Twister Sister Summary - ladies fall again as offense stumbles

[acoustimac]

I apologize, I had this written up shortly after the game, but to be honest I fell asleep before posting.


Good aggression on offense out of the gate. Jadda was pushing things. Seanna was very quiet to start things off. Kidd hit her first three to open the door. Mere is still a work in progress on defense. Turnover bug (unforced like travel and 3 sec) is excruciatingly frustrating at times. Seanna finally showed good movement on a drive for two. It would be her only basket of the night. Lots of missed shots and pushed the shot clock too many times, but a close game through one. ISU ended the quarter with a Carlton trey and the ladies led 14-12.


The second was a lot of missed shots by both teams and a few nice plays by both to score. The score remained close throughout. Strangely our ladies had many opportunities to widen the gap but one and done possessions plagued them, usually followed by a TCU score to tighten things up. Maddie was playing good defense most of the time. Another five point lead wasted with one and dones and bad defense (mainly failure to get back). This would give TCU an 11-0 run and the lead. Consistently the ladies can't find the hoop and get beat to the basket. Seanna is a complete non factor. It's clear her leg is bothering her. Her shots are all off the mark and usually short. The ladies were out scored 17-2 in the last five minutes of the quarter. 38-28 at the half.


Third quarter started with a trey by Carlton. After that the shots just clanked off the rim left and right. Our offensive ineptness was just nasty. It wasn't one type of shot or one shooter. Everyone and every type of shot was not pretty. Even on D there was too much standing around. This was a team in search of lots of answers and none were forthcoming. Still down ten at the end of three 49-39.


The ladies closed to 8 and then gave up a 6-0 run. This was just how the flow seemed to go. We missed so many shots it took to long to cut into the lead. Add into it all the offensive boards and put backs and this was hard to watch. Between the TCU put backs, inept officiating, and non-consistency on offense the gap just couldn't be closed. Every chance the ladies had to close the gap an Inopportune turnover or a one and done followed by a TCU score seemed the norm. Finally Mere would hit a two to pull the ladies within seven and missed the free throw. Carlton would get fouled and only hit one to get within six and then it happened again...missed shots, slow defense and TCU put the lead back to ten. Sigh...story of the game. The ladies had chance after chance to cut the lead and couldn't draw net. The last minute was the most puzzling. Down 8-10 there was no sense of urgency as the dribbled and stood around. Very strange. Ladies lose an ugly game 72-63.


Observations


POG - Carlton. She is the only Cyclone who showed up on offense. Mere was efficient but her fouls really limited her effectiveness.


Scoring - we are not a good scoring team. Period. Kidd and others continue to struggle from the field and Seanna was obviously limited. Jadda was trying to take more shots and missing. Ouch. The team shot 26% in the second. Even worse with 18% in the third. Strike one.


Defense - the ladies were beaten down the court too many times. The hustle factor wasn't there. We stood waiting on rebounds while TCU was moving and slashing for them. Strike two.


Free throws - bad shooting at the line by both teams. Our ladies were hitting 50% most of the game and edged up into the mid 60's. Strike three.


Speed - every team I've seen in a while is quicker than our ladies. TCU was a two person team and we couldn't keep up with the two in any fashion.


Officials - I won't call this officiating. This crew stunk period. They allowed this to be turned into playground basketball.


Buckley- not a good night. Lots of turnovers...bad turnovers. Never at a good time.


This team is a strange puzzle. There is no identity and no consistency. Coach Fen is earning his paycheck right now.

 

[jay moe]

I watched just a little bit of the game and all I saw on offense was lots of standing and Jadda dribbling around some sort of ballscreen 95% of the time. It sure makes them easy to guard.

 

[Wesley]

I watched just a little bit of the game and all I saw on offense was lots of standing and Jadda dribbling around some sort of ballscreen 95% of the time. It sure makes them easy to guard.

Yep. Looked like a lazy poorly coached group. If we hit threes, it might work. PG position is down from Moody and and as a group we do not look athletic enough to play B12 ball. This is a recruiting problem. Missing wildfire Moody already.

 

[acoustimac]

I will never, ever miss the destructive person and woefully inconsistent player that Moody was. That's not to say she wasn't talented, but her personality and behaviors made it a waste. If you think there is a recruiting problem then you differ with all of the recruiting agencies who have rated the past two classes very high, including the most recent one a top 20 class.

 

[CRAZYGREG]

I will never, ever miss the destructive person and woefully inconsistent player that Moody was. That's not to say she wasn't talented, but her personality and behaviors made it a waste. If you think there is a recruiting problem then you differ with all of the recruiting agencies who have rated the past two classes very high, including the most recent one a top 20 class.

I don't think the recruiting mention is solely about the last 2 classes.

