We win 66-60

[GemstateBoiler]

A win is a win but not pretty looking by far. We finally made enough foul shots at the end to win. 34% shooting from the field won't win many games. The win came down to shooting 25 more foul shots than them and getting them in major foul trouble. Miss Keys gave us a spark off of the bench with 12 points and she was 6 of 6 from the foul line. We need to get Miss Clemons more than 3 shots in a game (she did make them all though). A plus was only 13 turnovers and 9 more rebounds than Ball State. I was following the men and ladies at the same time on Gametracker. Was the technical on Ball State with one second left for too many time-outs taken?

We will be better with Miss Wilson back...big time.

Go Boilers!

 

[oldgoldandblack]

I was there, but I did not see or hear what the technical foul was for.

You are right that this team will be better with April Wilson back. Morrissette and Keys played the point and they scored OK (16 and 12 points respectively), but Morrissette had only 2 assists and Keys only 1. April Wilson is a better distributor of the ball. I think that this team will have a smoother offense and, as a result, a better shooting percentage when April gets back.

This post was edited on 11/14 10:58 PM by oldgoldandblack

 

[WaltV]

I was there too, and the tech was called because Ball State called time out when they didn't have any left.

 

[GemstateBoiler]

Originally posted by WaltV:

I was there too, and the tech was called because Ball State called time out when they didn't have any left.

Thanks Walt, that's what I assumed but with the difference in foul numbers I thought it might be something else.

Good to get a road win. Ball State may end up high in the MAC conference this year. They have a couple of really good players.

 

[boilerluv]

I agree that things will be much smoother when April is back; however, I think Morrissette and Keys are good backups. I like Andreona very much--so far, she has impressed me the most of any of the freshmen. She was impressive in the exhibition, too--I think she has been underrated, and I'm very glad she is here!

 

[oldgoldandblack]

Agree on Andreona. She definitely had uncommon poise for a freshman in her first regular season college game -- on the road, no less..

 

[oldgoldandblack]

Thanks. I remember, late in the game, looking at the scoreboard and wondering if it really did not show how many timeouts were left for each team. I thought that was odd, but I could not see that information on it anywhere. Also, I missed the Mackey Arena stat board. My $7 seat, however, was more comfortable than the non-premium seating in the "renovated" Mackey Arena.

 

[WaltV]

My seat was better than my PREMIUM seating at Mackey
I think Morissette did a great job at the point. I hope that she remains in the starting lineup at the "2"! Against a very aggressive defense, with many double teams, she had only one turnover. That hasn't happened with a Purdue point guard for a long time, I would guess.
I agree "Boilerluv" about Keys. Interesting that she was by far the lowest ranked of our five freshmen, and she looks like a veteran--and is very talented. Her two threes from the corner were big, and she handles the ball very well.
I thought our defense was excellent, as was Ball State's. They switched back and forth---zone to man to man, and played both well.
Bays looked like an All American for the first six to eight minutes, and then dropped off significantly. She was limping some, and I was concerned that she was having knee problems.
Perry did many great things, but occasionally made poor decisions. She is going to be really good, I think.
We need a game against a decent team (maybe Toledo?), but one we are sure we can beat, to give the other freshman, especially Horrocks, some playing time to get comfortable. I was very impressed with her athleticism against Findlay, but it appeared she was very nervous last night in her short time in the game, and Coach V. couldn't afford to take any chances with her.

 

[boilerluv]

I couldn't go, but listened to Tim Newton, and he said that Ball State took a time out near the end, but did not have any left, and that meant a technical foul. I have never seen another team do that before, in all my years of watching basketball! They had a good game plan, I think, and were really excited to play us on their home floor, so with our shooting woes, it was a more interesting game than it perhaps should have been. I like Morrissette as a back-up point guard, but she will probably be happy to be back a the 2 guard. She has star power.

 

[oldgoldandblack]

I don't remember seeing a women's team call a time out when they were out of them before, but I was watching on TV when Michigan's Chris Webber called one in the Final Four and cost his team a technical foul and any chance of winning the game. That one is the most famous technical foul for that infraction.

