Guest Notes of Doom:  Princeton-Hofstra

(Your intrepid blogger would like to note that she has edited precisely one typo in the below report. I married him for many reasons; grammar wasn't one of them, though a shared passion for women's basketball was one of the primary ones, as you might be able to tell.)

For mid major mayhem, a new land speed record for ref blindness, the ultimate karmic line don't lie moment, a children's tribute to our most violent usual suspect and a drag Queenie, join your dashing and unexpected reporter after the jump.

Hello from imposter Queenie. Well, Mr. Queenie but that just sounds wrong. Because of a doubleheader with the men, I was flying solo and taking care of the Game Notes of Doom duties. Call them game notes of moderate peril. So we had a game that I think may be a tie breaker for both teams when they face the committee. Princeton and Hofstra. Princeton likely will win the Ivy. Hofstra has the Delle Donne Fighting Blue Hens in the way but have been impressive with 2 quality BCS wins. So it's up to me to get the bonus coverage from the Mack Athletic Center. Easily the best mid major facility I've been to, this fact is doubled when you note that across the street is easily the worst professional arena still standing today, seriously can they clone this and put it in Kew Gardens. Although make the seats less narrow, please.

As for In game Entertainment, we had a visit from the PA announcer for the St. John's men, Big East Tourney, and NIT. I dunno if I want him near my St. John's women after such a transgression but I think I shall let him live, but he's trying too hard to be Mike W. And there is only ONE Mike W.

And no notes would be complete without a minute of levity from the cute kids. Tonight we had a tribute to our favorite usual suspect. Literally the contestant won the dress and dribble by BOUNCING IT OFF HER OPPONENTS HEAD! Ahhh Chrissy, rejoice, by my guess only 13 years until she's eligible to be drafted by the Liberty.

This has been mentioned before, but Hofstra is a spirited lot. Even with no band, students, or cheerleaders and with a game that was mostly Princeton's from beginning to end. Hofstra fans still were energetic and most left before the Men's game. Lastly, their superfan has the best sign in the game, made from Legos, that likely earns them best fans for this season unless someone does a Lincoln log mock up of Rose Hill Gym.

Most people think this would be a battle of two of the top 10 mid major players in the nation in Niveen Rasheed and Shante Evans. And numbers wise (Rasheed: 14pts, 6reb, 6steals, 5 assists, Evans: 14pts and 13rebs) you'd think you'd be right. But ah, remember the first rule: The Numbers Lie. This was a game that was dependent on supporting casts stepping up to make up for lackluster efforts from the superstars. Rasheed had six turnovers and fouled out in the last 2 minutes. Evans sat out 13:15 of the 1st half with two quick fouls and scored all 14 points in the 2nd half. Both had their runs and Rasheed had a backhanded layup that was SportsCenter worthy while Evans settled into her game and disrupted the patented Princeton offense into complete and utter chaos that gave Hofstra a late chance. But this was a game about everyone else, and there was a lot of everyone else to talk about.

Nicole Capurso is your textbook senior shooting guard. In an all-senior backcourt you expect your shooting guard to shoot and to take the reins. Without Capurso, this game would have been a blowout. 24 points, 5 threes and played all 40.

Meanwhile Candice Bellocchio quietly had a game with 13 assists, trying to match the distribution of Princeton. The guard corps had to step up with Evans in foul trouble and even took a brief lead in the first half. If anything the strategy backfired late when Evans got going while they still put up 3s while Evans was throwing her weight around down low.

Katelyn Loper had 10 points, 6 of them on back to back threes that earned her her number 31 with honors. Not quite the intercept and shoot that Reggie had at the Garden, but close enough to cut a lead in half.

As for Princeton, here's their scoring summary: 17, 14, 10, 10, 10, 9, 4 with 2 players not scoring. That's 5 in doubles, a 9 and a 4, to say they moved the ball well would be an insult to how well the offense worked when it worked. The one problem I see going in against the Harvards of the world and why I think they hit a 3 of 4 loss patch other than Strength of schedule is when the offense didn't work, you had shots going all over creation. Bounces over the baskets, wild shots, and insane passes going right to the white jerseys.

Lauren Edwards is the leader of this team. Rasheed struggled in the first half, only having a 2 minute spurt at the end of the half to give her her statline. Edwards kept the game out of reach of the Pride and don't be fooled, the spread was in double digits most of the game.

Nicole Hung is a find, she reminds me of Addie Micir who worked so well providing points when points were needed most. Her 10 came in just the right time and also provided much needed defense right when Hofstra was thinking to make their move. (For the record, she is not a banger, but she does move very well.)

Megan Bowen hit some key shots and was the only true banger in the group. She took on Evans more than once and took pressure off of Rasheed.

Unfortunately, the Woman of the Match was none of these efforts but the efforts of Norma Jones, Richard Wright and Jerrald Drummond to make the game their own. Sometimes rather than ranting and raving like Kevin Borseth on a diet coke bender, it's more effective to provide an illustration.

The following was the climax of the game.

02:26 62-71 V 9 FOUL by Rasheed, Niveen (P3,T8)
02:21 65-71 V 6 FOUL by Rasheed, Niveen (P4,T9)
02:07 66-71 V 5 FOUL by Rasheed, Niveen (P5,T10)

That's right 19 seconds, three fouls on one player taking away the entire 1 and 1 period. Now were these fouls legit. The final foul was a pushout but with a nice little dive. The other two were touch fouls. To be fair to the officials, both teams got away with a lot in the first half, but clamped down in the 2nd half. However 19 seconds, in a non foul derby situation, for three fouls by the same player either means poor officiating or low mental capacity by a player with low mental capacity that would make the Tweety Nolans of the world blush.

Did I mention this was PRINCETON?

It was a scenario I've never seen before and hopefully never again. The results of that sequence brought the game to two. Worse was a close but legit 3 shot foul on Capurso which led to her missing 2 of 3. If she hits all 3, we're at a 2 point game and likely talking Pride Win and major controversy over the Rasheed foul out.

The last officiating point I will make was that Rasheed's first foul would have been a Flagrant 1 (formerly an Intentional foul) with many crews. This may have brought up the tension level, but an official should never decide a game, ever.

On the whole a lot of flaws. Like many top tilts, it devolved into a sloppy affair thanks to nervous, fast shooting and heavy defense. The second part of that equation is why I am enamored by the women's game. The other issues are by products of defense but also a show of a lack of patience and execution. The game will be fine with this effort, but I expected much more. The bottom line is that both Princeton and Hofstra will be contenders in the postseason push. Neither I believe now is at large material, but both could be considered favorites for their auto bids, even with Delaware in the Colonial.