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WBB 2019-20 Season in general

IA looked a lot better. Monika's looking great. Defense/TOs are going to be a problem...as always.
Anyone know what's up with Lexi?
 
Is anyone driving to the UNI game Sunday and want a carpooler? I will kick in gas money. At 69 years-old, I have left bad habits behind. I caught a T-Shirt at Thursday’s game and gave it away (XL is too much for me), so maybe I am lucky.
 
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Michigan State beat Notre Dame in women's basketball.

I don't know if that's a statement of how far the Irish have dropped from last year to this year.........or if we actually have to fear MSU now.
 
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Michigan State beat Notre Dame in women's basketball.

I don't know if that's a statement of how far the Irish have dropped from last year to this year.........or if we actually have to fear MSU now.

I think Michigan State will be decent, but Notre Dame is really down this year. They're ranked 15th at the moment, but also have two losses this week. Down for Notre Dame is still a good team, but nothing like the last couple years.
 
Notre Dame barely won at Fordham 60 - 55, but Penn State beat Fordham handily 72 - 59. Penn State is in rebuilding with a first-year coach. Notre Dame is definitely down.
 
The Irish had five players go in the first 19 picks of the WNBA draft.
 
Women's Basketball 11/16/2019

WBB Notebook: Iowa vs. Northern Iowa



SCOUTING NORTHERN IOWA

  • Northern Iowa is 3-0 on the season with wins over North Dakota State, Wichita State, and Missouri.
  • UNI played its last contest on Nov. 13 -- a 78-73 win over Missouri.
  • Junior guard Karli Rucker leads UNI with 20.3 points per game. Redshirt junior forward Megan Maahs is second with 13.3 points per game.
  • Junior forward Bre Gunnels leads the Panthers with 5.7 rebounds per game, and Maahs follows with 5.3 per contest.
  • As a team, the Panthers are averaging 78.0 points per game and holding opponents to 62.0.
  • UNI is led by head coach Tanya Warren in her 13th season as the head coach of the UNI Panther women's basketball team. Warren is a three-time Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year and guided the Panthers to league regular-season titles in 2011 and 2016. Warren has compiled an overall coaching mark of 228-166 – ranking her first all-time in victories in program history.
THE SERIES
  • Iowa leads the all-time series, 22-2.
  • The Hawkeyes have won the last 12 contests dating back to 2007.
  • Last season, Iowa defeated UNI, 83-57, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
 
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Had to win that game twice. Has to do wonders for their confidence. Proves to themselves they have the talent to win, but they need to olay tough defense all game and improve execution.
 
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That was the most exciting home game in a while, mostly because last season Iowa just methodically strangled the other team to a slow death in every game. It started out really slowly for Iowa. Iowa seemed to be unable to get off a good shot, and there were no opportunities for fast breaks. Credit Princeton for its defense. Iowa's defense was pretty good, too, though Princeton was able to knock down some 3-pointers. I think things started to turn around when Doyle asserted herself and did more drive to the hoop. A seesaw game for most of the 4th quarter. I felt Meyer should intentionally miss the second free throw at the end of the regulation, with 0.8 second left on the clock. But alas, the Tigers had 9 lives with three 3-pointers banked in, two of which buzzer beaters sidearmed from 30 feet out. The whole arena was deflated at the start of overtime, especially after being down 6 three minutes in. But, Meyer knocked down a three after she missed one earlier in OT, and then everybody stepped up a couple notches, including the fans. Towards the end of regulation Iowa had substituted Taiwo for Sevillian on defense for her length and quickness I assume. At the end of OT though, Iowa didn't do that, and Sevillian came up with the biggest steal in the game. Iowa had a three-point lead again, Meyer clearly fouled a Princeton player on the floor, but they conspired to get 3 free throws out of it. Tough luck they missed the first one, and the intentional miss on the third one did not work for them as Ollinger got the rebound. I think this time Ollinger did intentionally miss her second free throw, and their final desperate heave was not in time and didn't go in either.

