Ruthy H

@Ruthyhath

Teacher of tiny humans. ❤️

Ontario, Canada

Joined July 2015

202 Following

221 Followers

426 Posts

Ruthyhath retweeted

Sports Patriot

@SportsPatriotUS

about 1 month ago

Let’s stop pretending the WNBA has an officiating “problem.” A problem implies the officials are failing. Last night looked like they were doing exactly what they were sent there to do. What we witnessed was not a few bad calls. It was a blatant, successful manipulation of game flow... and it worked. The officials did not take over early. That would have been too obvious. They waited. Indiana had control. New York could not shoot. The Liberty finished 2-for-18 from three, while the Fever made more field goals, shot a better percentage, and dominated from deep. Then, when New York needed saving, the whistle arrived. New York shot 40 free throws. Indiana shot 15. Breanna Stewart alone shot 21, more than the entire Fever team... and somehow the whistle kept putting the ball in the hands of New York’s best high-volume free-throw shooter when the game needed to be tilted. At the same time, Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston were forced to play through foul trouble, which completely changes how aggressive Indiana can be defensively. That is how you manipulate a game in real time without making it obvious to the untrained eye. You do not have to control every possession. You only have to control the critical ones. Basketball people knew what was happening. And the box score does not lie. This was not normal. This was not right. This was not okay. And anyone who cares about the integrity of the game should be asking hard questions about why the Fever won so many normal basketball categories and still lost because the whistle became New York’s offense. At some point, it stops looking like incompetence. It starts looking coordinated. And last night only added more fuel to the belief that the league is willing to sabotage the Caitlin Clark effect before it ever admits how badly it needs her.

SportsPatriotUS's tweet photo. Let’s stop pretending the WNBA has an officiating “problem.”

A problem implies the officials are failing.

Last night looked like they were doing exactly what they were sent there to do.

What we witnessed was not a few bad calls. It was a blatant, successful manipulation of game flow... and it worked.

The officials did not take over early. That would have been too obvious.

They waited.

Indiana had control. New York could not shoot. The Liberty finished 2-for-18 from three, while the Fever made more field goals, shot a better percentage, and dominated from deep.

Then, when New York needed saving, the whistle arrived.

New York shot 40 free throws.

Indiana shot 15.

Breanna Stewart alone shot 21, more than the entire Fever team... and somehow the whistle kept putting the ball in the hands of New York’s best high-volume free-throw shooter when the game needed to be tilted.

At the same time, Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston were forced to play through foul trouble, which completely changes how aggressive Indiana can be defensively.

That is how you manipulate a game in real time without making it obvious to the untrained eye.

You do not have to control every possession.

You only have to control the critical ones.

Basketball people knew what was happening.

And the box score does not lie.

This was not normal.

This was not right.

This was not okay.

And anyone who cares about the integrity of the game should be asking hard questions about why the Fever won so many normal basketball categories and still lost because the whistle became New York’s offense.

At some point, it stops looking like incompetence.

It starts looking coordinated.

And last night only added more fuel to the belief that the league is willing to sabotage the Caitlin Clark effect before it ever admits how badly it needs her.