We have ONE pg on the team... Sort of... If she is that hurt by her foot, she should not be playing - she is hurting the team at this point with the TOs and ineffectivness. I don't blame her solely for this... There is no one else... This is a recruiting problem.

We only have two total guards on the bench - that includes TT and not lexi

We have no upperclassmen Posts - Maddie does not count as she is clearly limited and hurt - Bill himself said that she was never going to be an all big 12 player.

The recruiting issues are from 3 to 4 years ago - Seanna and Jadda are the only ones that can contribute from that time frame. Attrition and poor recruiting has cost THIS team.

They will be fine, hopefully, next year and beyond. Mere and Bridget are going to be GREAT. Hopefully ED can pick her game up when she gets her shot next year. Hopefully Jadda can find some consistency.

 

[Buster28]

The officials were terrible last night, but we found many other ways to lose this game without their "help." Last night made me wonder, "what exactly are they doing in practice?" It can't be stand around and dribble, although it would be hard to tell otherwise from what I've seen lately. There have been games (and small periods of time) where this team can play at a high level, but that ability seems to be fleeting more often than not. It's not fun to watch and it's not going to translate into wins. At this rate, this season might see three more wins and will be lucky to even be on the WNIT's radar. Something needs to change. Soon.

 

[CycloneBob]

"This team is a strange puzzle. There is no identity and no consistency. Coach Fen is earning his paycheck right now."

I think this sums it up. Carlton will be a great, great player with her number possibly hanging from the rafters. Mere has flashes of brilliance on offense; needs to work on defense. Johnson and Buckley are very good. IMO, we're missing the post we need, and that's a BIG MISS, especially on defense - likely the missing puzzle piece. Also, it doesn't seem the style of our offense is a good match to the players we currently have?

 

[Royalclone]

I don't think the recruiting mention is solely about the last 2 classes.

We have ONE pg on the team... Sort of... If she is that hurt by her foot, she should not be playing - she is hurting the team at this point with the TOs and ineffectiveness. I don't blame her solely for this... There is no one else... This is a recruiting problem.

We only have two total guards on the bench - that includes TT and not lexi

Each of the last four recruiting classes since Moody's has included a PG:

Emiah Bingley - transferred at the end of her first semester, thanks in large part to Ms. Moody.
Jadda Buckley - Playing, but hurt
Nakia Bell - Transferred at end of the season. Highly suspicious that Ms. Moody may have helped this along.
TT Starks - At least her last name doesn't start with a B, but she is out for the season with an injury.

All four were highly-touted coming in. The recruiting has been there, it's what happens after they get here, whether injuries of thinking the grass is greener elsewhere.

 

[CRAZYGREG]

Each of the last four recruiting classes since Moody's has included a PG:

Emiah Bingley - transferred at the end of her first semester, thanks in large part to Ms. Moody.
Jadda Buckley - Playing, but hurt
Nakia Bell - Transferred at end of the season. Highly suspicious that Ms. Moody may have helped this along.
TT Starks - At least her last name doesn't start with a B, but she is out for the season with an injury.

All four were highly-touted coming in. The recruiting has been there, it's what happens after they get here, whether injuries of thinking the grass is greener elsewhere.

The bench can be 15 players long - He choose to play with fire not bringing in more of the most important position on his team. Plus Jadda is not really a true PG and TT is a combo guard. You can not say that recruiting is fine when two of the last four recruited left the program - Even if Moody had something to do with it. If that truly was the case and she is responsible for us losing two great PG recruits... Then he sold his soul and stuck with Moody for the W's. Either way he made this bed.

 

[kcdc4isu]

Each of the last four recruiting classes since Moody's has included a PG:

Emiah Bingley - transferred at the end of her first semester, thanks in large part to Ms. Moody.
Jadda Buckley - Playing, but hurt
Nakia Bell - Transferred at end of the season. Highly suspicious that Ms. Moody may have helped this along.
TT Starks - At least her last name doesn't start with a B, but she is out for the season with an injury.

All four were highly-touted coming in. The recruiting has been there, it's what happens after they get here, whether injuries of thinking the grass is greener elsewhere.

Granted we only saw limited playing time for three of these guards, the two were not that big of a lose when they left us.

 

[geewago]

"This team is a strange puzzle. There is no identity and no consistency. Coach Fen is earning his paycheck right now."

I think this sums it up. Carlton will be a great, great player with her number possibly hanging from the rafters. Mere has flashes of brilliance on offense; needs to work on defense. Johnson and Buckley are very good. IMO, we're missing the post we need, and that's a BIG MISS, especially on defense - likely the missing puzzle piece. Also, it doesn't seem the style of our offense is a good match to the players we currently have?

^^^^THIS^^^^

 

[acoustimac]

Taking away a scholarship...even non-renewal (all scholarships are one year) is not as easy as it sounds. According to NCAA rules there are very specific procedures and the athlete has the right to a hearing. That's the fuzzy part. What happens at the hearing? Does the coach have to provide a viable rationale for removing a scholarship? That part I don't know. Anyone?

