Game 2: Gophers Host Vermont (11-10-19)

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Ignatius L Hoops

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I Declare A Redo

Last season, Minnesota opened at home facing the America East Conference’s New Hampshire Wildcats. It was a sold out, Friday night contest that went the Gophers way right from the start. This season’s lightly attended Tuesday matinee opener versus Missouri State was a quiet, torpid affair that I’d like to declare (borrowing from PJ Fleck) game zero. On Sunday we host another team of wildcats from America East, the Vermount Catamounts. I’m declaring this Game 1 and we are starting the week 0-0. Noting that our next outing is a noon, Thursday affair against Milwaukee, the Vermont game is probably the real home opener for most fans.

The Catamounts are led by 6’3” Senior forward Hanna Crymble from Champlin. Crymble was selected to the preseason America East All-Conference team. Last season Crymble was a third team All-Conference selection when she averaged 14.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 30.2 minutes/game. Among her notable stats was shooting 105-120 (.875) from the foul line. (Crymble is #10 in the video).

Last season, with Alisa Kresge serving as interim head coach, Vermont finished 11-18 (7-9 in the America East). Following the 5th place conference finish, the interim tag was removed and Kresge was elevated to head coach. Kresge had replaced former head coach Chris Day who resigned once an investigation was instigated into accusations of verbal misconduct during his two years as head coach.

This season the Catamounts were projected 6th in the 9 team America East conference. Last year’s 7-9 conference record bettered the previous two seasons; 5-11 (7th) and 6-10 (7th).

Vermont opened the season on the road with games at Dartmouth and at Loyola Chicago. At Dartmouth, Vermont led by 8 with 2:34 remaining in the first half before things fell apart on the way to 57-72 loss.

Today, at Loyola Chicago the Ramblers took a 78-76 lead off an inbounds play with .4 seconds remaining. After a time out, Vermont was able to get Crymble a shot at the hoop; but the ball dropped through after the buzzer. Crymble had a good day with 16 points but committed back to back fouls with about 30 seconds remaining aiding the Loyola effort.

It was a spirited battle with both the Catamounts and the Ramblers ready to play from the opening tip. The first quarter clock ran to 13.1 seconds remaining before the first stoppage. The subs were backed up at the scorers table. Vermont led 26-20 at the end of one and 41-39 at the half.

Vermont played man defense and ran what looked like a four out cutting and screening offense with some quick ball movement. This worked fine because Catamounts were 10-19 from three. Unfortunately, their 18 turnovers caught up with them. Freshman Emma Utterbeck was terrific today with 19 points and 6 rebounds in 39 minutes. The Catamounts do not go very deep. The starters played 38, 36, 39, 36 and 30 minutes.


NOTE: Minnesota and Vermont have played once in November 2006 with the Gophers victorious at Williams 74-59. Minnesota is 6-0 versus America East teams having defeated both Binghamton and Maine twice and both New Hampshire and Vermont once.

QUESTION: Can we get Gadiva Hubbard a shot?


Probable Starters

6’3” F Hanna Crymble 11.5 ppg
6’1” F Fr Delany Richason 7.5 ppg
5’9” G Jr Jose Larkins 13.5 ppg
5’8” G Fr Emma Utterbeck 13.5 ppg and 6.5 rebounds/game
5’10” G Rose Caverly 7.5 ppg

Others:

5’11” G So Sarah Wells
6’2” F Fr Carly Whiteside 8.5 ppg


 

https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com...houghts-catamounts-2019-20-season/4169699002/

A few notes about the Catamounts from the Burlington Free Press:

Patrick Gym will likely be home to one of the youngest rosters in America this winter. Having just one senior will do that.

Having 10 others with a season or less of varsity experience will amplify it.

Do-it-all star Hanna Crymble is the lone fourth-year player left in the lineup, a two-time preseason all-conference pick by the coaches of America East. She had a team-high 11.7 points per game last year and led the league in free throw shooting (87.5%).

After Crymble, one of three returning starters with junior Josie Larkins and sophomore Rose Caverly, UVM has just two juniors to go with four sophomores and six freshmen. It's that abundance of youth paired with the dearth of experience that could make the Catamounts appear very young at times.
...
The half-dozen freshmen who landed in Burlington this year run the gamut from speedy guards to strong post presences.

