2021-2022 Valpo Women's Basketball

[valpotx]

That is a team that has traditionally been the bottom-dweller of the MVC.  We got outrebounded by 20+.  You aren't going to win with that many second chances, no matter how well you shoot.

[Piledriver]

Again, (hate to repeat myself) you cannot win without competent big players. You have to have players big enough and with the physical attributes to be able to guard the paint and rebound on the defensive end. Winning is not sustainable without players who can defend and rebound. All things being equal, bigger players beat smaller players.

Also, not trying to be mean or single anybody out, but VU has too many players who are simply not D1 caliber players. There are several players who get minutes who simply do not have Division 1 ability. Numbers and stats certainly don't always tell the story of a player's value, but a quick look at some VU players' career stats will tell you all you need to know. Some of the players simply can't handle the ball, shoot and pass well enough to play Division 1 basketball at a competent level. There are plenty of D2 and D3 players around who are better basketball players than girls who get minutes for Valpo.

[vu72]

The problem with the women's team is the lack of rebounders and that isn't going to change.  We have two--TWO, and they are Grace White and Leah Ernest--both, undersized. Everyone else is a wing, tall wing or a guard.  We were out rebounded 41-20!!! In addition, they were just WAY more athletic. When their guards penetrated and shot the mid-range jumper, they looked like athletes. We shot40% from the 3 and lost by 20. It wasn't even close.

Look for a Thursday game.  We aren't very good and based on the recruits, I don't see this changing.  We need athletes and rebounding--Period.

[Piledriver]

"The problem with the women's team is the lack of rebounders and that isn't going to change.  We have one--ONE, and that person is Leah Ernest. Everyone else is a wing, tall wing or a guard.  We were out rebounded 41-20!!! In addition, they were just WAY more athletic. When their guards penetrated and shot the mid-range jumper, they looked like athletes.  It wasn't even close.

Look for a Thursday game.  We aren't very good and based on the recruits, I don't see this changing.  We need athletes and rebounding--Period."

____

Agreed. This.

Ironic, because Earnest was more of a combo guard than a frontcourt player coming out of high school. Regardless, if you are playing D1 college basketball, and you are not a point guard, you better figure out how to rebound. VU has girls who are not ball handlers or fast enough to play guard, yet they are too soft or not strong enough play on the front line. That doesn't leave much value. No team really needs a bunch of wings who don't handle the ball well, don't score and don't rebound.

[valpo64]

Isn't it interesting that with all of the problems with the women's team the coach is never mentioned/recruiting, etc. as being responsible for any of their problems.  On the other hand, the men's coach is responsible for EVERYTHING.

[valpotx]

Good win against Evansville today, and our 3-pt shooting is coming around.  Morrison is on fire over the last few games, shooting it at a rate that she should have been shooting all along.  If Shay and Carrie get back to their old form, watch out for a top half finish.  We are now 6-13 (4-4).  The difference between the Men's and Women's HC situation is that it has been a long time since the Women have consistently been competitive, really going back to my time on campus from the 2000 to 2004 seasons.  The Men's team has higher expectations, after having almost 25 consecutive seasons of above .500 play (1 or 2 seasons below), up until 3 of the last 4 seasons (this season TBD).  I think that Coach Evans is the right fit for our program, as long as we don't have any more games where we are outrebounded by 20.  We won the rebounding battle today 39 to 31...

[Piledriver]

Yeah, good showing for the VU women after a very sluggish start. Just took over late in the first half and never gave the lead back. White and Morrison were making deep 3's from all over the gym, and the bench played well. VU defense forced misses, and the difference this time was they didn't give up offensive rebounds. Evansville does not have the horses inside to dominate the offensive boards.

Was interesting, the officials let a lot of contact go in the 2nd half that is normally called in the women's game, and it actually worked to Valpo's advantage. Lots of contact on Evansville drives, but refs let them play and Valpo collected all the misses.

Evansville looked pretty rag-tag at times.

[IndyValpo]

We appear to have settled on a 9 player rotation. 6 of these are seniors. Do we know if any of these 6 will return for an extra year. We know Morrison and White will be gone.

[Piledriver]

Weinman apparently hasn't decided. Everybody else will be back except Morrison and White. They are the only 2 out of eligibility.

Logic would seem to say there will be at least some roster turnover with the large number of players on the bench who never play.

