Twister Sister Summary - all alone in 2nd place

**acoustimac** · 02-14-2013, 09:25 PM

I'm going to say this right up front. I hate, yes hate, unforced turnovers. Ok. Got that off my chest.

But I digress...

The first half was like watching the keystone cops for the first ten minutes. Both teams were going up and down the court trading baskets and no one catching much of a lead. It was almost nerve wracking to watch as this was not our ladies style. Both teams were going into the paint and neither could stop their opponent. To make matters worse, Prins got in foul trouble early and went to the bench midway through the half. It was unfortunate as she was doing damage inside.

Then, all of a sudden both teams went into neutral as the defense picked up and the scoring literally stopped for nearly 6 minutes. OU would make a little run to move ahead 27-20, but the ladies would do the same and pull even at the half. The damage for Iowa State would come from our post players...Pop predominantly. Our guards weren't doing much and the only three of the half came from Pop. Brynn was missing wide open shots and Hal seemed to be a little off from outside.

The second half started with our ladies edging out a couple of times by 3 and once by 5. All three times OU would pull even by hitting a three. They are the top three point shooting team in the conference and they were showing it. Our outside shooters would remain cold. It would go back and forth as OU seemed to take advantage of every defensive breakdown and scored while maintaining a small lead. They extended it to 5 and the Kidd would answer back with a 3 to keep us close. Free throws would start to make a difference as Hal was very active in the second half. She would calmly walk up to the line and swish free throw after free throw. State would shift the pressure to OU as they not only caught up but created a 6 point lead on another 3 by Kidd. It was 57-51 when OU's big McFarland would foul out. Pop would nail the free throws and the lead would be 8. Unfortunately Pop would immediately pick up her 4th on the other end with just under 6 to play. Things would get exciting!

OU's strategy at this point would be to go inside and pressure our foul beleaguered posts. But at the other end our players were being aggressive while scoring, getting fouled and making their bonus shots. Hal was particularly effective. The sisters were fighting in the boards and limiting OU's chances while also getting a couple of second chances themselves. Three minutes to play at the ladies were holding an 8 point lead. ,

Things would start to come unraveled at that point. Pop would foul out. Turnovers, missed shots combined with opportune scores by OU would quickly pull the Sooners within 4 points. The ladies just seemed out of sync and after getting a turnover they committed a shot clock violation. Yowza!

OU would keep pushing and fortunately our defensive pressure wouldn't give them an easy shot. Both teams would spend the last 4 plus minutes of the game without hitting a field goal. It was all at the line. Moody would get fouled with 40 secs to play and give the ladies a 6 point lead. Bill would call a great time out to school the ladies about defending the 3. Crunch time.

OU would drive past Hal and get a quick 2. :31 to play. It would be foul time. Kidd would make 1 of 2. Moody would hit 2. OU would make it interesting by hitting a 3. Hal would make 2 and the ladies would come away with a HUGE win 72-68.

Game notes: can we say 2nd place? That is exactly where the ladies find themselves.

Four of the five OU starters would foul out. state would only lose Pop. This would lead to a big free throw discrepancy as the sisters hit 27 of 34 free throws.

This was a huge win and great for the NCAA resume as OU was rated 22nd coming into the game.

Hal had a career game with most of the damage coming in the second half while our posts were battling foul trouble. She was amazing! 27 points, 10 boards and nothing coming from beyond the arc.

Pop had a great game as well hitting for 19 and pulling in 8 boards but also committed 8 turnovers.

Kidd's two 3's in the second half were critical. She also calmly hit free throws in the waining moments. 15 points. Nice game.

Interesting stat? The team only had 13 turnovers. Knowing Pop had 8 of them that means the rest of the team took good care of the ball. We only had 7 assists for the 72 points. That means our players were individually aggressive and that led to the free throw discrepancy.

This game was also one of the better coached games I've seen. It was a chess match and I was very impressed with the player rotations and quality timeouts. Nicely done Coach!

**CycloneRulzzz** · 02-14-2013, 09:59 PM

I really don't see us losing another conference game. 14-4 sounds really good. Amazing job done by this team this year.

