I can't say that I wasn't a bit nervous going into this game. KU had some decent credentials and couldn't be taken lightly. What I had noticed was their identity was a bit fuzzy at times. Who was their go to? What did they take pride in? Was just hard to say. Perhaps my uneasiness was also influenced by the horrible loses of the men's team at the same time our ladies experienced their first losing streak of the year. Maybe it was the ugly manner of those loses that was so unlike this year's team.
This game was one that had several story lines. The easy one would be that our shooters regained their touch and did it early. But it was how they did it that was the big storyline of the game. Yes, the guard court lit KU up from practically every distance you could imagine. Layups. Check. Short range jumpers. Check. Three point shots. Check. So, how did they do it? Team ball. They passed the ball. They looked for the open shooter. As you all know, I've commented on some of the situations where, for example, Ashley would drive into a double team and try to force it. Not tonight. In the post game, both she and Coach Fen mentioned this was a point of focus for the team since last game. Drive, take the double team and then dish the ball to the open shooter. It worked again and again. What else worked was playing by the principle that a pass is faster than a defender.
In the first half, both teams spent a little time feeling each other out. After KU had taken a 5-4 lead, ISU started to find its stride. Said passing started to take place. Picks were set to open up shooters. Threes started to rain from the sky like manna. Before you knew it the sisters could look at a 24-12 lead and a KU team wondering what had hit them. During the first half you also didn't see Ashley do "a lot" scoring-wise. What she did do was exactly as she had been taught. Drive and pass. Make the extra pass. Find the open shooter. It worked to perfection. KU made a push back. They are good enough that they can do that. They do have some skilled shooters. They also had a nice tall post who was eating ours for lunch to the tune of 12 first half points. They pulled within four a couple of times and the sisters would hit a couple of shots and pull away. By the end of one half the ladies had a 7 point lead. Really felt like they were in a good spot. I told my wife...if we have a seven point second half win I'm good with that.
The second half was more of the same. KU would make pushes and close in only to see the sisters answer back. We saw more offense from Ashley in this half. It was push and shove until, slowly but surely, the sisters started to break things open. I think the biggest lead was around 21 points. KU would keep pushing and pulled within 13-14 a couple of times, but ISU always answered right back. A couple of key things happened in the second half that are worth noting. First, KU's post player never scored in the second half. Not a single point. Second, KU was fouling more. The ladies were getting to the line. That's like printing free money with this team. KU also was starting to "press" on offense. In the first half they had great ball movement which created some openings. Second half...not as much. Their shooters were taking shots that weren't as open or advisable. In the end, the ladies played smart and each possession they milked the clock ensuring there were no opportunities for KU's offense. Win. Big win for the sisters 77-62.
Observations
I really thought hard about POG for this one. Ashley would be the easy answer. But I thought...what about Ryan's fantastic game? What about seeing Aubrey re-emerge as a shooter? What about Donarski hitting so many key shots and again playing outstanding defense? So I did what I had to do. POG is TEAM. It had to be.
Ashley - she really took the coaching staff's lessons to heart. She did a fantastic job of driving, collecting the double or triple team and then passing to open players. This eventually opened some things up for her and she had another double/double with 21 and 11. Best game of the year for her in my opinion.
Aubrey - how about a sister act? Aubrey not only found her shot...she kept shooting inside and out. 16 points and 6 boards for her. Welcome back sister!
Donarski - uncharacteristically picked up four fouls fighting through screens for the most part. Played outstanding defense. Smart enough to play and not pick up the fifth foul. Best shot she displayed all night was her midrange jumper. Sweet stuff. 14 points and 4 assists.
Ryan - what a floor general she is! She did some absolutely crazy things...especially driving underneath, tiptoeing the baseline, drawing a double team and somehow seeing with eyes in the back of her head the freed up post player for a dish and two. Excellent stuff. 14 points, 4 boards, 9 assists and only 2 (very early) turnovers.
The posts - this was a game of good, bad and ugly. The bad? missed free throws. Some real klankers. The only misses at the line were from the posts tonight The ugly? Well, you all know the definition of insanity? Trying to do the same thing over and over and expecting a different result? Our posts exhibited that in spades trying to force up close shots when KU had a post taller and longer who kept stuffing it down their throats. That was ugly. The good? The posts...especially Kane...did a great job setting screens out top to help free up shooters. Somehow they had 10 points between them with most coming late in the game. They went 4-8 from the line and 3-10 from the field. 9 boards, but believe me...in the first half it seemed that all Kane did was try to tap the ball on rebounds versus fighting for it. Was a bit of a rough outing, but the they kept at it and played an important role.
Free throws - well, you already know the posts had all the misses. Team hit 16-20 and what was cool? They were spread around all of the players. Six shot free throws and three made four attempts. That says something about the level of team activity in this game.
Folks, this was a good win. KU is scrappy and will be on their home court. They likely will be a tournament team come March. So what's next? One away game Saturday, three straight home games sliding into the off week. That's as good as you can ask for. Sat. is Texas Tech. They can be a handful and they played an 8 point game against Baylor tonight. So, don't let that 9-10 record fool you. Between Vivian Gray (you should all know her as a transfer to TTU) and Gerlich Tech can put up points. But if the ladies play like they did tonight...a win should be the result.
