NOTE: For the box score of this and every other Seattle U basketball game this season, go here.
In three years, the events witnessed Friday night at the Connolly Center will be wholly unacceptable, but at this embryonic stage in the development of Seattle University's women's basketball program, the Redhawks should be thrilled with the way they played in their regular-season opener against UC Davis.
SU coach Joan Bonvicini wants the Redhawks to crack the top 25 in the next three years, but for now, the woman with 612 wins to her credit should be happy with a 71-49 loss against the Aggies, who hail from the Big West Conference.
That's no misprint: A coach should be happy with a 71-49 loss... not in terms of having a big smile, of course, but in terms of being satisfied with the effort put forth by her ballclub.
This climb up the mountain, otherwise known as the move to Division I-A basketball, will involve long hours of hard labor in the coming years. Bonvicini did lead Long Beach State to a pair of Final Fours in the late 1980s, and she did turn Arizona into a winning program at the same time Lute Olson worked wonders with the men's team down in Tuscon, Ariz., but success is hardly guaranteed at her latest coaching stop in Seattle. Yes, the Redhawks are pouring ample resources into basketball, but good coaching and solid gameday performances must justify the investments made on behalf of the program.
Friday night, as the curtain rose and an especially intriguing regular season began in the cozy confines of Connolly, Seattle U hoops fans had a chance to see why their new program has every opportunity to make its coach look like a visionary... even if the visitors from Davis, Calif., walked away with a relatively comfortable win.
If you're obsessed with wins and losses and margins of victory in this particular Seattle University basketball season, you need to change your mindset. The Redhawks might have lost by 22 points, but they exhibited the signs of a well-coached and thoroughly motivated team from start to finish. By competing well in a game they lost decisively, Bonvicini's players affirmed the old saying, "there are lies, damn lies, and statistics." Let's substitute "final scores" for "statistics", and the link becomes particularly precise.
UC Davis simply posed a problematic matchup for SU. The Aggies had six players on their roster who were at least six feet tall. Davis enjoyed a considerable height advantage, but even more importantly, a length advantage. Long-armed players in blue jerseys made it apparent from the outset that a small bunch of Redhawks - with three players suspended for the rest of the fall quarter - were going to have a very tough time scoring.
Therefore, there's absolutely no shame for SU in scoring just 49 points. There's also no shame in committing 28 turnovers or failing to score for the first 5 minutes and 27 seconds of the second half. As long as sweat and tears remained part of the equation, Bonvicini had to walk away from this lid-lifter with a fair amount of optimism.
Color the Redhawks' coach optimistic, then.
There were several snapshots of hunger and hustle, several instances that showed, in full relief, how vigorously this team competed in a game it trailed by considerable margins:
* With SU down by 26 points (49-23) with just over 13 minutes left in regulation, SU reserve forward Julee Christianson was playing tenacious defense 30 feet away from the basket and gaining a deflection that forced a Davis turnover.
* With Davis leading, 49-19, roughly five minutes into the second half, the Redhawks produced an 11-0 run just a few minutes later.
* Redhawk forward Ashley Brown, despite lacking the magic touch from three-point range, continued to run the floor in the second half and make herself available for outlet passes from point guard Cassidy Murillo. Selfish players mope when their shot doesn't fall, but Brown displayed a decidedly different example.
* With SU trailing, 68-44, just inside the two-minute mark of regulation time, Redhawk post player Carley Butcher dove to the floor with Davis's Ashley Curr... all in the attempt to box out on the front end of a one-and-one which was MADE.
* And last but certainly not least, with 1:01 left in the blowout, Butcher's teammate in the low post, Tatiana Heck, took a charge when a Davis ballhandler drove toward the rim from the left wing. The "Heck" of a play was representative of the effort the Redhawks made throughout this contest, revealing the presence of the "championship mentality" Bonvicini has emphasized in the buildup to this season opener.
Go ahead, lament the 22-point loss suffered by Seattle U's women's basketball team on opening night. It wasn't for lack of effort, motivation, or defensive intensity. Going up against a deeper, taller, longer, and more experienced opponent, the Redhawks allowed only 71 points, a marvelous defensive accomplishment. When more seasoned SU teams - without suspensions, and bolstered by recruiting classes - put forth this same kind of exertion in two or three years, the Redhawks will be the team winning games by 71-49 scores.
Then the stats won't tell such damn lies anymore... and a coach will remain quite happy with the outcome.
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