Twister Sister Summary - another painful loss

  • After Iowa State won the Big 12, a Cyclone made a wonderful offer to We Will that now increases our match. Now all gifts up to $400,000 between now and the Final 4 will be matched. Please consider giving at We Will Collective.
    This notice can be dismissed using the upper right corner X button.

acoustimac

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2009
6,931
7,299
113
Lamoni, IA
As I made the two hour drive home tonight I kept thinking about the Jekyl Hyde nature of this team. I tried comparing them to the football team that was loaded with talent. We all know that team kept finding ways to shoot toes off and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. While there are definitely some similarities the differences keep that comparison from being valid. This team isn’t loaded with talent. If this team is going to win it’s going to be workmanlike and mistakes have to be kept at a minimum. AND a few things have to break in their direction.

Tonight I knew this team was in for a struggle in the second quarter. Joens was struggling to get anything going. Rae was still playing like she did against Iowa. Nez, as much as I love her on offense, has bad defensive habits (swiping at balls) that keep her in foul trouble. Kristen still wasn’t looking anything like who we saw last year. UNI had shifted gears and started to out rebound us. We were missing free throws. Outside of Maggie, guards weren’t shooting the ball and when they did they were missing from deep.

This game was a tale of two quarters. ISU won two of them and UNI won the other two. Unfortunately, the big quarter was number four and the sisters plain ran out or gas. A nearly six minute scoreless drought while UNI erased an 8 point deficit with a 15-0 run was when the fat lady started singing.

The game was strange. UNI used a ten deep lineup and part of the strategy was to beat us up. They fouled and fouled some more. How did we respond? We missed free throw after free throw. Those misses severely altered the game. The officiating was spotty at best. Sometimes downright terrible, but we know that’s a fact of life in the Big 12. This team continues to struggle shooting from deep. They also have a tendency to stand around too much on offense and on rebounds. I remember one example where an ISU player had a clear shot at a defensive rebound and rather than jumping for it, they stood and waited in the ball to come to them. A UNI player slashed in, jumped, rebounded and scored.

This is the way this season is going to look until a couple of things happen. First, we need some players to get more engaged on offense. There is a tendency to defer to others and too much standing and watching. Second, we have to develop more than a 7 deep lineup. We miss Wise terribly for many reasons. Obviously her heath comes first and I’m not counting on her return any time soon. Third, the coaches are going to have to manage minutes and adjustments better than they are. Tonight this team was gassed part way into the 4th. That just can’t happen.

I’ve said this in some of my other posts, but right now this team is a one trick pony. If Joens struggles (and she did tonight) we currently don’t have another player that can make up for it. I love the potential Maggie shows, but offensively she has a bad tendency to dribble into a crowd with no plan in mind. That’s something that is coachable. Nez' bugaboo is fouls. Rae is too hesitant and appears to lack some degree of confidence. Kristen appears to still be working her way back (she had some nice highlights tonight defensively). The team struggles from deep. The hope in this list is that most of it can be corrected through coaching and practice.

So, we lost to every D1 team in the state. It’s been a long time since that happened. None of the losses were pretty and all could have been wins if not for one or more of those weaknesses being exposed. The good is that there is time left to grow. The bad news? The conference is going to be a meat grinder and those three a Iowa teams have provided everyone the blueprint for beating ISU. Get physical and hustle.

So, my Christmas wish this year for our sisters is that they develop fixes for this problems and their potential shines through. Merry Christmas everyone. Have a safe and happy holiday season!
 

CycloneBob

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2010
832
320
63
Ames
Cous, thanks for the write up - right on. Sure is obvious that we need someone(s) to step up on offense to balance out Joens. At the end of the iowa game, it was Joens against 5 hawkeyes with our other 4 watching. Do you have any indication when Wise might be back?
 