This game was one that had several story lines. The easy one would be that our shooters regained their touch and did it early. But it was how they did it that was the big storyline of the game. Yes, the guard court lit KU up from practically every distance you could imagine. Layups. Check. Short range jumpers. Check. Three point shots. Check. So, how did they do it? Team ball. They passed the ball. They looked for the open shooter. As you all know, I've commented on some of the situations where, for example, Ashley would drive into a double team and try to force it. Not tonight. In the post game, both she and Coach Fen mentioned this was a point of focus for the team since last game. Drive, take the double team and then dish the ball to the open shooter. It worked again and again. What else worked was playing by the principle that a pass is faster than a defender.
In the first half, both teams spent a little time feeling each other out. After KU had taken a 5-4 lead, ISU started to find its stride. Said passing started to take place. Picks were set to open up shooters. Threes started to rain from the sky like manna. Before you knew it the sisters could look at a 24-12 lead and a KU team wondering what had hit them. During the first half you also didn't see Ashley do "a lot" scoring-wise. What she did do was exactly as she had been taught. Drive and pass. Make the extra pass. Find the open shooter. It worked to perfection. KU made a push back. They are good enough that they can do that. They do have some skilled shooters. They also had a nice tall post who was eating ours for lunch to the tune of 12 first half points. They pulled within four a couple of times and the sisters would hit a couple of shots and pull away. By the end of one half the ladies had a 7 point lead. Really felt like they were in a good spot. I told my wife...if we have a seven point second half win I'm good with that.
The second half was more of the same. KU would make pushes and close in only to see the sisters answer back. We saw more offense from Ashley in this half. It was push and shove until, slowly but surely, the sisters started to break things open. I think the biggest lead was around 21 points. KU would keep pushing and pulled within 13-14 a couple of times, but ISU always answered right back. A couple of key things happened in the second half that are worth noting. First, KU's post player never scored in the second half. Not a single point. Second, KU was fouling more. The ladies were getting to the line. That's like printing free money with this team. KU also was starting to "press" on offense. In the first half they had great ball movement which created some openings. Second half...not as much. Their shooters were taking shots that weren't as open or advisable. In the end, the ladies played smart and each possession they milked the clock ensuring there were no opportunities for KU's offense. Win. Big win for the sisters 77-62.
Observations
I really thought hard about POG for this one. Ashley would be the easy answer. But I thought...what about Ryan's fantastic game? What about seeing Aubrey re-emerge as a shooter? What about Donarski hitting so many key shots and again playing outstanding defense? So I did what I had to do. POG is TEAM. It had to be.
Ashley - she really took the coaching staff's lessons to heart. She did a fantastic job of driving, collecting the double or triple team and then passing to open players. This eventually opened some things up for her and she had another double/double with 21 and 11. Best game of the year for her in my opinion.
Aubrey - how about a sister act? Aubrey not only found her shot...she kept shooting inside and out. 16 points and 6 boards for her. Welcome back sister!
Donarski - uncharacteristically picked up four fouls fighting through screens for the most part. Played outstanding defense. Smart enough to play and not pick up the fifth foul. Best shot she displayed all night was her midrange jumper. Sweet stuff. 14 points and 4 assists.
Ryan - what a floor general she is! She did some absolutely crazy things...especially driving underneath, tiptoeing the baseline, drawing a double team and somehow seeing with eyes in the back of her head the freed up post player for a dish and two. Excellent stuff. 14 points, 4 boards, 9 assists and only 2 (very early) turnovers.
The posts - this was a game of good, bad and ugly. The bad? missed free throws. Some real klankers. The only misses at the line were from the posts tonight The ugly? Well, you all know the definition of insanity? Trying to do the same thing over and over and expecting a different result? Our posts exhibited that in spades trying to force up close shots when KU had a post taller and longer who kept stuffing it down their throats. That was ugly. The good? The posts...especially Kane...did a great job setting screens out top to help free up shooters. Somehow they had 10 points between them with most coming late in the game. They went 4-8 from the line and 3-10 from the field. 9 boards, but believe me...in the first half it seemed that all Kane did was try to tap the ball on rebounds versus fighting for it. Was a bit of a rough outing, but the they kept at it and played an important role.
Free throws - well, you already know the posts had all the misses. Team hit 16-20 and what was cool? They were spread around all of the players. Six shot free throws and three made four attempts. That says something about the level of team activity in this game.
Folks, this was a good win. KU is scrappy and will be on their home court. They likely will be a tournament team come March. So what's next? One away game Saturday, three straight home games sliding into the off week. That's as good as you can ask for. Sat. is Texas Tech. They can be a handful and they played an 8 point game against Baylor tonight. So, don't let that 9-10 record fool you. Between Vivian Gray (you should all know her as a transfer to TTU) and Gerlich Tech can put up points. But if the ladies play like they did tonight...a win should be the result.
Last edited:
