Welcome to game number two on the Canisius College women's
basketball team's Italy Tour '09.
We're in Montecatini (Mon-tuh-cah-TEE-nee), about 15 minutes
away from our hotel, which is in the same city. Earlier today, the Griffs
visited Florence in 100-plus degree heat. Both Florence and Montecatini are in
the region of Tuscany.
Canisius is playing the Dream Team Bianca tonight. I'm not
100 percent sure what the team name means. I think it's affiliated with Dream
Team Sports, the company that works with colleges who tour Europe.
Anyway, this team looks similar to the squad the Griffs
defeated in the first game of the Italy Tour. This team is a little bit shorter
and might be a little less athletic, so we'll see how that plays out.
Canisius is in the blue practice jerseys and blue shorts.
The Dream Team Bianca is in white tops and shorts with red accents down the
side and in the front of the jersey top.
As I talked about earlier, it's very warm in the Tuscany
region and this gym wouldn't be classified as cool. There are a couple of open
doors, but there isn't much airflow. The conditioning played a factor in the
first game as the opposing team had nothing left in the tank in the third
quarter when the Griffs held them to six points.
Same international rules apply - four 10-minute quarters,
the 3-point line is a foot farther, the lane is a trapezoid, a 24-second shot
clock and you have eight seconds to get the ball across half court.
Time to get ready for the game and actually keep stats. It
was a rough first quarter in the first game for me, but I got a system down.
It's much easier when you only have to keep stats for one team.
Pregame: Starting
lineup for the Griffs tonight is Drysdale, Lee, MacDonald, Radke and Kosior.
That gives the Griffs a little more height. Coach Zeh is just seeing how
combinations work during this trip. It also allows Monica (who is 6-foot-5) to
jump instead of 5-foot-10 Steph Mac... The gym has seating on one side. Seven
concrete rows. There are about 500 seats, just the bottom part... The pre-game
exchange included the Griffs giving T-shirts and receiving lanyards. I was
excited to get a lanyard... The Dream Team Bianca has the same coach as the team
the Griffs played on Sunday... The other team borrowed tape from athletic trainer
Erin Finnegan to cover up their earrings... There are concrete poles about one
meter off the court on the bench side. They look hard, but shouldn't be a
problem.
1st
Period: The floor is very
slippery, as one of the opposition's player slipped right after the opening
tip. Athletic trainer Erin Finnegan is spraying the shoes during timeouts.
Britt is wiping her shoes with a wet towel after every break... These refs are
calling traveling way more often. It was comical at one point as Canisius had
about five travels in one minute of play. Way too strict enforcement of the
rule... Britt has that smile on her face and she is picking pockets... Canisius can
run whatever they want as the basic offense is getting wide-open looks inside
and outside... Monica can't be guarded by this team as she has a five-inch height
advantage. And they are fronting her... Fouls were 8-0 against Canisius at one
point... We got a behind-the-back pass from Britt, fulfilling the request from
Mr. Drysdale prior to Sunday's game. It was pretty and Steph Mac finished it
with a layup
2nd
Period: And we get a travel call to start the second quarter, but the
Griffs don't have another turnover for the rest of the quarter... Steph Mac
continues to develop in the post and is going to be a really tough matchup
during league play with her long arms. She can finish while looking extremely
off balance... The Griffs have learned the international style of play by bumping
screens... Canisius had 13 assists on 15 made baskets... Dream Team Bianca scored
its first points of the 2nd quarter with 4:10 left in the half,
ending a run of 25-plus straight points from Canisius... When you're up by 25
points, you can try different things on offense, including a 3-pointer from
Monica. She looked extremely comfortable out there. Coach Zeh has everyone on
the team do 3-point shooting drills in practice during the season... Steph Mac
has one motor and Coach Zeh is trying to get her to turn it down with this game
being out of hand.
Halftime: They
are applying some chemical to the floor and it smells terrible. Something along
the lines of wine and nail-polish remover... Mr. Drysdale made a shot from the
stands, about his sixth attempt of the day.
3rd Period: We've
adjusted the game format so the second half will consist of one 15-minute
period. I don't think anyone will object to that... Monica got a lot of work in
the post, something this tour provided an opportunity for as Canisius gave her
the ball in the post. Her height advantage is very apparent as she can easily
turn and shoot with no contest from the other team. It will be interesting to
see if that carries over to MAAC play... Tasia showed lightning-quick hands on
one play, stopping a pass and going the distance for a layup on a play that was
called a travel earlier... Mic is showing her versatility. She is running the
point, hitting a jumper off a fade screen, and spin and sealed in the post to
draw a foul... Coach Zeh is literally calling out the plays to get to the
secondary options in an offense. That's what happens when you don't speak the
native language... It's getting hotter in here and I'm not sure how... Coach Zeh
realized the Griffs had a chance at 100 when they had 97 points with 40 seconds
left. On a fast break, none of the players on the floor heard the bench calling
for a 3-pointer.
