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Ranked Cal in town

Bardman

Four-Star Poster
May 29, 2001
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Another ranked opponent. Another tough test for this team. 8PM start and I hope we have a decent crowd.
 
We started the 1st quarter off slow got down 7-0 early but got settled in and finished the 1st with a 3 point lead. Curry didn’t score the 1st quarter but Berry has come on strong.
 
Good first half up by 10 a lot of defense on our end. I wonder if our 4th quarter breakdowns have been because we run out of gas. We are really playing a lot of players and not for a few minutes at a time. Harris, Russell and Berry are in for 7 minutes and then sit for 7 minutes. It looks like he is trying to keep up the defensive pressure the whole game and trying not to have a let down at the end because of fatigue.
 
We take an 11 point lead into the 4th quarter let’s see if all this substitution solved our problem with 4th quarter breakdowns. If we can keep up our defensive intensity I like our chances.
 
Thankfully Cal hasn’t put that pressure on earlier in the game. We need to space on the inbounds and I really don’t like Williams inbounding the ball
 
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The Cards celebration on winning was subdued because they all know they had another 4th quarter implosion. The team just doesn't appear to have a true leader on the court.
 
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Olivia had quite possibly the best game of her career, but she fouled out just before the meltdown. It would have been better if she could have been positioned in the middle of the court as was the recipient of the inbound pass when Cal initiated their full court trapping press in that last 2 minutes or so. Jeff needs to keep Olivia, Nyla and Jada from getting into foul trouble in the 4th quarter, so they can be available for moments like this.

Instead, last night Cochran fouled out, and those inbound passes kept going to our short guards positioned in the corner, which resulted in CAL’s trapping pressure forced us into making some bad passes.

On a brighter note, we are in the hunt for the double bye for ACC tournament, as our schedule is quite favorable compared to some of the other contenders..
 
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The smaller lineup was pretty effective though. Curry, for a Sr guard, makes some bad decisions with the ball. Olivia - fantastic game. We just can’t get her and Harris to be at that level every game. It was mentioned above; and I have said it before, no on-the-court leader. I’m not sure why coach, after taking Berry out, never got her back in. The win vs a ranked team was great and the defense we are used to seeing was there for most of the game.
 
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Again, it boils down to PG play. Williams had 0 assists. Curry had 3 assists but also had 3 TO's. As a team, we had more TOs 14 than assists 10. I think in the 4th quarter, there was and has been a lot of uncertainty of who is suppose to have the ball in their hands to run the offense. The last few turnovers late in the game was an example of that.
 
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I thought Berry should have played more but I did think she looked really tired when he bought her out.
Berry is the one player that if she stays can and will be a great U of L player like we have had in the past. Hopefully her limited playing time will not be a factor in whether she goes into the portal. We cannot lose her.
 
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The one play late in the game when Izela got trapped in the corner and was fortunate to be fouled is illustrative of the 4th quarter implosion problems. You may have noticed that Walz was yelling “go get the damned ball!” to Taj Roberts.

Everything we’re seeing can be explained by inexperience. The freshmen (Taj especially) are too good not to be on the court, but they are too inexperienced not to make a mistake or two from time to time. They have struggled multiple times to close out games, and in a few cases it has cost them a win, so that’s going to be a part of this team until they ALL, collectively, figure out how to overcome those mistakes.
 
Yeah I have noticed on our inbound plays the players move according to where they are supposed to go to on a designed play. Once they get to their spot they quit moving and we have trouble inbounding the ball.
 
Again, it boils down to PG play. Williams had 0 assists. Curry had 3 assists but also had 3 TO's. As a team, we had more TOs 14 than assists 10. I think in the 4th quarter, there was and has been a lot of uncertainty of who is suppose to have the ball in their hands to run the offense. The last few turnovers late in the game was an example of that.
Well said.
 
Berry is the one player that if she stays can and will be a great U of L player like we have had in the past. Hopefully her limited playing time will not be a factor in whether she goes into the portal. We cannot lose her.
I do think she has battled some shoulder issues. Her defense has been erratic. Her movement w/o the ball has been erratic. Now, I think some of the lights have come on for her. Her passing, shooting and overall decision making have all improved. I think the game has slowed down for her - which is good.
 
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