[vu72]

Very nice win tonight at Drake! Last win over them was blamed on three or four starters being out. Not so tonight, just smart basketball relying very little on the 3. Good job Coach Evans and the team!

[valpotx]

Exactly.  Drake can't say that they didn't have their team with them, and we've had similar team depth issues all season.  We start off 0-13 against Drake, but are now 2-0 in the last 2 games, with our first ever wins both at home and on the road at a historically solid Drake program!  We are now 7-14 (5-5), and the ladies have learned to rebound.  It's amazing what happens, when you don't lose that battle by 20...

[justducky]

Very nice win tonight at Drake! Last win over them was blamed on three or four starters being out. Not so tonight, just smart basketball relying very little on the 3. Good job Coach Evans and the team!

After starting the year with 9 straight losses (many lopsided) getting to 7-14 is surprising. Finishing Valley play at 9-9 is still an achievable goal. Who would have thunk that when we were 0-9?

[valpotx]

Credit to Coach Evans on adjusting.  She stuck with the type of offense that she wants to run at Valpo, until it was proving to just not be the solution this season, most likely with the difference in the 3 point line distance.  I see much more passing, better defense, and some blocking out on rebounds.  We have our players that come in for specific reasons each game, and have several go-to scorers, if someone is off. 

[Piledriver]

"Credit to Coach Evans on adjusting.  She stuck with the type of offense that she wants to run at Valpo, until it was proving to just not be the solution this season, most likely with the difference in the 3 point line distance.  I see much more passing, better defense, and some blocking out on rebounds.  We have our players that come in for specific reasons each game, and have several go-to scorers, if someone is off. "



The offense has not changed. They basically have 2 different versions of the weak-side double screen (trap screen), with some options. The difference from game-to-game almost always comes down to individual performances and matchups. Against Drake, the Valpo players took good shots and converted more of them. Valpo has proven to be a bad matchup for Drake. Drake does not have players who can penetrate and score off the dribble. The don't break down the defense with penetration. They play through the post and try to get the ball to the bigs. Valpo struggles most against athletic driving teams, and that's not Drake. Drake had a hard time with Valpo last year with an even better team than they have now. Some teams just match up better (or worse) against certain teams. Drake scored just 26 points in the second half. The Valpo defense in the 2nd half was the biggest factor in the game, for sure.

[justducky]

Challenging schedule remains.

@UNI         7-2       Today 2PM       48 NET
Bradley      0-10.     Feb 10            272 NET
ISUr           8-2       Feb  12           125 NET
@  Eville    1-8        Feb18             286 NET
@ ISUb     5-3        Feb 20            169 NET
Loyola       4-5        Feb 25            117 NET
MSU          6-3        March 3          41 NET
SIU           7-1       March 5           88 NET

The difference from game-to-game almost always comes down to individual performances and matchups. Against Drake, the Valpo players took good shots and converted more of them. Valpo has proven to be a bad matchup for Drake. Drake does not have players who can penetrate and score off the dribble.

We beat Drake (92 NET) both times but even with 5 of our last 8 games played at the ARC getting to 9-9 or 10-8 won't be easy. Records aside we match up poorly with ISUb and Loyola and they are only middle of the pack Valley performers. To have any shot at 10-8 we have to hang in @ UNI and maybe squeeze out a close one. Otherwise 8-10 or worse looks much more likely to me than 9-9.

[Piledriver]

Agreed. After watching VU get blown out of the gym at N. Iowa yesterday, a .500 or better record in the league would be very optimistic.

They are last in the MVC in scoring, and watching them try to run the coach's "system" again yesterday was downright painful. Again. Valpo actually has some nice offensive pieces — Frederick, White, Ernest, Weinman, Brown and Morrison can all score. They are actually a pretty nice group. But watching them slog through that stationary offense with no flow, no ball movement ... it's ugly. I've watched every Valpo girls game for the past 4 years — actually every game of the Evans era — because we know one of the players, and that offense is just not the answer. That's all there is to it. It's the most poorly conceived offensive scheme I've ever seen at that level. No midrange shots. No post-ups. Very few cutters. When the opposing teams knows you will only take 3's or layups, they are starting with a huge advantage against you.

I actually do agree with the coach's devotion to the 3-point shot. I think she's right on the money there. And the Valpo women do a lot of very good things defensively. When they win, that's usually the reason. But the offense they run is not effective.