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Ruthyhath retweeted

Sports Patriot

@SportsPatriotUS

about 1 month ago

Fever-Liberty Recap: Indiana Won the Basketball Game Everywhere Except the Whistle The Indiana Fever lost to the New York Liberty, 83-75. But the box score tells a much bigger story than the final score. Indiana shot better from the field. Indiana made more field goals. Indiana shot dramatically better from three. Indiana made four times as many threes. And Indiana still lost by eight. Why? Because New York went to the free-throw line 40 times. (The average free-throw attempts for a WNBA team in a game is 21) Indiana went 15. (Again, the average free-throw attempts for a WNBA team in a game is 21) That is the game. That is the story. That is the part that should not be brushed aside by anyone pretending to analyze this honestly. The Liberty shot 36.4% from the field. They shot 11.1% from three. They made only two threes all night. And somehow they still beat a Fever team that shot 40.3%, made five more field goals, and hit eight threes. That does not happen often. It happens when one team controls the whistle. It happens when one team gets to live at the free-throw line while the other is forced to play through contact. And it happens when a coaching staff loses control of game flow, bench rhythm, foul management, and late-game structure. So yes, the Fever lost. But this was not a simple “New York was better” loss. This was a game Indiana had every opportunity to win. And then the game changed. For most of the night, Indiana looked like the team in control. The Fever built a double-digit lead, defended well enough, and created enough offense to win on the road against a championship-level opponent. Then the whistle became the dominant character in the story. New York was awarded 40 free throws. Breanna Stewart alone attempted 21. The entire Fever team attempted 15. Think about that. Breanna Stewart shot 40% more free throws by herself than the entire Indiana Fever roster. 🤔 And before anyone tries to make this about Caitlin Clark’s defense, let’s be honest about what foul trouble does to a team. Caitlin Clark finished with five fouls. Aliyah Boston finished with five fouls. Myisha Hines-Allen finished with five fouls. Indiana had 27 personal fouls. New York had 19. When your most important players are forced to defend in foul trouble, the entire game changes. You cannot pressure the same way. You cannot contest the same way. You cannot be as physical. You cannot rotate with the same freedom. You cannot risk one more whistle. That is not normal basketball. That is survival basketball. And New York knew it. They attacked it. They benefited from it. And the referees kept rewarding it. That does not mean every whistle was wrong. It does mean the totality of the whistle deserves scrutiny. Because when one team wins field goals, three-point shooting, and overall efficiency, but the other team wins the game because it gets 40 free throws, fans are allowed to ask serious questions. If the league does not want people questioning the integrity of the product, then it cannot have games where the officiating disparity becomes impossible to ignore. The Fever did not help themselves, either. That part matters. New York won the grown-up categories Indiana needed to win. The Liberty out-rebounded the Fever. They grabbed more offensive rebounds. They had fewer turnovers. They scored 15 points off turnovers while Indiana scored only four. That is winning basketball. That is playoff basketball. That is the kind of stuff that decides games when shots stop falling. Indiana lost those areas, and Stephanie White has to wear some of that. This coaching staff still looks lost at key moments. The bench management remains a problem. The offensive structure remains inconsistent. The team still goes through stretches where Caitlin Clark sits and everything falls apart. And the Lexie Hull situation is becoming impossible to ignore. Lexie Hull and Caitlin Clark were the only Fever players with a positive plus-minus. Lexie played limited minutes. That makes no sense. Lexie does not always pop in the box score, but anyone watching the game can see what she brings. She moves. She cuts. She defends. She fills gaps. She makes winning plays. She understands spacing. She creates energy. She does things that do not always show up in a clean stat line but absolutely show up in team rhythm. That is the kind of player a good coaching staff recognizes without needing the end-of-quarter stat sheet to explain it. And yet, again, Indiana did not lean into what was working enough. That is bench coaching. That is substitution feel. That is game-flow management. If Stephanie White is struggling to manage the bench and the game at the same time, then the Fever need to address it. There are plenty of teams where an associate head coach or top assistant helps manage substitutions so the head coach can stay locked into flow, matchups, and late-game decisions. Because right now, Indiana has too much talent to look this disjointed. Caitlin Clark finished with 10 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds. No, it was not a triple-double. But it was not far from one. And it was a perfect example of how the box score still fails to capture her true impact. She did