Final observation, Iowa players should practice dribbling under pressure in traffic, or should learn not to do that if they can't do it well. Multiple Iowa players lost the ball that way while going towards the basket.
 
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Obviously very early & the Hawks will have to improve significantly to make it happen but ESPN Bracketology has them as a last four team in at a #12 seed. Drake at #8 & ISU also a last four team in at #11.

http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/bracketology
That may just well be on the strength of beating Princeton, as Princeton is projected to be a 9 seed and automatic bid for the Ivy League.
 
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That was the most exciting home game in a while, mostly because last season Iowa just methodically strangled the other team to a slow death in every game. It started out really slowly for Iowa. Iowa seemed to be unable to get off a good shot, and there were no opportunities for fast breaks. Credit Princeton for its defense. Iowa's defense was pretty good, too, though Princeton was able to knock down some 3-pointers. I think things started to turn around when Doyle asserted herself and did more drive to the hoop. A seesaw game for most of the 4th quarter. I felt Meyer should intentionally miss the second free throw at the end of the regulation, with 0.8 second left on the clock. But alas, the Tigers had 9 lives with three 3-pointers banked in, two of which buzzer beaters sidearmed from 30 feet out. The whole arena was deflated at the start of overtime, especially after being down 6 three minutes in. But, Meyer knocked down a three after she missed one earlier in OT, and then everybody stepped up a couple notches, including the fans. Towards the end of regulation Iowa had substituted Taiwo for Sevillian on defense for her length and quickness I assume. At the end of OT though, Iowa didn't do that, and Sevillian came up with the biggest steal in the game. Iowa had a three-point lead again, Meyer clearly fouled a Princeton player on the floor, but they conspired to get 3 free throws out of it. Tough luck they missed the first one, and the intentional miss on the third one did not work for them as Ollinger got the rebound. I think this time Ollinger did intentionally miss her second free throw, and their final desperate heave was not in time and didn't go in either.

Final observation, Iowa players should practice dribbling under pressure in traffic, or should learn not to do that if they can't do it well. Multiple Iowa players lost the ball that way while going towards the basket.
Good description and thoughts re strategy. This was the first time that I remember Bluder having them foul to stop a three-point shot. Since it didn't go as planned, I'm worried she won't do it again.
Also agree about what a fun game to attend. Was certain more than once that each team was going to win. And, in the second quarter thought it was about to turn into a rerun of the UNI game. I don't think Amanda Ollinger can get too much praise for her work on Alarie.
 
Good description and thoughts re strategy. This was the first time that I remember Bluder having them foul to stop a three-point shot. Since it didn't go as planned, I'm worried she won't do it again.
Also agree about what a fun game to attend. Was certain more than once that each team was going to win. And, in the second quarter thought it was about to turn into a rerun of the UNI game. I don't think Amanda Ollinger can get too much praise for her work on Alarie.
Thank goodness Alarie was good but not Gustafson good:)
 
Good description and thoughts re strategy. This was the first time that I remember Bluder having them foul to stop a three-point shot. Since it didn't go as planned, I'm worried she won't do it again.
Also agree about what a fun game to attend. Was certain more than once that each team was going to win. And, in the second quarter thought it was about to turn into a rerun of the UNI game. I don't think Amanda Ollinger can get too much praise for her work on Alarie.

Thanks for bringing up that Minnesota game from a few years back, even though you didn't bring it up. :(
 
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How worried should we be about Monika's foul trouble? She's been stuck on the bench for quite a while in the past two games, and when she's been out we haven't really had a low post scoring option. Amanda and McKenna add their own strengths with defense and rebounding, but both prefer to play on the perimeter offensively.
 
She will need to learn quick. It's only been 4 games into her career that she's played sustained minutes. Did Gustafson have a bit of foul trouble in her freshman year?
 
