Women's Team

[bbtds]

The next three home games are Louisville, Tulsa and Illinois. If the women can shoot near that well against the tough opposition I think they could upset one or two of those teams.

It would be a great time to get out and see the women's team play against this stiffer competition.  That was no easy Tenn Tech team they beat handily.

[jack]

Ask and ye shall receive. Carr with a much improved performance all around tonight which is what I believed to be one o,f it not the main factor in tonight's impressive showing. Tennessee Tech had a lot of athletes and some solid size on the court, they should be a quality team this year. Probably the best win this regime has had since it's win over IU on the opening game 2 years ago.
[/quote



I have to agree, this was one of their bigger wins. Carr showed why she's one of the team leaders. Much of what she did in this contest doesn't show up on any stat sheet. She kept her teammates engaged, directed traffic, and did a great job of handling the press. Kudos to her.
I thought the newbies played more focused and with confidence. They are improving with each game. That is key. We have a better shooting group than we've had in some time. It was good seeing Jessie W. get out there and drop 3 - 3's. We need that contribution from her. We are making ourselves tough to defend with our outside game right now. I know it's early, but if we are picked to finish 8th in this league, there must be some very, very good teams in the Horizon league this year.
Keep it going ladies!

[bbtds]

It seemed that if Haylee from Hailey (Idaho how that happened) would gain some strength and get help under the basket from Karungi and Franklin we might be able to challenge Louisville and Illinois. I don't really know if Tulsa is in the top tier or not. I don't believe we'll shoot that well against the Cardinals and Illini but with some good crowds and spirited team play there is a chance to get this Valpo team an unprecedented turn-a-round that almost no program in Valpo history has ever experienced. Tennessee Tech isn't quite the strong team that I thought they were but they did have many very athletic ladies, especially the point guard.

[jack]

I believe TT is a better ball team then they appeared to be last night. One, I felt our D was at a level they weren't used to seeing yet this season.  Two, when you face a team that's hitting from outside by multiple players, it takes some time to make the needed adjustments.  I believe knocking down that first 3 after they jumped out to a 2 - 0 lead was huge in setting the tone for the game.

[valporun]

Whatever this year's women's team does will bring about a turnaround that will most likely match the turnaround made by the 2001-2002 team. If you remember, the 2000-2001 team lost a lot of players to graduation the previous year, and were 7-21, then came back in 2001-2002 and not only won a lot of games, but made the WNIT, and made it to the Sweet 16 of that tournament, and then followed it up with consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament. I can't say this team will have the same progression, but I will be excited to see how competitive they stay.

[valpopal]

[tweet]537036311321116673[/tweet]

[jack]

Good for her. It's great to watch her confidence grow with each game. We have some quality young talent to compliment our veterans. The vets are playing better too it seems, knowing they have some help, and players are getting healthy. This might be the most talent we've had in some time.

[valpo84]

Anyone going to the Akron game tonight?

[valpotx]

I look forward to this Akron game.  I also look forward to the person who stated that we were putting 'D2' talent on the floor, eating their words this season

[valporun]

Just remembered this game was on. The Lady Crusaders are trailing the Lady Zips of Akron, 41-29. Our leading scorer is Dani Franklin with 7 points. Looks like we haven't been able to get anything going so far.

Also, did some searching around the Akron website, and found some FREE video for this game: http://gozips.sidearmsports.com/watch/?Live=39

[jack]

I look forward to this Akron game.  I also look forward to the person who stated that we were putting 'D2' talent on the floor, eating their words this season

Looks like you might be eating your words in this one. The way we are playing tonight, a D2 team would work us over. Why Dorrow hasn't sat her starters and clear the bench is beyond me. Even the announcers are laughing at us. Was considering making it to the Louisville game, but probably time to reconsider. This is the worst I have seen us play in 2 years. We totally have given up on defense. Going to be a fun ride home I am sure. No one is taking charge on the floor or the bench. Total breakdown by all.
We weren't ready for prime time.

[valporun]

jack, our biggest issues seem to be that Akron can't miss, we can't make shots, and when Akron has the ball, they run on us. Their transition has been blinding us, then they get the ball back to the perimeter, and the 3 ball falls. I don't think anyone on our roster is built for that. They just have to take their lump on this one. It wasn't anything we did right or wrong, just nothing we could do to counter their attack.

[jack]

That's a copout. Granted, they were hitting lights out, but saying it wasn't anything we did wrong is being disingenuous to this team. We did plenty wrong. We weren't rotating on defense, we panicked when we got down and were taking ill advised shots, we continue digging ourselves a hole with our inability to hold onto the ball, and we are telegraphing our passes. We weren't talking out on the floor, and our vets weren't picking up our rookies. I could go on, but I think I made the point I was after. This was a breakdown in all aspects of the game. How you go from Saturday's outing to this is a mystery to me. Akron is good team, but not IU good. We never tried to assert ourselves in any phase of the game. We gave in very early on and started playing the game they hoped we would play. Beating this team was a tall order, but being embarrassed by them shouldn't be acceptable.
This team has a lot to talk about before Louisville comes to town.

[valpotx]

I wasn't saying that we would beat Akron, I was talking about after the season is over.  We are going to have a much improved season within conference, and overall.

