Women's Basketball 2015-2016

IndyValpo · November 09, 2015, 10:28:09 AM

22 pages on the old thread let's start fresh for the new year.

Opener vs. Butler in Indy on Friday.

Butler's roster is down to 10 players, 5 are true freshman, one a redshirt freshman and one a 5th year senior who played (pretty well) last year after four years of volleyball.

Looking at our roster photo I am struck by:
1. Lindfors is really tall
2. Scott-Thompson looks a lot like Richardson from a few years back. Same number, same size
3. Donchetz and Schofield could be sisters.
4. Schaub was a 5 year letterman in high school.
5. Anne Marie Hamlet and Meredith Hamlet could be sisters, wait they are....

covufan · November 09, 2015, 11:41:47 AM

Quote from: IndyValpo on November 09, 2015, 10:28:09 AM
22 pages on the old thread let's start fresh for the new year.

Opener vs. Butler in Indy on Friday.

Butler's roster is down to 10 players, 5 are true freshman, one a redshirt freshman and one a 5th year senior who played (pretty well) last year after four years of volleyball.

Looking at our roster photo I am struck by:
1. Lindfors is really tall
2. Scott-Thompson looks a lot like Richardson from a few year back. Same number, same size
3. Donchetz and Schofield could be sisters.
4. Schaub was a 5 year letterman in high school.
5. Anne Marie Hamlet and Meredith Hamlet could be sisters, wait they are....

This is Dorow's fourth season. With the top two scorers and rebounders from last year returning as sophomores, and some senior leadership in Miller and Dean, I'd really like to see this team play some close games this year (they had one 6 point win and one 7 point loss last year). Hopefully, the freshmen will be pushing for significant playing time and improving as the year progresses.

jack · November 10, 2015, 06:54:52 AM

They seem to have more talent potential this season then last. Noticeable improvement is a must this year. I believe they must be more creative on offense. The vanilla offense they ran last season was predictable and unproductive. They should be able to mix things up a lot more with the roster they have.
They also need a strong court leader. We have a lot of guards once again. I'm hoping a couple of them can truly step up to a point guard role and direct traffic. We had several that tried last season, but we only had one true point guard.
Our bigs have to play BIG. We were killed last year on the inside game. Positioning and footwork has to be a priority in practice for us to have any success.
I wish these ladies the best of luck this season. Let the games begin!

vu72 · November 10, 2015, 07:58:24 AM

Quote from: jack on November 10, 2015, 06:54:52 AM
They seem to have more talent potential this season then last. Noticeable improvement is a must this year. I believe they must be more creative on offense. The vanilla offense they ran last season was predictable and unproductive. They should be able to mix things up a lot more with the roster they have.
They also need a strong court leader. We have a lot of guards once again. I'm hoping a couple of them can truly step up to a point guard role and direct traffic. We had several that tried last season, but we only had one true point guard.
Our bigs have to play BIG. We were killed last year on the inside game. Positioning and footwork has to be a priority in practice for us to have any success.
I wish these ladies the best of luck this season. Let the games begin!

Well, we beat Purdue Calumet by 16. PC (currently ranked #11) is now 3-1 (after beating #5 Indiana Weslyan by 20!)and expects to play for a National Championship(NAIA Div. 2). We should be pretty good.

IndyValpo · November 10, 2015, 11:48:17 AM

Butler went 1-1 in exhibition play. Beating NAIA Marian and losing to D2 Walsh.

ValpoFan101 · November 12, 2015, 09:46:05 AM

Did everyone see the women's twitter page releases? Grace Hales and Caitlin Morrison are officially crusaders!

vu72 · November 12, 2015, 03:39:19 PM

Quote from: ValpoFan101 on November 12, 2015, 09:46:05 AM
Did everyone see the women's twitter page releases? Grace Hales and Caitlin Morrison are officially crusaders!

You can add Addison Stoller and Marlee Profitt to the team as well. Some very nice height coming in. Profitt is 6'1" as is Morrison. Hales is 6'.

covufan · November 12, 2015, 04:19:03 PM

Quote from: vu72 on November 12, 2015, 03:39:19 PM
Quote from: ValpoFan101 on November 12, 2015, 09:46:05 AM
Did everyone see the women's twitter page releases? Grace Hales and Caitlin Morrison are officially crusaders!

