FoxPerez
04-04-2011, 12:27 PM
Originally posted at PlaymakerOnline.com (http://bit.ly/gSIkHz):
The Farmers Keep on Fightin’.
Running low on timeouts, unable to find an offensive rhythm, and down by double digits, it looked like the Texas A&M women’s team had come to the end of their historic run with less than six minutes left in their first ever Final Four game. Everything that worked in their favor in beating Baylor didn’t phase Stanford. The Aggies had already climbed the mountain and slayed the giant in beating the Bears and didn’t bring the same confidence and swagger to the national semifinal against the Stanford Cardinal. They spent almost the entire 2nd half down and hanging around, but could muster up a long enough run to take a lead or make Stanford nervous.
And then they found a spark from Tyra White, who carried them the rest of the way. As A&M clamped down on defense and held #1 seed Stanford to four points in a stretch of five minutes, White got to the basket and the free throw line as the Aggies finally showed why they were so dangerous. They played clutch basketball, going 6-8 from the field and hitting 6-6 free throws in the last five minutes after shooting about 30% from the field the whole game.
And not once did they panic. Gary Blair was a rock for the team, always there to reassure them and keep them focused when they didn’t get the calls or the bounces in the final minutes. It showed the most in the final 10 seconds. Down by one, Stanford executed a great play for a one-point lead. A&M, without any timeouts, inbounded the ball to Sydney Colson who came racing down the floor.
And how often to do you see this scene. A player going too fast and not really thinking about anything but their own shot. We see it all the time in big college basketball games. Usually the player puts up a prayer while hoping for a bailout foul call. It’s exactly what happened to J’Covan Brown against Arizona in the 2nd round of this year’s tournament.
But Colson was smart. She drew three defenders to her and made a simple bounce pass to White on the other side of the paint for an easy layup and the winning basket.
Stanford essentially got a free timeout after a player was injured on the floor, but the final throw-in was intercepted by the Aggies and the celebration was on. A&M will play for the national championship tomorrow against… Notre Dame who upset the UConn Huskies in the other semifinal.
Give lots of credit to Gary Blair for keeping his girls in the game and prepared for anything after playing poorly offensively the whole game and finding a way to win at the end. After knocking off two #1 seeds in this tournament already, the national championship game is unlikely to throw anything at them they haven’t seen. The stakes are higher, but A&M should be brimming with confidence. And why not? Luckily, Blair coaches much better than he dances.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnY6CMpT0O8&feature=player_embedded
For more college sports coverage, check out PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/)
Playmaker Magazine: The Source for Sports in Texas
The Farmers Keep on Fightin’.
Running low on timeouts, unable to find an offensive rhythm, and down by double digits, it looked like the Texas A&M women’s team had come to the end of their historic run with less than six minutes left in their first ever Final Four game. Everything that worked in their favor in beating Baylor didn’t phase Stanford. The Aggies had already climbed the mountain and slayed the giant in beating the Bears and didn’t bring the same confidence and swagger to the national semifinal against the Stanford Cardinal. They spent almost the entire 2nd half down and hanging around, but could muster up a long enough run to take a lead or make Stanford nervous.
And then they found a spark from Tyra White, who carried them the rest of the way. As A&M clamped down on defense and held #1 seed Stanford to four points in a stretch of five minutes, White got to the basket and the free throw line as the Aggies finally showed why they were so dangerous. They played clutch basketball, going 6-8 from the field and hitting 6-6 free throws in the last five minutes after shooting about 30% from the field the whole game.
And not once did they panic. Gary Blair was a rock for the team, always there to reassure them and keep them focused when they didn’t get the calls or the bounces in the final minutes. It showed the most in the final 10 seconds. Down by one, Stanford executed a great play for a one-point lead. A&M, without any timeouts, inbounded the ball to Sydney Colson who came racing down the floor.
And how often to do you see this scene. A player going too fast and not really thinking about anything but their own shot. We see it all the time in big college basketball games. Usually the player puts up a prayer while hoping for a bailout foul call. It’s exactly what happened to J’Covan Brown against Arizona in the 2nd round of this year’s tournament.
But Colson was smart. She drew three defenders to her and made a simple bounce pass to White on the other side of the paint for an easy layup and the winning basket.
Stanford essentially got a free timeout after a player was injured on the floor, but the final throw-in was intercepted by the Aggies and the celebration was on. A&M will play for the national championship tomorrow against… Notre Dame who upset the UConn Huskies in the other semifinal.
Give lots of credit to Gary Blair for keeping his girls in the game and prepared for anything after playing poorly offensively the whole game and finding a way to win at the end. After knocking off two #1 seeds in this tournament already, the national championship game is unlikely to throw anything at them they haven’t seen. The stakes are higher, but A&M should be brimming with confidence. And why not? Luckily, Blair coaches much better than he dances.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnY6CMpT0O8&feature=player_embedded
For more college sports coverage, check out PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/)
Playmaker Magazine: The Source for Sports in Texas