I had to stew on this one for a while before typing my thoughts. Why? I was thoroughly disgusted with nearly every aspect of this ugly loss to Texas. I'll get the whining out of the way first and say that like last game the officiating was abysmal. Really, really abysmal. That's done. Let's talk the game.
Describing this will be pretty easy. The sisters continued the same disjointed play that we saw against Oklahoma on both offense and defense. Ashley Joens got into early foul trouble (3 fouls part way through the 2nd quarter) and spent most of the next two quarters on the bench. The best player in the league utterly dominated the sisters. Collier for Texas single handedly made the sisters look like a middle school team at times. Our effort didn't help that. I can't think of how many times the sisters had 2, 3, or 4 players set to get a rebound and Collier would end up with the ball. It wasn't just height...it was effort. Why is Texas the better team? Execution. Texas constantly moves the ball on offense. Players are moving and weaving and as soon as there is a breakdown on defense...boom...score. Sadly...there were lots of breakdowns on defense. I've said this before and it's starting to sound like a broken record. When we pass the ball on offense good things happen. When we play 1 on 5 it's not good. There are times when you can tell by Donarski's body language that she's forgotten she has four teammates. As the game went on it got to the point that players began to stand around and when someone drove and looked to pass...no one was in position to help.
So, this game was worse than the final score. It really was. We had missed free throws at inopportune times (just like against OU). Defensive breakdowns. Lazy passes or ball handling resulting in turnovers (because Texas was hounding us all the time). Lots...and I mean lots of missed shots. The worst part was missed offensive opportunities.
Observations:
I'm not sure if there really was a bright spot, but the one I'll pick was right before halftime. The ladies were down by double digits. Joens was on the bench and the team hit four straight treys to pull within five points. That was grit. They could have folded their tent but didn't. I'll also say that there were a couple of spurts in the second half...especially the one to pull within one point that showed spunk. After that closure Texas went on a 14-0 run where the wheels on the bus didn't just wobble...they flew off into the crowd.
I'm not sure what is going on with the team this past week. After such brilliant play against OSU and BU, they have looked like a shell of that team. There is nothing remotely sharp about this squad right now.
Ashley spent about 1 1/2 quarters on the bench. She still managed to score 17 points and grab 5 boards. NO ONE ELSE on the team had double digit scoring. When you look at the number of shots others took, you will see two things. First, turnovers (15...seemed like 30) cut short offensive possessions and second, it seemed some of the players were afraid to shoot after missing a couple. Everyone except Donarski and she had a horrid shooting night going 3-13 (ugh). The offense is completely out of sync when they forget the fundamentals.
For the first time this year, my impression was that I saw a group that was knocked into submission.
Free throws. I mentioned they missed some at very opportune times. At one point they missed four straight. 9-14 won't cut it for this squad and that is getting to the line not nearly enough.
The Seniors. I felt all game that Scott looked lost out there. She was moving at half speed and seemed confused by what was happening. Rae was a complete non-factor in the game. Maddie showed some spurts that helped.
Ryan - she is one of those players that when you forget she is a freshman makes you scream in ecstasy and horror throughout the game. Nine assists. NINE. Six turnovers. SIX. The turnovers always seemed to come from a lack of concentration or something. She either tried to force something that wasn't there or had her pocket picked. But those assists. She can definitely distribute the ball. When that part of the team game is working (yes, the above mentioned passing of the ball and player movement) this team is tough to stop.
There it is. In my opinion (which isn't worth much) if this team does more of the movement/passing offense they win games. The more one on one play by ANY of the players there is means trouble is brewing.
Something is going to have to change for the ladies to figure out where they left their mojo. They have KSU coming up before having to face Baylor and WVU back to back. If they continue to play like they are now KSU could steal their first conference win and the other two won't even be pretty to look at. BUT we know what this team is capable of and they have several days to get ready for the purple kitties. Watching some game film and good coaching might be a good cure for what ails the sisters. The team needs to find what locker their mojo got left in and get it back out. We know it's there waiting.
Describing this will be pretty easy. The sisters continued the same disjointed play that we saw against Oklahoma on both offense and defense. Ashley Joens got into early foul trouble (3 fouls part way through the 2nd quarter) and spent most of the next two quarters on the bench. The best player in the league utterly dominated the sisters. Collier for Texas single handedly made the sisters look like a middle school team at times. Our effort didn't help that. I can't think of how many times the sisters had 2, 3, or 4 players set to get a rebound and Collier would end up with the ball. It wasn't just height...it was effort. Why is Texas the better team? Execution. Texas constantly moves the ball on offense. Players are moving and weaving and as soon as there is a breakdown on defense...boom...score. Sadly...there were lots of breakdowns on defense. I've said this before and it's starting to sound like a broken record. When we pass the ball on offense good things happen. When we play 1 on 5 it's not good. There are times when you can tell by Donarski's body language that she's forgotten she has four teammates. As the game went on it got to the point that players began to stand around and when someone drove and looked to pass...no one was in position to help.
So, this game was worse than the final score. It really was. We had missed free throws at inopportune times (just like against OU). Defensive breakdowns. Lazy passes or ball handling resulting in turnovers (because Texas was hounding us all the time). Lots...and I mean lots of missed shots. The worst part was missed offensive opportunities.
Observations:
I'm not sure if there really was a bright spot, but the one I'll pick was right before halftime. The ladies were down by double digits. Joens was on the bench and the team hit four straight treys to pull within five points. That was grit. They could have folded their tent but didn't. I'll also say that there were a couple of spurts in the second half...especially the one to pull within one point that showed spunk. After that closure Texas went on a 14-0 run where the wheels on the bus didn't just wobble...they flew off into the crowd.
I'm not sure what is going on with the team this past week. After such brilliant play against OSU and BU, they have looked like a shell of that team. There is nothing remotely sharp about this squad right now.
Ashley spent about 1 1/2 quarters on the bench. She still managed to score 17 points and grab 5 boards. NO ONE ELSE on the team had double digit scoring. When you look at the number of shots others took, you will see two things. First, turnovers (15...seemed like 30) cut short offensive possessions and second, it seemed some of the players were afraid to shoot after missing a couple. Everyone except Donarski and she had a horrid shooting night going 3-13 (ugh). The offense is completely out of sync when they forget the fundamentals.
For the first time this year, my impression was that I saw a group that was knocked into submission.
Free throws. I mentioned they missed some at very opportune times. At one point they missed four straight. 9-14 won't cut it for this squad and that is getting to the line not nearly enough.
The Seniors. I felt all game that Scott looked lost out there. She was moving at half speed and seemed confused by what was happening. Rae was a complete non-factor in the game. Maddie showed some spurts that helped.
Ryan - she is one of those players that when you forget she is a freshman makes you scream in ecstasy and horror throughout the game. Nine assists. NINE. Six turnovers. SIX. The turnovers always seemed to come from a lack of concentration or something. She either tried to force something that wasn't there or had her pocket picked. But those assists. She can definitely distribute the ball. When that part of the team game is working (yes, the above mentioned passing of the ball and player movement) this team is tough to stop.
There it is. In my opinion (which isn't worth much) if this team does more of the movement/passing offense they win games. The more one on one play by ANY of the players there is means trouble is brewing.
Something is going to have to change for the ladies to figure out where they left their mojo. They have KSU coming up before having to face Baylor and WVU back to back. If they continue to play like they are now KSU could steal their first conference win and the other two won't even be pretty to look at. BUT we know what this team is capable of and they have several days to get ready for the purple kitties. Watching some game film and good coaching might be a good cure for what ails the sisters. The team needs to find what locker their mojo got left in and get it back out. We know it's there waiting.
