I read all the posts from people about how JAT should come off the bench etc. Then I looked at the Stanford game box score and laughed. Joanne played 37 minutes.Guess Vic sees things differently.
I’m surprised neither Moore or Gaston got any minutes in the 3Q. They need the reps so hopefully we’ll see them on the floor in the 4Q.
Pretty much the type of game I thought we may have, a little sluggish in the beginning due to a bit of an emotional letdown after that big win on Sunday. The stats were pretty much as expected, but we have GOT to be better from the free throw line!
Each had a boot on their right foot. Moore only played a few minutes because she went out with a turned ankle early in the game. It didn’t look too bad so hopefully she’s back for Tennessee, we need her. The starters scoring per minute was good (at a 115+ PPG average), but played less than 90 combined minutes. The bench was much less productive and we rarely had 5 on the court that all knew what they were supposed to do. So the final result is largely a product of coach using the time to teach.
1. Kobe and Kyndall both in boots General thoughts I jotted down during the game: 2. First 5 minutes, Vic not stomping or yelling from the sideline. 3. SEMO came to play. They just attacked with no fear. True it was sloppy, but we had something to do with that 4. Their coach subs a lot. 5. Vic finally started yelling and stomping after the first media timeout in the first quarter 6. At one point Ebo lost a shoe, she just tossed it out of bounds and started running with sock on one foot 7. Lattimore, hmmm. Nothing she did under the basket was good. Poor ball handling, often fumbling. Poor shots around the rim. I was surprised since I thought she had a great stroke, but that was away from the basket 8. Harmon the best point guard we've had since......? 9. When guarding someone trying to inbound a ball, Matharu does a constant yell, like AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH, in the opponent's face to try to distract them while she's hopping around with her arms outstretched 10. Other than that one time when Mulkey was disgusted with her team, I'd never seen an opposing coach swap out all 5 players for another set. And then SEMO coach took it further by making this a rotation swap every 3-4 minutes. I guess she decided that was the best way to rest up her players with the Texas defense 11. I've never seen a coach take a timeout in the middle of a free throw like Vic did 12. If you want to get a few hundred kids to yell and sing together in unison, play the Spongebob Squarepants song over the speakers
Not that we know if it was directly related to how each player played at Stanford, but if it was, then Ebo and Matharu starting today was well-deserved. Warren and Gaston came off the bench today. There will probably be a lot of teams we play that start 3 guards; so, the combination of Harmon, Allen-Taylor, and Matharu will be a common trio. Hopefully, Hunter will do what she has to do in order to be part of that backcourt rotation; we know Chevalier will get her minutes when Rori sees the bench. Based on what I've seen these first few games, it looks like Matharu might be able to play some at the point if we really need her to. She looked pretty comfortable handling the ball on the perimeter; so, I'll be watching down the road to see if she spends any minutes at PG.
This was not Lattimore's best game. I think she'll learn from it and show improvement throughout the season. On a separate note, I thought Femme had a good game. I was impressed with her toughness under the basket.
Part of being a freshman is learning tough lessons. I think she will use this lesson to her benefit too.
A shout out to Shae Holle with a nice game. She played 26 minutes which was the team high. So Schaefer must have liked her in this game. She had 8 points on 50% shooting, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a good floor game. She is not in the rotation in tough games right now. However, if she keeps improving her game, she certainly can be later....certainly for her junior/senior years. She’s certainly not limited athletically.
