Here was my last vacation day of the year. It had been an interesting day (but not worth
relating) before Ron came and we again had dinner at McAlisters before the game.
It was really good and I was really hungry. We skipped dessert. Ron wanted to get to the Pan-Am Center early since I’d told him about the free hat
giveaway. There turned out to be a good
crowd tonight, so I guess it was a good thing we showed up an hour early. It’s a nice hat, though I didn’t really need
a fourth Aggie hat.
Next to the courtesy table was a collection box for Toys for Tots. I’d bought a Barbie doll at the mall today for this. It was very pretty. I admit I was a little reluctant to part with
it. As for other the donations in the
box . . . let’s just say I was the first, but hopefully not the last, because
that would be very sad. There will be
three more opportunities for donations at upcoming Aggie games. Ron said he’d try to chip in something for
Saturday’s game.
The visitors were warming up on court. Denver
U was wearing crimson. They started
off doing some kind of dance/stretch first.
The girls looked big and tall.
Ron ID’ed one girl as having a great shot. Lucky for the Aggies tonight, she didn’t
play. They had three good-looking
assistant coaches with them. They were
snappy dressers with very high heels.
The Roadrunner
Review band looked a bit different tonight wearing giveaway Aggie shirts
and hats. They even sounded a bit
different. Well, that was because the
band was off for winter break. Tonight’s
band was later announced as the Centennial
High School band. They did a good
job and seemed to be having a good time, especially the tuba players, who were
rocking.
The Aggie girls entered without an announcement. I was a bit worried PA Ed was down with a cold.
If he was, he performed well through it.
The band played the girls in. An
odd fashion choice was shown by the Mills
sisters. Dominique was wearing white leggings under her shorts. Monique
was wearing a white legging, but just on one leg. Our Coach
Atkinson fashion segment finds her wearing tight cobalt blue pants, a loose
white blouse, and short tan boots tonight.
I noticed a spectacular little blonde with wavy locks working for the
team. I hadn’t seen her before. Very nice.
The Cheerleaders
came in a bit later. They don’t get a
winter break. This was the prettier
squad. They had an injury. One of the girls was sitting in the stands
with a broken leg. She had a pretty
friend with silver hair next to her.
(Ooh, I like that silver hair look.)
Okay, enough girl-watching for now.
Let’s watch girls playing basketball.
First Quarter
I got close. I
only missed one basket on the scorecard and had to correct it later. The Aggies started off poorly. They picked up two fouls. Brooke
Salas got one of those fouls, dribbled the ball off her foot for a
turnover, and missed a layup. That was
all in the first minute. DU got out to a
small lead. Monique Mills got the first Aggie points with a steal and a layup,
2-5 DU.
Three Aggies cycled in; Brooke came out. I told you the Pioneers were big and tall, right?
Didi Echols took a massive
charge and fell down like a two-by-four, straight and flat. She was okay afterward. Stabresa
McDaniel, let’s call her Bre, made her first appearance for the Aggies this
season. She’s a graduate student, so she
played elsewhere for four years. Bre
promptly got a bucket. It was 10-11 DU
at the first media timeout.
#23 Madison
Nelson for the Pioneers seemed to shine as their best player. Late in the quarter, she got a shot clock
buzzer-beater and then a layup right after, making it 12-17, and forced an
Aggie timeout. Mo would make a halfcourt
shot right before the end of the quarter, but it was ruled to be after the
buzzer. She came away smiling anyway. 14-17 DU after ten minutes.
Second Quarter
It’s Dino Dash
time! Tonight it was two girls decked
out in the inflatable T-Rex suits. One
of them fell badly behind. Instead of
trying to catch up, she attempted to fight her friend to stop her from scoring
a second bucket and winning. Yes, two
girls in dino suits engaged prehistoric melee out in the Cyclops. It was classic. Bravo!
I think Brooke had two fouls at this point and ended up
sitting out the whole quarter. She
cheered up a storm on the bench though.
Bre suddenly came out early and limping at the start of play, perhaps
she got stepped on. She went right to
the trainer’s table, but would come back in a little later. She’d get a rebound and find Aaliyah Prince down court for a layup
and a 26-25 Aggie lead. Timeout DU. There was a Cheerleader t-shirt toss in the
break. One of the guys handed a shirt to
a little boy at courtside. One of the
girls ran all the way up to the top of the stairs to hand one to a gentleman
there. Service with a smile.
