The Phenom

[Wayne23]

2/20: 86-81 at 18-9, 10-4, 2nd place Rhode Island, but it wasn't that close. 10 point lead after 9 minutes. Up 9 at the half. We were in control for the last 18 minutes or so.

27, 10 for Bree, maybe his best game ever. 22, 8, 3 with 3 steals for Toma.

10 TOs. We overcame poor D (54.5%).

3 up with 3 to play.

[Wayne23]

2/23: 91-107 at 16-11, 10-5 ST Joe. They scored the 1st 14. My 2nd time out ended the flood but we fell WAY behind. Down 15 at the half. We were never in this game and this is the most points one of my teams has ever given up. Awful.

They shot 59.4%, 56.5% on threes. 20 TOs for us.

2 up with 2 to go.

Midge is 16-13, 9-7. She has a shot at 3rd with two wins and a little luck.

[Wayne23]

2/27: 84-67 vs. 20-9, 12-4, 2nd place ST Bonnie here. They're a good team. Stayed with us for about 18 minutes. Up 12 at the half. We took complete control in the 2nd half.

18, 13 for Toma, 15, 4, 7 for Hobs. Great bench play inside, 15 for Barn, 11, 7 for Demo. +9 RBs.

We're #6 in the country which is probably a little high; NET #11, which is probably close to accurate. Up 3 in the A10 with only 1 to play.

Midge's team is 10-7 and 3rd place is still possible.

[Wayne23]

3/2: 75-94 at George Mason, 13-15, 8-9. It's not easy to get up for a meaningless game. I've been focusing on staying sharp for the post season. We'll see if it helped. Not sharp in the 1st half; down 8 at the break. I let them know I wasn't happy but nothing changed. I truly hate nights like this. We were flat all night. I played the subs for the last 8 minutes.

24, 13 for Toma, who was the only one awake out there. Ugh.

Herd sprained a toe and will miss at least one game, maybe 2. Not good! Hobs moves to the Point, Biel plays SG, and Risi subs at SG.

3/5 We end the regular season 27-4, 15-3, up 3 over 3 teams. Ranked #7, NET #12.

#1 in PPG, #1 Offensive NET, #4 Overall NET. #6 in RBs, #11 in TOs. +15.6 PPG, +5.9 RBs, -5.9 TOs (11.2).

Risi leads us with 15.8 PPG, and Toma is right behind him with 15.5, #1 in RBs with 8.7. Bree is #3 in scoring, 13.0, #2 in RBs, 7.3.

Sam Toma is #9 on the Norton list!

Della Bates had 33, 8, 9 in the season finale and the team wound up tied for 3rd, #4 seed in the tourney.

[Wayne23]

4/8: We play #8 seed Saint Louis, 13-17, 8-10 in the quarter finals of the A10. With Herd out, and he'll be out for this entire tournament, nothing is certain, but we should be able to beat this team; beat them by 33 at our place.

Midge's team played their quarter final round game against the #5 seed and won it by 5. Della was terrific again, 29, 5, 7.

4/9: 90-54. Up by 11 after 4 1/2 minutes. Up 16 at the half. A walk in the park.

26, 9 for Toma, 16, 5, 6 for Hobs, who did a great job at the Point.

+17 RBs, only 9 TOs.

#5 seed VCU, 22-10, 11-7, in the semis. Beat them by 19 at our place.

Ty Weel: They have a good inside game but our guards are much better, and with Toma, I think we're better inside than they are.

They play mostly 1-3-1, and they press a lot.

Back up guard Sila Gazu sprained his wrist. Out for the tourney. He didn't play much but we're down to 2 guards.

Midge's team won by 2. Great game. Della is making all the difference, but those other two guards are definitely contributing, which they weren't doing before Della's injury. The big front line gets it done against just about everybody.

[Wayne23]

4/10: 80-65 but it was much closer than that; we were up by 3 with 2 minutes left. They took an early lead. We came back. Then it was back and forth. Up 2 at the half.

18, 8 for Risi, 13, 5, 4 for Toma, 13, 1, 7 for Hobs. 17 for Len Barn who was terrific from the bench, as was Demo with 9 and 7. The bench was the difference, 26, 9, 2 vs. 15, 7, 5.

15 TOs but they had 22. We don't see the 1-3-1 often and it had an effect. 11 threes helped a lot.

#3 seed Rhode Island, 22-11, 12-6, for the title. We won by only 5 there so it's no walk in the park.

Ty Weel: Their guards really outplayed ours last time and we're without our best guard so it could be rough. And while we outscored them massively inside we were only +3 on the boards. And their bench had 32, 15, 9 to our 4, 5, 1. This one looks like it could be really tough.

We have got to keep the game close to the basket.

On O they go with a deliberate game, looking outside most of the time.

On D they play a very good man, and fight off picks and switch off very well. They rarely press.

