The Lady Raiders won their 3rd conference title in 4 years earlier today and I couldn't have been happier nor prouder to be there courtside.
I've said it a billion times but it is an AMAZING group of girls who knew their potential and thus far have reached it, now having another championship to show for it. Re-live the epic overtime thriller in the final as only I can provide you: 140 characters at a time through my tweets through the game. All of them are unaltered and can be found directly as found below at twitter.com/craighoffman.
The tweets start exactly an hour prior to tip and end roughly 90 minutes after the game at the beginning of our ride back to Middle Tennessee. Enjoy!
They just opened the doors here as we're and the MTSU fans are rolling in! #GoBlue
Some guy next to us is calling Coach Insell an "asshole" and said some1 needs to "light his ass up"..I wanted to deck him square in the face
Just because he said on the record he doesn't think your team is in the tournament doesn't mean that he's a jerk. He's honest w/ the media. (Post-game Insell did say that he thinks both teams are in and that they should be in)
UALR's mens team is here despite the fact that they lost on the first day of the tourney.
UALR media member. He apparently didn't hear all the trash Reed and Sitzman talked RT @jrlind: @craighoffman Surely it's a UALR fan?
UALR fans are talking trash about how we beat easy teams. A) You play who's on the schedule. B) YOU BEAT NEW ORLEANS!!! A D3 school next year!
Just got a wink from AC...she's ready. I know she wants that revenge and she wants to finish a champion. (Apparently I need to go to all of her games from now until she retires from the WNBA to get winked at...48 is a bit ridiculous!)
http://twitpic.com/17ks1h - I say Einsten. Whatcha think? RT @TheycallmeHeed: @craighoffman i think beethoven is conducting the pep band for
Alright less than 15 til tipoff so its storyline watch time: 1) Will MTSU press? They didn't last time vs UALR and it cost them.
The girls said that it got them out of their rhythm. Insell said post-game yesterday that they will press but will disguise it.
2nd storyline: Clark vs Reed. Will Reed get caught up in the matchup and force issue. Also with AC probably guarding her can she avoid fouls
My prediction: yes. Clark is one of the smartest basketball players I've ever met. Also is that going to happen or will Insell get creative?
So happy that WKU fans are gone so they can't mess up our fight song! #GoToHellWestern #GoBlue
Place is electric. I'm startin to get really excited for this. And no it has nothing to do with the UALR dancer. Geez. Gimme a break! (The funny/ironic thing is, I've sinced talked to the UALR dancer and she's gonna be on our radio show when we get back)
I like this...Jackie starting off on Reed. Of course JP is the SBC Defensive Player of the year.
Answer to story line 1: MTSU is in their 2-2-1 press to open. No disguise. Straight pressure.
The problem with JP on Reed is that she's not used to guarding on the post
Pickel got lessons from Lymon on guarding Reed. Go straight up and be in her face. (This was a pure guess and I still don't know if it's true but that's exactly how Chelsia guarded her in Little Rock)
9-7 UALR at the first media timeout. Chelsia Lymon's intensity is insane right now.
MTSU out of the press but they are giving Reed fits. Double teams and face guarding her.
This isn't good. At all. Chelsia Lymon with her 3rd and Kortni Jones is in. Time to shine kid.
Clark starting to heat up offensively. She's got 8. 2 more points and she breaks her own tournament record.
She also just drew a charge on Reed who is beyond frustrated. Jackie is doing an incredible job and is getting great help.
MTSU has gone to "special" on offense. This is the offense they ran yesterday through Annie.
MTSU back to the press after another JP 3.
Great defensive play by Reed as she doubles down and strips Alysha. Resulting in a layup.
22-18 UALR at the under 8 timeout. Clark with 10. MTSU not shooting well from outside. Needs to change.
Only 2-8 from 3 and 7-16 overall.
MTSU is a team built to play from behind in that they press and shoot the 3 but they're not making any 3's. NEED to hit.
If MTSU can keep it within 5 and then get Lymon back that would be huge. Down 8 now.
2:36 left in the first half and UALR is up 30-25. Leading scorer for them is Butler who has 10. Clark has 14 and Pickel has 10.
None from Brown or Lanning is a major issue. Brandi just isn't shooting well. Look to get her on the post and get her going.
Stewart in for Lanning for the final 30 seconds. Can she provide a quick defensive spark?
Reed forces up another shot and misses giving MT the chance to take the lead with 9.1 seconds left after an Insell timeout.
Lymon back in for the possession as is Lanning.
Tie ball game at half. 32-32. Clark with 21 while Reed only has 4 points. Alysha only has 1 more shot than Reed. #ThinkAboutIt
In other news Scarlett Lanning caught two more rubber chickens in a basket on her head to win the halftime competition. She's amazing!