not have a huge scoring night, but she still bent the game. She still created. She still rebounded. She still pushed pace. She still generated opportunities. And frankly, she could have easily doubled her assist total if the players around her had caught and finished the passes she delivered. At some point, this has to be said plainly: If Caitlin Clark puts the ball exactly where it needs to be and a teammate drops it, fumbles it, bobbles it, hesitates, or misses an easy finish, that is not Caitlin’s failure. That is a missed opportunity created by Caitlin. The box score does not reward her for that. But the film does. And the film showed several chances where Caitlin made the right play and Indiana simply did not finish the possession. That has to change. If you are playing with Caitlin Clark, you have to be ready. Every second. Every cut. Every slip. Every runout. Every pocket. Every backdoor. Every transition lane. Because the ball can arrive before you think the window is even open. That is what makes her special. That is also what makes it so frustrating when the Fever fail to capitalize on it. Monique Billings was one of the bright spots. She looked much closer to the version of herself Indiana expected to see this season. She gave the Fever activity, energy, and production when they badly needed someone to stabilize the frontcourt. Kelsey Mitchell, on the other hand, had one of the roughest nights I can remember seeing from her. She missed multiple looks she normally makes. She missed layups. She struggled defensively. She led the team in turnovers. And she never seemed to find the aggressive rhythm Indiana needed from her. Kelsey is an elite scorer when she is right. But when she is off, the Fever cannot just let her dribble into traffic with blinders on while the offense turns into one-on-five basketball. That is not sustainable. Especially when there are still not enough actions designed to fully exploit Caitlin Clark’s talent. It is becoming insane to watch Indiana allow long stretches of Mitchell isolation basketball while Caitlin’s gravity is not being maximized. Caitlin is the most unique offensive engine in the league. The offense should be built around what she creates. Not occasionally. Not when things break down. Not only when the game gets desperate. Consistently. Aliyah Boston also had a difficult night. She finished 6-for-15 from inside the arc and 1-for-3 from three. The three-point experiment is understandable in certain moments, especially when Boston has to serve as an outlet against pressure. But long term, Indiana cannot afford to turn one of its best interior players into a player floating around the arc without a clear purpose. Boston is too valuable near the basket. Her touch, strength, positioning, and passing can punish defenses inside. But when she drifts too far away from the paint too often, Indiana loses part of what makes her dangerous. And here is one of the most shocking stats of the night: Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Sophie Cunningham, and Lexie Hull combined for zero free-throw attempts. Zero. That is hard to explain. Caitlin Clark attacks, handles pressure, gets bumped, gets grabbed, and absorbs contact all night. Boston battles inside. Sophie plays physically. Lexie cuts, drives, and lives in the dirty-work areas. And none of them got to the line. Meanwhile, New York shot 40 free throws. Again, fans are allowed to ask questions. Not every loss is about the referees. But when the free-throw disparity becomes the defining mechanism of the game, it has to be part of the recap. And last night, it was impossible to ignore. The Fever won too many of the obvious basketball categories to lose this game by normal means. They shot better. They made more shots. They made more threes. They had the game in position. Then the game shifted into a whistle-driven slog where Indiana’s key players were forced to defend carefully, New York lived at the line, and the Fever never regained control. That is the story. The coaching staff failed to manage the game cleanly. The bench usage remains questionable. The offense still does not fully maximize Caitlin Clark. The whistle was wildly tilted. And the front office drama that surrounded this organization all week does not feel over. Not even close. Because after watching that game, I am not convinced Indiana’s problems are simply about execution. This looks bigger. It looks like a team with talent but without full organizational clarity. It looks like a coaching staff still searching for answers that should already be obvious. It looks like a front office hoping wins can cover up structural flaws. And as I always say, winning solves everything. But losing exposes everything. Last night exposed a lot. The Fever were good enough to win. Caitlin Clark was good enough to control the game without scoring 30. The roster had enough talent to beat New York on the road. But the officiating tilted the game, the coaching staff failed to steady it, and Indiana once again looked like an organization with more talent than direction. That is a dangerous combination. Because if the Fever cannot turn this around, the interrogation light is only going to get brighter. And after what we saw last night, I am not sure this organization wants that light shining any harder.

