WBB: Empire 8

gobombers15 · February 24, 2007, 06:14:28 PM

BOMBERS WIN!!!! Ithaca will be dancing. Great game by Elmira, they showed a lot of heart. In the end, the better team won. A lot of people will point to Elmira's atrocious FT shooting and say the Soaring Eagles should have won. To those people, I say you're wrong. The reason Elmira was even in this game was their helter skelter style of play; to that end, the reason they didn't do well at the line was also because of their style of play. Elmira was just worn out in the last five minutes of this game. Too many people playing too many minutes. I watched the game and Elmira had absolutely no legs on their FT's in the second half. You'll have that when you play that style.

simon · February 24, 2007, 06:16:36 PM

Congrats to the Bombers!!!!!!!! Good luck in the Dance baby!!!!!! Caz do you know if IC will braodcast their game on the web anywhere. If so could you let me know where? I would like to get back into following the team like I used to. Thanks

Caz Bombers · February 24, 2007, 06:21:35 PM

I'd be willing to bet WICB will do the game online. Check bombers.ithaca.edu in the next couple days; the field will be announced Sunday but I don't believe the pairings will be made known til Monday. Since we know we're in, Monday's the key day.

sotier · February 24, 2007, 10:59:06 PM

Great reporting job there Caz!! I was fortunate enough to catch it first hand, and it was all I hoped for in a championship game. The two best teams going at it to the bitter end plus five more minutes.From the start it was evident that IC was the better half court team,and tonight a whole lot better, but we knew that going in. What we didnt know was if that "helter-skelter" defense of Elmira would be able to cause enough turnovers to keep them in it.At first it didnt look so, but even the IC fan in the stand has to give EC their scrappy credit. Coakley put on an absolute clinic on how to play pressure defense.Her effort was outstanding.Hands down the best defender I saw all year. But in the end ,IC has to much ability to score.Shut down one, another makes a shot, then another, then someone else.Elmira had chances to win and failed to convert,IC did not let their chances go by unanswered, and thats the sign of a deserving winner. A great thank you to both teams for giving this ole gym rat one heck of a show!! Out for now.....sotier

sotier · February 25, 2007, 09:33:47 AM

A difinative statement should be difinative right! Well I made one a while back that I want to take back. I said that Ava Thomas was unquestionably the Player of the Year,I now take that back. After watching them play during this weekend, and during the regular season, I now have to go with Steele. She knows who she is as a player. She is a post all the way and playes like it. She is a scorer from her position, and a solid defender from her position. Always active,always involved. I know Ava has better numbers,but numbers do not tell it all. In the tight spot Steele was there Ava was not.
And while I'm at it ,Coackley has to be a top 5 player in this league. Defense the way she plays it, (unrelenting) is a rare thing and she deserves that recognition for it.The words UNRELENTING and EFFORT will always pop into my head when I see the word COACKLEY!!

bigbetty55 · February 25, 2007, 02:56:41 PM

Congrats to the Lady Bombers and also to Dan Raymond and Alex Ivanscheck!! Good luck with the NCAA's!! It was fun watching your team this year.

Caz Bombers · February 26, 2007, 03:18:47 PM

The bracket is out and the Bombers have drawn Pennsyvlania Athletic Conference champions Gwynedd-Mercy (25-2) in the 1st round in the Big Apple at NYU's sub-regional. The winner will play either 23-2, #6 ranked NYU or Ursinus in round 2....needless to say expect NYU. GO BOMBERS!!

TC HOOPS · February 26, 2007, 05:16:00 PM

Hey everyone a BIG Gwynedd-Mercy fan here. Goodluck to you guys should be a great game. Who ever wins our game is most likley going to be playing NYU, GMC played Ursinus the team that NYU is playing and Gwynedd beat Ursinus by 21 but Ursinus is playing very good now. My question is.. Is NYU that good?

Caz Bombers · February 26, 2007, 05:24:17 PM

Quote from: TC HOOPS on February 26, 2007, 05:16:00 PM
Hey everyone a BIG Gwynedd-Mercy fan here. Goodluck to you guys should be a great game. Who ever wins our game is most likley going to be playing NYU, GMC played Ursinus the team that NYU is playing and Gwynedd beat Ursinus by 21 but Ursinus is playing very good now. My question is.. Is NYU that good?

