Liz Dixon may very well influence the finish for the Lady Cards this season

[2330859]

Liz played exceptionally well today, and not just her first half scoring; as her inside presence resulted in key rebounds, and she volunteered some serious denial defense in the post. At 6’5”, Liz is not just tall, her length and athleticism makes it difficult for the opposition to deliver the pass in the low post. There have been periods where she plays with confidence, and I saw some of that today, and obviously so did Jeff.

Not to take anything away from NCST‘s 4th quarter performance ……. but I thought our defensive intensity and our focused half court offensive for the 1st 3 quarters resulted in a combination of fatigue and a sense of relaxation. That is a really bad situation to find yourself against an opponent like NCST playing in front of their sold out arena. I think if anyone ever asked Jeff if he would do anything differently in that loss; I think he would acknowledge that he failed to substitute enough in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.

If Liz steps up, along with Konno come tournament time, I like our chances come tournament time.

 

[KozmasAgain]

I thought she had a great game today, if she can be consistent she could make the difference. That is an issue with several players on the team. Right now K. Smith is struggling and Olivia had a great game against NCST but struggled today. HVL went through some struggles earlier but is playing good now.
It would be great if everyone is clicking all at the same time during the tournament. We never want our team peaking early so maybe it is a good thing we are winning even though we are struggling in some areas.

 

[KozmasAgain]

I agree and I also like Verhulst we need to start getting quality quality minutes for some these players to play the type of defense we play. It would help our starters stay fresh and last the whole game. I wouldn’t do mass substitution though. I would put them in one or two players at a time.

 

[ulcards1]

Liz is a key because if she is playing effectively for 15-20 minutes, that means Olivia is in the 20-25 range where she seems to be more effective. Olivia was brilliant versus NCST for 3 quarters but struggled in the fourth.
I'm a Verhulst fan, but she is limited this year physically-lots of balls ripped away from her today. She needs to get stronger before she becomes a killer.

 

[2330859]

Yes, Olivia was most effective for 3 quarters, just like Emily and Hailey against NCST. The style Jeff plays requires a lot of energy on both ends of the court ….. it requires a rotation that appeared short handed in that loss. Konno is an example of how missing just one contributor can reduce the time one starter has to rest. That was one intense game, and it was evident how it directly affects the Cards stamina.

My post is not about questioning Jeff; as he has forgotten more about women’s basketball and particularly this Cards roster than I could ever know. My observation is from afar, and only reflects what I could see as the Wolfpack appeared to recognize the Cards starting to show signs of fatigue late in the 3rd quarter.