Encouraging start to the game, we pushed the lead up to 15 or 16 at one point. Maryland missed some easy ones but I also think that was some of the best defense Purdue has played all season. We were locked in and cleaned up on the boards in that first half. We took care of the ball better as well. Once Maryland found their groove and starting hitting shots in the 2nd, you could see some nervousness and indecisiveness. A couple lapses on defense in the 2nd half also hurt us.
Negatives -
Maryland also exposed McCarthy a bit in pick and rolls. McCarthy would sit in that drop coverage and Maryland was more than content on taking the mid range shot, which they hit a bunch of in the 2nd half.
Swanson - only 13 minutes for her but she seems to be in a rough patch right now. Forced a jumper in the 2nd half, missed a box out, had another turnover. Doesn't seem like much, but in a tight game like this, the mistakes are amplified. We need her to find her role and get some confidence back.
Lombards missed breakaway layup -
I've seen players miss wide open layups because of going too fast and the ball would bounce off the backboard too hard. Destini's layup actually hit the bottom of the rim, that was a first for me. Nice to see her bounce back and hit a 3 a few plays later.
Positives -
Spider Jones had 17 off the bench. I don't believe she had a turnover until the 2nd half. She is at her best coming off screens, using her quickness to get downhill for a layup or finding her middie. There were some moments when she drove to pass instead of to score and it ended in a turnover. Overall, very good game for her and I'd still like to see her come off the bench to provide a scoring boost.
Puryear - had a couple post ups that she made and a little 12 ftish jumper she made. Love her aggressiveness on rebounding.
Lombard - finished with 15 points, 3-6 from 3 pt range. I think she did get lost once or twice on D, she gambled for one late that resulted in a 3 when it was a 4 pt game. That said, she also had 2 steals that led to breakaways.
Bass - 16 pts. She's crafty around the rim, has some wiggle and elusiveness to slide her way through defenders and makes some tough angled shots. Idk if that's the best way to describe it, but she's able to find just enough room to get the ball up and in. Also hit 2 3's(banked in one of them).
Final thoughts -
We wanted to see this team fight and compete with ranked teams. We saw that today. I think it stings a little bit because we had a 15-16 point lead at one point, but this is progress.
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