Noooooooooooooo!
It’s Senior Day. It’s
the last time I get to see Brooke Salas
playing in person! (Probably. There’s a scenario where I could see her
playing again. She might also randomly
show up at some other Aggie sports event.)
I’m also going to be missing the glamorous Mills twins. It sucks only
getting to see them for just two seasons.
After today’s game, I certainly wish we could get another year out of
graduate transfer Stabresa McDaniel. She really lit it up. And Baylee
Robinson, thank you for your contributions to the program.
With all that out of the way, let’s get into it. (A day late, because I was so tired last
night after going to this game and the second game of an Aggie Baseball double
header. Who knew that just sitting
around could be so exhausting.) Ron was
with me today and was excited for a day of Aggie sports. (His wife is obviously okay with him being
gone for extended periods of time on the weekends. Perhaps she’s run out of “honey-do” tasks.)
I was so nervous listening to the incredible end of that
game on Thursday (2-27-18), I
almost couldn’t’ bear it. This game
against Chicago State, I was feeling
more confident. This team only had two
wins this season, but at least I didn’t hear anything on the pregame about
their entire university possibly going bankrupt. Actually, we didn’t hear the pregame at
all. There was dead air for the first
half on the radio. Ron went over before
the game and actually told broadcaster, Adam
Young, about it. Anyway, Chicago
State did bring a full team, so I assume the school is on better footing. Good for them.
There was a great crowd today with plenty of kids. Families are essential for a good crowd. It was the Pink game. Both teams wore some pink. Violist Christina
Mitchell again provided a magnificent Anthem. I’m not sure about the spelling or anything
about her, but this time I made sure to write her name down. I saw her later in the crowd with a husband
and a kid (maybe) and some friends. I’m
glad she wasn’t there alone this time.
The Cougars watched the Aggie team intro video and the
player introductions with interest. I
usually watch what the opposing team does during the intros. There’s no telling how they’ll react. Cougar starters #34 Tamara Overson and #22 Ines
Mata Boix had good physical size.
The other three looked really undersized.
First Quarter
And for the last time this season, the scorecard didn’t
add up for me. One day, I’ll get it
right. Adenike Aderinto got the scoring started with a steal and a pass to
Brooke for the game’s first points. I
got a chuckle early watching a Cougar player box out under the basket with no
one around her. The Aggies were not
playing physical at this point. During
the first timeout, PA Ed wished a
“Happy Birthday” to a little girl in the stands. A couple of Cheerleaders were there with her
waving to the camera.
CS was fighting hard though. They took a lead at 12-14. Bre got a couple of baskets off of turnovers
to get the lead back, 16-14. However,
the Cougars came back for a 16-18 lead at the end of the quarter. Their bench was cheering up a storm.
Second Quarter
Dino Dash! Darn,
this will also be the last time this season for this tremendous event. It was quite the prehistoric melee between
the contestants in the T-Rex suits.
There was an actual steal during the conflict. The guys wrestled and knocked over the
goal. The battle went on long enough
that I thought the Ref’s were about to intervene so they could restart the
game. Eventually, one of the guy’s
prevailed or came close enough to winning.
Please bring this back next year!
I was not concerned about the scoring deficit. I was pretty confident the Aggies would come
back and then some. Off another steal,
Nike found Brooke for another layup. Dominique Mills got a great layup off a
steal and suddenly it was 23-18. There
was some sort of rules confusion over a free throw by Bre. She didn’t make the basket before the foul,
so there should have been two foul shots, but ref insisted there should only be
one. Coach Atkinson didn’t complain.
Here was where I was missing the radio call for an explanation.
It was 26-21 Aggies at the next timeout. The Aggie
Cheerleaders and the Sundancers
were honored. The Roadrunner Review band started chanting, “Cheer! Cheer!” for them. They were also getting in a good chant during
the game with “Chicago’s not a state!”
Ron was still snickering after the game over that one.
Ines Mata did give CS a pretty good size advantage at
times. One on trip, she got her own
rebound on a bunny three times. She
didn’t get the basket, but did finally get fouled. She slapped the floor in frustration. Senior #35 Alexa Blake came over and calmed her down. I remember her from the last couple of
years. It’s hard to miss a naturally
curly red-head out on court.
Gia
Pack
found Brooke underneath the basket on a great assist to make it 32-22. Again, Ines Mata got a couple more rebounds
on her own shots, but made the basket this time. Ron was yelling, “Box her out!” The quarter ended on an exclamation point
with Brooke burying a line drive three.