You can add Addison Stoller and Marlee Profitt to the team as well. Some very nice height coming in. Profitt is 6'1" as is Morrison. Hales is 6'.

I found this info:

http://www.goshennews.com/sports/westview-senior-signs-full-ride-with-valpo/article_fa185c69-fe31-5325-8479-ee5f5554c3b1.html

http://www.news-gazette.com/sports/prep-sports/girls-basketball/2015-06-25/cissna-parks-stoller-gets-shot-valpo.html

http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news/article/-7421127613423730577/highland-girls-basketball-player-marlee-profitt-commits-to-valaparaiso/

Looks like recruiting is going well for Dorow. Hopefully, this team will make a turn this season.

covufan · November 12, 2015, 04:20:03 PM

Paul Oren article on the motivation for Jasmyn Walker:

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/vu-s-walker-enters-sophomore-season-highly-motivated/article_a1dde7da-f4ff-5279-b0ee-193bbcf0c6e0.html

bbtds · November 12, 2015, 09:48:59 PM

I see from the story that Jessi Weidemann is back this year. I seem to remember a statement on this forum that Jessi would not be back due to injury issues. What happened? Is she limited by her injuries and just playing through it?

jack · November 16, 2015, 07:04:02 AM

Lost a great opportunity to come out of the gate strong. If we were going to lose this one, we did so how I envisioned we would. We don't have anyone concentrating on teaching these ladies positioning and footwork down in the block. I've been saying this for years, and it continues to hold true. We gave up 42 offensive rebounds! When you're shooting 26%, there's your game right there. We only turned the ball over 10 times. That's the lowest I've seen it in a long time. Protecting the ball wasn't an issue.
Another concern is offensive output from the guards. Dean and Miller combined for 48 minutes of play, and a total of 2 points. The 2 only looked at the basket 6 times. That's once every 8 minutes. That has to change.
Let's hope the coaches saw the same game or it's going to be another very long season. 10 days of rest and then ND. Not expecting miracles, but should expect improvement.

historyman · November 24, 2015, 06:24:54 PM

Not one comment about the loss to Notre Dame at the ARC.

Anyone got anything or was it just too bad a performance to even comment on?

53-18 at half and final of 110-54. Ouch!

VULB#62 · November 24, 2015, 06:49:03 PM

Quote from: historyman on November 24, 2015, 06:24:54 PM
Not one comment about the loss to Notre Dame at the ARC.

Anyone got anything or was it just too bad a performance to even comment on?

53-18 at half and final of 110-54. Ouch!

Uh... They were the # 4 or something. Can you imagine UCoONN in the house? Jeez. Sorry, but this program needs to schedule teams that will help them progress. This type of game doesn't grab ya.

ValpoFan · November 24, 2015, 11:00:02 PM

What is one good thing that came out of hosting ND?

1 - Good Exposure?
2 - National TV?
3 - Demoralizing our players?
4 - Recruiting Help?

Seriously, why did we schedule that game?

justducky · November 24, 2015, 11:04:40 PM

Quote from: ValpoFan on November 24, 2015, 11:00:02 PM
What is one good thing that came out of hosting ND?

1 - Good Exposure?
2 - National TV?
3 - Demoralizing our players?
4 - Recruiting Help?

Seriously, why did we schedule that game?

A few years back we could play them competitively. Maybe you are asking the wrong question?

Pgmado · November 24, 2015, 11:15:37 PM

Quote from: ValpoFan on November 24, 2015, 11:00:02 PM
What is one good thing that came out of hosting ND?

1 - Good Exposure?
2 - National TV?
3 - Demoralizing our players?
4 - Recruiting Help?

Seriously, why did we schedule that game?

There were 1,500 people in the seats. Will easily be the best gate of the year for the Crusaders.

valpotx · November 24, 2015, 11:27:21 PM

We used to keep the games against ND within 15 points. The last decade has not been so kind against them...

