Conference: Women Lose First Two, Men Split

I wrote this piece before we went on break, but I did not post it due to a busy schedule. I just found it and figured I would still post it along with some pictures. So here it goes…

This last weekend left me with a bitter taste in my mouth and a head full of frustration. Granted, we only played our fifth and sixth games of the season, but to lose two games that in a row against teams that we were beating at one point is not fun. It is all about finishing. After the Eastern Oregon game I was talking to Jenna and we just could not figure out what it is. Why were we unable to come out with the win after such a hard fight? Is it about heart? Is it about desire? Is it about experience and knowledge of the game? I do not know.

We opened up this weekend against the College of Idaho Yotes, losing 66-74. We knew that the game was going to be tough since COI is the only team in our conference that full-court presses the entire game. We had not seen anything like it and it was going to be an experience. I talked with Megan Miyasaka before the game we went over things we needed to remember while playing a pressure team (stay calm, keep your head up, don’t get ‘rattled’, don’t get forced into playing their type of game, etc.). Our game plan was to play our game and make them adjust. It worked well, for the most part. At the end, they were finding it difficult to guard us with their zone, so they had to pull out to man-to-man defense. As far as we know, that was the first game they have played this year where they went to man-to-man.

The stats look pretty good; the shooting percentages are about even, we out-rebounded them by 22 (!) and we had some good numbers put up by our players. It wasn’t enough. Although Coach Greenleaf gave us props for not getting 31 turnovers (what other COI opponents average), we still had 28 which is a lot. I think that is where the difference came. They only had 13 turnovers, which gives them 15 more chances to score. The loss almost did not seem real, or it did not seem that it mattered. To play a conference game so early and with few games under our belt felt very awkward.

Awkward or not, the next night we played Eastern Oregon University. Again, we lost; this time by one less point, falling 66-73. Playing Eastern, we expected some rough play and tight, switching defense. What we did not expect was to have someone wide open under the basket multiple times. Their defense was rough, but not perfect. They left one of our players open under the basket numerous times. Unfortunately, despite mentioning it at half time, we were unable to capitalize on it. I guess since they were playing so tight our players could not even see who was open.

What I thought would be good is that we are known for our good defense. I thought it would be a defensive matchup. Wrong. I thought we had very poor help-side defense. It seemed like every time an Eastern player drove to the basket, there was no one there to step in and contest it. It seemed like they got layup after layup. And their post (Henderson) seemed unstoppable in the paint. She couldn’t miss!

I’m getting ahead of myself, however. The beginning of the game was all about us. It seemed easy and I remember thinking, this is Eastern? They are nothing. What is so great about them? We can win this game, no problem! Well after a time out and a few letdowns that turned completely around. The game was neck-and-neck the entire time, really anyone’s game at any point. Right before the half I set a screen for Jenna. She came off, shot about an NBA-range 3-pionter and made it, giving us the lead by one at half (36-35).

Unfortunately that is not how the game ended. It seemed like by the time we thought about hurrying to get some points, it was too late. We were not quick enough and let the game slip through our hands. We tried to foul and slow the game down, but it did not help. Even though they only shot 50% from the free-throw line, they still came away with the win.

One of our foci for the game was limiting their offensive boards. They had 22 the night before against SOU and coach thought that if we could keep that number down--which we did--it would be our game. We held them to 10 offensive boards.

The men’s team split on the road in their first conference games, beating COI and losing to EOU. Both games were fun to watch, although the EOU game got frustrating.