If you can go 23-2 while playing in the UAA....yes, you're that good.

ichouse · February 26, 2007, 06:00:22 PM

Quote from: Caz Bombers on February 26, 2007, 05:24:17 PM
Quote from: TC HOOPS on February 26, 2007, 05:16:00 PM
Is NYU that good?

TC, yes NYU is very good. i'm a Mt St Mary fan, we played both NYU and Scranton this year and thought NYU was the better team. MSMC played NYU even the first half, down by one. But ended up losing by 13.

TC HOOPS · February 26, 2007, 07:24:43 PM

Thanks caz and icehouse, we have to worry about getting past Ithica before we worry about the next game. Looking foward to coming to New York. Any hotels you can recomend near NYU? And will I have to take a loan out to stay there?

ichouse · February 26, 2007, 07:53:38 PM

Quote from: TC HOOPS on February 26, 2007, 07:24:43 PMAnd will I have to take a loan out to stay there?

LOL, yeah probably cost me $25 to park for the game. don't have any info on hotels for you, sorry. But Good Luck sounds like Gwynedd-Mercy is like Mt. St. Mary and struggles to get national respect.

sotier · February 26, 2007, 08:59:39 PM

Good luck IC at the NCAA vs. Gwynedd-Mercy we know you will represent well. Also good luck to Elmira in the ECAC . They go in with the #1 seed vs. RPI in the first round. Just go out and win the thing EC.!!

gobombers15 · February 27, 2007, 12:59:28 AM

I just posted this in the PAC room (Gwynedd-Mercy), but figure I'd post it here, as well. Do notice the quote from TC that we Ithaca fans should "enjoy our last game."

Quote from: TC HOOPS on February 26, 2007, 04:41:05 PM
Lefty I figured I wouldn't make him wait a year for his answer. It should be a great game, GMC has won 18 straight and can't wait to prove to everyone that they deserve to be ranked in the TOP 25, it's a JOKE that they aren't. But goodluck to you guys, I hope you enjoy your last game. The winner of our game gets NYU, are they that good???

Bombers are playing great ball right now, beating a very good, top-seeded Elmira team in Elmira's home gym for the E8 title. They are far better than their 16-11 record may suggest. The Bombers were 3-8 at one point and have closed the season with a 13-3 stretch. Also, unlike GMC, Ithaca played extremely tough competition outside of its conference. Included in their 11 losses were losses by 5 points to Cortland (25-2 record in a better conference than GMC's), a 4-point loss to tourney-bound St. Lawrence, and a loss to nationally-ranked Rochester by 11, in a game in which Ithaca had a 7-point lead late in the first half. In addition, one of those losses was to D1 Cornell. Further, in those four aforementioned games, Erika Steele played, 12, 18, 11, 21 minutes, respectively. Let's just say that shortly thereafter Ithaca realized what they had in Steele. To that end, she's been the conference's top player over the last month and is putting up numbers that are absolutely obscene, of late (averaged 20.5 ppg and 18.5 rpg in the E8 Tourney). It's no wonder that IC's late winning streak coincided with Steele seeing more time on the floor.

Also, when I look at the two teams' schedules, there is just one common opponent: Nazareth. GMC beat Naz at home, 70-60. Ithaca beat Naz twice, 80-66 in Ithaca and 75-66 on Naz's home floor. Furthermore, GMC's loss against Geneseo is rather unimpressive. Geneseo came in fifth place in the SUNYAC and finished at a mediocre 14-12. Forgive me for not being horribly intimidated by a ten-point win against our conference's SEVENTH best team (3-11 conference record) or a four-point loss to a very average Geneseo squad.

I truly think this game is going to very tight. It would NOT be an upset if Ithaca wins this game.

TC HOOPS · February 27, 2007, 08:31:13 AM

gobombers15 : Your right on ALMOST everything you said. But we beat Nazareth by 10 in Florida not at home and we were up by 20 the whole game. And 2nd we lost the next day in Florida to Geneseo on a shot with a few sec left in the game, your right BAD loss to a team we should have killed. It would be an UPSET if a 25-2 team losses to a 16-11 team even though they did play a better schedule, not 9 more losses better. It will be a good game though but I am planing on staying in NY over night to watch GMC UPSET NYU on Saturday night. Again enjoy your last game!!!