[valpotx]

Geez, that was a tough loss.  We get to within 2 and have the ball with around 2 minutes left, and Dunson absolutely bricks a 3, then commits a moving screen, and finishes it off by fouling on the other end.  I thought that she had hope last season, but she is just bad.  Why does she continue to play 15-20 minutes, with hardly any positive production?

[IndyValpo]

Geez, that was a tough loss.  We get to within 2 and have the ball with around 2 minutes left, and Dunson absolutely bricks a 3, then commits a moving screen, and finishes it off by fouling on the other end.  I thought that she had hope last season, but she is just bad.  Why does she continue to play 15-20 minutes, with hardly any positive production?

Thank you my thoughts exactly. Earnest and Van Kampen on the bench. I see no good reason Dunson is playing at all. And if she is in, no 3 point attempts.

Why did we let them dribble off 30 seconds with a minute to play.

[valpotx]

Also, what the hell happened to Shay over the last Summer/Fall?  She is nowhere near the same player that she was.  She was absolutely unconscious at times last year, taking step-back 3s, and shaking defenders.  I hate saying it, but we would say it about the guys, so it is fair game.  She has put on weight.  Might that be the issue?  I guess that her shooting percentages this season are similar to what she did prior to last season, so last season might have been the aberration.  She reminded me of a Luka Doncic-type last season, with some of the shots she was making.

[DuneHwx]

Just because you would say it about the men doesn't mean that it's right to say. This is a kid after all. There are a million things that impact player performance, one of the most frequent is playing through injuries that the fans would know nothing about. They nearly pulled off a win against the top team in the conference in a dramatic rebound from the first time they played them. Lots of positives to focus on.

[valpotx]

Just because you would say it about the men doesn't mean that it's right to say. This is a kid after all. There are a million things that impact player performance, one of the most frequent is playing through injuries that the fans would know nothing about. They nearly pulled off a win against the top team in the conference in a dramatic rebound from the first time they played them. Lots of positives to focus on.

Umm, my college coach would routinely tell us when we were out of shape, and make us run until we all had to grab a trash can.  I don't view college-aged athletes as kids anymore. 

[Piledriver]

"Geez, that was a tough loss.  We get to within 2 and have the ball with around 2 minutes left, and Dunson absolutely bricks a 3, then commits a moving screen, and finishes it off by fouling on the other end.  I thought that she had hope last season, but she is just bad.  Why does she continue to play 15-20 minutes, with hardly any positive production?"

Not to pile on, but the same player cost Evans the biggest win of her career last year. Valpo had Missouri State (ranked in the Top 25 at the time) beat, but she committed a ridiculous foul on a long desperation 3-pointer at the horn. 3 FTs later Valpo lost by 1.


She shouldn't have been in the game then, and shouldn't have been in the game Saturday.

[valpotx]

"Geez, that was a tough loss.  We get to within 2 and have the ball with around 2 minutes left, and Dunson absolutely bricks a 3, then commits a moving screen, and finishes it off by fouling on the other end.  I thought that she had hope last season, but she is just bad.  Why does she continue to play 15-20 minutes, with hardly any positive production?"

Not to pile on, but the same player cost Evans the biggest win of her career last year. Valpo had Missouri State (ranked in the Top 25 at the time) beat, but she committed a ridiculous foul on a long desperation 3-pointer at the horn. 3 FTs later Valpo lost by 1.


She shouldn't have been in the game then, and shouldn't have been in the game Saturday.

Yeah, I completely forgot about that foul.  That was absolutely bone-headed, and as a fan, all you can do is hold your head and say 'why...just why?'

[DuneHwx]

If I were you I would think twice about publicly body shaming any young ladies, especially young ladies that you are hoping will perform at a high level. Also, Shay is in no way overweight and to suggest otherwise is insane. Also, if you want to look at her percentages try counting the number of times the ball is in her hands for the end of the shot clock desperation shot. She has been named MVP of the game a number of times this season for a reason.

[valpotx]

No one said overweight.  I said had gained weight.  I don't feel bad, sorry.  I am equal opportunity.  If I/you can say it about a guy, it is fair game to say about another athlete that is not a guy.  Our body fat % was monitored when I was at Valpo, and if I was a little over, I was made aware.