Madison apparently took a hard shot from Adenike Aderinto. She stayed in and missed both free throws and
came out immediately after and went to the trainer’s table. Play got really messy for both teams in the
last couple of minutes of the half. Gia Pack fouled a Pioneer player, who
may have left with a bloody nose. The
Aggies were down by five at the half, 27-32, but at least they were winning the
fights.
Third Quarter
A hip hop dance group of young girls performed at
halftime. It felt like a short
intermission and the girls were back out playing. The Pioneers came out firing and increased
their lead, 27-36, after one minute of play.
Brooke was in starting and the sparked the Aggies. She tore away a rebound from a DU player and went
underhand for a layup. She then hit a
three to make it 36-38. Gia hit a jumper
for her first points of the game to tie it at 38.
Brooke blocked a three, but then lost the steal, which
was converted for points, 40-43 DU. Kalei Atkinson was in and got a block,
but the Pioneers increased their lead to 8 on a killer three by Madison late in
the quarter. The crowd was quiet enough
that you could hear the coaches shouting instructions. 44-52 DU after three quarters.
Fourth Quarter
Pistol
Pete
(who’d been keeping a low profile during the game) and the Cheerleaders were
out on court trying to do a group dance to the music. Keep working on that routine guys. Both teams started the quarter with some
tenacious defense. 48-52 Prince came up
with a steal and a layup. 50-54, Prince
had her back turned as the inbounds pass came to her. She somehow managed to corral it before the
opposition got it. It was a nice little
comedy break.
53-65 Prince made a beauty of a pass to Dominique under
the basket for a layup. Kalei got
another block. We’re not done with
Prince highlights. 59-60 she grabbed a
steal and made a layup in the backcourt.
Dominique (I’m having trouble typing out that name, I need a nickname)
followed that with a block and a steal, which she converted into two made free
throws and a 61-60 Aggie lead.
Kalei came up with yet another block on the next
possession. The crowd was fully into it
now. DU retook the lead with under a
minute on a backdoor layup by #15 Courtney
Smith, 61-62. Brooke made a baby
hook in the lane, 63-62. 63-64 another
backdoor layup by Courtney. Back down
the court, Gia drew a foul and converted on both shots, 65-64 with 30 seconds
left.
Enough of those backdoor passes, Brooke fouled out
stopping Courtney from getting another easy bucket. Thankfully, it wasn’t shooting foul. The Aggies managed to get a tie up before DU
could get another shot and retook possession.
16 seconds left, DU returned the favor and trapped Gia on the inbounds
and got the ball back.
The Pioneers took maybe three panicked shots, but the
Aggie defense won’t let them have a clean look and got the ball back. Dominique was fouled and made one of her free
throws for a two-point lead. With a
couple of seconds left, #22 Samantha
Romanowski heaved a halfcourt shot that hit the rim. Time expired.
Your final: Aggies 66, Pioneers
64. Whew!
That was a heck of a game, but nearly a crushing
defeat. The Pioneers had four players in
double figures though the Aggie defense actually played pretty well. [Edit: Very well, DU was third in the nation
in three-point percentage at over 40%.] Brooke Salas led all scorers with 15. She seemed to have found her touch in this
game. I’d like to see what she’d do for
an entire game, so she needs to stop getting in foul trouble (though that final
foul was a good one). Gia Pack didn’t score until the second
half and kind of disappeared, but boy were those two late free throws
clutch. Stabresa McDaniel played really well in her first game with 12
points. Dominique Mills did well with 11.
Aaliyah Prince was again a
sparkplug on defense and offense with 11 points. Kalei
Atkinson was ferocious on defense.
The Aggies had one made three-pointer tonight. They didn’t even try very many. Thankfully, they played a team that only made
three themselves. That is not going to
cut it against the Lobos on
Saturday. Brooke and Gia are going to
need to go off for a win there. Though I
still count four injured players, I think everyone who is able to play is
finally eligible and has gotten in. It’s
a matter of getting everyone working together.
They’ve still got plenty of games before conference play to gel.
PA Ed asked for a round of applause for the Centennial
High School band after the game, which they received. Ron and I went to PQ Treats for “Tornado Tuesday,” because “Ice cream is for
winners!” (I may have to change the name
of this blog to that.) Mine, while made quickly
and with a flourish, upset my stomach.
Hey, let’s save the indigestion for Saturday if the Aggies lose to the
Lobos. This was a great game to end my
vacation for the year on.
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