This is a tough game to talk about. Why? Because for the first time I have serious concerns about this team. More to come…
The first half was pure ugliness and reminded me of a twilight zone episode of a hockey match. It was line change after line change as Coach Fen tried to find a lineup that could actually score. The scoring reminded me of a hockey match as well as the ladies might not have been able to hit the inside of a hockey goal with some of their shots.
Throughout much of the first half Ark PB led or stayed hand in hand with the Sisters. It wasn’t that Ark PB was a good team…we were that bad. We looked slow at both ends. Brynn was still absent without leave and Nicky looked about as interested as a bored librarian. One things to note is the absence of Buckley. As you can read on CF or listen to in the post game comments, she is out for a week to ten days with a foot injury. Fortunately, this is the best time to heal.
Three people did stand out to me and if it wasn’t for them the first half would have been a complete waste. Who? Seanna, Durr, and Kidd. These three were making the extra effort to make things happen. Much of what they didn’t won’t show up in the box score, but they hustled, made good passes, and fought for rebounds. They were going 100% the entire game.
Another bone of contention for me is the abysmal free throw shooting. We missed a bunch including front ends of one and ones. This problem is going to cost us somewhere. Its just a matter of time. The positive side? The misses stopped in the second half as the ladies ended up hitting 23 out of 30 shots.
So, with Brynn not scoring for another half, Moody playing half speed and the team seeming to be dysfunctional, the halftime score was a mild lead at 35-27. Of particular note was rebounding numbers where the two teams were nearly even.
So what happened in the second half? The offense became more agressive and that put the ladies on the line. The same story as the first also helped as Kidd (picking up Buckley’s minutes) had a great game ending with 17, Seanna was outstanding and Brynn became reacquainted with the basket after going nearly scoreless for 2 1/2 games.
When this team, led mostly by its guards, gets moving, when they get aggressive with their drives and share the ball, good things happen. They have to involve each other. Its pretty much the same recipe as what the men use. The second half was a better example (still had its moments of ugliness) of what this can look like. They extended the lead and the final score was 82-56.
So back to my opening comments. What am I concerned about? For starters, the seniors. I’m not taking aim at the people, but the job they are doing. Seniors are expected to be the foundation of a team, provide leadership and model expected levels of play. Well, I’m not sold on the job that Moody or Brynn are doing right now. Yes, their play is inconsistent, but I’m looking at the entire product on the floor. In the first half there were essentially three players doing much of anything. There was no sense of attack or urgency on the court and Coach had to keep shuffling the lineup until he found some people who could do something. The team just doesn’t seem to be developing the chemistry I would have expected by this point in the season. The seniors aren’t players that you can depend upon right now. Its weird to talk about as I can’t imagine they aren’t trying. But something isn’t working quite right.
There are things to be fixed and that falls in the coaches’ hands. Free throw shooting will continue to be a work in progress. We’ve been spoiled by previous teams who shot nearly 90% from the line. 75% just doesn’t seem to cut it.
Seanna is by far the player of the game and perhaps the most consistent player on the team right now. She is that blue collar worker who goes out there game after game and gives you the same high level of performance that we’ve come to expect. How do you clone her? Her line today is “only†5-6 from the field, 8-10 from the line, 7 boards, 18 points, 3 assists and 2 steals. Wow.
Em is so fun to watch. She’s athletic and while not scoring at a high pace right now, she makes things happen when she's on the court. I’m excited about her.
The posts need to somehow be merged together. Maddy has come back from her knee surgery and plays pretty solid defense and rebounds strongly. Bree has the offensive side of things (even if her shots were way off mark today). Together they are a pretty decent post. I do fully expect Bree to develop. She’s just a frosh a few games into her first season. Once she works on her footwork I suspect she will be just fine. Same for Maddy. Keep practicing the shots and they will fall. This is my biggest area of concern going into the conference season. We must have a post presence and right now its way below average against below average opponents.
The good part of this game is something (besides at Iowa) that has trended well for the sisters. Their assist to turnover rate is outstanding and today it was 19-6. Single digit turnovers are becoming a regular event and I like it!
Well, its finals week and time for the ladies to wrap up the fall semester. Its also time to heal, recover mentally, and get ready for what should be a two win holiday tournament. Before we know it the tough Big 12 will be here and these ladies have much to do to be ready for that grind. Here’s to some good practice, effective learning, and developing team.