Looks like last year Megan had 79 in 36 games (2.2 per game). Hannah led the team with 91 in 36 games (2.5 per game). I think Megan fouled out once last year? Maybe twice? I thought she did a really good job of contesting/fighting for rebounds without fouling, but that's obviously a learned skill.

Small sample size, but Monika has 14 fouls thus far in 4 game (3.5 per game). I'm sure she'll get better as the season goes on, but it hurts more this year when she's in foul trouble because she's the only real low post scoring threat. I think that's some of the reason we've struggled offensively for large chunks of the last two games.
 
Seems like she has committed a couple of those over the back trying to tip the ball away on a RB she could not get. Also, a couple have come o pushing the defender away to get open for a pass. Those seem to me to me pretty easy to correct.
 
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Is Doyle hurt? She is missing A LOT of shots, and missing them by A LOT. She’s one of my favorite players, but is struggling more than a senior should with the offense this year.
 
Is Doyle hurt? She is missing A LOT of shots, and missing them by A LOT. She’s one of my favorite players, but is struggling more than a senior should with the offense this year.

Doyle is not injured just facing different looks and receiving more attention on D so it's harder to get easy shots on the perimeter and less room to drive w/o MG drawing defenders. Mack has struggled also. Guards or forced to take contested shots or try to drop in a layup in space which means they have to use the board and misses result in easy rebounds for opponents and less second chance opportunities as MG isn't there to kick out to the open shooter.

Bluder needs to go back to the triangle offense cause the 4 guard line-up has not been effective. However it seems the offense flows better with Amanda at the post for rebounding and Warnock playing forward for scoring. Czinano has really struggled, particularly being plagued with foul trouble and Amanda though undersized is a quicker and more athletic rebounder than Monica
 
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WBB Notebook: Iowa at Puerto Rico Clasico

SCOUTING CINCINNATI

• Cincinnati is 3-2 on the season with wins over Utah, Ball State, and Chattanooga.
• Cincinnati played its last contest on Nov. 19 -- a 72-53 win over Chattanooga.
• The Bearcats will play two games in the Puerto Rico Clasico against Iowa and Bucknell.
• Junior forward Ilmar’l Thomas leads Cincinnati with 20.4 points per game. Senior guard Antoi-
nette Miller also averages double figures with 18.0 points per game.
• Thomas leads the Bearcats in rebounds with 9.6 per game, and is followed by senior forward
Angel Rizor with 7.6.
• As a team, Cincinnati is averaging 65.2 points per game and holding opponents to 61.8.
• Michelle Clark-Heard was named the ninth University of Cincinnati women’s basketball coach
in March 2018. In her first season at the helm at UC in 2018-19, Clark-Heard led the Bearcats to 24 wins -- the most victories in a head coach’s first season in program history, and the most triumphs in 17 years.

SCOUTING TOWSON


• Towson is 1-3 on the season with a win over Mount St. Mary’s.
• Towson’s only win of the season to date was its last contest on Nov. 16 -- a 73-57 win over Mount St. Mary’s.
• The Tigers will play two games in the Puerto Rico Clasico against Iowa and Iona.
• Three Tigers are averaging double figures including senior forward Nuliya Mayo (17.3), redshirt junior guard Kionna Jeter (16.3), and redshirt senior guard Q. Murray (10.3).
• Mayo leads the Tigers in rebounds with 8.3 per game, and is followed by Jeter with 6.8.
• As a team, Towson is averaging 69.8 points per game, while opponents are averaging 72.8.
• Diane Richardson is in her third year leading the Towson University women’s basketball program. Last season, Richardson led Towson to its first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship in program history and its first NCAA Tournament berth.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON


