Schedule did help.
Early this year, I was in favor of benching Gioya. Last year at this same time, I made a post that said that Gioya and T'Ona were the only two that I trusted to have the ball in their hands at crunch time. Subsequently, I would have retracted that about T'Ona as she struggled. But, early this year, Gioya was not making good turnovers. She was often tossing the ball without even looking, as though distracted, often leading to a fast break as someone intercepted the "pass." Her passing has been a problem because she wasn't always using good judgement. But, I would have bench Sharane in most of the past three or four games for the same reason. Sometimes, there is this "daze" exhibited by some people.
Gioya has always had the ability to get where she wanted. That wasn't always the best place for her to be. What has suddenly emerged is the desire to get to the right place. Then, the fact that she is a legitimate threat to score has made her a prime source of assists. She does need to work out the passes with Kay Kay, McKenna, and Vivi so that they know to look for them. Often, they have turned their heads and are looking for rebounds. Bob Pritchard almost lost his head when Adams bounced passes off the back of his head while he was standing alone under the basket. Kay Kay, McKenna, and Vivi are the beneficiaries of Gioya's sudden emergence, but they don't even know that their names are on the policy.
If you watch Gioya yesterday, which I think you can do on SoonerScoop, watch as she blows by Bria. She is quicker than Bria, by a lot. Bria is a pre-season something or other, and Gioya is a lot better athlete. She can be our creator, and the team with the best creator likely wins the Big Twelve.
