Only Stevenson and Caitlyn got 30 or more minutes, and there is not a credible backup for either of them. I would not have minded Swanson and McKenna getting more minutes. McKenna finally started finding the bottom of the net going 2-2 from the field, but did not get another run after her good showing. I do not understand the staff's faith in Smith, she produces nothing far more often than contributes in games. The problem for me becomes if I don't trust Gearlds to put the best players on the floor, how can I trust her to develop the players to their best in practice? Once that trust is broken, she needs to pack her bags and move on as far as I am concerned..
As far as playing the seniors less and not having confidence in the freshmen.... they are freshmen, and half of them were unranked 3star recruits. They were expected to need a couple of years of development to be contributors. Who would you play instead of the current starters? Jones and Smith have shown they are not ready for starter roles, hell Smith doesn't seem ready for ANY minutes. I have supported Swanson getting more minutes as I feel she brings something no one else on the bench is bringing as a microwave kind of player unafraid to shoot early and often, but she is not a strong defender and not ready to start. Monson needs time, McKenna is only now starting to show a little scoring ability, and the sophmores are both pretty useless most games. So losing by 40 with the freshmen to Nebraska at our house instead of having a chance to win seems silly. Once we are mathematically eliminated for WNIT, then maybe just run out the white flag and play to lose with the underclassmen, but I think that would hurt us in recruiting for years down the road.
