There were lots of encouraging signs. The hustle plays were there and the team's basketball awareness seemed high.
The first quarter was tight as the defense took awhile to get into gear. But the new starters, Madison and Esteffi worked well with Sai, Saylair, and Grace. The defense was slow to get started but when it did, in the second quarter, the Bengals got separation on the scoreboard and never looked back, leading 37-26 at the half. The 16-0 run to start the third quarter was the statement that the outcome was no longer in doubt.
Madison played like this was always her team. She ran the offense in the half court, provided quick outlet opportunities to rebounders, kept her head up on fast break opportunities, and shot well - including a pair of three pointers. Saylair and Esteffi didn't have good shooting nights but they rebounded, passed, and defended well. We know that they can take over games and can expect they'll get back to their usual shooting percentages over the next week. Sai picked up two fouls in the first quarter but still had 9 points and a solid rebounding performance. Grace was Grace. She was running by defenders on fast breaks, making the quick assist, pulling down rebounds, grabbing steals, playing good basketball, and, oh yeah! 19 points to lead the team.
In the second half, several different players just beat their opponents to offensive rebounds. As for awareness, San Tapasa had three or four steals where she just took the ball out of the hands of their bigs when they brought the ball down to waist level. They were all "see and react" plays without having to think about what to do next.
Delaney Moore came off the bench and played both the 4 and 5 positions like she did last year. She had 9 points off of rebounds and cutting to the basket where her teammates found her open. As Skippy mentioned, Irene Vicente was wearing a boot on her right leg. Hopefully it's a temporary thing and we'll see her back soon.
The new Bengals had moments that we hope to see more of as well as some places where they'll want to improve. With Irene out , Ellie Smith and Kaitlyn Bell both got minutes and points. Hopefully, they also got rid of any first game jitters. Ellie played both the 4 and 5 positions with energy and a ton of length - she looked taller than the 6' 2" she is listed at. Kait played mostly at the 5 position. As she improves, she'll change opponents' shot selection.
Callie Bourne was impressive in extended minutes as a substitute point guard. She made hustle plays for o-boards and passed teammates into the open court on fast breaks. Callie also scored 10 points. Melisa Kadic showed a pretty, high-arcing shot but didn't have a great shooting game. Montana Oltrogge went 2 of 3 from the 3-point line. Nuria Barrientos only got 6 minutes of game time so no early information on her yet.
I thought it was a perfect exhibition game for both fans and coaches. The fans got to see hints of how talented and deep this team is. The coaches saw enough rough edges so that the team will have to keep working hard to eliminate the mistakes.
