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Looks like Wes and NCST own us

2330859

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Nov 28, 2002
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Our 4th quarter performance was about as bad as I can recall; similar to the last time we lost to NCST.
 
Sorry, it was the last NCST regular season game (1-20-22) that I was recalling. NCST outscored us 31-8 in the 4th quarter; not sure, but I think OSU did pretty much the same to us earlier this season.
 
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This is just not a good team or I should say a team that we’re use to. We’re lacking consistency, HVL is a scorer but has lapses in D and ridiculous turnovers. But at least she can score, well other than today.
We lack athletic bigs. They’re either hot or cold when it comes to the basics, layups for instance. Today at one point we were out rebounding them, but that didn’t last.
Walz is a great coach, but sometimes the teams just don’t mesh or lack key pieces because players don’t develop I think that’s where we are.
 
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I think CardFirst captured the essence of where we are right now. The temptation is to focus on HVL’s inability to hit those mid-range shots yesterday that we are all accustomed to seeing her score, but looking deeper, I believe our weakness is our post presence. Olivia did a good job rebounding, but yesterday was an example of virtually zero offensive production inside from Liz, Josie and Olivia.

NCST did a good job defensively on helping out on both HVL and Carr, as neither Cochran or Dixon represent any serious threat in the half court offense. Cochran is too valuable rebounding to keep her off the floor, but somehow this team must find away to find offensive production inside, otherwise the opponents will focus on stopping Jones, Carr and HVL.
 
This is definitely the issue with the offense. Both Dixon and Cochran have shown the ability before in their careers, but they continue to miss layups and close in shots. They also struggle a bit to hold onto the ball in traffic.

I think Walz truly expected by now in their careers they would have improved but for some reason they have not. Cochran wants to play more on the perimeter but Walz reigned that in early in the season.

I think Harris needs to start and get as many minutes as possible. She appears to be the kind of power forward that has eluded Walz at Louisville.
 
HVL was not herself and wasn't feeling well but managed to play. The problem was we don't have anyone on a regular basis to pick up the team when she's off or the other team's defense focus on her. Carr and Jones did their best but OC, Harris and Dixon failed to step up. I would start Williams at the 5, OC at the 4, Jones, HVL and Carr.
 
The problem with Harris is she wants to put the ball on the floor instead of going straight up with the ball. She is young and will probably get better with that. I agree the problem is the lack of production in the front court. Unfortunately we have been exposed and our opponents will start attacking us the same way UNCST did.
 
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This is definitely the issue with the offense. Both Dixon and Cochran have shown the ability before in their careers, but they continue to miss layups and close in shots. They also struggle a bit to hold onto the ball in traffic.

I think Walz truly expected by now in their careers they would have improved but for some reason they have not. Cochran wants to play more on the perimeter but Walz reigned that in early in the season.

I think Harris needs to start and get as many minutes as possible. She appears to be the kind of power forward that has eluded Walz at Louisville.
I also agree Harris needs to start. I think the issue with Cochran and Dixon is simple. They are not athletic, they just aren’t. Neither can jump, turn or move from one end of the court to other quickly.
Harris on the other hand can flat out jump. She went up for a rebound Sunday and easily cleared everyone on the court. She also runs the court fast.
I will say HVL at times in the game seemed to be dragging, which makes me wonder if she wasn’t feeling well.
 
HVL finished the game the same way she started the game .......unable to connect on her shots. Most of the FQ attempts were from the same locations as previous games, but appeared as her misses were uncharacteristically "not even close". The defensive effort by NCST was about the same as what she experiences each game. It is possible that she was not well, but such a competitor she would not allow herself to miss the challenge.
 
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HVL finished the game the same way she started the game .......unable to connect on her shots. Most of the FQ attempts were from the same locations as previous games, but appeared as her misses were uncharacteristically "not even close". The defensive effort by NCST was about the same as what she experiences each game. It is possible that she was not well, but such a competitor she would not allow herself to miss the challenge.
We lost that game because our 4 bigs totaled 6 points, not because of HVL. Speculation was that she was under the weather but I have yet to hear her use that as a excuse. If she hadn't played we would have lost by halftime. I don't have to defend HVL, we can let CJW do that. 13 offensive rebounds and only 4 points....
 
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My comments regarding HVL’s performance was not about placing responsibility on her for that loss, there is no one on this board who is more appreciative and defensive of Hailey than myself. With that said, it’s just a fact that she missed so many more shots in that game than what has been her historical performance so far this year. In a related post, I pointed out the most non-productive performances by Olivia, Liz and Josie, as their collective production was negligible; the one exception was Cochran’s impressive rebounding.

There can be no doubt that NCST dominated us on our home court in the last few minutes of the 3rd quarter, and the entirety of the 4th quarter …… but placing blame, or responsibility on any one player, or any one position serves no purpose, as we lost as a team.

Anyone watching WBB will quickly recognize that shooting percentage is the one single statistic that generally dictates the outcome. Obviously rebounding, turnovers, fouls, etc all affects who ultimately wins, but at the end of the day the team that shoots a higher percentage of FGs will have the best chance of prevailing. Aside from Carr, our shooting percentage was inconsistent with our normal performance this season.
 
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