03-10-2024, 05:51 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-10-2024, 05:59 PM by BillBradley.)
Didn't play well enough to win, simple as that. Our defensive strategy was pretty cool IMO. It was a quasi-zone tactic, where Cam never left the middle, we forced Juju left, and whoever was guarding Davis or Marshall moved to double Juju. The risk with zones, as I mentioned, is rebounding and we got destroyed on the boards. Credit USC - they were tougher, stronger, more athletic, won most every 50/50 ball, etc. Plus Forbes and Padilla delivered. Congrats to USC, they deserve the trophy (hate saying that).
Other thoughts:
- Cam played well, Kiki a little sub par. Both fought and put up solid numbers. But as others have mentioned, the supporting cast didn't contribute much today. So stagnant and just not enough fight in the dog. Decent game by Bosgana, but Jump, Demetre, and Lepolo combined for 9 points and 1 rebound in 75 minutes of play. Those numbers are just simply not good enough to win games. It's one thing to not score, but you can always defend and rebound. And wow, did they look slowwwww. Brooke just handed them 4 points with 2 silly fouls. Not sure what's up with Hannah. Probably burnt and needs rest. One of the most painful plays of the game was the very first play of the 4th quarter. USC ran a simple baseline screen action for Padilla. We're down 53-44, still in the game, we tied the 3rd quarter, and starting to feel like we might get momentum. Hannah loses Padilla and then doesn't recover in time, bang, 3 pointer, down 12. Rough. I'm also concerned about Talana's knee. Hope it holds up in the tourney.
- Kudos to Clardy - she gave us great energy and toughness. Would have liked to have seen if Ogden or Harriel could have provided some offensive spark.
- Really hoping Cam continues to shoot open 3's. To make a deep tourney run, we need offensive alternatives.
- I'm still optimistic for the national tourney. Different posters have said we can't play offense and we can't play defense. There's a whole season of math that says we can play both, and very well. Massey has us as the #3 rated defense and the #5 rated offense in the country.
https://masseyratings.com/cbw/ncaa-d1/ratings. Likely we will still be a #1 seed and can make a deep run. Even if we're a #2, it doesn't much matter as long as we're not in So Carolina's region. Regardless, to make a deep run, we need everyone fighting.
Other thoughts:
- Cam played well, Kiki a little sub par. Both fought and put up solid numbers. But as others have mentioned, the supporting cast didn't contribute much today. So stagnant and just not enough fight in the dog. Decent game by Bosgana, but Jump, Demetre, and Lepolo combined for 9 points and 1 rebound in 75 minutes of play. Those numbers are just simply not good enough to win games. It's one thing to not score, but you can always defend and rebound. And wow, did they look slowwwww. Brooke just handed them 4 points with 2 silly fouls. Not sure what's up with Hannah. Probably burnt and needs rest. One of the most painful plays of the game was the very first play of the 4th quarter. USC ran a simple baseline screen action for Padilla. We're down 53-44, still in the game, we tied the 3rd quarter, and starting to feel like we might get momentum. Hannah loses Padilla and then doesn't recover in time, bang, 3 pointer, down 12. Rough. I'm also concerned about Talana's knee. Hope it holds up in the tourney.
- Kudos to Clardy - she gave us great energy and toughness. Would have liked to have seen if Ogden or Harriel could have provided some offensive spark.
- Really hoping Cam continues to shoot open 3's. To make a deep tourney run, we need offensive alternatives.
- I'm still optimistic for the national tourney. Different posters have said we can't play offense and we can't play defense. There's a whole season of math that says we can play both, and very well. Massey has us as the #3 rated defense and the #5 rated offense in the country.
https://masseyratings.com/cbw/ncaa-d1/ratings. Likely we will still be a #1 seed and can make a deep run. Even if we're a #2, it doesn't much matter as long as we're not in So Carolina's region. Regardless, to make a deep run, we need everyone fighting.