This game can be summarized by one word. Hustle. In our case it was a lack thereof. Hustle is what makes defense click. It's what gets rebounds. While we out rebounded our opponent we gave up way too many offensive opportunities by not being in position to get rebounds. Our defense was lethargic for much of the game. We were getting chewed up time and time again as Stony Brook drove by us or we dropped off enough fearing the drive that they hit the jumper. And man did they hit their shots. The not only shot well in the first half, it should have been a game of horse the way they bounced shots in.
The first half was a game of catch up as Brynn spent a chunk on the bench scoreless and in foul trouble. The ladies were missing free throws (again) and couldn't buy a three pointer with 50% coupons. The ladies kept it close, but never could string any type of run together. The culprit was at both ends. If we scored we didn't play defense. If we got a stop we couldn't score. No consistency. To be honest I thought we looked like a very average team at best. I'll create a parallel with the men's team. When they have a high assist to basket ratio they are firing on all cylinders and are hard to beat. Our women are the same way. Unfortunately, this afternoon the assists weren't there. Way too much one on one stuff.
The second half was uglier than the first. Too much standing around. Nicky looked out of whack and gave up some unforced turnovers. I get frustrated knowing that our bigs could score inside, but the guards did a poor job of getting the ball to them. No of course, on the other end the bigs are currently a defensive liability. Bree's footwork is just too slow. This could be a big negative come conference season.
It would be back and forth throughout the second half and perhaps the biggest turning point was during the short period Bree was in. Attacking underneath, the Stony Brook top scorer was fouled out with about 8 minutes to play. That changed things dramatically. It was still close until at the three minute mark. All of a sudden the ladies were able to put a little spurt together with a three from Brynn and a traditional three from Moody. The lead was up to 8. But just as quickly we would play slipshod defense and it was down to four at 68-64 with two minutes to play.
This is when the team we all like to see made an appearance. The energy level ramped up, the defense got stops and on offense they shared the ball and finished. Stony Brook wouldn't score again and the ladies extended the final to ten points behind a Moody three and a great dish from Moody to Seanna. The ladies in red win 74-64 in an ugly and hotly contested game.
Observations from the peanut gallery...
POG - Moody is what makes this team go as a unit. While she was the top scorer today, she also showed the good and the bad with 7 assists and nearly as many turnovers. That being said, she is showing what she is capable of and without her we don't win today.
Too many times it seemed like we were doing the old offense of standing around dribbling the shot clock away and then having to rush something. It doesn't work.
Brynn really struggled this afternoon. It's hard to get into a groove when you are sitting on the bench with foul trouble. She ended up only taking five shots and hitting one. This can't happen in big games. She will get the kind of defensive attention she received today. The rest of the team just has to step up and make the opponent pay.
Free throw shooting. The ladies continue to struggle at the line hitting only 13 of 21 attempts. These came at critical times that could have opened the game up. It's not the rookies...it's the entire team that is struggling.
Seanna had a fantastic game if you excluded the miserable free throw shooting. She still is all about getting the job done and she contributes in every facet.
The bigs. We didn't see much of them today. Bree had 18 minutes and Maddie had 2. Getting twenty minutes out of your post players isn't going to cut it in the Big 12. Especially when your guards aren't hitting shots. Teams will dare us to shoot from upside and we've seen two games in a row when our outside shooting was not good. When that happens and you don't have a big to go inside...you're in trouble.
Em. I like watching her play. She isn't going to be a big scorer yet, but out of everyone on the team she seemed to be hustling the most on D. There's a reason why she's getting big minutes and it shows.
This wasn't what I expected to see coming off the St Mary's loss. Perhaps it was more to do with Stony Brook than anything, but the hustle factor just wasn't there until late in the second half. I'm also very concerned with how the post play is developing. With Iowa looming on the horizon, this is going to have to change in a hurry.
The first half was a game of catch up as Brynn spent a chunk on the bench scoreless and in foul trouble. The ladies were missing free throws (again) and couldn't buy a three pointer with 50% coupons. The ladies kept it close, but never could string any type of run together. The culprit was at both ends. If we scored we didn't play defense. If we got a stop we couldn't score. No consistency. To be honest I thought we looked like a very average team at best. I'll create a parallel with the men's team. When they have a high assist to basket ratio they are firing on all cylinders and are hard to beat. Our women are the same way. Unfortunately, this afternoon the assists weren't there. Way too much one on one stuff.
The second half was uglier than the first. Too much standing around. Nicky looked out of whack and gave up some unforced turnovers. I get frustrated knowing that our bigs could score inside, but the guards did a poor job of getting the ball to them. No of course, on the other end the bigs are currently a defensive liability. Bree's footwork is just too slow. This could be a big negative come conference season.
It would be back and forth throughout the second half and perhaps the biggest turning point was during the short period Bree was in. Attacking underneath, the Stony Brook top scorer was fouled out with about 8 minutes to play. That changed things dramatically. It was still close until at the three minute mark. All of a sudden the ladies were able to put a little spurt together with a three from Brynn and a traditional three from Moody. The lead was up to 8. But just as quickly we would play slipshod defense and it was down to four at 68-64 with two minutes to play.
This is when the team we all like to see made an appearance. The energy level ramped up, the defense got stops and on offense they shared the ball and finished. Stony Brook wouldn't score again and the ladies extended the final to ten points behind a Moody three and a great dish from Moody to Seanna. The ladies in red win 74-64 in an ugly and hotly contested game.
Observations from the peanut gallery...
POG - Moody is what makes this team go as a unit. While she was the top scorer today, she also showed the good and the bad with 7 assists and nearly as many turnovers. That being said, she is showing what she is capable of and without her we don't win today.
Too many times it seemed like we were doing the old offense of standing around dribbling the shot clock away and then having to rush something. It doesn't work.
Brynn really struggled this afternoon. It's hard to get into a groove when you are sitting on the bench with foul trouble. She ended up only taking five shots and hitting one. This can't happen in big games. She will get the kind of defensive attention she received today. The rest of the team just has to step up and make the opponent pay.
Free throw shooting. The ladies continue to struggle at the line hitting only 13 of 21 attempts. These came at critical times that could have opened the game up. It's not the rookies...it's the entire team that is struggling.
Seanna had a fantastic game if you excluded the miserable free throw shooting. She still is all about getting the job done and she contributes in every facet.
The bigs. We didn't see much of them today. Bree had 18 minutes and Maddie had 2. Getting twenty minutes out of your post players isn't going to cut it in the Big 12. Especially when your guards aren't hitting shots. Teams will dare us to shoot from upside and we've seen two games in a row when our outside shooting was not good. When that happens and you don't have a big to go inside...you're in trouble.
Em. I like watching her play. She isn't going to be a big scorer yet, but out of everyone on the team she seemed to be hustling the most on D. There's a reason why she's getting big minutes and it shows.
This wasn't what I expected to see coming off the St Mary's loss. Perhaps it was more to do with Stony Brook than anything, but the hustle factor just wasn't there until late in the second half. I'm also very concerned with how the post play is developing. With Iowa looming on the horizon, this is going to have to change in a hurry.