An all-state caliber guard in Indiana, Emma Utterback should immediately boost the Catamounts' quickness with her athleticism and ability to race up the floor.

"She can be a little feisty on defense, which is great," Kresge said. "She'll be a freshman at times but her natural ability is going to help us."
...
Operating in the paint, Carly Whiteside, a 6-2 forward out of Massachusetts, offers much-needed strength on the block as well as a high basketball IQ and passing instincts, Kresge said.

"She's skilled, she can shoot the 3 as a 5-player for us and she gets rebounds ... somehow she's always getting rebounds," Kresge said.

And 6-foot-1 forward Delaney Richason, another newcomer from Indiana, has the tools to make up for being undersized on the block.

"She's very smart, very solid — hits open shots, takes them at the right time, sees her teammates, understands philosophies really quickly," Kresge said.
...
....an undersized Vermont team will need to be scrappy on defense, according to their coach. But the smaller, quicker lineup will also allow UVM to push forward with a more fast-paced, guard-oriented style of play that could pay exciting dividends.
Click to expand...
 

During warmups, Grace Cumming, Justice Ross, Masha Adashchyk all in sweats and not dressed for today. Unknown about injuries or if red-shirting in terms of Grace or Ross. Sissoko also in sweats, but that’s due to transferring.
 

Scalia started instead of Staples. Gophers cruising 46-24 at halftime.

Powell has 15, Hubbard 12, Bello 8 points & 7 boards. Only downfall is Tomancova looking worse than last year, which is hard to accomplish.
 

Breakout game for Powell with 19 points and 4 assists. Scalia, who started, looks extremely comfortable on the court. Looking so far like our first year guards are progressing quicker than the first year bigs. Hubbard shaking off the rust she showed in the opener. Will be interesting as the year goes on to see who the first big off the bench will be. Love the way the Gopher guards can get to the hoop. Powell is very good at that and it looks like she is a good passer also. Only 5 turnovers today? Champlin's Crymble is a good player for Vermont. Nice return to MN for her with 22 points in front of a lot of friends and family. T. Bello with a double-double. 14 points, 10 boards.
 


I still think rebounding is apt to be a season-long issue, although I liked how feisty Scalia was on the boards. Nice to see Kehinde get some minutes, and Barbara T. Agreed. Very fun to see all of those drives to the hoop, and the and-ones.
 

Nice bounce back win for the Gophers. Agreed both Scalia and Powell looked good and comfortable. After T Bello post play is a little suspect, am I off thinking Sconiers ahead of Kinde at this point? Looks like we’re gonna have to be Missouri State fans the rest of the year to assist our RPI. I see they went on the road to beat Boise State today. ESPN had Boise St. #6 in the Mid -Major poll while Missouri St was number 10, I think they will move up after a very good traveling week.
 

our freshman guards... they were IMPRESSIVE

28 points
7 rebounds
6 assists
2 steals
ZERO turnovers from them

Hubbard looked much better today and Pitts looked fine too, her 3 point shot was been on and hopefully it stays on

Klarke looked okay in the 4th 4 points 1 rebound .. thought she should have seen more time

Tomancova hit a 3 so there is that!
 

I agree that rebounding could be a potential problem, although Hubbard and Pitts can get some boards. And, yes, it looks like Scalia will rebound. Inside track for backup post...looks like a tossup, but from what I've seen the first two games, I'll give K. Bello a slight edge over Sconiers, because she seems to rebound better. Although that could certainly change, with Sconiers only two games into her college career. Looks like Sconiers is going to be more gifted offensively. Tomancova probably behind the other two, IMO. With the guards, it's going to be interesting to see who gets that fifth starter spot. Staples had in game 1, Scalia in game 2. At this point, I think Powell and Scalia are slightly ahead of Staples. All three should contribute this year, and it's nice to know that Powell can contribute at the point. She and Brunson played together quite a bit today.
 



Powell was outstanding doing a bit of everything. This afternoon she was getting to the rim when she made her cut around instead of past the defender. As she loosened up she made a couple of nifty assists. It was nice to see Powell get some threes. I was beginning to worry about our three point shooting.

Post play remains unsettled after Taiye Bello. If we could just get one back up post to play adequate defense I'd be happy.