  • Agree
Reactions: Cy4Lifer

acoustimac

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2009
6,931
7,299
113
Lamoni, IA
All I know on Wise is what’s been shared by ISU. We can keep her in our prayers and hope they find a solution. I used to get migraines and they are something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: huntt26

gizzsdad

Active Member
Mar 4, 2009
561
159
43
I felt sorry for Ashley the last two games. Her well publicized efforts have, and will, continue to draw much attention from other defenses. I do think she is often fouled (more than are called) in those scrums, and that has to take a physical toll. Bridget often faced similar schemes, but I think she was physically stronger than Ashley. two ways for the coaches to help: Practice these situations with the men's scout team players, who are taller and stronger. Train the other players to recognize, and quickly get to, the easiest passing lanes. Also, in the course of the game, help her to realize where the doubles are coming from, and train her step to the pass and get it (before the double has formed) to the open player.

All easier said than done, and I'm sure none of this is revelatory to the staff. But how they adapt to this certainty is going to play a huge role in how our season goes.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: acoustimac

kcdc4isu

Well-Known Member
Dec 2, 2009
4,276
1,968
113
west of dm east of cb
cous, you hit the main issues with the team this year.IMO the biggest one is physical play. In all my years that has been an issue. BF does not coach that type of play and it has hurt us. It is a known that teams are going to beat up on Ashley the rest of the season and other players must get in position to get a pass back from her when they double team her. Kristin is still not back to last years form and needs to take the ball to the hoop more when playing the 4 when the 3 is not going in. One thing I have noticed and maybe it is because so many say we have slow guards, is after a shot everyone is heading back on defense and not going for offensive rebounds. The refs did cost us the game but they were terrible. All I ever ask is for them to be consistent (last night they were any thing but that) and I am tired of officials telling BF to sit down and not question them while the other coaches are in their ear the whole game. One person around me would call out fouls on us after she would get on them last night. It has been , as BF said a tough 10 days let's hope this break will get the players some rest and be ready for the big 12 season. But no matter what happens I will be there from my row 5 seat cheering them on, GO CYCLONES!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: acoustimac

ISU71

Active Member
Jan 16, 2013
186
95
28
I repeat: the players are doing what they are told to do at the offensive end of the floor. We are the equal of the three in state teams that defeated us. i.e. it's not the players. And, we are very short on roster depth right now. MEM played 40 minutes last night.
 

CycloneBob

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2010
832
320
63
Ames
FWIW, I think we got out coached yesterday. UNI was constantly subbing, a lot for defensive and offensive positioning. Doing this also kept them a bit fresher when it counted at the end of the game.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: CyBobby

acoustimac

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2009
6,931
7,299
113
Lamoni, IA
Subbing has to do with having confidence in your players to execute. That comes from the effort they give in practice. I was surprised to not see a couple of players in the game last night but always assume this stems from practice.

here is a tweet about Joens. She still gets numbers even on what I would call “not her best night.” (Not indicative of effort, just missed shots and free throws...and a first half that seemed sub par).
 

acoustimac

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2009
6,931
7,299
113
Lamoni, IA
When you look at minutes played you saw Nez in single digits because of her foul issues. Thurmon and Kane didn’t see a single minute of play. There is our depth problem.
 

NenoFone

Well-Known Member
Feb 12, 2013
585
307
63
68
WDM
I had a strange thought last night, I think this might be the last year when we are still feeling the fallout from the N. Moody debacle. I think that defintely affected our recruiting. Things are looking up from here.
 

savepolarbears

Active Member
Dec 4, 2013
156
76
28
I thought in the postgame radio interview, he essentially blamed the loss on the bench for not being dependable enough to get PT. Ok, coach. I believe in the players we have, all of them. Definitely a lot of weight on Joen's shoulders, with Maddie out and Kristin struggling to hit layups.
 
  • Winner
Reactions: riceville98

CycloneBob

Well-Known Member
Aug 9, 2010
832
320
63
Ames
I had a strange thought last night, I think this might be the last year when we are still feeling the fallout from the N. Moody debacle. I think that defintely affected our recruiting. Things are looking up from here.