SportsPatriotUS's tweet photo. Fever-Liberty Recap: Indiana Won the Basketball Game Everywhere Except the Whistle

The Indiana Fever lost to the New York Liberty, 83-75.

But the box score tells a much bigger story than the final score.

Indiana shot better from the field.

Indiana made more field goals.

Indiana shot dramatically better from three.

Indiana made four times as many threes.

And Indiana still lost by eight.

Why?

Because New York went to the free-throw line 40 times. (The average free-throw attempts for a WNBA team in a game is 21)

Indiana went 15.
(Again, the average free-throw attempts for a WNBA team in a game is 21)

That is the game.

That is the story.

That is the part that should not be brushed aside by anyone pretending to analyze this honestly.

The Liberty shot 36.4% from the field.

They shot 11.1% from three.

They made only two threes all night.

And somehow they still beat a Fever team that shot 40.3%, made five more field goals, and hit eight threes.

That does not happen often.

It happens when one team controls the whistle.

It happens when one team gets to live at the free-throw line while the other is forced to play through contact.

And it happens when a coaching staff loses control of game flow, bench rhythm, foul management, and late-game structure.

So yes, the Fever lost.

But this was not a simple “New York was better” loss.

This was a game Indiana had every opportunity to win.

And then the game changed.

For most of the night, Indiana looked like the team in control. The Fever built a double-digit lead, defended well enough, and created enough offense to win on the road against a championship-level opponent.

Then the whistle became the dominant character in the story.

New York was awarded 40 free throws.

Breanna Stewart alone attempted 21.

The entire Fever team attempted 15.

Think about that.

Breanna Stewart shot 40% more free throws by herself than the entire Indiana Fever roster. 🤔

And before anyone tries to make this about Caitlin Clark’s defense, let’s be honest about what foul trouble does to a team.

Caitlin Clark finished with five fouls.

Aliyah Boston finished with five fouls.

Myisha Hines-Allen finished with five fouls.

Indiana had 27 personal fouls.

New York had 19.

When your most important players are forced to defend in foul trouble, the entire game changes. You cannot pressure the same way. You cannot contest the same way. You cannot be as physical. You cannot rotate with the same freedom. You cannot risk one more whistle.

That is not normal basketball.

That is survival basketball.

And New York knew it.

They attacked it.

They benefited from it.

And the referees kept rewarding it.

That does not mean every whistle was wrong.

It does mean the totality of the whistle deserves scrutiny.

Because when one team wins field goals, three-point shooting, and overall efficiency, but the other team wins the game because it gets 40 free throws, fans are allowed to ask serious questions.

If the league does not want people questioning the integrity of the product, then it cannot have games where the officiating disparity becomes impossible to ignore.

The Fever did not help themselves, either.

That part matters.

New York won the grown-up categories Indiana needed to win.

The Liberty out-rebounded the Fever.

They grabbed more offensive rebounds.

They had fewer turnovers.

They scored 15 points off turnovers while Indiana scored only four.

That is winning basketball.

That is playoff basketball.

That is the kind of stuff that decides games when shots stop falling.

Indiana lost those areas, and Stephanie White has to wear some of that.

This coaching staff still looks lost at key moments.

The bench management remains a problem.

The offensive structure remains inconsistent.

The team still goes through stretches where Caitlin Clark sits and everything falls apart.

And the Lexie Hull situation is becoming impossible to ignore.

Lexie Hull and Caitlin Clark were the only Fever players with a positive plus-minus.

Lexie played limited minutes.

That makes no sense.

Lexie does not always pop in the box score, but anyone watching the game can see what she brings. She moves. She cuts. She defends. She fills gaps. She makes winning plays. She understands spacing. She creates energy. She does things that do not always show up in a clean stat line but absolutely show up in team rhythm.

That is the kind of player a good coaching staff recognizes without needing the end-of-quarter stat sheet to explain it.

And yet, again, Indiana did not lean into what was working enough.

That is bench coaching.

That is substitution feel.

That is game-flow management.

If Stephanie White is struggling to manage the bench and the game at the same time, then the Fever need to address it. There are plenty of teams where an associate head coach or top assistant helps manage substitutions so the head coach can stay locked into flow, matchups, and late-game decisions.

Because right now, Indiana has too much talent to look this disjointed.

Caitlin Clark finished with 10 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds.

No, it was not a triple-double.

But it was not far from one.

And it was a perfect example of how the box score still fails to capture her true impact.

She did not have a huge scoring night, but she still bent the game.

She still created.

She still rebounded.

She still pushed pace.

She still generated opportunities.

And frankly, she could have easily doubled her assist total if the players around her had caught and finished the passes she delivered.

At some point, this has to be said plainly:

If Caitlin Clark puts the ball exactly where it needs to be and a teammate drops it, fumbles it, bobbles it, hesitates, or misses an easy finish, that is not Caitlin’s failure.

