Back on track

Really a nice weekend for women’s basketball.  Check out Ryan Tryzbiak’s article over at ChicagoMaroon.com: “Offense shines in wins over Rochester, Emory”

That first half against Emory was one of the most absurd halves of basketball I’ve watched at Chicago.  Honestly, it was an unbelievable performance.  The transition game was rolling, and the Eagles really had no solution to the Maroons’ defense.  A few thoughts:

Found in transition

The way this team is running would make Nofi Mojidi proud.

The box score has just nine turnovers for Emory, but the way Chicago capitalized there made it seem like way more.  It wasn’t “seven seconds or less,” but this isn’t the same offense we saw last year.  The guards are really pushing the pace, and even the posts are getting in on the transition game.

Here’s what Aaron Roussell had to say about that part of Chicago’s game recently: “We probably made a more concerted effort over winter break to get out in transition. The kids enjoy the faster style and they’re really excelling in it.”

With aggressive players like Meghan Herrick on the floor, it’s no wonder Chicago’s gone to a running game, and the benefits show in the numbers. Consider: In the first 12 games, Chicago went 8–4 and averaged about 60 points per contest. That’s skewed by the Wash game, but they also broke 70 only three times over that span. In the last eight games, they’ve gone 7–1 and averaged about 72 points per game.

You have to of course take into account the effects of a quicker pace on the defensive end.  Opponents’ scoring has risen about seven points per game, from 53 to 60.  Still, I’ll take that five-point improvement in margin of victory any day of the week.

The Fairly Normal-Sized Aristotle

Molly Hackney has been unstoppable over the last eight games.  Jordan and I were talking about how she’s one of the best players in program history at newspaper production, and as I went to say “…in program history,” Jordan cut me off with “…in Division III.”  I don’t see any way to argue against that.

Friday night was ridiculous; I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a statline that started with “11 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks, 0 turnovers” and ended with “in 16 minutes of play.”  My goodness.  Have you ever heard of anyone getting that close to a triple-double in that short a time?

Roussell put it like this: “Molly Hackney on Friday was as good a well-rounded performance as I’ve seen here…. She easily could have had 20, but she was unselfish with the ball, she made the extra pass…. When she plays like she did this weekend, we’re a scary team.”

Since scoring two in the Wash U debacle, Molly has gone for 12 points and 7 rebounds a game.  For those of you scoring (or record-keeping?) at home, her career total is now at 1,050 points, 39 away from seventh all-time.

Kicked while they’re up

Dana Kaplan suffered a pretty bad looking shoulder injury on Friday as she and a couple of Emory players tangled for a loose ball at halfcourt in the first half.  It looked pretty bad right away, just the way she got up and had to get off the court immediately.

Roussell said he’s hopeful that she’ll be back this weekend, but it could be much more serious.  Pending some x-rays, Kaplan’s separation/dislocation could mean the end of the her season.

That’ll be tough for even a team as deep as Chicago to lose her toughness on the floor if the injury does turn out to be serious.

The Jenna Lillemoe Show

I would be remiss to leave the first-year out of a discussion of this weekend.

Boy, can this kid play.  We haven’t seen a ton of her this year, whether due to her bout with mono at the start of the season or just due to Chicago’s long bench.  Either way, this weekend looked like a sign of things to come.

She knocked down 7 of her 11 shots this weekend, scoring 22 points to go with a combined 8 rebounds.  The 14 points Friday night were by far her career high, and the 6 rebounds also set a career mark.

Said Roussell: “She’s going to be a really good player here….  She’s been doing it in practice all year.  She stands out all the time.  It just hadn’t happened on the court.”

Play-by-play of the day

Probably the coolest part of that 53–23 first half: