01-10-2015, 12:00 PM
Great posts from 81alum as usual. Her "looking for silver lining" comments about the Cardinal defensive intensity after last week's discouraging CO and UT games carried through to this game against a much more credible offensive team on the road. Without this gritty defensive intensity and consistent rebounding, the Cardinal would have lost this game by double digits. Some other comments on individual performances:
Kaylee's second-half cross under layup was reminiscent of the type of wildly athletic, slightly out-of-control move that Chiney showed as a freshman. Kaylee's rebounding skills and speed up and down the court continue to impress and one wonders how fast she can develop her immense potential, particularly finishing around the basket.
Bonnie's long-range shooting, while not as deadly as on some occasions, clearly kept the WA defense on edge, and all her points were crucial to another low-scoring team effort. Special kudos for her intensity on the D-boards where she did not let her slighter frame impede her efforts against the larger WA bigs.
Karlie had another peculiarly ineffective offensive game and peculiarly effective defensive game. Mysteriously, even her deadly FT shooting from last year has left her thus far this year. Her stroke still looks good, so I continue to be optimistic about her offensive mojo returning. In the meantime, her defensive intensity and contributions to the Cardinal's offensive flow cannot be underestimated -- great basketball IQ.
On offense it still remains mainly the Amber and Lilli Show for the time being. Lilli's comeback from a cold first half was absolutely essential to the Cardinal winning this close game. And I'm sure I heard her call "Glass" on that last shot. Amber remains the team leader and did another great job on defense and offense.
A road win against a good WA team is one to savor, but scoring only 60 points against an undistinguished D that gave us many, many open shots (most of which we missed badly in the first half) indicates the Cardinal still has much room to improve on offense. Hopefully, continued strong defense efforts can keep the team in games until its offense comes of age (knock wood). Right now, the Cardinal would probably be underdogs to CA, OSU & ASU ... but the season is still young.
Â
Kaylee's second-half cross under layup was reminiscent of the type of wildly athletic, slightly out-of-control move that Chiney showed as a freshman. Kaylee's rebounding skills and speed up and down the court continue to impress and one wonders how fast she can develop her immense potential, particularly finishing around the basket.
Bonnie's long-range shooting, while not as deadly as on some occasions, clearly kept the WA defense on edge, and all her points were crucial to another low-scoring team effort. Special kudos for her intensity on the D-boards where she did not let her slighter frame impede her efforts against the larger WA bigs.
Karlie had another peculiarly ineffective offensive game and peculiarly effective defensive game. Mysteriously, even her deadly FT shooting from last year has left her thus far this year. Her stroke still looks good, so I continue to be optimistic about her offensive mojo returning. In the meantime, her defensive intensity and contributions to the Cardinal's offensive flow cannot be underestimated -- great basketball IQ.
On offense it still remains mainly the Amber and Lilli Show for the time being. Lilli's comeback from a cold first half was absolutely essential to the Cardinal winning this close game. And I'm sure I heard her call "Glass" on that last shot. Amber remains the team leader and did another great job on defense and offense.
A road win against a good WA team is one to savor, but scoring only 60 points against an undistinguished D that gave us many, many open shots (most of which we missed badly in the first half) indicates the Cardinal still has much room to improve on offense. Hopefully, continued strong defense efforts can keep the team in games until its offense comes of age (knock wood). Right now, the Cardinal would probably be underdogs to CA, OSU & ASU ... but the season is still young.
Â