I've said it a billion times but it is an AMAZING group of girls who knew their potential and thus far have reached it, now having another championship to show for it. Re-live the epic overtime thriller in the final as only I can provide you: 140 characters at a time through my tweets through the game. All of them are unaltered and can be found directly as found below at twitter.com/craighoffman.
The tweets start exactly an hour prior to tip and end roughly 90 minutes after the game at the beginning of our ride back to Middle Tennessee. Enjoy!
Championship By Tweet
They just opened the doors here as we're and the MTSU fans are rolling in! #GoBlue
Some guy next to us is calling Coach Insell an "asshole" and said some1 needs to "light his ass up"..I wanted to deck him square in the face
Just because he said on the record he doesn't think your team is in the tournament doesn't mean that he's a jerk. He's honest w/ the media. (Post-game Insell did say that he thinks both teams are in and that they should be in)
UALR's mens team is here despite the fact that they lost on the first day of the tourney.
UALR media member. He apparently didn't hear all the trash Reed and Sitzman talked RT @jrlind: @craighoffman Surely it's a UALR fan?
UALR fans are talking trash about how we beat easy teams. A) You play who's on the schedule. B) YOU BEAT NEW ORLEANS!!! A D3 school next year!
Just got a wink from AC...she's ready. I know she wants that revenge and she wants to finish a champion. (Apparently I need to go to all of her games from now until she retires from the WNBA to get winked at...48 is a bit ridiculous!)
http://twitpic.com/17ks1h - I say Einsten. Whatcha think? RT @TheycallmeHeed: @craighoffman i think beethoven is conducting the pep band for
Alright less than 15 til tipoff so its storyline watch time: 1) Will MTSU press? They didn't last time vs UALR and it cost them.
The girls said that it got them out of their rhythm. Insell said post-game yesterday that they will press but will disguise it.
2nd storyline: Clark vs Reed. Will Reed get caught up in the matchup and force issue. Also with AC probably guarding her can she avoid fouls
My prediction: yes. Clark is one of the smartest basketball players I've ever met. Also is that going to happen or will Insell get creative?
So happy that WKU fans are gone so they can't mess up our fight song! #GoToHellWestern #GoBlue
Place is electric. I'm startin to get really excited for this. And no it has nothing to do with the UALR dancer. Geez. Gimme a break! (The funny/ironic thing is, I've sinced talked to the UALR dancer and she's gonna be on our radio show when we get back)
I like this...Jackie starting off on Reed. Of course JP is the SBC Defensive Player of the year.
Answer to story line 1: MTSU is in their 2-2-1 press to open. No disguise. Straight pressure.
The problem with JP on Reed is that she's not used to guarding on the post
Pickel got lessons from Lymon on guarding Reed. Go straight up and be in her face. (This was a pure guess and I still don't know if it's true but that's exactly how Chelsia guarded her in Little Rock)
9-7 UALR at the first media timeout. Chelsia Lymon's intensity is insane right now.
MTSU out of the press but they are giving Reed fits. Double teams and face guarding her.
This isn't good. At all. Chelsia Lymon with her 3rd and Kortni Jones is in. Time to shine kid.
Clark starting to heat up offensively. She's got 8. 2 more points and she breaks her own tournament record.
She also just drew a charge on Reed who is beyond frustrated. Jackie is doing an incredible job and is getting great help.
MTSU has gone to "special" on offense. This is the offense they ran yesterday through Annie.
MTSU back to the press after another JP 3.
Great defensive play by Reed as she doubles down and strips Alysha. Resulting in a layup.
22-18 UALR at the under 8 timeout. Clark with 10. MTSU not shooting well from outside. Needs to change.
Only 2-8 from 3 and 7-16 overall.
MTSU is a team built to play from behind in that they press and shoot the 3 but they're not making any 3's. NEED to hit.
If MTSU can keep it within 5 and then get Lymon back that would be huge. Down 8 now.
2:36 left in the first half and UALR is up 30-25. Leading scorer for them is Butler who has 10. Clark has 14 and Pickel has 10.
None from Brown or Lanning is a major issue. Brandi just isn't shooting well. Look to get her on the post and get her going.
Stewart in for Lanning for the final 30 seconds. Can she provide a quick defensive spark?
Reed forces up another shot and misses giving MT the chance to take the lead with 9.1 seconds left after an Insell timeout.
Lymon back in for the possession as is Lanning.
Tie ball game at half. 32-32. Clark with 21 while Reed only has 4 points. Alysha only has 1 more shot than Reed. #ThinkAboutIt
In other news Scarlett Lanning caught two more rubber chickens in a basket on her head to win the halftime competition. She's amazing!