**casey1973** · 02-14-2013, 10:10 PM

Heck of a game by the Cyclones. I think this has got to be one of Coach Fennelly's toughest teams. They matched the Sooners physical style right down to the last play and never gave an inch. I think we may have gotten away with a few fouls but so did they especially when Poppins got her 5th. I remember Moody was completely thrown down under the lane with no call in 2nd half. Loved it!!

**mj4cy** · 02-14-2013, 10:17 PM

2nd seed is huge. Means we theoretically wouldn't have to play Baylor til the championship game should we get there.

**acoustimac** · 02-14-2013, 10:22 PM

Originally Posted by CycloneRulzzz

I really don't see us losing another conference game. 14-4 sounds really good. Amazing job done by this team this year.

Be VERY wary of the KState road game. It will be a very tough test. They are scrappy!

**TCG** · 02-14-2013, 10:38 PM

Originally Posted by acoustimac

Be VERY wary of the KState road game. It will be a very tough test. They are scrappy!

+1 KState(Chambers) scares me, especially since its at their place

**CycloneRulzzz** · 02-14-2013, 10:42 PM

Originally Posted by acoustimac

Be VERY wary of the KState road game. It will be a very tough test. They are scrappy!

If we can win OU we can win there. Plus they only have 7 players period. We toyed with them in Hilton should of won by 30.

**mitten1975** · 02-14-2013, 11:25 PM

Congratulations to a great team! If I were them, just work on getting better. It is great to be a Cyclone.

**Royalclone** · 02-15-2013, 07:17 AM

Originally Posted by CycloneRulzzz

I really don't see us losing another conference game. 14-4 sounds really good. Amazing job done by this team this year.

I was thinking. The same thing before OU, with last nights game the highest potential for a loss. We're done with 1, 3, and four. We get 5, 6, and 7 at home with two of them, OSU and KU, probably circled for revenge. The only road games are against 8 & 10. Unless they have breakdowns like at OSU or a late game collapse like at KU, it looks pretty good.

**twistedredbird** · 02-15-2013, 07:29 AM

Tough games remain. WV is playing really good right now. Glad we are at home, but I see that one being close. At KSU is never easy. OSU is still a good team.

**CycloneBob** · 02-15-2013, 07:33 AM

This was a HUGE win. Congratulations to the sisters and coaches. While Hallie had a spectacular game, I thought Kidd's 2 critical 3's were the game changer.

**jaretac** · 02-15-2013, 08:32 AM

I don't think it will matter if we lose to OSU or KSU still, we just can't lose both. We have the sweep over the next two teams to challenge us, Oklahoma and Texas Tech. We currently hold a tie breaker over OU for second, but they have Baylor left and @OSU which isn't going to be a sure thing. Texas Tech is a game behind already.

End story, we lose one more game and we still nail down 2nd. We lose two and we will have to hope for OSU to beat OU, OU to beat Tech and Tech to beat OSU.

**cyclone13** · 02-15-2013, 08:51 AM

I really want to see us destroy OSU as a payback of what their coach did to us.

**Dryburn** · 02-15-2013, 09:04 AM

What I really like about last night's game was the play of Kidd. Her 3 point buckets late ended it. They were like daggers in the back. Game over.

It is so encouraging to see how far she has come from the beginning of this year. The guards are set for the next few years. All will depend on the post players now.

**cydney** · 02-15-2013, 09:12 AM

A recent tweet:

Cyclone Basketball ‏@CycloneWBB
In the last three games, Moody has 23 assists and just three turnovers in 117 of a possible 120 minutes of action.

This is a big reason behind the winning streak.

Hallie's play is another big reason. Watching her play, she is developing a sixth sense for the basket, reading the defense, feeling the defense, going to the basket, etc.

Kidd too has been a difference maker, both offensively and defensively.

But it isn't just one player. The team has come together to play some solid ball. We are finally seeing Anna as the talented player she is. Pop is a force. Brynn is solid and on any given night is a scoring threat who teams can't ignore.

Keep it going ladies! This is when the real fun starts!