The ladies got off to a good start playing solid zone defense and being aggressive on offense. The big problem is they kept missing shots or turning the ball over. They had lots of opportunities to blow this game open early. Kansas couldn’t buy a shot and Iowa State dominated the defensive boards.
With a miracle over the shoulder toss for 3 by Maggie the first ended 18-6. It didn’t seem like the game was that close. And strangely this ended an 0-6 three point effort.
When I watch Thurmon, everyone should realize by now that when she drives everyone should be moving into position for a pass. Too often our players react a second too late and it leads to a turnover. Man is she quick off the first step!
Second quarter saw KU start to hit a few shots. We couldn’t expect them to shoot 18% the whole game! ISU kept them at arms length the entire time. Jade made some nice plays with her quickness and ISU's offense was working inside and out. Maggie especially started to gain confidence from deep and AC continues to shoot well. At the half the lead was stretched just a bit to 18 as the ladies led 47-29. My thought was...what will the dreaded third quarter bring?
Always good to see Molly at the table. She’s always so good.
The second half started with a bang and my fears of another bad third vanished. I probably sat there with a silly grin on my face as I watched the offensive fireworks. Maggie and AC continued to rain threes on the Jayhawks. ISU was able to run a few different lineups and give breaks to key players. Besides the outside shooting, it appeared Maggie was gaining confidence. She played solid defense and got aggressive on offense. She had a particularly pretty drive in the third. A 31 point lead is where things stood at that point.
The fourth started off pretty ugly. Lots of missed shots and turnovers again. Didn’t take long for KU to cut into the lead by 7. Our defense just seemed to be lacking and the offense was messy. Of course some of that had to do with the lineup changes. It was a pretty even game the rest of the way as all the starters were on the bench. Unlike years past, the lead didn’t evaporate. Yes, KU cut into it, but the game was never in doubt.
In the end the ISU three point deluge was too much for a team that looked like a last place squad. I don’t know how they played Texas so tough. The real tests begin as ISU goes to Baylor and then travels to WVU. That’s lots of miles and against two of the best the league has to offer. I don’t know what to expect, but am looking forward to a more confident sisters team in these tests.
Thoughts...
Camber - one of the best all around games I’ve seen from her. Rebounding, scoring, defense. It was all there.
Joens - she just keeps doing what she does. She’s the blue collar worker on this team and she bangs with the best of them.
Espenmiller-McGraw - this was like a coming out party for Maggie. She did everything today leading the team in scoring with a hot shooting hand. She contributed in many ways that don’t show up on the stat sheet
Scott - we are consistently seeing the Scott we remembered from last year. She is scoring inside and out while playing solid D and grabbing boards.
Thurmon - she has changed this team and how they function. Yes the turnovers are there (as discussed above), but she changes things.
Free Throws. We didn’t shoot a lot, but had more misses than I care for.
Overall a solid game with exceptional three point shooting. Def fun for the fans.