 

[illiniboiler]

Just read about the game and followed on GT while watching the men cream Samford. Some perspective:
--Ball State is a solid, well-coached, veteran team. We only beat them by 5 at home last year in a tough game so not surprised that it was such a contested game. A win is a win early on, especially when your veteran PG does not play, even though Morisette gave us reason to believe we have a real gem to go with Wilson. Also when NCAA tourney comes this win will be a help as are most road wins.
--The big fly in the ointment here is a mixed bag. Shooting 40 fts on the road is very special and unusual and bodes well for the toughness and aggressiveness of this team. BUT missing 14 is very, very bad and will really hurt us against better teams. Purdue has mostly been a very good FT team so really hope that was a fluke.
--Seems that Keys could be a surprise. Too early to tell. Still think Perry is going to be very special.
--This team, like most teams at the beginning of the season, is a work in progress. Coach V has good pieces to work with and having your PG back is a big deal.
--Still optimistic that this program is getting better.

 

[TC4THREE]

Is Wilson back next game? 2 game suspension including the exhibition?

 

[GemstateBoiler]

Originally posted by TC4THREE:

Is Wilson back next game? 2 game suspension including the exhibition?

Yep, I think that was it. She will be back next game.

 

[WaltV]

Yes! Wilson is back Wednesday.

 

[mathboy]

I worried this was a trap game for us. A lot of bench and young players now starting or in the rotation. No Wilson. Going against a veteran and pretty good BSU team, at their place. We could easily have dropped this one. I didn't get to see it, but it sounds like it was close all the way. Nice that we pulled this one out.

 

[koopmeister]

First it was a road game (always a good win), a pretty average squad (but better than a lot of BCS schools schedule in an opener), as well as an opponent that was somewhat familiar with our team. It was nice that we pulled it out...especially after we went down by 5 in the second half.

You might have your definition of a trap game mixed up. A trap game is usually defined as a game either before or after a huge game or rival. It is a game where you look past your opponent. Since this was our season opener (on the road even), I'm not sure how or why it would be a game we would be looking past...especially since the game was close last season.

We went around the block a little before on this, but Ball State is a wickedly young team that was around .500 last season. We have much more talent, experience, and depth. While we all know that won't translate to any kind of certain victory, they are what they are...a young team a couple of weapons and very limited extra pieces. Maybe they are a tourney team this season, but I'm not sure if anybody on this board would take that kind of bet. If they are, then they will have made great strides from last season.

The game plan would have definitely factored in stopping/limiting Fontaine...by far their best returning offensive weapon. I think we missed Dee Dee because although I didn't see the game (folks that did, I would be curious to hear your perspective)...this game was as much about limiting Fontaine from hurting us as our offense taking it to them. Going into the game we had the far superior post players...the question was how our backcourt would play on both sides of the ball.

 

[mathboy]

Originally posted by koopmeister:
First it was a road game (always a good win), a pretty average squad (but better than a lot of BCS schools schedule in an opener), as well as an opponent that was somewhat familiar with our team. It was nice that we pulled it out...especially after we went down by 5 in the second half.

You might have your definition of a trap game mixed up. A trap game is usually defined as a game either before or after a huge game or rival. It is a game where you look past your opponent. Since this was our season opener (on the road even), I'm not sure how or why it would be a game we would be looking past...especially since the game was close last season.

We went around the block a little before on this, but Ball State is a wickedly young team that was around .500 last season. We have much more talent, experience, and depth. While we all know that won't translate to any kind of certain victory, they are what they are...a young team a couple of weapons and very limited extra pieces. Maybe they are a tourney team this season, but I'm not sure if anybody on this board would take that kind of bet. If they are, then they will have made great strides from last season.

The game plan would have definitely factored in stopping/limiting Fontaine...by far their best returning offensive weapon. I think we missed Dee Dee because although I didn't see the game (folks that did, I would be curious to hear your perspective)...this game was as much about limiting Fontaine from hurting us as our offense taking it to them. Going into the game we had the far superior post players...the question was how our backcourt would play on both sides of the ball.

Don't disagree with your perspective. I was just using the term "Trap game" in a broader perspective for any game where the emotional and psychological factors have an opportunity to off-set the talent. In this case, missing Wilson, and playing an away opening game, and against a foe that had some capability. Ball State has a pretty good tradition of basketball, and they are competative. Not the North-East Little Sisters of the Blind and Crippled.

It's all good.

 

[koopmeister]

Thank you for your response and appreciate the dialogue. I agree Ball State is not a bad team at all, and I much prefer to see a game like this on the schedule rather than an opponent we smear and mask where our development/improvement needs to come from. This was a solid opening game opponent.