That is a missed opportunity created by Caitlin.

The box score does not reward her for that.

But the film does.

And the film showed several chances where Caitlin made the right play and Indiana simply did not finish the possession.

That has to change.

If you are playing with Caitlin Clark, you have to be ready.

Every second.

Every cut.

Every slip.

Every runout.

Every pocket.

Every backdoor.

Every transition lane.

Because the ball can arrive before you think the window is even open.

That is what makes her special.

That is also what makes it so frustrating when the Fever fail to capitalize on it.

Monique Billings was one of the bright spots. She looked much closer to the version of herself Indiana expected to see this season. She gave the Fever activity, energy, and production when they badly needed someone to stabilize the frontcourt.

Kelsey Mitchell, on the other hand, had one of the roughest nights I can remember seeing from her.

She missed multiple looks she normally makes.

She missed layups.

She struggled defensively.

She led the team in turnovers.

And she never seemed to find the aggressive rhythm Indiana needed from her.

Kelsey is an elite scorer when she is right.

But when she is off, the Fever cannot just let her dribble into traffic with blinders on while the offense turns into one-on-five basketball.

That is not sustainable.

Especially when there are still not enough actions designed to fully exploit Caitlin Clark’s talent.

It is becoming insane to watch Indiana allow long stretches of Mitchell isolation basketball while Caitlin’s gravity is not being maximized.

Caitlin is the most unique offensive engine in the league.

The offense should be built around what she creates.

Not occasionally.

Not when things break down.

Not only when the game gets desperate.

Consistently.

Aliyah Boston also had a difficult night.

She finished 6-for-15 from inside the arc and 1-for-3 from three.

The three-point experiment is understandable in certain moments, especially when Boston has to serve as an outlet against pressure. But long term, Indiana cannot afford to turn one of its best interior players into a player floating around the arc without a clear purpose.

Boston is too valuable near the basket.

Her touch, strength, positioning, and passing can punish defenses inside. But when she drifts too far away from the paint too often, Indiana loses part of what makes her dangerous.

And here is one of the most shocking stats of the night:

Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston, Sophie Cunningham, and Lexie Hull combined for zero free-throw attempts.

Zero.

That is hard to explain.

Caitlin Clark attacks, handles pressure, gets bumped, gets grabbed, and absorbs contact all night.

Boston battles inside.

Sophie plays physically.

Lexie cuts, drives, and lives in the dirty-work areas.

And none of them got to the line.

Meanwhile, New York shot 40 free throws.

Again, fans are allowed to ask questions.

Not every loss is about the referees.

But when the free-throw disparity becomes the defining mechanism of the game, it has to be part of the recap.

And last night, it was impossible to ignore.

The Fever won too many of the obvious basketball categories to lose this game by normal means.

They shot better.

They made more shots.

They made more threes.

They had the game in position.

Then the game shifted into a whistle-driven slog where Indiana’s key players were forced to defend carefully, New York lived at the line, and the Fever never regained control.

That is the story.

The coaching staff failed to manage the game cleanly.

The bench usage remains questionable.

The offense still does not fully maximize Caitlin Clark.

The whistle was wildly tilted.

And the front office drama that surrounded this organization all week does not feel over.

Not even close.

Because after watching that game, I am not convinced Indiana’s problems are simply about execution.

This looks bigger.

It looks like a team with talent but without full organizational clarity.

It looks like a coaching staff still searching for answers that should already be obvious.

It looks like a front office hoping wins can cover up structural flaws.

And as I always say, winning solves everything.

But losing exposes everything.

Last night exposed a lot.

The Fever were good enough to win.

Caitlin Clark was good enough to control the game without scoring 30.

The roster had enough talent to beat New York on the road.

But the officiating tilted the game, the coaching staff failed to steady it, and Indiana once again looked like an organization with more talent than direction.

That is a dangerous combination.

Because if the Fever cannot turn this around, the interrogation light is only going to get brighter.

And after what we saw last night, I am not sure this organization wants that light shining any harder.

