The St. Louis Surge showed no signs of rust after having the previous weekend off due to Independence Day, winning convincingly 95-72 over the Cleveland Crush.
Every single Surge player got a chance to play in the game and also get into the box score.
Shanity James led the Surge with 13 points, 3 assists and 5 rebounds. Jaleesa Butler and Michala Johnson also helped lead the Surge offensive attack, scoring 12 points each. Starting point guard Rebecca Harris played limited minutes as head coach Tony Condra wanted to give her some much-needed rest for the stretch run.
Jenny Rocha, a Lindenwood University graduate, logged plenty of minutes running the point. She showed off her ability to push the ball up the floor and is a very nifty passer. She is definitely a pass-first type of player and is an ideal fit for a team that really loves to get out and run off missed attempts at the other end of the floor.Â
The Cleveland Crush had moments where it looked like it might become a contest. Guard Porsha Poole put up 22 points and Taylor Ruper had 20 points for the Crush. Poole made several acrobatic shots and is no slouch with her game offensively.
However, on defense the Crush pretty much imploded. And their head coach James Lacy told me prior to the game that his team lost its last game on the road by 10 points because of poor rebounding. Not only did the poor rebounding continue, there were breakdowns on defense. At times it looked like the Surge was having a conga line to the basket for a layup.
I was surprised that Poole was left sitting on the bench at the  start of the second half, as she was one of their best offensive players and the only one creating problems for the Surge in the first half of the game.
Still, Surge coach Tony Condra paced the sidelines, constantly checking the scoreboard as if the massive 30-point lead halfway through the final quarter would disappear. After the game, Condra was happy about the win, yet still unhappy about some things he saw. Typical head coach, right?
For post-game interviews of the St. Louis Surge, go to @NTZoneNetwork on Twitter.
The Surge’s next game is coming up this Saturday, July 16 at 1:05 pm against Kansas City. Tickets are still available.Â
