12-21-2021, 11:33 PM
Chimera summed it up well (funny, I usually agree with Chimera). Destinee Henderson was fantastic and those steals were the difference.
RE: our turnovers....Not entirely sure, but I think every one of them occurred across half-court, and many were at the wing and high post and not even in the backcourt. With the exception from Anna who gave it up 4 times while dribbling, the ball was mostly taken from us while holding it or standing and attempting to pass. Brink, Haley, and Prechtel (and others?) just held it out in front of them and they swiped it. Just lazy on our part and not valuing possession. The good news here, IMO, is this is a really easy thing to drill and work on and it won't happen if we play them again. These turnovers were not from full court defense, pressing, trapping, etc. like we saw from Texas.
Other than the turnovers, my explanation for the 3rd quarter meltdown is two-fold: 1) After halftime and being behind so much, they came out with a big time sense of urgency because if they didn't start making plays they were going to lose. The time pressure drives the urgency. They definitely cranked it up. 2) We started missing. I want to go back and watch the third quarter again, but from recollection we missed 4 easy layups. I really don't think there's enough data to conclude that "we're not a good 3rd quarter team" or "Tara doesn't make the right adjustments" or whatever.
Pretty disappointed in comments referring to certain players shouldn't start, what gives about her, we need more of someone else, she isn't the answer, we can't beat these teams unless, etc. etc. etc. To me, that's big time overreaction. The fact is, we were running the #1 (and probably most talented) team in the country out of their own gym in probably the toughest environment you can find with the refs against us. This coming off a great win against a Top-10 team at their place. I think the coaching staff is pretty happy with this road trip and I would be shocked if they are considering messing with the rotations at this point. There shouldn't be any change to the starting lineup, or the rotations, Cam is the center, Prechtel and Belibi (now that both are healthy) will be the backup posts, Jump will continue to start over Wilson who will be the first guard off the bench, and Lacie is the PG (or the 4th guard, whatever you want to call it). Sprinkle in some other players where you need a specialty (a la Agnes on D, Demetre against a zone, etc.) and it's a done deal. That rotation still has more upside and they will get better and better together. Otherwise, if you start moving too many of the pieces around, you end up generating Haase-like confusion in the middle of the season.
RE: Brink...Many board comments on how impressive Cam has been with improving her fouling discipline this year...until the Tennessee game. So I'm not ready to toss aside her development in this area. Her first foul in this game was b.s. (TOTAL B.S.) or she wouldn't have come off the court. Also, tonight she was playing against the top post and likely 2023 WNBA #1 draft pick and she was bested. She tried to do too much on offense, probably was looking for some love from the refs and didn't get it. And yes, awful shot at the end. So, rough game for sure. Here's the thing though. I love what Prechtel and Belibi bring to the table. But when Cam is playing good she operates on a way different level. Better scorer, faster, can draw/kick, great passer...We need her to take us to the promised land and not just be along for the ride.
I definitely wanted the win today and am sad that we didn't get it. But in the grand scheme, I really like where this team is. I bet the ladies can sense it. Aside from injury, Covid, etc., I think they are flying home knowing they have it in them to repeat.
p.s. Just a question for anyone who might be able to explain this...What was Wilson doing at the end when SC had the ball out of bounds with 3 seconds left? We were only down 2 and could still win if we got a steal on the inbounds. But Anna just looked all confused and was hanging out by half court not guarding anyone at all! Then they were able to just throw the ball in to Littleton who was all alone. Anyone have any idea what was going on there?
RE: our turnovers....Not entirely sure, but I think every one of them occurred across half-court, and many were at the wing and high post and not even in the backcourt. With the exception from Anna who gave it up 4 times while dribbling, the ball was mostly taken from us while holding it or standing and attempting to pass. Brink, Haley, and Prechtel (and others?) just held it out in front of them and they swiped it. Just lazy on our part and not valuing possession. The good news here, IMO, is this is a really easy thing to drill and work on and it won't happen if we play them again. These turnovers were not from full court defense, pressing, trapping, etc. like we saw from Texas.
Other than the turnovers, my explanation for the 3rd quarter meltdown is two-fold: 1) After halftime and being behind so much, they came out with a big time sense of urgency because if they didn't start making plays they were going to lose. The time pressure drives the urgency. They definitely cranked it up. 2) We started missing. I want to go back and watch the third quarter again, but from recollection we missed 4 easy layups. I really don't think there's enough data to conclude that "we're not a good 3rd quarter team" or "Tara doesn't make the right adjustments" or whatever.
Pretty disappointed in comments referring to certain players shouldn't start, what gives about her, we need more of someone else, she isn't the answer, we can't beat these teams unless, etc. etc. etc. To me, that's big time overreaction. The fact is, we were running the #1 (and probably most talented) team in the country out of their own gym in probably the toughest environment you can find with the refs against us. This coming off a great win against a Top-10 team at their place. I think the coaching staff is pretty happy with this road trip and I would be shocked if they are considering messing with the rotations at this point. There shouldn't be any change to the starting lineup, or the rotations, Cam is the center, Prechtel and Belibi (now that both are healthy) will be the backup posts, Jump will continue to start over Wilson who will be the first guard off the bench, and Lacie is the PG (or the 4th guard, whatever you want to call it). Sprinkle in some other players where you need a specialty (a la Agnes on D, Demetre against a zone, etc.) and it's a done deal. That rotation still has more upside and they will get better and better together. Otherwise, if you start moving too many of the pieces around, you end up generating Haase-like confusion in the middle of the season.
RE: Brink...Many board comments on how impressive Cam has been with improving her fouling discipline this year...until the Tennessee game. So I'm not ready to toss aside her development in this area. Her first foul in this game was b.s. (TOTAL B.S.) or she wouldn't have come off the court. Also, tonight she was playing against the top post and likely 2023 WNBA #1 draft pick and she was bested. She tried to do too much on offense, probably was looking for some love from the refs and didn't get it. And yes, awful shot at the end. So, rough game for sure. Here's the thing though. I love what Prechtel and Belibi bring to the table. But when Cam is playing good she operates on a way different level. Better scorer, faster, can draw/kick, great passer...We need her to take us to the promised land and not just be along for the ride.
I definitely wanted the win today and am sad that we didn't get it. But in the grand scheme, I really like where this team is. I bet the ladies can sense it. Aside from injury, Covid, etc., I think they are flying home knowing they have it in them to repeat.
p.s. Just a question for anyone who might be able to explain this...What was Wilson doing at the end when SC had the ball out of bounds with 3 seconds left? We were only down 2 and could still win if we got a steal on the inbounds. But Anna just looked all confused and was hanging out by half court not guarding anyone at all! Then they were able to just throw the ball in to Littleton who was all alone. Anyone have any idea what was going on there?