Before this game started I scanned the program and was mildly impressed that Fairfield brought a 5-2 record to this game. They had some decent victories along the way and the stats on their players made me think this could be an interesting game. For the first 10-14 minutes it was exactly that.
For the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] game in a row Pop warmed up with the team, but even that seemed to be limited. When I looked at our schedule I thought that Coach might just rest her for another 8 days until the UNI game. Seeming to confirm this was the starting lineup of Prins, Hal, Brynn, Kidd and Moody.
This was a game of two halves. The first half showcased the offense in spurts. Actually it showcased both offenses as Fairfield proved to be a feisty bunch. It was obvious the game plan was to feed the ball inside and take advantage of the huge difference in height between the teams. Unfortunately, Anna had difficulties finding her shot as she missed from nearly everywhere. The opportunities were there, but the end result wasn’t. Fortunately our team doesn’t revolve around one player. Several others, predominantly Hal and Brynn, stepped up and made key shots from all over the floor. Brynn was perfect at half time hitting 3 from behind the arc. Hal seemed to be on a mission as she twisted and turned around the basket to collect points. They spotted the Sisters to a 20-7 lead. And then the moment came. A cheer erupted from the crowd as Pop came onto the floor. I watched her closely to see how she would react to being back out there. What I saw was a little rust falling off and a mildly slow start. Fortunately the rust fell of rather quickly. She seemed a bit tired during her first stint on the floor and wasn’t moving with her normal quickness.
The defense wasn’t exactly anything to talk about in the first stanza. It wasn’t bad, but there were breakdowns as our young guards missed switches and Fairfield scored on several wideopen plays. They closed to within 19-28 before another spurt extended the lead to 38-24. Then the offense went silent and the half wound down to a 40-28 lead. Offensively the team hit nearly 50% from inside and outside the arc. We also had a solid lead in the rebound department. The game seemed to be in hand, but I was disappointed in the defensive breakdowns. I felt like we should be putting this team away and could if the pressure stepped it up. That was my Christmas wish for the second half. I wasn’t going to be disappointed.
The second half was the opposite of the first. Where offense reigned in the first, defense ruled the second. The Sisters put the clamps on and Fairfield struggled to gain any offensive traction. Over the first ten minutes they were held to 6 points while our ladies in red (white actually) slowly pulled away, leading 53-34. This trend would continue throughout the half as Coach Fennelly substituted liberally and we got to see the entire roster at one point or another. In the end, State would win 60-43. Yes, they held Fairfield to 15 second half points, but only scored 20 themselves. I hope they can find a way to put the two halves together for a complete game sometime soon. Why not UNI?
So what did we see happen this afternoon? Perhaps the best thing was seeing the team step on to the court and put together a solid performance after being beat up and performing at their worst at Iowa on Thursday. Coach stated that practices hadn’t been good after that loss. Fortunately the end result was a solid win over a decent team. The second best thing was seeing Pop on the floor.
Pop slowly, but surely came back into form. Coach wanted to play her approximately 20 minutes and she slightly exceeded that. She ended up looking her usual scrappy self and tallied 12 points and 9 boards in her limited minutes. Hopefully the next 8 days will help her progress even more and we’ll see more minutes against UNI. I was pleased to see that she wasn’t tentative on the court. She tried taking charges, scrapped underneath and rebounded with her usual authority. Welcome back Pop!
Most of the offensive performance highlights occurred in the first half. The two players that jumped out at you were Brynn who shot the three as a set shot or on the move. She was slick! Hal was the offensive star as she hit from inside and out. She was really working hard to get her 18 points. The ringleader of it all was Miss Moody. She was setting the pace and found her teammates to the tune of 10 assists and also pulled in 7 boards. She would have had many more, but the ladies missed several point blank shots.
I was slightly concerned that I hadn’t seen Emiah in the game. I even went so far as to ask an ISU acquaintance if she was sick or something. Then she came into the game in the second half. I’m not quite sure what’s happening with her, but for the second straight game she looked a bit lost. The gains made while Moody was out seem to have disappeared. It seemed her confidence might have taken a slight hit. I hope to see that change and soon. Why?
Coach talked in his post game that right now he feels he has 5 players and not much depth to back it up. That is worrisome. Early in the year I thought the depth was developing nicely, but the team seems to have hit a road bump recently. He hopes the cure is to get these ladies more court time in the coming 8 days of practice. I hope this is the case. We need Emiah, Fallon, and Kidd to be instant offense or defense for us.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the second straight outstanding job that Anna offered up on defense. Not only did she pull down 7 boards, she altered shots and really moved well. She frustrated her opponents. Nicely done.