 

[mitten1975]

I thought when I saw the roster and the talent that we had this year that we should move away from shooting three pointers and go more to an inside scoring attack with Burkhall, Fernstrom, Johnson, and Carlton, there are four players that are capable of attacking inside. When you establish the inside game, you can kick out to open three point shooters and do a better job of getting uncontested shots. I thought we had the players to do that with Fernstrom, however now that she is gone, that option is no longer open. While she was around, Fennelly continually insisted on having a battle for starting center with Burkhall and Fernstrom, which I did not like because they were both good players, and Burkhall I think will always have trouble being a center in this league because of the many bigger stronger centers, she should have moved to forward. I think you should give most minutes to the best players and while I really like Kidd, she has not developed enough, talent-wise, was not that great an asset at that point to warrant starting. I have always thought that Fennelly should play more players, have a more aggressive defense, using a press to throw off the other team. The last two years he has had enough people at least at the beginning of the year to do that.

 

[mitten1975]

I should add that I thought last night we lost because they guarded the three point line well, and we didn't have enough other options to offensively. Also our overall defense both inside and out wasn't good enough.

 

[psyclone51]

Everyone is frustrated here, but I'm sure, not as frustrated as the women.

Problem #1: Two of our top players, and both upperclassmen, are injured and it is clear they are not playing their best ball. This is a huge issue. Plus we have other key players out for the season.

Problem #2: This is a team that appears to have a very fragile psyche. Things have not gone well, and other than Bridget, no one is really stepping forward with big plays; she seems to be the only player who can miss shots and still come back and try again without hesitating. When 2 upperclassmen are playing injured, this puts even more pressure on the mental side of the game.

Problem #3: You don't lose a player like Fernstrom without it hurting the team: on the ball and in their mind. It takes time to regroup.

Conclusion: If Seanna and Jadda were healthy, we win that game going away. Injuries are a curse and we've been hit very hard this year.

While I am disappointed, I am not butt hurt like some posters. More than anything, I feel sorry for the women. This has got to be very hard on them.

 

[acoustimac]

I think the Wisky coach has a point. I remember Jake Sullivan saying he put up something like 300 threes a day.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nca...omens-coach-rants-on-poor-shooting/ar-BBoNLsu

 

[kcdc4isu]

Everyone is frustrated here, but I'm sure, not as frustrated as the women.

Problem #1: Two of our top players, and both upperclassmen, are injured and it is clear they are not playing their best ball. This is a huge issue. Plus we have other key players out for the season.

Problem #2: This is a team that appears to have a very fragile psyche. Things have not gone well, and other than Bridget, no one is really stepping forward with big plays; she seems to be the only player who can miss shots and still come back and try again without hesitating. When 2 upperclassmen are playing injured, this puts even more pressure on the mental side of the game.

Problem #3: You don't lose a player like Fernstrom without it hurting the team: on the ball and in their mind. It takes time to regroup.

Conclusion: If Seanna and Jadda were healthy, we win that game going away. Injuries are a curse and we've been hit very hard this year.

While I am disappointed, I am not butt hurt like some posters. More than anything, I feel sorry for the women. This has got to be very hard on them.

Well said and as I posted on the other thread on this game to your first point, the third upperclassmen is not having a great season so far. To your point #2, I feel Emily is also not afraid to take a shot if it comes available but it bothers me that when she does and misses she gets pulled. And #3 is right to the point, you can not lose a player with the experience she had and not suffer. Like you I hope Seannas knee gets better so we have the old Seanna back for the rest of the season. I have suggested we move Jadda to the two guard, make Emily the point, Seanna the #3, Bridget the #4 start Mere at #4A and rotate Claire & Maddy with her for defense and foul issues. We can then use Kid to spell one of the guards as she has always seemed to play better coming off the bench.

 

[mitten1975]

While I am disappointed, I am not butt hurt like some posters. More than anything, I feel sorry for the women. This has got to be very hard on them.

I don't think someone should conclude someone else is butt hurt, without being able to examine that portion of the anatomy. I am saying it is something a doctor should diagnose or perhaps you are speaking of psychology. Actually I think butt hurt, as you are using it is meant to place you in a position of greater respectability, impartiality, and superiority, placing yourself in the category of those with healthy happy butts.

 

[Royalclone]

Granted we only saw limited playing time for three of these guards, the two were not that big of a lose when they left us.

It remains to be seen about Bell, but Bingley is only starting and averaging 29 minutes a game for the 14th-ranked team in the country.

 

[acoustimac]

One can make all sorts of arguments about Bingley. The counterpoint is what if she had been here all four years? She is a FOURTH year senior as she transferred at semester and played the second half of her Soph year. So her stats this year would or could be what she would do at ISU.