Games against UNI are typically a scrap. Last year in Hilton ISU managed to pull out a one point victory. Well, this game was a game of halves and far more drama than anyone needed.
First quarter saw both teams come out on fire. ISU and UNI were both hitting shots and a high rate and for ISU it was the Joens/Soares show. Threes were falling left and right. UNI would shoot a blistering 78% (yes SEVENTY EIGHT percent!) from the field while ISU was managing a very solid 50%. The difference? ISU took twice the number of shots (18 to 9). ISU would also make a trio of three pointers and create a five point lead at the end of the first. How did that happen? Turnovers. UNI turned it over 7 times in the first. (Keep that stat in the back of your head).
The second quarter continued along the same pattern. UNI's shooting dropped off and ISU got a little bit better. The problem was UNI started finding open looks from deep. All of a sudden our defense was stuttering and wasn't keeping up with what UNI was doing with ball and personnel movement. The BIG difference this quarter was the rebound margin. ISU seemed to swoop in and get every loose ball coming off a missed shot. No second chances for UNI AND (here's that stat) three more turnovers for UNI. Between Soares and Joens ISU was pretty comfortable going into half leading 48-37. Folks...thats a bunch of points for a half. If this kept up this was going to be a comfortable win for ISU for once. Ha!
I'll just say it now...the ENTIRE second half was an exhibition of good defensive strategy and offensive movement by UNI. For most of the half the sisters looked befuddled. Why? UNI switched to a zone in the third quarter and it seemed ISU didn't know what to do. For UNI, the game slowed down. They looked quicker and more adept than the sisters. The shot outside and inside and outscored the sisters 24-22 in the third. The disturbing stat was the shot selection for Iowa State. Out of 16 shots in the third, 11 were from deep. Our inside game disappeared. Much of this had to do with the previously mentioned zone defense. Our ladies made sloppy passes trying to get it inside and turned the ball over (five) several times. Our posts were completely ineffective getting free. We saw the guards standing too much and then the team settled for the old "chuck a three" which didn't work particularly well. Despite this, the ladies still held a 9 point lead going into the fourth.
The fourth quarter was a disaster of epic proportions for the sisters. The defense let UNI dictate the game. UNI hit from outside, short range and consistently blew by our guards and posts for easy buckets close in. In particular (and this was all game), Boffeli ate us alive. She made all of our posts (or whoever was guarding her) look pedestrian. Every time our players switched in the man defense, UNI slashed inside for a hoop. UNI kept chipping away at the lead and then it happened. The sisters would go on a nearly five minute scoring drought when they either turned the ball over or just chucked up a three. ZERO inside shots. The result? A 13-0 run by UNI and all of a sudden ISU was behind. The sisters would answer back and retake the lead, but each time UNI also had an answer. UNI was grabbing offensive rebounds and getting second chance points. But finally...one of our players who had been missing in the scoring column much of the game came alive. Ryan made some critical plays down the stretch. Perhaps the greatest difference was getting Soares back in the game and putting her on Boffeli. No matter what happened, Soares stuck to her like glue and all of a sudden Boffeli was quiet. Back and forth it went over the last four minutes with both teams taking leads. But with 7 tics left, ISU grabbed a three point lead. The usual timeouts and strategizing happened. UNI inbounded and solid defense by the sisters (especially Joens on McDermott and Soares on Boffeli) forced UNI to take a bad shot. Joens got the rebound and that was it. Deep breaths by Cyclone fans (I think there are still swear words echoing in the clouds all across the state)and the ladies would leave UNI with another close one 88-85.
Observations
MVP - we have two. Joens played every single second of the game and was a monster when it mattered most. She too was affected by the scoring drought, but ended up with 26 points (most of them in the 1st half) and 9 boards. Soares was something when she was in the game. 23 points, only 3 boards and 2 blocks. She altered many more shots than that though. Again, she had most of her points in the first half. I was a bit mystified (perhaps tired?) why she wasn't in more in the second half as she only played 26 minutes.
Donarski - for once I saw cracks in her defensive armor. Several instances of UNI players going by her on drives. But she also was involved in several forced mistakes for UNI. Ten points on 3-11 shooting. We need to see a few more points on the score board from her.
Ryan - 14 points and five assists. Three turnovers and a couple of those were real head scratchers. The biggest problem for her happened in the fourth quarter when she just couldn't get the team offense going. Fortunately she took things into her own hands late.
Fritz - This was an up and down game for her. Defense was pretty sketchy throughout and she picked up three fouls mostly when she was beaten to the hoop. Scored in double digits with 12 which is just what we need from her, but whew...that wide open air ball three towards the end of the game of a real woof.
The Subs - from an offensive standpoint, Kane, Diew and M&M were non-factors. Kane looked VERY slow in there against Boffeli (makes me concerned about her effectiveness against Iowa). Outside of her 4 boards, Diew was a non-factor although she altered some shots on defense. M&M you just about didn't notice her in the game. For once, our depth didn't help at all.
The second half - Once UNI switched to a zone defense, ISU just didn't have an answer. Player movement was limited as it seemed we ran to set spots (that UNI was well aware of) and waited for the ball. There were no screens or movement to set things up. The result was abysmal shooting from deep. What saved us was UNI making the very weird decision to go back to man defense and we scored against it.
Rebounding - It seemed that UNI pulled down way too many offensive boards and got put backs. Way too easy. ISU out rebounded UNI by only three despite our size advantage. Sometimes hustle can sure make up for height. In the second half the differential was 20-16 in UNI's favor including 8 offensive boards.
Free throws - this is where UNI lost the game. Both teams made 11 free throws. ISU had 13 attempts. Great shooting there ladies. UNI...had TWENTY ONE attempts. Wowza
Ball security - this was not a good game for our guards in this area. UNI had ten steals. Several of these led to fast break points, BUT several times UNI botched the finish (ISU also had some stellar defense on a couple of them) and didn't score.
Summary - this game had upset written all over it. We know UNI is always dangerous. They have an outstanding coach and the have some really nice (and complimentary) players. Even though we led by 11 at the end of the first half, UNI was shooting lights out and it could have been closer. The second half was something I hope Coach Fen uses as teaching material. This was a recipe for how to beat ISU. For a top ten team we looked pedestrian and our shot selection was terrible. The ladies found a way to win and that's what counts in the end. Doesn't matter how ugly the fourth quarter was, ISU is the team that is 3-0. But...there are lots of "but's" after this game. We saw some glaring weaknesses that need to be shored up and quickly. We have one more game before a very tough tournament over the holidays. If we learn some things and correct it the ladies would be a very nice 7-0 going into December and a matchup with Iowa. I'm betting we will see some changes and marked improvement.
See you all Sunday at Hilton after a big football win on Saturday!
