Purdue wins 92-85. On to Sunday at home to IU, win and we go to the BTT, lose and he season is done. Jones 32 points on 11-21 shooting and 9-9 from the line. Swanson 29 points on 11-13 shooting, 5-6 from 3, and 4 of 6 from the ft line. McCarthy with 11 off the bench. Bass, Collier, and Lombard started, only Lombard played well though...... I know, shocking... VBG.
Purdue at Penn St
- Thread starter MichaelRR
- Start date
Good game; there are no bad gameswhen you win. That said, I don’t like to criticize coaches because I don’t have all the inside information. But I must say it seems baffling to me that your hottest player doesn’t start the third quarter. Two quick blinks and your big halftime lead is down to one possession. Again it looks like bad teams try ti find ways to lose… But a win is a win
Jones and Swanson have big games, Bass has her normal lazy half assed game.... first player CKG chooses to praise in the post game interview? Bass.........
If Rutgers loses, we are in the BTT regardless whether we win or lose.
Difficult to believe the team we just beat on their home court(somewhat comfortably), beat the team we just lost to by 52.
Negatives -
Late game turnovers - We were a little shaky at the end when PSU turned up the pressure, more turnovers.
Overall defense - gave up 85, allowed psu plenty of open looks from 3.
Positives -
Swanson - 29 pts on 10-13, 5-6 from 3 pt range. Career high in pts and her best game of her career. CKG said it in the post game, when Sophie plays under control, she takes her game to another level. I'd say she played under control for about 95% of the game, forced maybe 2 shots. She was feeling it all game, so it was good to see her composed and not fall into old habits(heat checks, bad shots, dribbling into trouble). She has a knack for reading passes and intercepting them for breakaways. She did a great job a few times of fronting Penn States Markle in the post, allowing Lana to recover. So much to like about her future... needs to string together games like this.
Spider Jones - career best 32 pts on 11-21. 8 ast, 6 rebs. Her mid range was on display tonight, continued to use her quickness to get to the bucket. She showed off some nice footwork in the lane for a left handed finish. 1 TO with about 2 minutes left before the pressure forced 2 more TO's.
McCarthy- 11 pts, 8 rebs. This was probably the first time this season she went up against a Big that was slower than her. She was able to maneuver around her(Markle) and hit a couple offhand shots. Lana also forced a turnover, dove on the ball, passed it to Lombard which led to a 3 for Swanson. She looked more comfortable/confident shooting her free throws as well.
Final thoughts -
Rough year, I'm glad the girls were able to experience at least one more dub late in the season.
Negatives -
Late game turnovers - We were a little shaky at the end when PSU turned up the pressure, more turnovers.
Overall defense - gave up 85, allowed psu plenty of open looks from 3.
Positives -
Swanson - 29 pts on 10-13, 5-6 from 3 pt range. Career high in pts and her best game of her career. CKG said it in the post game, when Sophie plays under control, she takes her game to another level. I'd say she played under control for about 95% of the game, forced maybe 2 shots. She was feeling it all game, so it was good to see her composed and not fall into old habits(heat checks, bad shots, dribbling into trouble). She has a knack for reading passes and intercepting them for breakaways. She did a great job a few times of fronting Penn States Markle in the post, allowing Lana to recover. So much to like about her future... needs to string together games like this.
Spider Jones - career best 32 pts on 11-21. 8 ast, 6 rebs. Her mid range was on display tonight, continued to use her quickness to get to the bucket. She showed off some nice footwork in the lane for a left handed finish. 1 TO with about 2 minutes left before the pressure forced 2 more TO's.
McCarthy- 11 pts, 8 rebs. This was probably the first time this season she went up against a Big that was slower than her. She was able to maneuver around her(Markle) and hit a couple offhand shots. Lana also forced a turnover, dove on the ball, passed it to Lombard which led to a 3 for Swanson. She looked more comfortable/confident shooting her free throws as well.
Final thoughts -
Rough year, I'm glad the girls were able to experience at least one more dub late in the season.
Bass got baited into two charges(flops by psu) where she was just running down the court then turned to post. A psu player did it again with McCarthy just jogging down but the ref called a block. Scummy play imo, but yeah I didn't think Bass provided much in this game.
I was pleasantly surprised with how we played. Normally this year, I get an ill-feeling and turn the station. Swanson was in a zone (29 pts in 26 minutes) and Spider made lay-up after lay-up. Funny how both teams mirrored each other with one large post and mainly scampering guards running around with the ball. Crazy how fast we can let a 13 point lead go down to 3. We did answer each time though. I guess I should be happy we actually had a 13 point lead in the BT this year. Nice game ladies.
Didn't see the game, but it's nice to hear that the younger players are contributing more. I guess at this point, I'm just happy that the team picked up a few February wins. I know December and January had to be very tough on this team, both mentally and physically.
The only other thing I can say is: put it all out there against Indiana, and let's see what happens.
The only other thing I can say is: put it all out there against Indiana, and let's see what happens.
I hope that Swanson and Spider sticks with the program. Would be a shame to see either transfer. Those two might help us turn the corner the next two years. We talk about player development a lot and it seems like these two are getting better and better as they play.
Swanson is up and down - as Spider was last year - but she also only played half a year her freshman season. She has essentially played a little over 1 full year as it stands today. After frustrating inconsistency marked her rookie campaign - Spider has become a consistent producer for us - night in and night out. That's really great to see. She can't do it by herself obviously - but if the two incoming posts can shore up our post play and Poole/Reynolds can develop at the point. The combo of Spider and Swanson on the wing may give us the scoring needed to potentially move up the ranks. Jones has averaged 12ppg/4 apg/3 rpg during Big 10 play - shooting 51% - as just a sophomore against some pretty stiff competition. She is the team's future and if she keeps improving may be All B10 by the end of her career.
Obviously this is what KG is hoping for to save her job.
Swanson is up and down - as Spider was last year - but she also only played half a year her freshman season. She has essentially played a little over 1 full year as it stands today. After frustrating inconsistency marked her rookie campaign - Spider has become a consistent producer for us - night in and night out. That's really great to see. She can't do it by herself obviously - but if the two incoming posts can shore up our post play and Poole/Reynolds can develop at the point. The combo of Spider and Swanson on the wing may give us the scoring needed to potentially move up the ranks. Jones has averaged 12ppg/4 apg/3 rpg during Big 10 play - shooting 51% - as just a sophomore against some pretty stiff competition. She is the team's future and if she keeps improving may be All B10 by the end of her career.
Obviously this is what KG is hoping for to save her job.
Come on ladies. Let's take the hoosiers down. You showed what you are capable of in this game. Do it again!
For me, the most impressive thing for Jones is she has developed a mid-range jump shot, and that makes her MUCH more effective. She is still a weak 3 point shooter, so there is still a lot of room left for development.
Another shout out for this game, Lana hit 5 of 6 free throws, which for her is huge, and her form looked smoother as well.
