***#8 Iowa State vs. UNI (6:00 pm)***

[jctisu]

Yeah, I was way out of line saying we were playing like the 18th ranked team and would get destroyed by Iowa playing like we did. I should have said we were playing like the 25th ranked team instead!

Nope you said we should be the 18th ranked team in the country NOT we were playing like the 18th ranked team. You can go edit that post now to avoid the embarrassment. I won’t quote you, but I just looked at it again.

Hell we played like an unranked team tonight. But next game we could play like the top-ranked team. Basketball is such a fluid game where it’s an aggregate more so than say football. You could go through a shooting slump and drop three straight then get hot and rip off five wins win a row.

We are a good team that is ranked where we are ranked. Might drop a couple of spots from this performance and might not. But we aren’t the 18th ranked team. We are currently a top-10 team until proven otherwise.

 

[ISC]

Nope you said we should be the 18th ranked team in the country NOT we were playing like the 18th ranked team. You can go edit that post now to avoid the embarrassment. I won’t quote you, but I just looked at it again.

Hell we played like an unranked team tonight. But next game we could play like the top-ranked team. Basketball is such a fluid game where it’s an aggregate more so than say football. You could go through a shooting slump and drop three straight then get hot and rip off five wins win a row.

We are a good team that is ranked where we are ranked. Might drop a couple of spots from this performance and might not. But we aren’t the 18th ranked team. We are currently a top-10 team until proven otherwise.

I don't think we fall at all given it was a road win this early in the season. I think we are all in "over reaction" mode as we are still used to football where each game matters more. In basketball, everyone knows the ball has days it just bounces oddly for either team and to not overreact too much on it. I think we have some things to work on for sure after today, but I'm also not too worried.

 

[OWLCITYCYFAN]

I’m not sure what to make of that second half effort - defense was without enthusiasm just going thru the motions. Let’s bank the W and get the heck out of Cedar Falls - on to the next game!

 

[peatyscotch]

It seems that some of the posters here are unaware or have forgotten about the pretty widely accepted phenomenon of a highly ranked team (A) playing a lower ranked team (B). B has much to gain by winning and nothing to lose if they lose (they were expected to lose) and A has much to lose by losing and little to gain by winning (they are expected to win). This is magnified when you play in-state rivals. It happens in all sports - amateur and professional - and sometimes leads to unexpected outcomes, including upsets, especially early in the season. And UNI always plays us tough, especially on their home court. Que sera, sera.

For what its worth, I think we have a terrific team and I am looking forward to an exciting season. Joens, Ryan and Donarski make a tremendous core. Fritz is healthy. Soares adds a new dimension to our game. Plus a great supporting cast off the bench. Soares showed her stuff tonight in a tough game: 9-11 from the field, 3-3 from 3, 2-2 from the free throw line, plus 2 blocked shots. Her transition from NAIA to D1 seems to be going very well.

 

[jctisu]

I don't think we fall at all given it was a road win this early in the season. I think we are all in "over reaction" mode as we are still used to football where each game matters more. In basketball, everyone knows the ball has days it just bounces oddly for either team and to not overreact too much on it. I think we have some things to work on for sure after today, but I'm also not too worried.

Exactly. Thank you for being a level-headed fan.

 

[Pope]

I don't think we fall at all given it was a road win this early in the season. I think we are all in "over reaction" mode as we are still used to football where each game matters more. In basketball, everyone knows the ball has days it just bounces oddly for either team and to not overreact too much on it. I think we have some things to work on for sure after today, but I'm also not too worried.

Over reaction mode? Is there any other mode on this board?

 

[jctisu]

North Carolina men’s hoops last year in Game 2 of the season won 94-87 over fricking Brown and made it to the National Championship Game. They had a God awful defense and made it that far.

Obviously we want to get better defensively and even offensively. But it’s not like you can’t make a run if you are weak on defense. Statistically not easy to make a run with a bad defense but they can improve.

 

[ISC]

It seems that some of the posters here are unaware or have forgotten about the pretty widely accepted phenomenon of a highly ranked team (A) playing a lower ranked team (B). B has much to gain by winning and nothing to lose if they lose (they were expected to lose) and A has much to lose by losing and little to gain by winning (they are expected to win). This is magnified when you play in-state rivals. It happens in all sports - amateur and professional - and sometimes leads to unexpected outcomes, including upsets, especially early in the season. And UNI always plays us tough, especially on their home court. Que sera, sera.

