Lady Shocks in the NCAA Tournament

[1972Shocker]

#14 Shocks vs #3 Texas A&M in College Station on Saturday, March 23rd at 3:05 pm.

One big question is how the Lady Shocks will handle the big stage. And while TAM does start 2 freshman they also start 2 seniors and a junior that have a significant amount of NCAA playing experience. Plus the game is in College Station. TAM averaged 5,900 for their home games this season and will no doubt draw bigger crowds for the NCAA games. That is something the Lady Shocks simply are not used to (the Schoolhouse Screech game notwithstanding). On the plus side Jessica, Chynna and Michelle will be close to home.

Texas A&M will have a big advantage in the post position. 6-4 Jr Kelsey Bone leads TAM in scoring at 17.6 PPG and rebounding at 9.9 RPG (in SEC play she averaged 17.1 and 10.4). When she needs a rest TAM brings in 6-5 Jr Karla Gilbert and if they really have to they can bring in 6-7 RFr Rachel Mitchell. Outside of the post TAM is not particularly big, but are no doubt very athletic.

In the Valley tournament Jody went small starting no one over 6-0 (Chynna) and played her two 6-2 players, Jaz Gordon and Kelsy Jacobs, very sparingly. We'll see whether she stays with that or puts Jaz and Kelsey back into the mix.

I don't give the Shocks much more than a 5% chance of winning this game, if that, and they will probably be 15 point underdogs. I just hope they play reasonably well and keep the score somewhat respectable. For the season TAM averages 71 points and its opponents average 56. Anything in that range would be quite respectable. A Lady Shocker win would be off the scale seismic.

Just hope the Ladies enjoy the experience and give it a great effort which I'm confident they will.

[flyingMoose]

Article from the College Station paper.

[SPEShockAlum]

A regular season and tournament champ and we earn a #14 seed? Give me a break. Admittedly, I don't pay enough attention to women's basketball, but this seems like a bubble seed and given that we're automatic, how about at least a #12?

[SubGod22]

Just because you're automatic doesn't mean you're better than bubble teams. 14-16 are for auto winners who wouldn't have gotten in. 13's are sometimes there for the men. Had we not won the tournament, we weren't dancing. Didn't do enough in the noncon.

[WuDrWu]

A regular season and tournament champ and we earn a #14 seed? Give me a break. Admittedly, I don't pay enough attention to women's basketball, but this seems like a bubble seed and given that we're automatic, how about at least a #12?

There is a HUGE gap in women's basketball, far wider than the gap in men's basketball. While I will enjoy watching our girls compete and hope for a good outcome, it's far more likely this will be a lopsided score.

[SubGod22]

There is a HUGE gap in women's basketball, far wider than the gap in men's basketball. While I will enjoy watching our girls compete and hope for a good outcome, it's far more likely this will be a lopsided score.

At least it will be good experience for the younger players. They'll see up close what the top teams are like. Perhaps it motivates them to work that much harder in the offseason. We have some good young players and they can still do quite a bit of improving. The foundation is there to continue to rise.

[flyingMoose]

And often the Committee makes adjustments of one seed-line to satisfy other criteria. So we could be a 13 and Creighton could be an 11 going in, but come out a 14 and 10.

[SPEShockAlum]

There is a HUGE gap in women's basketball, far wider than the gap in men's basketball. While I will enjoy watching our girls compete and hope for a good outcome, it's far more likely this will be a lopsided score.

Oh, I agree. An unranked men's team could knock off the top team in men's basketball and I wouldn't be surprised at all. On the other hand, the disparity between the Top 5 in women's basketball and the rest of the field is so huge, unless you're Stanford, Notre Dame, Tennessee, UConn, Baylor, OU, if you're rated in the Top 25 and play one of those teams, count on a 50 point blow out each time. It's amazing.

[1972Shocker]

Along with Price, seniors Jessica Diamond and Chynna Turner, both from Houston, have familiarity with much of A&M’s roster. Most of all with A&M junior Kelsey Bone, a Texas high school legend who is on the shortlist of candidates for the Wooden Award this season.

“My high school team actually beat hers to go to the state championship my senior year,” Diamond said.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/03/18/272...#storylink=cpy

One thing Jessica failed to mention was that her high school team also had a fairly highly regarded center. You may have heard of her. Plays for Baylor. Initials BG.

I'm still irritated with Jessica for not bringing her teammate along with her to Wichita State! :tongue-new:

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Oh, I agree. An unranked men's team could knock off the top team in men's basketball and I wouldn't be surprised at all. On the other hand, the disparity between the Top 5 in women's basketball and the rest of the field is so huge, unless you're Stanford, Notre Dame, Tennessee, UConn, Baylor, OU, if you're rated in the Top 25 and play one of those teams, count on a 50 point blow out each time. It's amazing.

Not true.

Filled out a bracket for the Women once. The team I had winning it all, a 1 seed, lost in the first round to a 16 seed.

[SPEShockAlum]

Not true.

Filled out a bracket for the Women once. The team I had winning it all, a 1 seed, lost in the first round to a 16 seed.

OK - solid pull. However, in general, there is more parity in men's than women's basketball.

Sorry for throwing this off topic... all the best to the ladies down in College Station! Go Shocks!

[flyingMoose]

Not true.

Filled out a bracket for the Women once. The team I had winning it all, a 1 seed, lost in the first round to a 16 seed.

This is true, but hardly a refutation of the assertion of @SPEShockAlum:. Harvard beat Stanford due to injuries (very late in the season in at least one case, I think) to their leading scorer, an All-American, and a starting forward.

[WuDrWu]

One thing Jessica failed to mention was that her high school team also had a fairly highly regarded center. You may have heard of her. Plays for Baylor. Initials BG.

I'm still irritated with Jessica for not bringing her teammate along with her to Wichita State! :tongue-new:

Nice info...I never knew that Jess was teammates with Griner. No wonder they won.

[1972Shocker]

Nice info...I never knew that Jess was teammates with Griner. No wonder they won.

The reason Kelsey Bone is a Junior at TAM is that she went to South Carolina for 1 year then transferred to TAM and had to sit out a year under the tranfer rules. So she is a 4th year Junior.

[1972Shocker]

Nice info...I never knew that Jess was teammates with Griner. No wonder they won.

Believe it or not Jessica's (and Brittany's) team lost in the State Championship game. Then Jessica missed the final two games of this year's regular season (the only games she has missed) when the Lady Shocks locked up their 1st regular season championship, so it's no wonder Jessica was so elated when the Lady Shocks won the Valley Tournament Championship and she was a very key part of that win and had the ball in her hands as the clock wound down.