Valpo Womens Basketball 2020-2021

[Valpofamfan]

So even our men's program culture sucks now... Players on a crappy team that hasn't won anything or been relevant in years and therefore shouldn't be talking crap about anybody talking crap about other people... Great... Why are we keeping Lottich around again?



Well Sheldon doesn't seem to be part of that culture, retweeting a highlight from tonight's game https://twitter.com/sheldonnn13/status/1370514143036444681.


Hope the women pick it back up in the 3rd quarter- we need to make cuts with our eyes open, not stand around on the perimeter and stay disciplined in D. Let's go Valpo!

[justducky]

Drake playing tight on the perimeter so our openings should be off the drive.

Halftime Shay Frederick highlight from last year?

[Valpofamfan]

we need to get dunson off the floor- she's not having her best game and we need people to make smart plays and not turn the ball over

[valpotx]

Ellenson is on one of the worst 4-5 minute stretches of play, that I have seen in some time.  I still don't know why we post her up for corner 3's.  She NEVER makes those.  I hate saying it, but she is the liability on offense, that has led to a 2 point game turning into a 9 point game.

[Valpofamfan]

problem is when dunson subbed in for her she did no better

Last night our bench had 0 points, tonight they've got 2. We can't win games with so little depth when we have to play back to back.

[valpotx]

I seriously don't get why both our Men and Women foul so much on 3s...if you are 10 feet away by the time that someone catches the ball to shoot, you are not going to block that shot.  Just try to distract them, but DO NOT end up within 2-3 feet of anywhere that a jump shooter might land.

Unfortunate end to the season, leading to a 12-13/losing season.  It is unfortunate that we did not get to play ISUb, as it would have been a 14-13 year, and continued the progress a bit more from last season.

[justducky]

Coach Evans chose to sub Gunn and Dunson while leaving Ernst, Shehan and Van Kempen to watch from the sidelines. I agreed with her thinking and might well have done the same thing but it certainly didn't pan out tonight. Credit to Drake. They took away much of what we wanted to do on offense.

Dunson shot the 3 well as a freshman (at Loyola) and her first few games on the floor with us. Since then I doubt if she is 15% and like Sackey or Buggs they were giving her room and daring her to take it. That is unfortunate because she can drive if closely guarded. She was in for her defense and had she hit her first 3 then who knows? Confidence is so allusive when coming off the bench.

[valpotx]

Dunson has such a solid looking shooting form, it always amazes me that she misses so many shots

[vu72]

It truly was fun to watch this teamplay.  It's an exciting style with 3 balls being launched all over the place.  There is good news with our three best players returning but--we will be VERY short. Losing two starters who are 6'2" and really only having Van Kempen at 6'0" with any experience, will certainly hurt.  Gunn and Dunson aren't the answer, neither can shoot.  When we play teams like Drake with their big, strong farm girls, we get smothered on the boards and around the rim.  I don't see that changing.  Still a pretty exciting year with two BIG wins.

[bbtds]

Good to see a solid game from Weinman.  It was closer than I would have expected, but good to get a win!

On another note, if you are Evansville's coach, it is FT drills all offseason.  How do you go 4/15 from the line??

Are there any teams anymore that shoot FTs well? The North Carolina MBB team basically lost to Florida State 69-66 in the ACC tourney because they missed 11 FTs. Then the Tar Heel fans lambasted the idea of playing in a tournament at all. Why do they even need to play in a tournament at the end of the season?

[valpotx]

The MVC received 2 NCAA bids, 3 WNIT bids, and 1 WBI bid this season.  That is impressive

[IndyValpo]

It truly was fun to watch this teamplay.  It's an exciting style with 3 balls being launched all over the place.  There is good news with our three best players returning but--we will be VERY short. Losing two starters who are 6'2" and really only having Van Kempen at 6'0" with any experience, will certainly hurt.  Gunn and Dunson aren't the answer, neither can shoot.  When we play teams like Drake with their big, strong farm girls, we get smothered on the boards and around the rim.  I don't see that changing.  Still a pretty exciting year with two BIG wins.

This hits on Evans' only flaw I see. She has been unsuccessful recruiting size. Maybe that's the plan. Latest stats we were 7th in 3 pointers taken, 9th in 3 pointers made, 152nd in 3 point %. We are 332nd out of 336 in rebounding margin.

[vu72]

It truly was fun to watch this teamplay.  It's an exciting style with 3 balls being launched all over the place.  There is good news with our three best players returning but--we will be VERY short. Losing two starters who are 6'2" and really only having Van Kempen at 6'0" with any experience, will certainly hurt.  Gunn and Dunson aren't the answer, neither can shoot.  When we play teams like Drake with their big, strong farm girls, we get smothered on the boards and around the rim.  I don't see that changing.  Still a pretty exciting year with two BIG wins.

This hits on Evans' only flaw I see. She has been unsuccessful recruiting size. Maybe that's the plan. Latest stats we were 7th in 3 pointers taken, 9th in 3 pointers made, 152nd in 3 point %. We are 332nd out of 336 in rebounding margin.

