In some ways, this was an emergence week. For three years, Sherri has been telling us how useful it was to have Nicole's long arms in the middle. We even heard this from Blair. Occasionally, we saw flashes of energy that exhibited what could be. In the past couple of games, we have really seen Nicole emerge as a force to be reckoned with. Last night, she dominated the interior, especially on defense.
We have heard Sherri brag on Jo's rebounding and how tough she was. We had also seen prior to her injury a shooting star emerging. It had faded somewhat after the jaw was broken. But, we have occasionally seen flashes of what Jo can do. Now, we are seeing what Jo is capable of.
Getting this to the surface is coaching. It has been there, waiting to bloom. It would be fascinating if this had emerged at the right time for a little run in the tournament. If Nicole plays like she did last night, and Jo fights for rebounds, this team can beat a lot of teams. We probably won't threaten UConn or Notre Dame. But, would you feel safe right now if you were anyone other than Baylor, Stanford, Notre Dame, or UConn? Sure wish we had Maddie, Whitney, and Kay Kay.