I don't disagree and hope you are right.
 

BoxsterCy

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 14, 2009
43,613
40,123
113
Minnesota
I repeat: the players are doing what they are told to do at the offensive end of the floor. We are the equal of the three in state teams that defeated us. i.e. it's not the players. And, we are very short on roster depth right now. MEM played 40 minutes last night.

We have 14 scholarship players and 11 are available. There have been years where we only had 12 on the roster total. Wise being out hurts but the lack of quality depth isn't just bad luck. The 2016 class is hurting this year. Getting an extra year for transfer Ines helps but that freshman class was sort of a bust for producing any quality Big 12 players. 2019 was one starter level, one project and one transfer project. We have quite a number of projects and attempts to catch lightning in a bottle players that aren't really going to contribute much at the P5 level.

Next years great on paper but outside of the top 25 or so WBB recruit rankings are a wildcard. And it's all guards, small guards. Great rankings but a rather odd overload of backcourt players with no swings or forwards, e.g. guards like Joens or Wise who aren't really guards in the traditional sense.
 

acoustimac

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2009
6,931
7,299
113
Lamoni, IA
We have 14 scholarship players and 11 are available. There have been years where we only had 12 on the roster total. Wise being out hurts but the lack of quality depth isn't just bad luck. The 2016 class is hurting this year. Getting an extra year for transfer Ines helps but that freshman class was sort of a bust for producing any quality Big 12 players. 2019 was one starter level, one project and one transfer project. We have quite a number of projects and attempts to catch lightning in a bottle players that aren't really going to contribute much at the P5 level.

Next years great on paper but outside of the top 25 or so WBB recruit rankings are a wildcard. And it's all guards, small guards. Great rankings but a rather odd overload of backcourt players with no swings or forwards, e.g. guards like Joens or Wise who aren't really guards in the traditional sense.

it appears he recruited what they needed. They have three + posts in the roster. Joens is more of a quasi-forward. It’s glaring this year the lack of talented guards. I really, really thought Rae would break out this year. She has showed signs, but the confidence in her shot isn’t there and she has some bad dribbling habits that ha e been exposed. She has the skills IMO.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: ISU71

kcdc4isu

Well-Known Member
Dec 2, 2009
4,276
1,968
113
west of dm east of cb
I have wanted BF to go deeper into his bench for years but as has been noted WE don't know what happens in practice to show the staff a player is ready for a game. I am a fan of Rae in the 10 games so far 4 times shooting in double figures, 10,12,16 & 17 and games of 8 & 9. She does try IMO to make passes that are tough and gets turn overs but she is one tough player. If they would quit pulling her the first time she makes a bad pass it might give her more confidence. My hope is after the break he plays Maddy, Jade and Morgan more but Jade has to keep turn overs down and Morgan needs to work on getting control of the ball on passes. Maddy needs to take shots when she gets open, in the 4 games she has played in she is 3 for 6.
 

StClone

Well-Known Member
Dec 17, 2009
5,292
2,615
113
Wisconsin
I will say it. We are the doormat WBB program of the State. Lost to Iowa four years. Lose to Drake and UNI more than every other year recently.

Like Volleyball I think this regime's better days were had. "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear" is incorrect. They are now further. I notice how UNI and Drake can somehow assemble a cast of players not anywhere on the recruiting radar and beat us.

Us with a National Player of the Week and recruiting classes that are typically ranked. Jennie Baranczyk, Tanya Warren, and Bluder take what they got and make it work. We somehow look for excuses and blame the bench!
 
Last edited:

Psyclone

Active Member
Mar 18, 2006
967
210
43
Oakland>Ames>Cedar Rapids
We were getting beat up badly, especially Ashley with no fouls being called. That's what Iowa does to us and we don't handle it well. I think that beating wears us down.

On the bright side it was good to see AD playing well and getting lots of minutes. I'd like to see more offense out of her, but I like her defensive effort and rebounding.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: barometriclow