8 TO in 1st Quarter but only down by 2, make that 9 TO and then fouled a 3 pt shooter just before the horn. End of Q 1 down 15-11.
17 turnovers in the first half did us in. This team isn't built to come back from deficits, and with how offensively challenged we are, we need to get a shot off as much as possible each possession down the court. Hard to do with 17 first half turnovers.
Negatives - Turnovers^
Collier - 31 mins. 0-2. Battled on the boards but for as much as she plays, she brings no threat driving to the hoop, isn't making plays for other teammates. She's probably in the right spot defensively but has her limits athletically. I wouldn't mind seeing Swanson take some of her minutes.
Positives -
Spider Jones - yes 6 turnovers, and most of them were horrendous, but she played much better in the 2nd half, maybe had 1 TO? in the 2nd. 17 points on 8-10. Drove the ball, had her mid range going. 4 asts as well. She's the only player as of now that can get to the bucket and create for others. Said it before, she's at her best when she's driving to score. When she's driving to pass, the bad outcomes are more likely to appear.
Layden - 9 points(career high?), 9 rebs. She was active defensively and battled down low. Good first start, I'd like to see her start the rest of the year and log heavy minutes. You can see her gaining confidence. She also does a relatively good job protecting the ball.
Final thoughts -
We really need a point guard who can take care of the ball, create open looks for everyone, and be a threat scoring wise. Reynolds and Poole need more minutes to see if one or both are able to play at this level.
Tough to grow with inconsistent minutes like that.It's crazy to me how Poole is being played. 7 minutes against MSU, no minutes against UCLA, start and get 11 minutes against Michigan, and then DNP again against Oregon.
Amiyah starts several games, but gets single digit minutes in many/most of them.
Collier still starting even though her numbers in Big Ten play are atrocious. She leads the team in minutes played at 29.5, but averages 4.5 ppg which is 7th on the team and the greatest shooter Katie Gearlds has EVER seen is shooting a blistering 30% fro the field and from behind the arc.
Another positive I would mention is our freshmen posts held their own against 6'8" Kyei. Kyei still got 12 points, but she did not dominate us the way you might think a senior that big might.
Tough to grow with inconsistent minutes like that.
Swanson has some turnover issues but that's about everyone else on the team. Her shot selection could be better, but she is just more dynamic offensively and defensively compared to Collier. She's still very young, considering she didn't even play that much last season(12.6 mins). Give her some leash and let her grow. Jones had a big leash yesterday and played better for it in the 2nd half.
CKG has been quick to bench alot of players for bad play. I get wanting to teach players lessons and especially in tight games, these turnovers could be killer, but we haven't been in tight games. Let these underclassmen work through their turnovers/mistakes.
The posts were alright yesterday but we double teamed Kyei alot. When she wasn't double teamed, she had her way. My biggest issue with the posts right now is the ball screen coverage. Our guards are left out to dry on screens, while our posts sit back protecting the drive. Oregon hit alot of mid range jumpers because of this.