She caught 3 in the semifinals and came back and caught 2 in the finals...the other dude didn't even catch 1
In record watch: Alysha Clark has completely blitzed her scoring record for the tournament. She's up to 105 points in 2.5 games.
Me too! RT @crash8130: @craighoffman what a great game. So many story lines. So many great players. Instant classic. Can I get this on DVD?
How many of you would be interested in seeing a post-season interview show similiar to the preseason one i did with the girls? Feedback pls! (I never got any feedback but I've decided to do it anyway...it's going to be elaborate. With sponsors. And an audience. Oooooooh. Aaaaaah)
Things to watch in 2nd: Can we keep Reed down? Can Lymon stay on the floor? Can Brown/Lanning put points in peoples faces? (Boom! Club Trillion reference!)
Pickel just picked up her 3rd foul. Something else to watch.
UALR already has 4 team fouls in this half. MTSU is a great shooting team from the line so they have to continue this aggressive play.
And of course AC misses 1/2 FT's after I say that. 1 point lead for MTSU.
UALR now up 4 as they are doing a better job on Clark. The refs are letting them play incredibly physical down low on her.
Kortni Jones back in for MTSU...interesting substitution. (Kort played great, but I wasn't sure timing wise why Insell took Chels out here...didn't last long)
Lymon coming back in. Clark attempting her 8th and 9th FT's of the game
Clark doing it all!!! She just took a charge on Kursh which was her 4th! She's also up to 28.
Reed now guarding Clark and is beating the tar out of her and the refs aren't calling it. She just swiped her across the head!
Huge 3 by Ree! Back to a 6 point game.
Under 8 media timeout and MTSU is down 6. Clark has 30 and it feels like she's the only one who's scored this half.
Clark has 4 fouls. This is bad. She's not coming out though. (Luckily Alysha is as smart of a basketball player that I've ever met and she didn't foul out.)
Clark scores again. 2 point game.
Tie game! Clark with 38. So nervous.
3:48 left. Tie game. Media timeout. Reed has been guarding Clark down the stretch. Here. We. Go.
Downtown Brandi Brown for threeeee!!!! Her first of the game! Then a steal by Jackie Pickel! 55-52 MTSU and AC to the line for 1-and-1
Alysha makes both and MTSU has a 5 point lead with 3:00 left.
Reset: MTSU 59 UALR 57. UALR ball endline out of bounds. UALR gets 1-and-1, MTSU is in the double bonus.
Overtime! I honestly don't know if I can take this. My heart is racing, I'm weak in the knees, I feel light headed. (This wasn't an exaggeration. I was leaning forward resting my chest on my hand which was on the table and it was pounding. My knees also felt about as sturdy as the Leaning Tower of Pisa looks and my head was as light as a helium balloon)
Team fouls carry over in OT. That could be huge
5 fouls on Kursh. Clark back to the line.
44 points now for Clark, which of course ties yesterdays single game scoring record
Missed layup by Clark, travel by Reed. Fatigue setting in.
Clark misses another chipshot. She's not happy. But she's getting looks.
Foul on Sitzman for over the back on a rebound. Clark back to the line. Love scoring without having to work for it. (Remember the tweet about fouls carrying over being important?)
MTSU up 2 after both go in. Clark with 46
Annie for 3!!!! 5 point lead!
Both go in. 7 point lead with less than 2 left.
Foul on UALR. Lymon to the line for 2.Reset: 51.4 left. 68-66 MTSU. MTSU in double bonus. Their ball. Baseline out of bounds. Can run the baseline
Put time back on the clock. Now 55.4 left
OH MY GOD!!!! BRUTAL CALL ON A FASTBREAK AS JACKIE PICKEL GOT ALL BALL!!!! UALR makes 2 FT's to tie
ALYSHA CLARK!!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! SHE PUTS IN ANOTHER DEUCE TO PUT MTSU UP 2 WITH 1.8 LEFT!!!!!
MTSU WINS!!!!!!!! (In all my excitement this is all I could muster. Let's just say that I lost all professionalism on press row and really just didn't care. I put on the fan pants and then took advantage of my media pass and went on the court with my camera and started taking pictures between congratulatory hugs)
Curtis (@theycallmeheed) just dropped "fantastic" in the press conference. What a dope.
On the way out of town passed a cloud 9 park! So appropriate
#nowplaying - "roses" by Outkast...dedicated to Chastity Reed!
I'm going to be posting a series of blogs over the next few days about my thoughts on the tournament, untold stories from the on-court celebration post game, as well as my usual "by the numbers" breakdowns. Stay tuned kids!
Heeeeeey...looky what I found!
Champions!!!
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