Its obvious this team has the ingredients for greatness. Its just a matter of the grand master magician getting them to go together into the perfect formula. With but a few games left until the tough Big 12 starts, the magician is going to be working overtime.
For the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] game in a row Pop warmed up with the team, but even that seemed to be limited. When I looked at our schedule I thought that Coach might just rest her for another 8 days until the UNI game. Seeming to confirm this was the starting lineup of Prins, Hal, Brynn, Kidd and Moody.
This was a game of two halves. The first half showcased the offense in spurts. Actually it showcased both offenses as Fairfield proved to be a feisty bunch. It was obvious the game plan was to feed the ball inside and take advantage of the huge difference in height between the teams. Unfortunately, Anna had difficulties finding her shot as she missed from nearly everywhere. The opportunities were there, but the end result wasn’t. Fortunately our team doesn’t revolve around one player. Several others, predominantly Hal and Brynn, stepped up and made key shots from all over the floor. Brynn was perfect at half time hitting 3 from behind the arc. Hal seemed to be on a mission as she twisted and turned around the basket to collect points. They spotted the Sisters to a 20-7 lead. And then the moment came. A cheer erupted from the crowd as Pop came onto the floor. I watched her closely to see how she would react to being back out there. What I saw was a little rust falling off and a mildly slow start. Fortunately the rust fell of rather quickly. She seemed a bit tired during her first stint on the floor and wasn’t moving with her normal quickness.
The defense wasn’t exactly anything to talk about in the first stanza. It wasn’t bad, but there were breakdowns as our young guards missed switches and Fairfield scored on several wideopen plays. They closed to within 19-28 before another spurt extended the lead to 38-24. Then the offense went silent and the half wound down to a 40-28 lead. Offensively the team hit nearly 50% from inside and outside the arc. We also had a solid lead in the rebound department. The game seemed to be in hand, but I was disappointed in the defensive breakdowns. I felt like we should be putting this team away and could if the pressure stepped it up. That was my Christmas wish for the second half. I wasn’t going to be disappointed.
The second half was the opposite of the first. Where offense reigned in the first, defense ruled the second. The Sisters put the clamps on and Fairfield struggled to gain any offensive traction. Over the first ten minutes they were held to 6 points while our ladies in red (white actually) slowly pulled away, leading 53-34. This trend would continue throughout the half as Coach Fennelly substituted liberally and we got to see the entire roster at one point or another. In the end, State would win 60-43. Yes, they held Fairfield to 15 second half points, but only scored 20 themselves. I hope they can find a way to put the two halves together for a complete game sometime soon. Why not UNI?
So what did we see happen this afternoon? Perhaps the best thing was seeing the team step on to the court and put together a solid performance after being beat up and performing at their worst at Iowa on Thursday. Coach stated that practices hadn’t been good after that loss. Fortunately the end result was a solid win over a decent team. The second best thing was seeing Pop on the floor.
Pop slowly, but surely came back into form. Coach wanted to play her approximately 20 minutes and she slightly exceeded that. She ended up looking her usual scrappy self and tallied 12 points and 9 boards in her limited minutes. Hopefully the next 8 days will help her progress even more and we’ll see more minutes against UNI. I was pleased to see that she wasn’t tentative on the court. She tried taking charges, scrapped underneath and rebounded with her usual authority. Welcome back Pop!
Most of the offensive performance highlights occurred in the first half. The two players that jumped out at you were Brynn who shot the three as a set shot or on the move. She was slick! Hal was the offensive star as she hit from inside and out. She was really working hard to get her 18 points. The ringleader of it all was Miss Moody. She was setting the pace and found her teammates to the tune of 10 assists and also pulled in 7 boards. She would have had many more, but the ladies missed several point blank shots.
I was slightly concerned that I hadn’t seen Emiah in the game. I even went so far as to ask an ISU acquaintance if she was sick or something. Then she came into the game in the second half. I’m not quite sure what’s happening with her, but for the second straight game she looked a bit lost. The gains made while Moody was out seem to have disappeared. It seemed her confidence might have taken a slight hit. I hope to see that change and soon. Why?
Coach talked in his post game that right now he feels he has 5 players and not much depth to back it up. That is worrisome. Early in the year I thought the depth was developing nicely, but the team seems to have hit a road bump recently. He hopes the cure is to get these ladies more court time in the coming 8 days of practice. I hope this is the case. We need Emiah, Fallon, and Kidd to be instant offense or defense for us.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the second straight outstanding job that Anna offered up on defense. Not only did she pull down 7 boards, she altered shots and really moved well. She frustrated her opponents. Nicely done.
Its obvious this team has the ingredients for greatness. Its just a matter of the grand master magician getting them to go together into the perfect formula. With but a few games left until the tough Big 12 starts, the magician is going to be working overtime.
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