We'll see. I think losing both Ellenson and Morrison will leave us very shorthanded in the post.  I guess she is relying on sheer toughness in players like Earnest, as well as improved shooting.  When the shots fall we are hard to beat.

[FWalum]

This hits on Evans' only flaw I see. She has been unsuccessful recruiting size. Maybe that's the plan. Latest stats we were 7th in 3 pointers taken, 9th in 3 pointers made, 152nd in 3 point %. We are 332nd out of 336 in rebounding margin.

I think it is interesting that we actually performed better against the B1G schools than we did MVC schools. If you are not familiar with our style of play it seems we are more effective. If you know us, you know that we can be taken advantage of inside and MVC schools with a good inside presence really have hurt us. As much as Evans wants to run and gun I think to be consistently good she is going to have to adapt and figure out a way to play and rebound with the bigger girls. I know we cause a ton of turnovers, and that seems to be her current strategy to counteract a teams inside presence, but it seems that in the second half of games the other team makes adjustments and we end up on the short end of these close games.

[IndyValpo]

http://www.valpoathletics.com/wbasketball/news/2020-21/20416/olivia-brown-signs-with-valpo-womens-basketball/

She averaged 7 points both seasons for the Bonnies last year. At 5-8 she sounds like a third guard starting.

[justducky]

http://www.valpoathletics.com/wbasketball/news/2020-21/20416/olivia-brown-signs-with-valpo-womens-basketball/

She averaged 7 points both seasons for the Bonnies last year. At 5-8 she sounds like a third guard starting.

I'm not sure Brown will start but certainly any 38.2% 3 point shooter is going to find large minutes in the Evans offense. This is another player that coach Evans recruited in HS so we should already know she is a good fit.

Taking a step back it is fun to realize that she is transferring UP not down. She departs the 13'th best A-10 conference for the #7 MVC. In the process she leaves a 245 NET team for our #122 landing destination. She is closer to home also! 

[valpotx]

Huge announcement for the Women, in getting Morrison back!  I think it was assumed that White was using the extra year, as she did not do a Senior speech, but nice to have that confirmation, as well!

http://www.valpoathletics.com/wbasketball/news/2020-21/20450/morrison-white-to-return-for-2021-22-season/

[IndyValpo]

This puts the team at 17 scholarships players for next year. Not sure we start the next school year at this level. Coach Evans is not the best at getting end of the benchers much PT even in blowouts so somebody may move on. If they can keep 17 plus a walk on happy, she should write a book on how.

[valpotx]

Didn't we have a bunch of injuries last season, which is why she pushed for the 17-18 year olds to start school early?

[vu72]

Didn't we have a bunch of injuries last season, which is why she pushed for the 17-18 year olds to start school early?

No, that wasn't the reason.  The two kids who came on at mid-season were both from Illinois where the entire season had been cancelled. The two had finished their high school degree and so it made sense to get them on campus for an early semester of college ball.  One got some playing time.

I have zero idea how good the previous freshman class or the incoming class are talent wise, though some have noted that they are pretty good.  With Grace and Morrison back that means four of five starters return (I think).  Playing time will be at a premium.

[justducky]

Coach Evans is not the best at getting end of the benchers much PT even in blowouts so somebody may move on. If they can keep 17 plus a walk on happy, she should write a book on how.

Crazy roster size! I'm counting maybe 12 girls that coach Evans would like to provide with major minutes.    Some good players may not see much floor time particularly at the guard positions. Do you just go with the hot hands or find a regular and shortened 10 girl rotation? Is too much of a good thing still a good thing?

[IndyValpo]

This puts the team at 17 scholarships players for next year. Not sure we start the next school year at this level. Coach Evans is not the best at getting end of the benchers much PT even in blowouts so somebody may move on. If they can keep 17 plus a walk on happy, she should write a book on how.

Having said that I think we could be very good especially if the 2nd unit improves.

[Piledriver]

The team is losing 2 players to graduation, and 1 of the two walk-ons is not coming back. Not sure about the other walk-on. With 2 more incoming freshman (the 2 that didn't come in early), that puts the roster at either 14 or 15, depending on if the 2nd current walk-on stays.

[IndyValpo]

The team is losing 2 players to graduation, and 1 of the two walk-ons is not coming back. Not sure about the other walk-on. With 2 more incoming freshman (the 2 that didn't come in early), that puts the roster at either 14 or 15, depending on if the 2nd current walk-on stays.

Not sure the exact classifications but
SR 5 Morrison, White, Frederick, Weinman, Dunson
JR 4 Pitts, Brown, Van Kampen, Zacker
SO 4 Gunn, Earnest, Interrante, Johnston
FR 4 Sheehan, Beyer, Malone, VanWeedlin

That's the 17 I had. Not sure who the 2nd walk on was perhaps Dunson. I assume Butler left after playing one minute last year.

[valpotx]

Zacker is a walk-on.  No way that Dunson is a walk-on.