[jack]

I hope you are right. I was replying to your comment that it wasn't anything we did wrong. If we are to have an improved season, we need to realize we did many things wrong and work to correct them. We have a couple of tough games ahead, and win or lose, we must keep improving as we worked towards conference play.

[valpo84]

I attended that Akron game and deserve some sort of "pin" to add to watching some of our men's and women's most lopsided losses.... Notwithstanding, we are a half-full kind of analyst. Looked like we were sluggish (not excuses but long bus ride, thanksgiving, blah blah). We had our chances in 1st half and we failed repeatedly. Too many missed bunnies, too many missed open jumpers 2s and 3s. Akron outphysicaled us from the start and we accepted it. (Refs didn't help early either). We had a chance to cut half time lead to 4 or 6 from 10, but had empty possessions 3 straight times. Poor rebounding, no serious box outs and allowed their beef to exploit inside. And did we mention Akron shot lights freaking out. #12 hit like 4 3s off the bench and all were nylon. Look at our shooting % 20/70. Ugly. We did not aggressively attack the basket. When we run inside out and swing the ball (ball movement emphasis point) we looked solid and can see that we will be effective. Akron's #15 was the best athlete on the court, reverses, hangers, jump shots. #42 is a beast especially when she can indiscriminately go over the back but again got to have better position. Akron is well-coached and trapped/doubled us high, and we did not release ball soon enough to make them pay. Foot slow and need to toughen up. First half was a decent game. 2d half not so much. One certain -- even as well as Akron played, if we are a D2 team then so is the rest of the mid-majors. We have enough D1 talent to compete at D1 level. But, we need more every year. Akron had players from Michigan that we should be in on. We should be able to outrecruit schools like Akron for talent.

[covufan]

What will it take to be improved in HL play for this year?  Last year we won 3 games in HL play, plus another in the HL tournament.  The previous year we won 5, then one more in the HL tournament.  Would 5 HL wins, plus another in the HL tournament, and a few other close games indicate that this team is heading in the right direction?

[covufan]

I attended that Akron game and deserve some sort of "pin" to add to watching some of our men's and women's most lopsided losses.... Notwithstanding, we are a half-full kind of analyst. Looked like we were sluggish (not excuses but long bus ride, thanksgiving, blah blah). We had our chances in 1st half and we failed repeatedly. Too many missed bunnies, too many missed open jumpers 2s and 3s. Akron outphysicaled us from the start and we accepted it. (Refs didn't help early either). We had a chance to cut half time lead to 4 or 6 from 10, but had empty possessions 3 straight times. Poor rebounding, no serious box outs and allowed their beef to exploit inside. And did we mention Akron shot lights freaking out. #12 hit like 4 3s off the bench and all were nylon. Look at our shooting % 20/70. Ugly. We did not aggressively attack the basket. When we run inside out and swing the ball (ball movement emphasis point) we looked solid and can see that we will be effective. Akron's #15 was the best athlete on the court, reverses, hangers, jump shots. #42 is a beast especially when she can indiscriminately go over the back but again got to have better position. Akron is well-coached and trapped/doubled us high, and we did not release ball soon enough to make them pay. Foot slow and need to toughen up. First half was a decent game. 2d half not so much. One certain -- even as well as Akron played, if we are a D2 team then so is the rest of the mid-majors. We have enough D1 talent to compete at D1 level. But, we need more every year. Akron had players from Michigan that we should be in on. We should be able to outrecruit schools like Akron for talent.

Think "Lonesome Polecat"

[valpo84]

Covufan -- that lonesome polecat game is indelibly etched in my brain. So cold, snow and such a big beat down.

[valpopal]

The women will have one fewer player the rest of the season as Faith Miller has left the team.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

It's hard keeping the Faith sometimes.

[valpotx]

She was a walk-on, correct?  Games against the top 15 teams in women's basketball always show the difference between mid-major and high majors.  The disparity is always massive between the top women's teams, and the rest of D-1.

[valpotx]

Louisville 86-59.  Not so bad, when you consider that teams like Louisville routinely beat mid-majors by 40+.  We missed many uncontested layups in the time I watched.  That has nothing to do with coaching, or having 'D2' talent, but jitters in playing against top teams.  It makes it hard to watch women's games, in watching so many uncontested misses by every team, but I keep on watching!

[valpopal]

Though attention Sunday certainly belonged to the men's team, the women's team faced a test in their game against #12 ranked Louisville. The team was apprehensive at the beginning. In fact, before the game our players were heard commenting in awe on the size of the Louisville players. In appearance, the lack of size and speed in our players when contrasted with those on the Louisville team made it seem almost as if a middle school team were playing against a university team. Nevertheless, the women played with grit and gave full effort throughout. The start of the game saw Valpo hanging tough with Louisville, trailing only 7-6 after the first 5 minutes. However, by halftime the gap had grown to 48-24. Yet, rather than give up, the women played well and only lost the second half by a margin of 38-35.

Valpo shot 44% for the game, but the size of Louisville (especially with Sharon sidelined with a foot injury) caused a 48-30 difference in rebounds, and their speed led to 13 steals by Louisville. In the post-game conference, Coach Dorow and the players justifiably maintained their confidence and even seemed heartened by the performance against such elite competition.

[valpotx]

I didn't want to say it, but several of Louisville's bigs could play against men on a daily basis.  One Cardinal, in particular, was jacked like a guy...