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Ruthyhath retweeted

AJ Pankowski

@PankowskiAjCBS6

2 months ago

NEW: Brendan Coyle shares why he decided to come back to @SienaMBB for a fifth-year this fall. The sharpshooter with high praise for HC Nevada Smith. Today, the Saints were honored at the NYS Capitol and the Town of Colonie Memorial Town Hall for their historic season.

Ruthyhath retweeted

Sam Federman

@Sam_Federman

3 months ago

Brendan Coyle validated his hometown career by winning the MAAC Tournament as a senior. Now, he's back for year five. He's the conduit between the championship culture and the new era. My column for @mid_madness: https://t.co/YMK0qOH2uS

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Who to follow

Crush Rush

@CrushRush2

Mon to Fri 8:12am @newhot899 . Can you Crush Rush or are your prizes going in woodchipper? FAN ACCOUNT. Not affiliated with 89.9. #fanfam 👦🏻👦🏻🧒🏻

Mauler

@MaulerMauler

The Morning Hot Tub w/Mauler, Rush, Jenni & Brady! The Hot Tub Podcast w/Mauler, Rush, Jenni & Brady! 🎧🗣️🎙️📻☀️

Pancake!

@Pancake899

Noun: A thin, delicious, fluffy breakfast item. Generally prepared with fruit or chocolate. Wifey. Mama to Jensen, Wells, Guiness😇, Rogue & Finnegan.

Ruthyhath retweeted

Barstool Sports

@barstoolsports

4 months ago

5 Guys From Siena Playing 40 Minutes and Taking The #1 Duke Blue Devils Down To The Wire Should Go Down in History as an All-Time Tournament Performance https://t.co/BWR8o9a5CL

barstoolsports's tweet photo. 5 Guys From Siena Playing 40 Minutes and Taking The #1 Duke Blue Devils Down To The Wire Should Go Down in History as an All-Time Tournament Performance https://t.co/BWR8o9a5CL https://t.co/hwsVK8m7dI

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Ruthyhath retweeted

SportsCenter

@SportsCenter

4 months ago

16-seed Siena doing whatever it takes against Duke 😤

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Ruthyhath retweeted

ESPN

@espn

4 months ago

Siena's starting five left it all out on the court in their near-upset of top-seeded Duke 👏

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Ruthyhath retweeted

Jeff Borzello

@jeffborzello

4 months ago

Eye-opening stat: Duke is the FIRST-EVER 1-seed to trail a 16-seed by double-digits at halftime in NCAA tournament history, per ESPN Research.

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Ruthyhath retweeted

ESPN

@espn

4 months ago

16-SEED SIENA HAS NO. 1 OVERALL SEED DUKE ON THE ROPES 😱

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Ruthyhath retweeted

Barstool Sports

@barstoolsports

4 months ago

Duke???

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Ruthyhath retweeted

Yahoo Sports

@YahooSports

4 months ago

SIENA IS UP DOUBLE-DIGITS ON 1-SEED DUKE 😱

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Ruthyhath retweeted

BET99 Ontario

@BET99ON

4 months ago

BRENDAN COYLE BE OUR MARCH SWEETHEART 🔥 SIENA HAS A 6-POINT LEAD OVER DUKE 👀

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Ruthyhath retweeted

Indiana Fever @IndianaFever

about 1 year ago

a triple-double for Caitlin Clark on opening day 🔥 20 PTS | 10 AST | 10 REB #NowYouKnow

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Ruthy H @Ruthyhath

about 1 year ago

@stoolpresidente Yes!!!!!

Ruthyhath retweeted

James Woods

@RealJamesWoods

over 1 year ago

This is food for the soul and a chalice for the heart. AMAZING GRACE at Notre Dame Cathedral.

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Ruthy H @Ruthyhath

over 1 year ago

Magical, in fact. ☕️🎄❤️

Simon Holland

@simoncholland

over 1 year ago

I’m sure sleeping in is nice but being the only one awake in a quiet house drinking coffee by the Christmas tree is elite.

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Ruthyhath retweeted

Mauler @MaulerMauler

almost 2 years ago

It came to an end tonight for her and the Fever, but what an entertaining ride from college to the pros. A game changing athlete! Thank you Caitlin Clark! See you in April! 🏀