We'd better bring our A game!

I got a text from Midge with about 30 seconds left, Saw it but didn't read it until we got into the locker room. Here it is.

Text: WOOOOOOO! 87-69. We led all the way. 36, 9, 9 for Della, and she got MOP! Hope you won!

Later that evening I called.

"Hey champ!"

"WOOOOOO!!! I am thrilled! Can't wait until you get to see the game. Della was immense and our C and PF. Owned the inside. +17 RBs. What a game."

"And you go to the Big Dance in your first year here."

"I'm all goose bumps just thinking about it. I'm going to fly to Dayton to see your game tomorrow. See you there."

[Wayne23]

4/11: 85-67 and the title! Up 10 in less than 6 minutes. Up 11 at the half. We took control about half way through the 2nd half.

We wanted to get it inside. They packed it in so we took the outside shot and and Hobs and Biel made them all night long. 18, 2, 8 with only 1 TO for Hobs, 18, 7, 4 for Biel. We won it up front too, but we expected that. Our guards really came through.

Only 8 TOs. Good D and 12 threes.

Midge brought the whole team with her and it was great to have that cheering section!

4/12: We're 30-4, 15-3, A10 champs, #5, NET #6. I'm hoping for a #2 seed.

#2 East. We play #15 Hofstra, 23-9.We're in the toughest bracket, with #6 ranked Vanderbilt on our side and #1 overall NET Michigan ST if we get that far. Not easy.

Plus, we were hoping to be on the other side of the bracket to get another day for Herd to heal. He won't play in the opener, or if he does it won't be much.

4/13: Midge is #5 East. If they make it that far they get #1 UConn in the Sweet Sixteen.

"No way we can beat UConn. They beat us by 28 here in December and it wasn't that close. But hey, I'll be happy with a win in the first round. Then we'll see what happens in the second."

[Wayne23]

3/16: 97-56. Up 17 after 8 minutes. Up 25 at the half. It was never a game.

All 5 starters in doubles. 23, 4, 6 for Biel, 16, 9 for Toma, 18, 3 for Risi.+10 RBs, 10 TOs.

We'll be back at full strength for #10 seed Cincinnati, 24-9, an upset winner.

Ty Weel: They have a terrific outside game, but we're better inside.

On O we need to get it inside on every possession if we can. They play man and only press when they need to, but they plan a solid man.

On O they run a balanced attack but look more outside than inside except when that lulls you and then they get it inside very well.

This team is really good for a #10 seed. Herd had better be ready or we could be in trouble.

4/17: Midge won by 24 against Hartford. They were in control all the way, and beat them up inside.

"Virginia next. That's a tough second round game even if they did have a lousy season. They're a great program."

[Wayne23]

4/18: 69-61. Down early. Up only 2 at the half. It was a battle all night long and we never had it wrapped up until the last minute or so. Tough team!

Herd was terrific in his 1st game back, 16 and 5 with 3 TOs. 14, 11 for Bree, 10, 11 for Toma. Our bench beat theirs 18, 7, 1, to 8, 6, 1. +16 RBs, which was huge. But 19 TOs.

#3 seed, #6 ranked Vanderbilt, 30-4, in the Sweet Sixteen. They're favored by 1 1/2. They're good inside and out, and they have a solid bench. Their SF ios one of the best in the country.

On O they run a balanced, free wheeling attack. The SF is always the first option, then they go inside.

On D they play a tight man and rarely press.

We need to get it inside as often as possible, we're better there. And we need to turn them over.

First time UMass has been in the round of 16 in decades.

4/19: Midge won by 4 in a real nail biter. Della hit two late threes, and the bigs did their job.

"Now we get to play UConn."

"Shock the world!"

"Love to. Let's talk about how I might do that tomorrow when we're back home."

[Wayne23]

3/23: 68-84. Up and down for a long time. Down 3 at the half. They started the half with a 9-2 run and expanded the lead from there. Nothing we tried helped.

17, 15 for Toma, 11, 8 for Bree, but we got almost nothing outside, and that did us in.

34.2% shooting, 4-18 on threes.

We're losing three starters, Herd, Hobs, and Risi, as well as subs Demo and Barn.

3/24: 48-66 loss to UConn for Midge. They played hard but UConn's D was stifling. I was there for the game.

3/25: "So where are we?"

"I don't understand."

"You made the Sweet Sixteen, Phee. Some top schools will be after you. So where are we?"

"I want to stay another year, at least one more, maybe longer."

"Suppose you get an offer you can't refuse?"

"I think I might refuse it. I like being close to my family, close to my old friends, even though I don't see them that often... and I like being close to you. Not sure I'm willing to give all of that up."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"We'll figure it out together. Hey, you made the Sweet Sixteen, too. Suppose a big time women's program makes you an offer?"

"Ha! You know there are damned few big time women's programs."

"It could happen."