38-24 Aggies at the half.
Halftime
Yet another little kids hip hop dance troop
performed. I was chuckling watching an
excited little boy in the stands dancing along with them. He was a bundle of energy during the
game. The Cheerleaders gave the kids
high-fives as they came off the court.
Third Quarter
I checked my radio during the half and the game was back
on. Yay.
Gia was having a great game shooting, rebounding, and assisting. She got in another great pass to Nike under
the basket to up the score to 43-28.
Brooke would later get called for a foul. You could see her at the lane lobbying the
official afterward. The game finally got
a bit physical between Baylee and #5 Destinee
Pointer. Though Baylee was a foot
taller, they nearly came to blows.
Gia got another great assist to Kalei Atkinson for a layup.
Olverson and Ines Mata started scoring in bunches for the Cougars. But, there was Stabresa answering with 15’
jumpers and a late three. She was
feeling it. 58-44 Aggies after three
quarters.
Fourth Quarter
Again for the last time with season, the Cheerleaders
lifted up Pistol Pete for a human
pyramid. They were a lot more confident
doing it this time. I wasn’t fearing for
Pete’s life. The little kid nearby did a
kid-version of the Macarena as it was
being played during the break. Mom, get
this kid some dancing lessons; he’s a natural.
Brooke hit a jumper to start the final quarter. Bre got a wide-open layup off a steal. Gia found an open Kalei for a three. Brooke went down court on a pass to Bre for a
layup. Gia made a tremendous jumping,
between-the-legs save of a ball going out.
I felt like I was watching the Globetrotters
putting on a show.
Baylee got a layup.
The Aggie bench, with Brooke sitting out briefly, erupted for her. 70-50 Aggies, timeout. The Band was recognized. They are essential for the fan
experience. Back to action, Brooke got a
steal and passed to a running Aaliyah
Prince for a layup. Bre found Brooke
in mid-air with a pass and a bucket. The
Aggie girls were having fun out there.
With two minutes left, all of the seniors were out on
court playing. They were then all taken
out together as group to a standing round of applause. I promised myself I wouldn’t cry, but I got
choked up anyway. I’m getting choked up
again, just writing this. I told Ron
afterward. He admitted he felt some
manly tears forming during the moment.
The game wasn’t in doubt, but there was still something
to play for. Like I said, Gia was having
a great game. Via the radio, Adam said
that she was one assist away from a triple-double. Brooke had gotten one earlier in the season,
only the second one in program history.
The girls tried to make it happen for her, but the last couple of shots
didn’t go. 77-54 Aggies win.
Gia
Pack
did finish with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists. No reason to be too disappointed. Brooke
Salas finished with 16. Stabresa McDaniel had a monster game
with 20 points. For the Cougars, Ines Mata Boix had 17 and Tamara Olverson had 16. They put up a good fight today.
Ceremony
Adam’s postgame interview with Coach Atkinson was over
the PA for everyone to hear. She did say
they were aware of Gia’s stat’s and did try to get her the triple-double. The Coach also thanked the fans for their
attendance and enthusiasm. Compared to
many of the places the team plays, she was very happy with what the team gets
for their home games.
The graduating seniors were honored. I was intrigued by the Mills Sisters
graduation plans. They majored in
something titled like “Independent Study?”
Brooke came out last. Adam
stopped his broadcast to allow the audience to hear PA Ed read off her
mile-long list of playing accomplishments.
To sum it up, she’s the second best Aggie Women’s Basketball player
ever. (She’s only behind Anita Maxwell from the 90’s, who
finished with over 700 more points than Brooke.
She must have been a heck of a player.)
Gia, a junior, was also honored with a 1,000-point ceremonial ball.
Next, a WAC official
presented the team with their regular season championship award. The team cut down one of the nets. Nana
Sule, one of the injured players this year, cut off a snip. Ed couldn’t identify her at first since she
was wearing a t-shirt with no number. I
know the coach really wanted her playing this season, so hopefully she’ll
blossom next year. (She also has a
killer smile.) Brooke made the final
cuts and put the net around her neck.
The team staff cut down the other net. I found out the cute little blonde trainer was
named Maddie. She was in a sparkly
blouse. Coach Atkinson got the last cut
on that net. For my last Coach’s
wardrobe segment, I noticed she was wearing sparkly heels.
It’s been a great season to this point. The team has one more regular season game
before the WAC Tournament. We hope they’re ready for the big show. If they don’t win there, there is a
possibility they could be playing here in the NIT Tournament. I plan on
covering their postseason as much as I can.
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