Women's Team

[KL31NY]

81-79 L

I only saw the first few minutes online, when UDM's defense was porous & we were hitting all of our shots. So how did we let our big lead slip away?

[jack]

This game was ours to win. My thought is, when we came out in the second half, we should have switched up to man to man. They were shreading our zone as the half went on. We still have some players that don't quite understand the "help" in help defense. It's unfortunate to lose a game like that when we are shooting so well. Carr had a career night behind the arch. Karungi was big again underneath. We needed to put a spy on Shearer in the second half and deny her the ball. That should have been our number one goal. Force ther others to beat us, because they couldn't have. Everyone in that gym new Shearer was going to turn it lose at some point in the second half. We needed to be in her Jersey.

Great effort again ladies. We know what to do when we face them in the tourney.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

We needed to be in her Jersey.

[valpotx]

A positive sign in the last 10 games or so is that we keep the games much closer.  Hopefully good things to come in the next few, as well as next season

[valporun]

We fell apart somewhere in the first half. I know we had a huge lead then, and by halftime, the Titans had narrowed that lead severely. After that, we looked like a team that didn't know how to get the lead back. We have the fight, but it just didn't work for us against the Titans when we needed it most.

[valpotx]

Another close loss, in what looked to be a low shooting % game.  Karungi should be good next year if she gets some support.  I didn't realize that Richardson averages over 4 turnovers per game, and Wiedemann is around 3+ as well.  What does Faith Miller do in these games, mainly defense?  She has played in just about all games, but doesn't have any stats to speak of.

[jack]

F. Miller plays very limited minutes,and yes, she's inserted for defensive reasons. I haven't seen her individual stats, but I don't recall her taking many shots at all.
Another tough loss vs Green Bay. We gave ourselves a chance. We played much better in this one. It's refreshing to see them play down to the wire and actually be in a possition to win. I guess if there is a silver lining, we are much more competitive coming into the tournament than I anticipated we would be. We just need to learn how to close the deal.

[valporun]

I didn't see the women's game from Saturday, but with it being so close, and Green Bay not being the usual dominant team of the past few years or more, who could make noise on the women's side of the HL tourney? YSU or CSU? Who?

[jack]

Green bay, though not as dominate in years past, is still in the drivers seat. Let's face it, the rest of us didn't belong in the same league as Green Bay for several years. I see this one as fairly open. It all comes down to who wants it the most. If we can get past Detroit, I don't think we will get to the promise land, but we can spoil it for others I think.

[historyman]

Green bay, though not as dominate in years past, is still in the drivers seat. Let's face it, the rest of us didn't belong in the same league as Green Bay for several years. I see this one as fairly open. It all comes down to who wants it the most. If we can get past Detroit, I don't think we will get to the promise land, but we can spoil it for others I think.

I almost forgot which thread this was and started to type "what do you mean Green Bay dominated for years!" Then I remembered that the GB women have been dominate in previous years. You have to give credit to UWGB for being able to recruit basketball players to a town known for football and being frozen in winter. Good to see that the women's teams have evened things out and that both HL tournaments will be wide open.

[valpotx]

Women win by 14 over UWM!  This team is playing much better over the last 1 month+.  How about Karungi again, with 23 and 8 on 11/14 shooting in 21 minutes!  Charae with 24 as well.  Imagine how much better we would be with Karungi and Tabitha in the game at the same time...

[valporun]

Plus, Jessica Carr is in mid-season form now, so we have a good ball handler to bring the ball up the court. We also had a size advantage, but not sure if that was due to UWM's suspended players or lack of bench for this game.

[jack]

Agreed. It makes a big difference having a natural point that's comfoftable bringing the ball up. Other players do it, but it's clear they are out of their comfort zone doing so. Carr does a nice job anticipating, and avoiding the trap.
We need a good game at WS to end the regular season, and keep some momentum going into the Tourney.

[KL31NY]

Tournament time! Looks like we're heading to Detroit for Monday's #8/#9 game. 7pm eastern, 6pm central.

Speaking of tournament time, I rediscovered former Crusader Raegan Moore (2009-10 season), who is wrapping up her final season at Duquense with a WNIT bid likely coming next week. Good tall guard off the bench for us, but followed her redshirt year with two seasons of limited reserve play. This season, she's a regular starter and second in scoring with 14.2 PPG!!! Should Duquesne make the WNIT this season (and it should), it'll be the Dukes' sixth straight appearance in that tournament.

[jack]

Nice win at Detroit last night. If you would have said we'd get the W with Kanrungi netting 2pts, I would have called you crazy. What a great evening for Horton to shoot lights out. We truly needed that. I thought Carr had another good night controlling the ball and the pace, and knocking down 14 of her own. The contributions came from everywhere in this one, with Dean, who's battling an illness, coming in to pitch in 5. I thought our defense, as a whole, did a nice job of disrupting what they were trying to do. Our guards did a good job of breaking the trap all night.
Congrats ladies. You earned this one! Off to Green Bay.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Off to Green Bay

off WITH green bay!

would winning this game erase all the bad taste of the season?

[KL31NY]

Winning this game would be epic, and why not us? 9-22 Denver is playing for a Summit League title against South Dakota as we speak, er, type!

[jack]

Absolutely. Why not? We gave them fits last game. Anything can happen any given game.
I came across a really good article about Carr in the NWI paper yesterday. I never really realized the battle she fought to get back to playing this season. She stated she knew they could beat Detroit. We have the talent. If they all can find her confidence, who knows?

[KL31NY]

Thanks for the tip on the article. Here's the link: http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/carr-has-crusaders-ready-for-horizon-league-tournament/article_16d564de-aaa0-574a-85b2-014919b145b0.html

Heads up, before I could read the article, I had to watch a sponsor video to access the site. How new is this for the Times?

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Heads up, before I could read the article, I had to watch a sponsor video to access the site. How new is this for the Times?

Hm...I didn't, and I've not run into that yet on the site. 

[talksalot]

4:45 to play at the Kress Center...GB 66 VU 41... Carr leading the way with 15 pts and 6 rebs...

[jack]

Season over. Tough way to end it. You hate to see it end on that note, but it sure highlighted what we need to work on. First, I want to say, hats off to Carr.  6 3s tonight, along with the same in boards, and maybe the same in assist. We appreciate the battle you fought to even be playing this season.
Now then, where the hell was everyone else tonight? Not how you want to end a season. With an average game from everyone else, we get a "W". Have to be hungry and want to win, or you are wasting your time. This one isn't on the coaching.  They did their part.  The returning players need to look within and decide if this is really what they signed on for.

[valpopal]

A note of appreciation to the seniors who played their final game in a Valpo uniform: Charae Richardson, Liz Horton, and Elizabeth Hamlet. Thank you!

[jack]

Absolutely. I wish them the best in where ever life takes them. Thank you for your dedication to Crusader Basketball.
It'll be interesting to see what's in the works for next year. I've heard some grumblings, but nothing solid, or verifiable.

[FWalum]

I've heard some grumblings, but nothing solid, or verifiable.

Jack, grumblings would suggest bad things, I hope that is not the case.