[chimera]

I was busy and couldn't watch but sure sounds like not much went well.  Getting out-rebounded like that and the poor defense are the scariest things.  Those are effort and hustle to a large extent.  Gonzaga is good but really, we have the talent to beat them, even on the road.  Some of our key players struggled a lot, actually most of them did, by the stats.  I hate to say this but maybe the optimism for the season was a bit premature.  Team is young and should improve a bunch but by now the upperclassmen should be farther along.

Not going to lie - today was depressing. Switching between UConn-Notre Dame and our game against Gonzaga was like going from Texas varsity blues to Vermont junior varsity. They were playing at a totally different level. We have a long way to go before we are competitive with the top teams. And it wasn't just lack of energy, but the little things: finding mismatches, finishing in traffic, creating spacing, crisp passing, getting back on defense. Given the way that Baylor is thrashing South Carolina, I think it's extremely unlikely we'll keep this losing streak at one...

I think a good part of it is our inexperience--and missing our least experienced starter Lexie.  Lexie showed early on that she could replace McPhee's points.  We really need her to make our offense work this year.  Gonzaga was playing Rice, Stockton, and Smith who are all seniors or redshirt seniors playing at home.  We had Smith who was off the court as much as she was on.  We are an extremely young team without a lot of experience playing in tough situations.  We will get a lot better as the year wears on.

Defense and rebounding can be coached.  And do they ever need to be.

I hope you are right and the main issue was a young team with a tough road game they were maybe not quite mentally ready for, for whatever reason.  We are playing three reasonably experienced players in Smith, Carrington, and Fingall.  All are upperclass players and all have played decent minutes, though not big minutes for the latter two. At this point in their careers I imagine most of us thought we'd see more from them, more consistent play.  When they are on they are great but so far the consistency is not there.  I don't get why we have struggled at times the last year and now this one with rebounding.  We have the size inside, and the athletic ability, guards like Carrington and the Hulls rebound well, should be ok there.

[chimera]

I was busy and couldn't watch but sure sounds like not much went well.  Getting out-rebounded like that and the poor defense are the scariest things.  Those are effort and hustle to a large extent.  Gonzaga is good but really, we have the talent to beat them, even on the road.  Some of our key players struggled a lot, actually most of them did, by the stats.  I hate to say this but maybe the optimism for the season was a bit premature.  Team is young and should improve a bunch but by now the upperclassmen should be farther along.

Not going to lie - today was depressing. Switching between UConn-Notre Dame and our game against Gonzaga was like going from Texas varsity blues to Vermont junior varsity. They were playing at a totally different level. We have a long way to go before we are competitive with the top teams. And it wasn't just lack of energy, but the little things: finding mismatches, finishing in traffic, creating spacing, crisp passing, getting back on defense. Given the way that Baylor is thrashing South Carolina, I think it's extremely unlikely we'll keep this losing streak at one...

I think a good part of it is our inexperience--and missing our least experienced starter Lexie.  Lexie showed early on that she could replace McPhee's points.  We really need her to make our offense work this year.  Gonzaga was playing Rice, Stockton, and Smith who are all seniors or redshirt seniors playing at home.  We had Smith who was off the court as much as she was on.  We are an extremely young team without a lot of experience playing in tough situations.  We will get a lot better as the year wears on.

Defense and rebounding can be coached.  And do they ever need to be.

I hope you are right and the main issue was a young team with a tough road game they were maybe not quite mentally ready for, for whatever reason.  We are playing three reasonably experienced players in Smith, Carrington, and Fingall.  All are upperclass players and all have played decent minutes, though not big minutes for the latter two. At this point in their careers I imagine most of us thought we'd see more from them, more consistent play.  When they are on they are great but so far the consistency is not there.  I don't get why we have struggled at times the last year and now this one with rebounding.  We have the size inside, and the athletic ability, guards like Carrington and the Hulls rebound well, should be ok there.