Went to the women’s game tonight. Almost an entirely new team made up of 5 foreign players and 5 transfers (6 if you count Tania who never played but came from a CC in Kansas). The only names I recognized were Gabby Cooper , Chelayne Bailey, Abby Grant (plus Brandi Fowler , a walk on). Large roster of 17 players, some who are sitting out.
They won a close hard fought game against a taller team with decent shooters. Tania is the best passer I’ve seen at SU. She’s fun to watch, a great ball handler who uses those skills rather than pure speed to get in the lane, pass or drive for a layup. Very shifty player with great vision despite her relatively small stature. She is an awesome free throw shooter 14-15 in this game, making her invaluable at the end of games with the ball in her hands.
Miranda Drummond, the transfer from the Bonnie’s is the real deal. Great basketball IQ , precise and great timing on her backdoor cuts to the basket. She was our best rebounder on a team that got out rebounded. I liked the freshman Digna Strautmane too, a 6’2” forward who is active, a good rebounder, who also had some good blocks. Should be fun watching her and the other new players develop. Gabby Cooper rebounded well but just couldn’t score and was shut out while Abby Grant only played 2 minutes.
They still press but their shorter stature and lack of a true speed burner wasn’t very effective till the end of the game when it was win or lose. They forced some great turnovers when the end of game pressure finally seemed to rattle them and wear them down. Unbelievable value -$1 to see the game.
Team needs to work on rebounding, defense and shooting. The offense is really Tania and Miranda who scored 55 of their 81 points. The team only shot 21.9% of their 32 three pointers - not good. Plenty of room for improvement but an exciting fun start of the season considering all the new pieces Q has this year. The AD, chancellor and his wife all attended, staying the entire game. Get to some games, great time!