Preview:
We opened the season against UC Davis and had a comfortable win, despite a tight first quarter. I'd recommend you read my last preview and write-up since it has been so long since we played them.
https://thecardboard.org/board/showthrea...#pid234557
Davis, whose coaches--in a friendly gesture--taught our coaches how to implement the Princeton, is 25-6 this year and is on a 16 game winning streak. They have only lost once since December 2. They beat common opponent Hawaii 58-50 to win the Big West championship last weekend. They have played 6 NCAA tournament teams this year, including us. Massey has them at 67, which is better than a few Pac 12 teams.
Their elite redshirt senior 6'4" forward Morgan Bertsch continues to lead the team, averaging 24 ppg. Senior guard Courtney Eaton is shooting 46% of her treys this year and is making a couple a game, and they have another 40% shooter too, and a couple in the 30s who can get hot. They are averaging 8 treys a game, which along with Bertsch makes for a great balance.
Davis is not to be taken lightly, given that their coaches are experts at how to stop the Princeton, given that they have played us before at Maples and their players have had that experience, given that they have been playing extremely well--16 wins in a row is not easy regardless of the level of play--and given that they can potentially have both inside and outside threats. Last time our offense was so-so, but we beat them with defense. Let's hope that continues.
Overview:
Much as I hoped, our defense throttled UC Davis in the first quarter, holding them scoreless for the first 6 minutes while we amassed 15 points. That 15-0 start led to a 29-9 first quarter, and frankly we coasted the rest of the way, giving many players deep minutes.
Character of the game:
The game was far more lopsided than the final score indicates. Alanna Smith played only 21 minutes, Dijonai Carrington just 23, and five backups played double digits. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters were actually competitive--Davis outscored us in the 4th 13-11--but only because Tara was giving so much time to players like Anna Wilson, Alyssa Jerome, and Jenna Brown. There were plenty of pretty plays to ooo and ahh over, backwards bounce passes from Coffee to a cutting player for a layup, swooshing treys from professional range by Williams, a steal and layup by Smith, etc. But the suspense was out of this game by the time we were six minutes in and leading 15-0.
Performances:
Alanna Smith led with 21 points in exactly 21 minutes. Most impressively, she was 3/5 from three point range which is an excellent sign that perhaps he finger has healed and her long range shooting is back on track.
Kianna Williams contributed 19 points included 3/6 from long range, and a very impressive 5 assists to 0 turnovers.
Carrington had 12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks for a normal stat filled line. Plus she is always fun to watch. She and Maya Dodson came out early to warm up on the stationary bikes.
Six more players scored, and there were a lot of nice contributions, but with the liberal substitutions it is hard to single anyone else out for special praise. They all did their jobs well. Coffee had 3 assists, Wilson had 2 steals, Lexie Hull had 7 rebounds.
As a team, we had 42 points in the paint to their 14, which tells much of the story. They shot 29% and we shot 49%. Enough said.
Conclusion:
On to BYU, which on paper is better than Davis but which for some reason does not seem very much more threatening to me. But we need to take care of business--BYU is a team that beat Gonzaga three times this year. Clearly they have something going for them.
We opened the season against UC Davis and had a comfortable win, despite a tight first quarter. I'd recommend you read my last preview and write-up since it has been so long since we played them.
https://thecardboard.org/board/showthrea...#pid234557
Davis, whose coaches--in a friendly gesture--taught our coaches how to implement the Princeton, is 25-6 this year and is on a 16 game winning streak. They have only lost once since December 2. They beat common opponent Hawaii 58-50 to win the Big West championship last weekend. They have played 6 NCAA tournament teams this year, including us. Massey has them at 67, which is better than a few Pac 12 teams.
Their elite redshirt senior 6'4" forward Morgan Bertsch continues to lead the team, averaging 24 ppg. Senior guard Courtney Eaton is shooting 46% of her treys this year and is making a couple a game, and they have another 40% shooter too, and a couple in the 30s who can get hot. They are averaging 8 treys a game, which along with Bertsch makes for a great balance.
Davis is not to be taken lightly, given that their coaches are experts at how to stop the Princeton, given that they have played us before at Maples and their players have had that experience, given that they have been playing extremely well--16 wins in a row is not easy regardless of the level of play--and given that they can potentially have both inside and outside threats. Last time our offense was so-so, but we beat them with defense. Let's hope that continues.
Overview:
Much as I hoped, our defense throttled UC Davis in the first quarter, holding them scoreless for the first 6 minutes while we amassed 15 points. That 15-0 start led to a 29-9 first quarter, and frankly we coasted the rest of the way, giving many players deep minutes.
Character of the game:
The game was far more lopsided than the final score indicates. Alanna Smith played only 21 minutes, Dijonai Carrington just 23, and five backups played double digits. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarters were actually competitive--Davis outscored us in the 4th 13-11--but only because Tara was giving so much time to players like Anna Wilson, Alyssa Jerome, and Jenna Brown. There were plenty of pretty plays to ooo and ahh over, backwards bounce passes from Coffee to a cutting player for a layup, swooshing treys from professional range by Williams, a steal and layup by Smith, etc. But the suspense was out of this game by the time we were six minutes in and leading 15-0.
Performances:
Alanna Smith led with 21 points in exactly 21 minutes. Most impressively, she was 3/5 from three point range which is an excellent sign that perhaps he finger has healed and her long range shooting is back on track.
Kianna Williams contributed 19 points included 3/6 from long range, and a very impressive 5 assists to 0 turnovers.
Carrington had 12 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks for a normal stat filled line. Plus she is always fun to watch. She and Maya Dodson came out early to warm up on the stationary bikes.
Six more players scored, and there were a lot of nice contributions, but with the liberal substitutions it is hard to single anyone else out for special praise. They all did their jobs well. Coffee had 3 assists, Wilson had 2 steals, Lexie Hull had 7 rebounds.
As a team, we had 42 points in the paint to their 14, which tells much of the story. They shot 29% and we shot 49%. Enough said.
Conclusion:
On to BYU, which on paper is better than Davis but which for some reason does not seem very much more threatening to me. But we need to take care of business--BYU is a team that beat Gonzaga three times this year. Clearly they have something going for them.