The end of the season. This one a bit earlier than what we are used to, but perhaps not surprising considering how the season as a whole went.
Before I go further let me get the really important stuff out of the way. Kelsey Bolte…thank you. You've been an outstanding Cyclone and have contributed to the success of this program for four years. You were a great Captain this year and your hard work in changing your game illustrated your commitment. Also, I want to give credit to Marist. They are what the Sisters used to be…a well disciplined team that was composed of parts that blended to make the team imposing.
The end to this season was, perhaps, fitting considering the Jeckyl/Hyde personality of this year's women's basketball team. We saw highs and lows, all too often in the same game. Consistency is not a word I would use to describe this team unless you wanted to say they were consistently inconsistent.
As with most of this season the game was one of halves. We always seemed to have a team that would underperform in one half and come out flying in the other. Sometimes you would see a team that just couldn't get its act together long enough to keep from imploding. That was the team we saw today. Yes, I give credit to Marist. A tough, scrappy squad that we would be proud of. But this is about our ladies. The first half was all about Marist seemingly hitting nearly every three they threw up while the Sisters couldn't buy a basket from a street vendor. Bolt wasn't hitting. We were missing layup after layup (another recurrent theme this year) and the turnovers killed us. Rich stated on the post game show that our turnovers led to something like 26 points for Marist. Their turnovers led to four for us. Does that tell you anything? You also have to take into consideration the damage a turnover does. Not only does the other team score, but you lose the opportunity.
Throughout the game I watched as our players literally threw the ball to Marist players. We tried to put it in places it wouldn't fit on a good day. Sometimes it was lack of focus. Two of the worst were in the second half. Example one - we get a stop on the defensive end and Pop gets the rebound. As she goes to make a "lazy" pass the only player for Marist on that end of the court takes it away then scoots right by Pop for an easy layup. Example two - we are scrapping for a three point shot and the ball finally gets into Bolts hands. As she comes around the top of the key the Marist post player steals the ball from her. Sigh…that is just how this game went. Marist exposed every one of our weaknesses. The tendency to turn the ball over. Not having outside shooters. Having posts with weak hands. Perhaps the most glaring weakness was team speed. They made us look like plodders on the court. They ran past us, drove around us, and pretty much had their way with us. This was most apparent during their 25-4 run in the first half, but it didn't stop there.
The biggest offenders were our post players. People might look at the line score and see that AP was high scorer (as she should have been) and had 11 boards and think "what a game!" Instead I keep seeing the same thing commented on in the post game show - missed layups. All season (actually two seasons now) we've seen AP and Pop not finish close in. Prins picked up half of her points at the line today. The majority of her misses were from point blank range. At one point Coach F. was so angry he started to get in her face and wow…she turned her back on him. That didn't look good to me. This is one of the very big issues (missed layups) that has to be corrected in both AP and Pop's games. Too many times they got the ball down low and either missed or turned it over (5 each). That is unacceptable even when you score 25 points. With our size advantage AP should have had 40 points.
Bolt had a rough day although she did score 18, but was a sad 2-9 from 3 point land. She fought and scrapped like a senior captain would, but with no scoring support it was tough on her. The toughest part of the game was the poor play of the guards. Loz - missed every shot from the field (only taking 4), had only 2 assists and 2 turnovers. Not good. Cole - one basket, 3 assists. Again, not good.
The second half saw Marist cool of considerably from deep. Overcoming a 15 point halftime deficit is always tough and as we crept closer, they kept getting either a turnover, a missed shot by us and a convenient basket to keep us at bay. It definitely got exciting though as with four minutes left ISU pulled within six. You could just feel it happening. You could see Marist starting to feel the pressure. We were stopping them and getting some baskets ourselves, but alas we also missed too many opportunities when it got close. Missed shots, defensive breakdowns and boom it was 12 points again. We were done and you could see the energy just disappear from a team so fatigued from making another comeback push.
It's scary to look ahead. We have four freshmen coming in of which we might expect 1-2 to be contributors right away. We had better hope the are anyway. This team is losing its top scorer and we no one coming back that is a consistent scoring threat. Every player on the squad has shown flashes of brightness and fallen into the depths of the abyss. No consistency. All we have going into next year is hope. We have to hope no one transfers. The rumors are flying about Zimm leaving. The back turning by AP might be a non-event, but you have to wonder how much the players are willing to take of Coach F's sideline rants. Who is going to go the extra mile in the off-season to better their game like Bolt did? We need players willing to take the shots with confidence. To work on their footwork. To get stronger. To get nastier (except Pop!). What will the freshmen bring to the team?
I watched several teams in the Big 12 and NCAA tourney and one thing I saw that was missing this year was movement. The really good teams were constantly on the go when they were on offense. Cutting, picking, slashing…they wore defenses down. Green Bay is like that. Marist is like that. Even K-State when they beat us was like that. What I saw from this squad was too much standing as if waiting for someone else to make something happen. We had one senior captain this year. Next year, we need more players take ownership in making it happen or it could prove to be a very long campaign as we play a full round robin in the Big-12.
Somehow I'm glad the season has come to a close. I'll miss Bolt. Great, pure shooter. I just won't miss the lack of consistency and the frustration I'm sure that was experienced by this team. 22-11. Good season. Ranks with some of the "average" squads of Coach Fennelly's era. Did some good things, but too few great things. Yet, the bottom line was and is - they were our Twister Sisters. We still love 'em and we'll be back again next year to lend our support.