For what its worth, I think we have a terrific team and I am looking forward to an exciting season. Joens, Ryan and Donarski make a tremendous core. Fritz is healthy. Soares adds a new dimension to our game. Plus a great supporting cast off the bench. Soares showed her stuff tonight in a tough game: 9-11 from the field, 3-3 from 3, 2-2 from the free throw line, plus 2 blocked shots. Her transition from NAIA to D1 seems to be going very well.

Seeing Fritz get going on offense made me happy today. If she can add offense, this team's ceiling goes up a bit more as that gives us another option on days Ashley and/or Lexi aren't hitting. Emily generally can't add enough additional points alone to overcome one or both of them having an off night (and shouldn't be expected to). So Fritz putting up some points (and fairly efficiently too) is a big plus.

 

[MJ271]

I'm not too worried. Did anyone else notice that Fennelly didn't use a timeout until inside of the final minute? He clearly wanted the team to play through things and see how they would respond. Did they respond very well? No, but they did enough to win and made shots when they needed to.

I'm not going to pretend like they played well, but they won on the road against an in-state rival that has played them close pretty much every year. The turnovers need to be better, stopping the drives on defense needs to improve, and something needs to be done with the scheme defensively to not get exposed on mismatches and ball screens so much. But once again, I don't think this single game is worth freaking out about.

 

[CycloneRulzzz]

I guess I don't get taking out Soares as often as he did but i guess he wants to save her minutes wise for big 12 play.

 

[clonedude]

Nope you said we should be the 18th ranked team in the country NOT we were playing like the 18th ranked team. You can go edit that post now to avoid the embarrassment. I won’t quote you, but I just looked at it again.

Hell we played like an unranked team tonight. But next game we could play like the top-ranked team. Basketball is such a fluid game where it’s an aggregate more so than say football. You could go through a shooting slump and drop three straight then get hot and rip off five wins win a row.

We are a good team that is ranked where we are ranked. Might drop a couple of spots from this performance and might not. But we aren’t the 18th ranked team. We are currently a top-10 team until proven otherwise.

That’s why I’m glad I never said we were going to suck this year like some have thought I said. We did suck tonight though…. I’m guessing Bill would agree with me.

 

[jctisu]

That’s why I’m glad I never said we were going to suck this year like some have thought I said. We did suck tonight though…. I’m guessing Bill would agree with me.

But I guarantee you Bill doesn’t think we aren’t a top-10 team. He’s not been shy about how talented this team is and what their goals are.

And tonight you did say we suck and how we wouldn’t beat Iowa. That’s not just a tonight thing since we play them in December, that’s you going full clonedude

 

[Jkclone15]

Looking at the box score, the bench didn't contribute much.

 

[Cyforce]

I guess I don't get taking out Soares as often as he did but i guess he wants to save her minutes wise for big 12 play.

I agree, not meaning to body shame anyone but their post had a ton of lower body strength and Soares could of benefited from guarding that type of player extended minutes.

 

[burn587]

One thing to look for going forward is transition defense. Soares is so slow getting back in position that UNI was just rushing the ball up the court and watching the ISU defense struggle to rotate. They were doing it after ISU makes as well. I don’t think Soares is going to get any faster, so Bill probably needs to come up with some full court press that slows the ball down because everyone is going to do that against the women now.

 

[Cyforce]

One thing to look for going forward is transition defense. Soares is so slow getting back in position that UNI was just rushing the ball up the court and watching the ISU defense struggle to rotate. They were doing it after ISU makes as well. I don’t think Soares is going to get any faster, so Bill probably needs to come up with some full court press that slows the ball down because everyone is going to do that against the women now.

Soares plays D with straight leg and bends at the waist.

 

[Pope]

Interesting post game press conference from Bill. He was genuinely pleased with the overall game tonight. Much more positive than I was expecting.

He's right, though. Our state has 4 very good basketball teams, so you gotta be happy to beat any of the 3 on the road.

 

[peatyscotch]

Interesting post game press conference from Bill. He was genuinely pleased with the overall game tonight. Much more positive than I was expecting.

He's right, though. Our state has 4 very good basketball teams, so you gotta be happy to beat any of the 3 on the road.

Fennelly also said he told the team ahead of time that if UNI got a run going, he was not going to call a time out. He wanted to see them figure it out themselves.

He also said 26 minutes for Soares was extended minutes for her this year, so it is clear Bill wants to keep pushing her as she adjusts to D1 ball as compared to NAIA. But she is obviously a smart woman, has great coaching support and I am sure support from her teammates, so it will be fun watching her game evolve this season.

 

[BCClone]

How many years does Soares have left?

 

[SerenityNow]

How many years does Soares have left?

This is it, unfortunately.