I’m courtside here at the gym (or palestra) in Cantu’ Italy. I’m going try to keep a blog during the game to give some highlights/analysis of the Griffs during their first game of the Italy Tour ’09.
Some things to know about international basketball:
- The 3-point line is about a foot farther – think the men’s 3-point line in the NCAA
- The lane is a trapezoid instead of a rectangle, making the paint much larger
- The shot clock is 24 seconds
- The game is played in four, 10-minute quarters
Some things to watch
- The Griffs have an eight-man squad here in Italy: Tauralee Tenn wasn’t able to make the trip due to a death in her family. That spot was filled by JJ Williams, who got the call a few days before the trip began to pack a bag for Italy
- Monica Kosior makes her Canisius debut tonight. The 6-foot-5 post redshirted the 2008-09 season to help with her development. It will be interesting to see how she plays.
- The game is played at a different pace with those 10-minute quarters. There aren’t any media timeouts, so substitution is important.
Start of the Game — The Griffs are in their practice gear — blue adidas shorts with their reversible practice jerseys. Tonight the Griffs will be in blue. Canisius is playing All-Star Lombardia, who is in white jerseys with green numbers, green trim and green shorts with a white stripe down the side. The green is similar to the green on the Italian flag, but a little bit lighter.
First Quarter — Griffs are hustling on the offensive glass…This is a good matchup for the Griffs as Lombardia matches up physically with the Griffs. They are athletic, but not too tall… The Griffs don’t have a ton of options in the post right now with only three players at 6-feet or taller… 11 first-half turnovers for the Griffs weren’t good… The pace of the game was very fast.
Second Quarter — Game is settling into a nice flow as Canisius only had one turnover in this quarter, getting back to a strength from last season… Steph Mac took over at the start of the quarter, scoring the first seven points and flying all over the court. She had a great move in the post, with 11 second-quarter points… Ellie continues to carry over her strong play from the end of last season… She went to work in the post, scoring six straight points and leading the team with 15 first-half points… JJ Williams hit her trademark top of the post jumper… The other coach checked his cell phone during the game.
Third Quarter — Britt comes out at the start of the quarter and looks really loose… She nails a jumper at the start of the 2nd half to become the eighth and final Griff to get in the scorebook. Canisius continues to be more physical and outhustle than Lombardia,,, Canisius opens with a 10-2 run to break open the game… The fouls were 3-0 in favor of the Griffs then it was 4-3 in favor of Lombardia. Funny how that works in the international game as well… Apparently traveling is an optional call here… When Steph Mac got hammered on a call under the hoop, no “and 1” from Coach Zeh, but we got one the next time down the court when Tasia got hit… They put red things on the scorer’s table when the team is in the bonus.
Fourth Quarter — Lombardia is just chucking 3-pointers… Ellie finally missed her first 3-pointer, after making her first four. It’s funny because she missed the first 27 3-point attempts of her career… This game has turned sloppy and feels like a blowout. Lombardia’s players were walking to the spots on the blocks when a teammate was shooting a free throw… Looks like fouling out is now six fouls instead of five… Coach Zeh is getting a lesson from our tour guide Alessia on how to say three in Italian… Griffs are still crashing the offensive boards up 30 points… Mic is in a groove. When she gets her form down, the release is lightning quick and she made a couple in the fourth quarter... Now the biggest worry is to stay healthy when the result isn’t in doubt anymore. In a hot gym, I don’t think it will be a problem…
Postgame — This is what they say when a player is “in the zone.” Ellie missed three shots on the night and had 33 points. She knew what she wanted to do and her shots weren’t even touching the rim… Britt continues to show her maturity as a point guard. She didn’t need to score tonight, but had seven assists and zero turnovers… Monica looked more comfortable the more she played and her 6-foot-5 height is legit on the court.