Signing off….
Before I go further let me get the really important stuff out of the way. Kelsey Bolte…thank you. You've been an outstanding Cyclone and have contributed to the success of this program for four years. You were a great Captain this year and your hard work in changing your game illustrated your commitment. Also, I want to give credit to Marist. They are what the Sisters used to be…a well disciplined team that was composed of parts that blended to make the team imposing.
The end to this season was, perhaps, fitting considering the Jeckyl/Hyde personality of this year's women's basketball team. We saw highs and lows, all too often in the same game. Consistency is not a word I would use to describe this team unless you wanted to say they were consistently inconsistent.
As with most of this season the game was one of halves. We always seemed to have a team that would underperform in one half and come out flying in the other. Sometimes you would see a team that just couldn't get its act together long enough to keep from imploding. That was the team we saw today. Yes, I give credit to Marist. A tough, scrappy squad that we would be proud of. But this is about our ladies. The first half was all about Marist seemingly hitting nearly every three they threw up while the Sisters couldn't buy a basket from a street vendor. Bolt wasn't hitting. We were missing layup after layup (another recurrent theme this year) and the turnovers killed us. Rich stated on the post game show that our turnovers led to something like 26 points for Marist. Their turnovers led to four for us. Does that tell you anything? You also have to take into consideration the damage a turnover does. Not only does the other team score, but you lose the opportunity.
Throughout the game I watched as our players literally threw the ball to Marist players. We tried to put it in places it wouldn't fit on a good day. Sometimes it was lack of focus. Two of the worst were in the second half. Example one - we get a stop on the defensive end and Pop gets the rebound. As she goes to make a "lazy" pass the only player for Marist on that end of the court takes it away then scoots right by Pop for an easy layup. Example two - we are scrapping for a three point shot and the ball finally gets into Bolts hands. As she comes around the top of the key the Marist post player steals the ball from her. Sigh…that is just how this game went. Marist exposed every one of our weaknesses. The tendency to turn the ball over. Not having outside shooters. Having posts with weak hands. Perhaps the most glaring weakness was team speed. They made us look like plodders on the court. They ran past us, drove around us, and pretty much had their way with us. This was most apparent during their 25-4 run in the first half, but it didn't stop there.
The biggest offenders were our post players. People might look at the line score and see that AP was high scorer (as she should have been) and had 11 boards and think "what a game!" Instead I keep seeing the same thing commented on in the post game show - missed layups. All season (actually two seasons now) we've seen AP and Pop not finish close in. Prins picked up half of her points at the line today. The majority of her misses were from point blank range. At one point Coach F. was so angry he started to get in her face and wow…she turned her back on him. That didn't look good to me. This is one of the very big issues (missed layups) that has to be corrected in both AP and Pop's games. Too many times they got the ball down low and either missed or turned it over (5 each). That is unacceptable even when you score 25 points. With our size advantage AP should have had 40 points.
Bolt had a rough day although she did score 18, but was a sad 2-9 from 3 point land. She fought and scrapped like a senior captain would, but with no scoring support it was tough on her. The toughest part of the game was the poor play of the guards. Loz - missed every shot from the field (only taking 4), had only 2 assists and 2 turnovers. Not good. Cole - one basket, 3 assists. Again, not good.
The second half saw Marist cool of considerably from deep. Overcoming a 15 point halftime deficit is always tough and as we crept closer, they kept getting either a turnover, a missed shot by us and a convenient basket to keep us at bay. It definitely got exciting though as with four minutes left ISU pulled within six. You could just feel it happening. You could see Marist starting to feel the pressure. We were stopping them and getting some baskets ourselves, but alas we also missed too many opportunities when it got close. Missed shots, defensive breakdowns and boom it was 12 points again. We were done and you could see the energy just disappear from a team so fatigued from making another comeback push.
It's scary to look ahead. We have four freshmen coming in of which we might expect 1-2 to be contributors right away. We had better hope the are anyway. This team is losing its top scorer and we no one coming back that is a consistent scoring threat. Every player on the squad has shown flashes of brightness and fallen into the depths of the abyss. No consistency. All we have going into next year is hope. We have to hope no one transfers. The rumors are flying about Zimm leaving. The back turning by AP might be a non-event, but you have to wonder how much the players are willing to take of Coach F's sideline rants. Who is going to go the extra mile in the off-season to better their game like Bolt did? We need players willing to take the shots with confidence. To work on their footwork. To get stronger. To get nastier (except Pop!). What will the freshmen bring to the team?
I watched several teams in the Big 12 and NCAA tourney and one thing I saw that was missing this year was movement. The really good teams were constantly on the go when they were on offense. Cutting, picking, slashing…they wore defenses down. Green Bay is like that. Marist is like that. Even K-State when they beat us was like that. What I saw from this squad was too much standing as if waiting for someone else to make something happen. We had one senior captain this year. Next year, we need more players take ownership in making it happen or it could prove to be a very long campaign as we play a full round robin in the Big-12.
Somehow I'm glad the season has come to a close. I'll miss Bolt. Great, pure shooter. I just won't miss the lack of consistency and the frustration I'm sure that was experienced by this team. 22-11. Good season. Ranks with some of the "average" squads of Coach Fennelly's era. Did some good things, but too few great things. Yet, the bottom line was and is - they were our Twister Sisters. We still love 'em and we'll be back again next year to lend our support.
Signing off….
