Preview:
It is high time we turn our attention away from the final four, or predictions of championships, and instead contemplate the next game.
The Montana State Bobcats come to Maples on Friday evening. The Bobcats are the Big Sky champions, are 22-12, are ranked 156 by Massey and 164 in net. For comparison, that would put them well below Washington, the weakest Pac 12 team (95 net) and even well below Portland who we beat early in November (75 net.) The most comparable team we have played this year is UC Davis (134 net.) So on paper, they are grossly over matched.
MSU plays 10 players more than 10 minutes a game and no players more than 32 minutes a game--so they have a deep rotation. Their star scorer is 5'6" junior guard Darian White, at 16ppg. White is the one player at 32 minutes so she is too valuable to be taken out very much. Curiously for a 5'6" guard, she is not a three point specialist--hitting only 26% from three and not taking them in great numbers. She must do a lot of mid range jumpers or be a slasher or both. She has 5 times as many assists as anyone else on her team (with a 2:1) so I presume she is the point guard. She also has 84 steals on the year. I definitely sense an assignment for Anna Wilson.
MSU's second leading scorer is 6'2" junior forward Kola Bad Bear. (I presume that is a Native American name.) She scored 11ppg and leads the team in rebounding.
Also noteworthy is 6'2" sophomore forward Katelynne Limardo. She is their best three point shooter at 37% and has made 57 of them so far. They also have a sophomore guard who has made more than 50 treys but at a lower percentage. Overall, they make 7 treys a game.
As a team, their shooting percentage has been only 38% and worse than their opponents. Their rebounding has also been behind that of their opponents. They are +4 on turnovers, which helps their cause, and get about 9 steals a game. They are 5th in the nation in free throws made--they must slash a lot and get fouled a lot.
MSU has a 6'6" center but she has not played since November, so I presume an injury has ended her season. They have 2 6'2" players and a 6'3" player but only one has been a consistent starter. In general, they are going to have a terrible time scoring the ball inside against our height and length.
I have no idea what defense they normally play, but if I were their coach I would try the golden oldie and do a zone, clog the paint against us, dare us to shoot the three and pray we have an off shooting night.
We won't. Our team will be loose and the treys will drop, sooner or later, and this should be a chance for a lot of our players to play.
https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/sp...6ff63.html
It is high time we turn our attention away from the final four, or predictions of championships, and instead contemplate the next game.
The Montana State Bobcats come to Maples on Friday evening. The Bobcats are the Big Sky champions, are 22-12, are ranked 156 by Massey and 164 in net. For comparison, that would put them well below Washington, the weakest Pac 12 team (95 net) and even well below Portland who we beat early in November (75 net.) The most comparable team we have played this year is UC Davis (134 net.) So on paper, they are grossly over matched.
MSU plays 10 players more than 10 minutes a game and no players more than 32 minutes a game--so they have a deep rotation. Their star scorer is 5'6" junior guard Darian White, at 16ppg. White is the one player at 32 minutes so she is too valuable to be taken out very much. Curiously for a 5'6" guard, she is not a three point specialist--hitting only 26% from three and not taking them in great numbers. She must do a lot of mid range jumpers or be a slasher or both. She has 5 times as many assists as anyone else on her team (with a 2:1) so I presume she is the point guard. She also has 84 steals on the year. I definitely sense an assignment for Anna Wilson.
MSU's second leading scorer is 6'2" junior forward Kola Bad Bear. (I presume that is a Native American name.) She scored 11ppg and leads the team in rebounding.
Also noteworthy is 6'2" sophomore forward Katelynne Limardo. She is their best three point shooter at 37% and has made 57 of them so far. They also have a sophomore guard who has made more than 50 treys but at a lower percentage. Overall, they make 7 treys a game.
As a team, their shooting percentage has been only 38% and worse than their opponents. Their rebounding has also been behind that of their opponents. They are +4 on turnovers, which helps their cause, and get about 9 steals a game. They are 5th in the nation in free throws made--they must slash a lot and get fouled a lot.
MSU has a 6'6" center but she has not played since November, so I presume an injury has ended her season. They have 2 6'2" players and a 6'3" player but only one has been a consistent starter. In general, they are going to have a terrible time scoring the ball inside against our height and length.
I have no idea what defense they normally play, but if I were their coach I would try the golden oldie and do a zone, clog the paint against us, dare us to shoot the three and pray we have an off shooting night.
We won't. Our team will be loose and the treys will drop, sooner or later, and this should be a chance for a lot of our players to play.
Quote:“It’s a very special program, talented program, with the best in the business as their leader,” Binford said. “We’re going to have our hands full, but we’re going to go in with a lot of grit and put everything out on the floor. We’re going to prepare our scout as best we can and set this team up to have a great game.”
A 16 seed has beaten a 1 seed once in NCAA women’s tournament history, and Stanford was that 1. Harvard beat the Cardinal 71-67 in 1998.
“A little nervous, but I’m going to go in with as much confidence as possible,” White said. “Anything can happen.”
https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/sp...6ff63.html
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