout Aggies.  During the extended TV break, the Roadrunner Review band broke out a Dixieland version of the Aggie fight song and sang during part of it.  The crowd applauded the performance. 

Coop came back into the game, but the Roos kept scoring.  They were on a 12-point run with their bench into before Zaire connected with Coop under the basket with six minutes left, 52-48 Aggies.  Brooke then won a tugging match for a rebound on the other end.  By this point, the crowd was back into it.  Coop went to the line for free throws.  I could swear I heard the Roo bench heckling her.  If it wasn’t them, I don’t know who was doing it. 

Three minutes left, Brooke got a steal at mid-court off Aries Washington and was fouled going to the basket.  It was 57-41 after the free throws.  Zaire found Tonishia Childress going down court for a layup.  The crowd was fully engaged.  Then came what may have been the pivotal point in the game.  Kristen Moore, the Roos’ second highest scorer behind Washington, fouled out with two minutes left.  I say this because the Roos had closed the gap.  Right after foul, India Johnson stole an inbounds pass for a layup to make it 61-58 Aggies.

Zaire was fouled and converted on both free throws, 63-58 Aggies.  One minute left and both sides were in the bonus, fouling like crazy.  Gia got knocked down twice on one defensive possession and there wasn’t a call, putting the crowd into an uproar.  Jasmine blocked a three.  Gia was fouled and hit both free throws.  Coop was knocked down after the second free throw in a scuffle.  She complained to the refs, who had took a lengthy delay to review the footage.  Taruz’s Sandstorm, a great high-energy dance number, played during the break.  The camera found a member of the band dancing and kept it on him working it.  The crowd loved it. 

By this point, even the 4-H people were enjoying the game regardless of their usual team affiliation (a bunch of them may have been Lobo fans from the northern end of the state).  With 10 seconds left, the Roos got a layup and took a timeout.  The band shouted, “It just doesn’t matter!”  It was true.  The Aggies’ foul shooting had iced game before that.  Our final: Aggies 70, Roos 62.

I have two stats of the game.  Stat #1: 26.  That was the number of points scored by the Roos in the fourth quarter.  That beat out the Aggies’ 25 in the first.  Aries Washington was the top scorer for the Roos with 22, with 16 in the second half, mostly in the fourth quarter.  I have to think that if Kristen Moore had stayed in, this might have been a different game as she also came up big in the fourth.  Congrats to the team for not losing heart after that blowout first quarter.  They also made a good adjustment in denying the Aggies easy backdoor passes under the basket.  The Aggies kept looking for it and if they had kept getting it, this would have been decided a lot sooner.

Stat #2: 14.  That was the number of free throw points by the Aggies in the fourth quarter.  They had zero free throw points in the first three quarters.  I’m not sure what their percentage was, but it was clutch when it counted.  14 of the Aggies’ 20 points in the quarter were free throws.  That was the difference in the game.  Brooke Salas led with 24 points in addition to doing everything else.  Gia Pack had 17, but those 6 free throws in the fourth were huge.  Jasmine Cooper played tough and Zaire Williams had some great assists.  I can see where the coach got frustrated with the team for letting the Roos back into the game twice, but they showed some real resilience in closing it out.    

I wish I’d been better rested before this game so I could have gotten into it more.  I only barely had enough energy to take notes and keep up the scorecard, not get emotionally involved.  It was an odd game where the Aggies seemed to always have it in hand, but suddenly you saw the scoreboard and the Roos were breathing right down their necks.  Regardless, the Aggies are 5-1 in conference and first in the WAC.  The whole 4-H club went down for pictures with the team afterward in small groups. 

I saw lovely Megan Hart and possibly Tatyana Battle from the volleyball team looking at the display plaques around the concourse.  I had a Frozen Tornado from PQ Treats afterward and tried one of their green teas.  The ice cream was great.  The tea was very strong, but not bad.  No napping happened when I got home.  I was writing this.  I know that noon isn’t early, but I think I would have enjoyed today more, if this had been an afternoon game.