The first half was pure ugliness and reminded me of a twilight zone episode of a hockey match. It was line change after line change as Coach Fen tried to find a lineup that could actually score. The scoring reminded me of a hockey match as well as the ladies might not have been able to hit the inside of a hockey goal with some of their shots.
Throughout much of the first half Ark PB led or stayed hand in hand with the Sisters. It wasn’t that Ark PB was a good team…we were that bad. We looked slow at both ends. Brynn was still absent without leave and Nicky looked about as interested as a bored librarian. One things to note is the absence of Buckley. As you can read on CF or listen to in the post game comments, she is out for a week to ten days with a foot injury. Fortunately, this is the best time to heal.
Three people did stand out to me and if it wasn’t for them the first half would have been a complete waste. Who? Seanna, Durr, and Kidd. These three were making the extra effort to make things happen. Much of what they didn’t won’t show up in the box score, but they hustled, made good passes, and fought for rebounds. They were going 100% the entire game.
Another bone of contention for me is the abysmal free throw shooting. We missed a bunch including front ends of one and ones. This problem is going to cost us somewhere. Its just a matter of time. The positive side? The misses stopped in the second half as the ladies ended up hitting 23 out of 30 shots.
So, with Brynn not scoring for another half, Moody playing half speed and the team seeming to be dysfunctional, the halftime score was a mild lead at 35-27. Of particular note was rebounding numbers where the two teams were nearly even.
So what happened in the second half? The offense became more agressive and that put the ladies on the line. The same story as the first also helped as Kidd (picking up Buckley’s minutes) had a great game ending with 17, Seanna was outstanding and Brynn became reacquainted with the basket after going nearly scoreless for 2 1/2 games.
When this team, led mostly by its guards, gets moving, when they get aggressive with their drives and share the ball, good things happen. They have to involve each other. Its pretty much the same recipe as what the men use. The second half was a better example (still had its moments of ugliness) of what this can look like. They extended the lead and the final score was 82-56.
So back to my opening comments. What am I concerned about? For starters, the seniors. I’m not taking aim at the people, but the job they are doing. Seniors are expected to be the foundation of a team, provide leadership and model expected levels of play. Well, I’m not sold on the job that Moody or Brynn are doing right now. Yes, their play is inconsistent, but I’m looking at the entire product on the floor. In the first half there were essentially three players doing much of anything. There was no sense of attack or urgency on the court and Coach had to keep shuffling the lineup until he found some people who could do something. The team just doesn’t seem to be developing the chemistry I would have expected by this point in the season. The seniors aren’t players that you can depend upon right now. Its weird to talk about as I can’t imagine they aren’t trying. But something isn’t working quite right.
There are things to be fixed and that falls in the coaches’ hands. Free throw shooting will continue to be a work in progress. We’ve been spoiled by previous teams who shot nearly 90% from the line. 75% just doesn’t seem to cut it.
Seanna is by far the player of the game and perhaps the most consistent player on the team right now. She is that blue collar worker who goes out there game after game and gives you the same high level of performance that we’ve come to expect. How do you clone her? Her line today is “only†5-6 from the field, 8-10 from the line, 7 boards, 18 points, 3 assists and 2 steals. Wow.
Em is so fun to watch. She’s athletic and while not scoring at a high pace right now, she makes things happen when she's on the court. I’m excited about her.
The posts need to somehow be merged together. Maddy has come back from her knee surgery and plays pretty solid defense and rebounds strongly. Bree has the offensive side of things (even if her shots were way off mark today). Together they are a pretty decent post. I do fully expect Bree to develop. She’s just a frosh a few games into her first season. Once she works on her footwork I suspect she will be just fine. Same for Maddy. Keep practicing the shots and they will fall. This is my biggest area of concern going into the conference season. We must have a post presence and right now its way below average against below average opponents.
The good part of this game is something (besides at Iowa) that has trended well for the sisters. Their assist to turnover rate is outstanding and today it was 19-6. Single digit turnovers are becoming a regular event and I like it!
Well, its finals week and time for the ladies to wrap up the fall semester. Its also time to heal, recover mentally, and get ready for what should be a two win holiday tournament. Before we know it the tough Big 12 will be here and these ladies have much to do to be ready for that grind. Here’s to some good practice, effective learning, and developing team.