I agree with everyone; Scalia has some upside.
 

Agree that the rebounding and back up center play look to be ongoing issues for this team. Shooting overall was better but the foot speed of Powell and Brunson against the slower Vermont D was obvious. Trust Whalen will continue to improve this team.
 

The game appeared well in hand by the time the 1st quarter was over. T Bello with a double-double and avoiding foul trouble. Not sure why Sconiers didn't play until 4th quarter. Maybe they wanted a longer look at K Bello and Tomancova? Staples seemed to be out of sorts, providing little off the bench. It was nice that Crymble could have a big game for family and friends (loud cheering section) without ever creating a threat to the Gophers. Nice to get a win, even if it was an easy one (and there won't be 10 more like it).
 

https://gophersports.com/documents/2019/11/10//02_UVT_Quotes.pdf

Minnesota Head Coach Lindsay Whalen
Opening Statement:

“I thought today, start to finish, it was a really good performance for our team. A couple things we focused on was getting our opponent field goal percentage down. We held them to 38 percent for the game, which is good. We out rebounded them by nine, which was big for us. Obviously two great performances from Diva [Gadiva Hubbard] and JP [Jasmine Powell]. I thought our bench was really productive. It helps when we are able to rebound the ball and get out in transition. Getting 23 fast‐break points today was very crucial for us.”

On the team’s start compared to last game:

“I thought that we came out with that tenacity right off the bat. Last game, I thought that we were maybe easing our way into the game. I don’t know if that is the right term, but tonight we were right from the beginning. We came out with that effort and energy. We got back to the free throw line. Taiye [Bello] got there right away then Diva got there. We were able to set some things up. We got some deflections and were able to get out in transition. All in all, we were locked in on the game plan from the start.”

On Gadiva Hubbard:

“I thought that Diva right from the start was aggressive, and she got herself to the line. She had a couple 3’s in the first half. She was really a part of that group that set the tone for us and brought the energy that we needed.

On Jasmine Powell:

“Powell was terrific off the bench. She was terrific; she was poised. She had four assists and no turnovers, obviously the 19 points and got herself to the line. She got out in transition a little bit. When we have that spark and punch it’s fun to watch, and it makes us a really good team.”

On the team only turning the ball over five times:

“I thought that showed the poise of our team. For the game we shot 48 percent. As long as we’re able to get shots, we are going to shoot the ball pretty effectively because we have a lot of talented offensive players. So as long as we are not shooting ourselves in the foot with turnovers, good things are going to happen for us. We need to keep this, bottle it, and bring it against Milwaukee and have another solid
effort where we are taking care of the ball, sharing it, and taking your shot when it’s there.”

Minnesota guard Gadiva Hubbard

On returning from last year’s injury:

“During the first game, I can say I was nervous because it was my first game back. I think I became a little more comfortable in this game with what I was doing. I think it showed in the first half, so I am just trying to get completely back to how I used to play.”

On the difference of having her first game behind her:

“Yeah, it definitely helped to get the rust off a little bit, and I think it will continue to wear off as I
continue to play.”

On her conditioning after last year’s injury:

“I think I was pretty good. I have worked hard with conditioning over the summer and just getting back and rehabbing in general. I was good today.”

On not shooting as many 3‐pointers in her first game back:

“It felt different, because I am used to shooting a lot. But I knew I just couldn’t force anything. I knew I wanted the game to come to me, and I knew that in the next game it would come. My teammates did a good job finding me, as well.”

Minnesota guard Jasmine Powell

On her confidence from the first game to today’s game:

“I think that it was the energy from our team from one game to the next. In the first game we were rushing shots, especially me. I think that is something where I just had to let the game come to me, and I think that was based off our energy and getting excited.”

On playing again with her high school teammate Destiny Pitts:

“I think it is really good. Playing in high school together, we have that relationship and now we can bring it to the main stage here in Minnesota. It gives everybody a little more energy.”
 



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Powell to Taiye.
 

A nice game in which to give some playing time to the bench players - which they can always use to fine tune their game. Especially glad to see K. Bello and K. Sconiers and B. Tomancova get some minutes in. Glad all 3 got on the board. I like Barbora on the short-corner 3 - she’s actually got a decent shot, which is amazing given how weird her shot is (off the shoulder).