IndyValpo · November 25, 2015, 07:53:40 AM

Quote from: ValpoFan on November 24, 2015, 11:00:02 PM
What is one good thing that came out of hosting ND?

1 - Good Exposure?
2 - National TV?
3 - Demoralizing our players?
4 - Recruiting Help?

Seriously, why did we schedule that game?

Any time, in any sport you can get Notre Dame to come to Valpo you schedule it regardless of the outcome. I have to give ND's women's BB credit in researching this they have played us 16 times in the last 21 years and have come to Valpo 8 of those games. There was a time where the games were close (five of those 16 were losses under 10 points) but the last four (both Freeman and Dorow) have averaged almost 50 with the current beating the worst I could find.

History of the series, ND 25 VU 0.

StlVUFan · November 25, 2015, 01:53:28 PM

It does help that since this is Women's basketball and not Men's basketball, ND can count on facing minimal (if not non-existent) home court advantage.

Years ago, Pitt's coach admitted as much after playing a small conference school.

jack · November 30, 2015, 07:18:14 AM

I think a loss to ND was expected. The margin of defeat was the real story. We needed to see some improvement from the previous game. We fell short of this goal.
The San Diego tournament was disappointing. It's the same old story. Our positioning and foot work inside will be our detriment this season. We got outrebounded 49 to 24. We pulled down 3 offensive boards while shooting 40%. I don't think we have a coach on staff that is willing or able to work with these ladies on their inside game. Our inability to get position and block out has been apparent in every game so far, yet we continue with more of the same.
I fear we're heading towards another very long season.

valpotx · December 03, 2015, 02:13:24 AM

3 point loss at home to Miami-Ohio, which is not a good loss. It is now year 4, so I will no longer be stating that this coach needs to be given time.

IndyValpo · December 03, 2015, 07:37:38 AM

Quote from: valpotx on December 03, 2015, 02:13:24 AM
3 point loss at home to Miami-Ohio, which is not a good loss. It is now year 4, so I will no longer be stating that this coach needs to be given time.

I watched a good portion of this game and this one was one of the few D1 non-conference games we should win. This has every look of another long season. I am not sure we can beat all three of the non D1 teams.

This staff has won at a 25% clip the last three years which is even worse than Freeman's last three (28%). Short of an unexpected turnaround, I see changes coming.

jack · December 03, 2015, 08:02:52 AM

I agree, this was a bad loss. This should have been the one game to show some improvement and get on the right track. This isn't a squad that can get down big and dig back out. That seems to be the theme now. The one stat that stands out to me: Our center played 27 minutes and pulled down 1 board, and put up 3 pts at the stripe. Granted, she was credited with 6 blocks, but she must be counted on for more boards and more points. As I said before, we just don't have a coach on staff that knows how to work with the bigs.
Off to Kentucky. Need to see improvement.

vu72 · December 03, 2015, 08:32:26 AM

Quote from: jack on December 03, 2015, 08:02:52 AM
I agree, this was a bad loss. This should have been the one game to show some improvement and get on the right track. This isn't a squad that can get down big and dig back out. That seems to be the theme now. The one stat that stands out to me: Our center played 27 minutes and pulled down 1 board, and put up 3 pts at the stripe. Granted, she was credited with 6 blocks, but she must be counted on for more boards and more points. As I said before, we just don't have a coach on staff that knows how to work with the bigs.
Off to Kentucky. Need to see improvement.

I watched most of the game as well. Not sure you can say they can't dig out of a hole when they were down by 17 and lost by 3. The second half we played much more aggressive. Linfor will be a very good player as she continues to develop skills. I certainly agree on the rebounding. They seemed bigger then us, not sure if that was true.

covufan · December 03, 2015, 11:02:30 AM

Year four. We are starting 3 freshmen and a sophomore. Our top four scorers are two freshmen and two sophomores. Jasmyn is the real deal and eating up 9 rebounds a game. It is difficult to win games when you allow your opponent to 47% FG, 39% 3pt'ers, and have a -13 rebounding margin and -4 TO margin. These ladies will need to show incremental improvement over the course of the season. They are young, so it is possible. Is the coaching staff ready to recognize what needs to change and implement those changes?