Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Off To Nebraska
For those of you who follow this little collection of vignettes on a regular basis, the title of this entry should be a clue as to what news I am about to impart. For those of you who don’t, I’ll spare you from reading past posts and briefly summarize for you.
My eldest daughter, Maribel, plays college basketball at the NCAA Division II level. Her team is one of the 64 that are privileged to participate in their season-ending tournament. They won their first two games. By winning their third-round contest, they would get to play in the DII “Elite Eight” tournament in Kearney, Nebraska, to determine the overall championship.
From the above clues, you should now be able to deduce the result of that third game.
And, in the end, the outcome was really never in doubt. Maribel’s team won, 87-70.
The game was close at the beginning. Maribel’s team actually trailed, 20 to 17 ten minutes into the half. But Maribel blocked a shot that led to a lay-up, Amber made a steal that led to another lay-up, Maribel scored after the other team missed, and Amber hit a three-pointer on their next possession, and suddenly they were up by 6. They led, 35 to 30, at halftime.
When they came out at the end of the halftime intermission, Maribel’s team seemed comfortable and loose. They were smiling and joking as they ran some lay-ups. They were having fun. In contrast, the other team looked tight, nervous. They did not come out until just a couple of minutes before the second half started. When Amber made the first shot of the half, a three pointer, the other team seemed to deflate. The lead quickly grew to double-digits.
The other team had enough good shooters that they were able to stay within reach of Maribel’s team, but you could feel that Maribel and her mates were not concerned. The other team got within six points at one point, but Maribel hit two shots, and they added two three pointers. Suddenly the lead was sixteen. It would grow to twenty as the game drew to a close. The other team resorted to running down and throwing up three pointers as fast as they could, most of which missed badly. Maribel’s team turned the rebounds into either lay-ups or possessions where they could run 25 to 30 seconds off of the clock.
With just over two minutes to go, Maribel’s team was leading 87 to 64. The game was basically over, and the celebrations were beginning. Amber stole the ball from an opponent as she tried to shoot, and Maribel went charging towards her basket. Amber lobbed her the ball, Maribel grabbed it, and there was no one within fifteen feet of her. She headed for the basket, and attempted to accomplish something that has never before occurred in a Division II women’s basketball game: She tried to dunk the ball.
Now, Maribel is a pretty good jumper. But she’s not that good. She ended up pinning the ball against the rim, which caused her to lose her balance and come down on her fanny. Despite the score, even the other team was laughing at her. Coach E. was afraid that Maribel was hurt, but I knew she wasn’t. Maribel is a Spanko, and Spanko’s have tough fannies. To make matters worse, Maribel was called for traveling, so the basket would not have counted had it gone in. Coach E. took the opportunity to take out her starters so that everyone on the team could have a chance to play. The other team hit a couple of three-pointers in the waning moments of the game, thus the final score of 87 to 70.
Maribel had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. She dominated the paint, which allowed the outside shooters more room to shoot. As a result, the team was 12 of 22 from the three-point arc. Maribel was named MOP (most outstanding player) of the region.
So now we head for Kearney. This will be the first visit to the Elite Eight for Maribel’s school. We will meet them there tomorrow. The first two rounds are Friday and Saturday, and the finals will be Monday. I fully intend to see the final game. I just hope that Maribel plays in it. That would be just … peachy.
It they win, that will be fantastic.
My eldest daughter, Maribel, plays college basketball at the NCAA Division II level. Her team is one of the 64 that are privileged to participate in their season-ending tournament. They won their first two games. By winning their third-round contest, they would get to play in the DII “Elite Eight” tournament in Kearney, Nebraska, to determine the overall championship.
From the above clues, you should now be able to deduce the result of that third game.
And, in the end, the outcome was really never in doubt. Maribel’s team won, 87-70.
The game was close at the beginning. Maribel’s team actually trailed, 20 to 17 ten minutes into the half. But Maribel blocked a shot that led to a lay-up, Amber made a steal that led to another lay-up, Maribel scored after the other team missed, and Amber hit a three-pointer on their next possession, and suddenly they were up by 6. They led, 35 to 30, at halftime.
When they came out at the end of the halftime intermission, Maribel’s team seemed comfortable and loose. They were smiling and joking as they ran some lay-ups. They were having fun. In contrast, the other team looked tight, nervous. They did not come out until just a couple of minutes before the second half started. When Amber made the first shot of the half, a three pointer, the other team seemed to deflate. The lead quickly grew to double-digits.
The other team had enough good shooters that they were able to stay within reach of Maribel’s team, but you could feel that Maribel and her mates were not concerned. The other team got within six points at one point, but Maribel hit two shots, and they added two three pointers. Suddenly the lead was sixteen. It would grow to twenty as the game drew to a close. The other team resorted to running down and throwing up three pointers as fast as they could, most of which missed badly. Maribel’s team turned the rebounds into either lay-ups or possessions where they could run 25 to 30 seconds off of the clock.
With just over two minutes to go, Maribel’s team was leading 87 to 64. The game was basically over, and the celebrations were beginning. Amber stole the ball from an opponent as she tried to shoot, and Maribel went charging towards her basket. Amber lobbed her the ball, Maribel grabbed it, and there was no one within fifteen feet of her. She headed for the basket, and attempted to accomplish something that has never before occurred in a Division II women’s basketball game: She tried to dunk the ball.
Now, Maribel is a pretty good jumper. But she’s not that good. She ended up pinning the ball against the rim, which caused her to lose her balance and come down on her fanny. Despite the score, even the other team was laughing at her. Coach E. was afraid that Maribel was hurt, but I knew she wasn’t. Maribel is a Spanko, and Spanko’s have tough fannies. To make matters worse, Maribel was called for traveling, so the basket would not have counted had it gone in. Coach E. took the opportunity to take out her starters so that everyone on the team could have a chance to play. The other team hit a couple of three-pointers in the waning moments of the game, thus the final score of 87 to 70.Maribel had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. She dominated the paint, which allowed the outside shooters more room to shoot. As a result, the team was 12 of 22 from the three-point arc. Maribel was named MOP (most outstanding player) of the region.
So now we head for Kearney. This will be the first visit to the Elite Eight for Maribel’s school. We will meet them there tomorrow. The first two rounds are Friday and Saturday, and the finals will be Monday. I fully intend to see the final game. I just hope that Maribel plays in it. That would be just … peachy.
It they win, that will be fantastic.
