The NCAA is a JOKE!
If we'd made free throws we still would've won. Clearly they did what they could to help LSU, but we helped, too. That's all part of it.
You are right about the few FT's we got.Originally Posted by markay714
Bad officiating SHOULD NOT be a part of it.
Ford must've missed 5 or 6 free throws in a row right when they were making their run - before they quit calling fouls on her shots. She kept us killing 'em in the first half, but the load got heavy in the second half I think. You could tell our rhythm just wasn't there in the second half - think Obaze's 3 fouls hurt as much as some of y'all predicted. Clearly we didn't play the same game in the second half.
I agree 100%!Originally Posted by EJ
The key calls of the game were in the first half when Obaze was overaggressive and picked up a couple of cheap fouls. Augustus got it going and the 16-0 LSU run happened right after Amber's 4th.
Obaze was a tremendous liability...tonite. She couldn't make a simple entry pass, throwing away 6 or 7 at crucial times. But, that's the way it goes. She had a off night and it hurt.
Nell Fortner's first statements in the wrap-up show were directed at the lousy refs. For any ESPN dame to level criticism like that, it had to be obvious. But, ya know what, while the refs hurt and Obaze's off night hurt, you still have to give MOST of the credit to the Lady Tigers.
It was obvious several things all happened at once:
1. the refs started making some bad calls
2. the Techsters got tired
3. the Techsters got tight
4. the Lady Tigers got hot and started making plays
And it's #4 on that list where the real story lies.
LSU has more depth (we all knew that) and it greatly showed midway of the 2nd half. The Techsters had tired legs, and when you get tired like that, you start pressing, trying to take shortcuts, and it ends up hurting ya big time.
In keeping with my policy, I am now rooting for both Texas Tech and LSU.
Good luck Lady Tigers, good luck Lady Raiders.
Obaze's defense was the main reason LSU was down 10 at the half. She was very tentative though when she came back in with the four fouls.Originally Posted by Dawg80
I totally agree that Tech didn't have the legs in the last ten minutes. LSU got way too many easy looks and was quicker to the boards in that stretch. And you can't expect to win when you allow a 36-13 run in the last 14:20, especially against a team as good as LSU.
I would really enjoy watching a Final Four with Texas Tech, Villanova, Purdue, and LSU.
You are right, Obaze does deserve credit for her defense, most of the night. Augustus was nonexistant until Obaze went to the bench with 4 fouls.
I agree with your Final Four wish list.
Clarification: The officiating sucked on both ends of the court. Truly a shame to let two very evenly matched and talented teams play with lousy officiating.