• Washington is 3-1 on the season with wins over California State-Bakers- field, Weber State, and Seattle.
• The Huskies played their last contest on Nov. 23 -- a 78-46 win over Seattle.
• Washington will play three games in the Puerto Rico Clasico against Iona, Howard, and Iowa.
• The Huskies share the ball evenly with sophomores Haley Van Dyke (12.3) and Darcy Rees (10.0) averaging double figures, and senior Amber Melgoza (9.8), senior Mai-Loni Henson (9.5), junior Missy Peterson (9.0), and fresh- man Ali Bamberger (8.3) right behind.
• Van Dyke leads the Huskies in rebounds with 7.3 per game, and is followed by Melgoza and Henson with 5.5 each.
• Van Dyke has also recorded 15 steals on the season and only fouled once in four games.
• As a team, Washington is averaging 78.5 points per game and holding op- ponents to 50.0.
• Jody Wynn is in her third season as the head coach at the University of Washington. Under Wynn’s direction, the Huskies have steadily improved while rebuilding over the last two years. The 2018-19 season saw the Hus- kies record an 11-21 overall record, while playing the 14th-toughest sched- ule based on average opponent winning percentage.
 
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Big win for Iowa over Cincinnati and on to Towson tomorrow. Bearcats are tough, they played a very good tOSU to overtime before losing.
 
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Doyle's shooting form is less repeatable than most players, I think. There are times when she's just really off and will air ball or barely hit the rim on a three. On the other hand, she can get hot with it and knock down a few in a row, too.

Same thing closer to the basket. Doyle is great at getting to the rim, but is really inconsistent at actually finishing those shots. She looks most consistent at hitting pull up jumpers around the free throw line.

Her inconsistent shooting is more noticeable this year with Megan gone, but it's always been there.
 
Gabbie Marshall has been shooting really well. That's a very good sign. She made 3 of 6 three-pointers vs Cinci. She's almost nonchalant when shooting the threes. "Keep calm, shoot a three". I guess that's very repeatable?
 
Gabbie Marshall has been shooting really well. That's a very good sign. She made 3 of 6 three-pointers vs Cinci. She's almost nonchalant when shooting the threes. "Keep calm, shoot a three". I guess that's very repeatable?

I'm far from an expert, but her form looks really good to me. She's usually set and open when she shoots, and doesn't rush herself. When she misses it's either a distance problem (too short or too long) or it's only slightly off to one side.

Makenzie Meyer is usually pretty good at judging distance, but misses more often side to side than Marshall does. With the right camera angle you can usually tell when she'll miss, because it'll be noticeably off out of her hand.

Thinking more about Doyle, I think her issue might be that she rarely takes spot up shots. Her long shots usually come after dribbling, after getting a long rebound, or after making a quick cut. In all three scenarios, she rarely has her feet properly set with time to take an easy, uncontested shot. When you're rushed or your feet aren't set, your form is more likely to be off. It's also hard to practice those shots, because you default to spotting up when not guarded.

Caitlin Clark faces the same challenges Doyle does re: rarely getting spot up shots. Her solution, and the solution of a lot of NBA players, is to take step back shots while on the move. The step back gets her feet set underneath her, and it's also fairly easy to practice step backs even if you're not guarded.
 
Bluder needs to go back to the triangle offense cause the 4 guard line-up has not been effective. However it seems the offense flows better with Amanda at the post for rebounding and Warnock playing forward for scoring. Czinano has really struggled, particularly being plagued with foul trouble and Amanda though undersized is a quicker and more athletic rebounder than Monica
Really dislike the four-guard offense. Too much dribbling creating too much opportunity for TOs, and we end up taking too many 3-pointers. Outside shooting isn't consistent enough for it. Hurts rebounding and puts too much pressure on Monika. Need Warnock and Ollinger doing more Big Forward things. Like to see more of the high-low game. Ollinger is a good passer and might open it up for Monika more.
 
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Hawkeye women up, 48-40, v Towson State with 6+ minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
 
Iowa women 96-68 v Towson State with 2+ min. left. Will play Washington Saturday after playing two games within 24 hours+.
 
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