The Freshmen guards looked great. I think Jas Powell (19 points, 4 assists, 2 rebounds, no turnovers in 26 min) is even faster than Jas Brunson, and that’s sayin somethin. She has a 3-point shot too. She’ll be good at penetrating and dishing to the posts (a much better offensive idea, by the way, than dribbling sideways perpendicular to the direction you want to go (which was the faulty offensive strategy in game 1)). S. Scalia was quiet offensively in the first half again, but her defensive presence was important. In the initial T-Bello-led press, both she and Taiye got steals. Her rebounding is terrific for a guard (7 of em, 2nd only to Bello’s 10) - reminiscent of Rachel B. and Lindsey W. Eventually she lit up the scoreboard with 9 points, all or most in the 4th quarter. Oh, and her passing is very good too - at times reminding me of a short version of Janel.

Two games in, so far it’s being confirmed that D. Pitts is the solid rock upon which Whalen is building this team. She looks so confident out there, and seems to be relishing having more 3-point shooters to pass off to this year. If she can get her 16 points and 3 assists and 5 rebounds consistently this year, then we’re sittin pretty (plus we know she can get 25 if that’s what it takes). So far on the season she’s 9 of 14 from deep, or 64.3%. First game, she hit her first 6 triples in a row. The probability of that happening is about 7%, yet it happened. This early in the season, of course, there are lots of miss-less shooters from deep. But Destiny has one of the highest 3-point percentages among players who have shot more than a dozen triples.

We declare the rust officially off Diva (12 points, 5 rebounds). Jasmine Brunson with 7 points and 2 assists and also looking good.

T. Bello (14 points, 10 rebounds in 21 min) was, well, the Taiye we’re hoping to see this year. Shooting 6 for 6, well you can’t get much better than that. That’s on pace for 26.7 points and 19 rebounds in a full 40-minute game, if she can lower the fouling-pace so as to have 40 minutes available to play. She had half the fouls in the same minutes, so that’s an improvement.
 
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A rather interesting (albeit weird) bit of trivia after the first two games ...

tripledouble said:
Breakout game for Powell with 19 points and 4 assists. ... Only 5 turnovers today (for the whole team)?
Click to expand...

Gophers112233 said:
our freshman guards... they were IMPRESSIVE
28 points
7 rebounds
6 assists
2 steals
ZERO turnovers from them
...
Click to expand...
Ignatius L Hoops said:
Powell was outstanding doing a bit of everything. ... As she loosened up she made a couple of nifty assists. ...
Click to expand...

So, over her first two games as a Gopher, Jasmine Powell logged 6 assists with zero turnovers. Just for grins, I checked the current statistics on assist-to-turnover ratio (see https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-women/d1/current/individual/471). What I learned is that they won't put you on that list unless/until you have at least one turnover.

This may make some sense for a couple reasons: (a) since turnovers is in the denominator, somebody like Powell would have 6 / 0 = infinity assist-to-turnover ratio (and nobody wants to put in a footnote to expain what infinity is); (b) if you listed players with zero turnovers, then a player with only one assist but zero turnovers could dominate that list, which makes no sense. So they list only players with at least one turnover. At the moment, the leader is Braydey Hodgins of Boise St. with 12 assists to 1 turnover.

But note that whenever Powell does get her first turnover, she might enter at the leader-board of the assists-to-turnover-ratio stats. In fact, if she gets some more assists but only one turnover, and the current leader gets her second turnover, she could come in at #1 on that stats page.
 

I'm of the belief that the Gophers will miss Kenisha Bell this year, however they won't miss the turnovers that were also a part of her game. Great to see Powell get off to a good start. She's certainly not as fast as Bell, but it looks like she's going to be a good passer, she can obviously get to the hoop, and, based on what we've seen so far, she can also hit some threes. Very encouraging start for her. She's looking like the 4-star recruit she was. And Scalia has also been a pleasant surprise. She looks totally comfortable out there. And it looks like she's going to be a good defender and get some rebounds.
 

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More Jasmine Powell highlights
 

If Powell steps up, I guess Brunson won’t “have” to lead the Gophers. Looks like they do have another possible choice.
 

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