Thank you 81alum for your measured analysis, pointing out both the positives but not shying away from the negatives.
I am frustrated...second year in a row that we had a double digit lead in the second half and failed to close it out.
There was a thought that crossed my mind after this game, win or loss. This was our first actual test of a game, so looking at who Tara played provides a good indication of who she trusts in crunch time.
I am surprised as well that Betts did not get more playing time especially in the second half with Brink in foul trouble. Though S. Carolina is one of the few teams that can match us in height, a 6'7" post is still hard to guard and I would have liked to have seen us try her. Did Tara think she was not ready on defense? I thought such an imposing post with five fouls to give, could have helped Brink out on the defensive end.
It was also interesting that Bosgana did not see any playing time and Demetre only got three minutes. They were often the first ones off the bench during our easy wins, so you would think they would be the first to provide relief.
Late in the game, it was really frustrating to see our offense stagnate and become too over reliant on Jones to make a play with the shot clock winding down. Too often, she had to attempt an off-balance shot with time running out. As good as she is, you can't depend on low-percentage shots like that. We often talked about how deep we are and these were the times that the depth should have come through for us.
In comparison, South Carolina's Bree Hall off the bench came up with some crucial shots for them and they didn't hesitate to go to her.
I also don't like the notion that it's better to lose so we can "learn" from our mistakes. You can't learn when you win?
Ultimately, I rather lose now than in March, but a loss is still a loss and it stings. It didn't seem we had that killer instinct to put the game away at the beginning of the fourth, we were too casual with our offense and S. Carolina came up with some shots to battle their way back.
This game showed the star power of Brink and how vitally important it is that she stays out of foul trouble. Yes, I feel like she gets picked on and her opponents can get away with murder while she gets whistled for the smallest infraction and we don't want her to stop imposing herself on defense, but we have to find a way to minimize those fouls.
I hope Iriafen will use this game as a measuring stick to see how much further she needs to work on her post skills. It's one thing to dominate against the likes of CSUN and Cal Poly, but the teams we'll face in a long tournament run are going to be much better equipped to defend the paint.
Just looking at the box score, besides the 22 turnovers, nothing jumps off the page as egregiously bad. We didn't execute in the critical moments, especially at the end of OT. South Carolina gave us a couple of chances and we squandered them away with the silliest unforced errors.
To summarize, I am also pretty upset as we should have won and considering who we are and what our potential aspirations are this season, I don't buy the moral victory but South Carolina is the premiere team in the country, so it's not a shame to lose to them.
The most important thing is to correct the mistakes, especially those totally under our control (calling a TO when we had none left, for instance) and see if we can make this our last loss of the season.
I am frustrated...second year in a row that we had a double digit lead in the second half and failed to close it out.
There was a thought that crossed my mind after this game, win or loss. This was our first actual test of a game, so looking at who Tara played provides a good indication of who she trusts in crunch time.
I am surprised as well that Betts did not get more playing time especially in the second half with Brink in foul trouble. Though S. Carolina is one of the few teams that can match us in height, a 6'7" post is still hard to guard and I would have liked to have seen us try her. Did Tara think she was not ready on defense? I thought such an imposing post with five fouls to give, could have helped Brink out on the defensive end.
It was also interesting that Bosgana did not see any playing time and Demetre only got three minutes. They were often the first ones off the bench during our easy wins, so you would think they would be the first to provide relief.
Late in the game, it was really frustrating to see our offense stagnate and become too over reliant on Jones to make a play with the shot clock winding down. Too often, she had to attempt an off-balance shot with time running out. As good as she is, you can't depend on low-percentage shots like that. We often talked about how deep we are and these were the times that the depth should have come through for us.
In comparison, South Carolina's Bree Hall off the bench came up with some crucial shots for them and they didn't hesitate to go to her.
I also don't like the notion that it's better to lose so we can "learn" from our mistakes. You can't learn when you win?
Ultimately, I rather lose now than in March, but a loss is still a loss and it stings. It didn't seem we had that killer instinct to put the game away at the beginning of the fourth, we were too casual with our offense and S. Carolina came up with some shots to battle their way back.
This game showed the star power of Brink and how vitally important it is that she stays out of foul trouble. Yes, I feel like she gets picked on and her opponents can get away with murder while she gets whistled for the smallest infraction and we don't want her to stop imposing herself on defense, but we have to find a way to minimize those fouls.
I hope Iriafen will use this game as a measuring stick to see how much further she needs to work on her post skills. It's one thing to dominate against the likes of CSUN and Cal Poly, but the teams we'll face in a long tournament run are going to be much better equipped to defend the paint.
Just looking at the box score, besides the 22 turnovers, nothing jumps off the page as egregiously bad. We didn't execute in the critical moments, especially at the end of OT. South Carolina gave us a couple of chances and we squandered them away with the silliest unforced errors.
To summarize, I am also pretty upset as we should have won and considering who we are and what our potential aspirations are this season, I don't buy the moral victory but South Carolina is the premiere team in the country, so it's not a shame to lose to them.
The most important thing is to correct the mistakes, especially those totally under our control (calling a TO when we had none left, for instance) and see if we can make this our last loss of the season.