Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Sunday, March 18, 2007

Last night's last game to conclude was the day's biggest upset, and it was a doozy: 13 seed Marist knocked out Ohio State.

The Red Foxes' first-ever NCAA win had knocks, shocks, and surprises on the block: Meg Dahlman got a nasty elbow in the neck from Davenport early on, fell on her head in the first half while contesting a rebound, left the court to get checked for concussion, and returned in time to sink a three-pointer that lifted Marist's late lead to eight.

But the Buckeyes weren't done: Packer and UCLA transfer Trebilcock sank threes of their own in the closing seconds, creating a one-possession game.

Marist guards Juli Vianni and Nikki Flores responded with clutch free throws to preserve the upset. Vianni scored 24; teammate Alisa Kresge-- one of three high school point guards in Marist's rotation-- garnered eight assists.

Emotion favored the upset: those three PGs kept their cool, and Marist's post reacted to the ugly elbow early on.

OSU perhaps remembred last year's early exit. And the Buckeyes' deliberate style-- and perhaps their loss of Brandie Hoskins-- prevented them from doing what other major-conference teams do when struggling against upstarts: run, press, use their superior athletes, and tire out opponents with one-on-one ball.

Instead, the Buckeyes at once slowed down, and panicked: Davenport sat. A lot. Was she pouting? (Was coach Foster?) "We weren't playing like ourselves and I have to take the blame," she said.

The Red Foxes deservedly rejoice. Flores says after the horn sounded, “I was screaming. I was holding [the basketball] like, ‘Don’t touch the ball! It’s mine! It’s mine! No one else can have it!’” Up next for her ecstatic squad: Middle Tennessee State.