RU vs Iowa game thread 3/11/21 8;30 to 9pm

[DennisHajekRC84]

Box

Women's Basketball vs Iowa on 3/11/2021 - Box Score - Rutgers University Athletics

The official box score of Women's Basketball vs Iowa on 3/11/2021

scarletknights.com

thanks..very few foul shots. wasn't the refs. As CVS says, if the other team isn't shooting fouls, we're not playing hard enough D.

 

[DennisHajekRC84]

Disappointing results. Lots of truth in most if not all of the comments made here in this thread so far. Although we came in on a winning streak, a few things gave me reason to be worried. The in-game "scoldings" from player to player looked troubling to me. The first being Tekia calling out Diamond a few games back (loudly on national television). I just wish they would be more constructive in the tone. It seems to happen more and more since that instance. Rella and Mael often on the wrong page. Team play seems to suffer and lack unity. Rella has to trust her teammates more. The stretch of last year taught her that she can't do it all by herself. True trust will go a long way with the talented teammates around her.

Playing the starters so many minutes seemed to catch up to us. THE DIFFERENCE IN THE GAME TONIGHT, ..........Tekia Mack looked dead tired for the first time i can remember. No bounce in her step all night. Look at her stat line and it confirms what I'm saying. A stat line closer to her norm likely lifts the energy of everyone else and eeks out a Win.

I understand what you are saying as Rutgers starting 5 played 177 of the 200 minutes. But Iowa's starting five, who just played the night before played 180 of the 200 minutes. And Chris' article the other day about how they were "super excited" to play. It was Iowa that was super excited.

 

[ecojew]

That was disappointing. I really thought that we had a shot at RU's first B1G team championship.

I was concerned about this game when I read the article about the team being "super confident." It sounds like RU was never really in the game after a wonderful 9-game run in which they were running on all cylinders. Hopefully they will be more focused on their next opponent in the NCAA tournament.

 

[rufeelinit]

I thought the second quarter was worse than the first. We were down by as many as 20 at one point. We just did not close out on their shooters.

I don't watch enough to make too many trend observations but AG does not look like she is moving as fluidly as I have seen her in prior seasons.

I also don't like the sniping at each during the game but assume if CVS was troubled by she would address it.

Finally I wonder if too many ladies have the green light to take an open three early in the shot clock and whether the opposition is just fine with that.

 

[eso1989]

I thought the second quarter was worse than the first. We were down by as many as 20 at one point. We just did not close out on their shooters.

I felt the same - late 1Q through mid 2Q was a brutal stretch. We weren’t getting back on D at all largely because our O was horrible. At one point Iowa 12-0 points off RU turnovers.

Diamond was clearly the player of the game, but even she had uncharacteristic TOs with 2 traveling calls. At least she had 5 steals. The rest if the team was in a complete funk most of the game. And Singleton had been playing so well, but she was outclassed by Iowa’s post players early and often. We were just out of sync....

 

[djrc89]

I was so disappointed with last nights result I know they’ve struggled with a couple mediocre starts of late but I was surprised. Thought they’d be ready and hungry. There was a lot of chirping about the lack of awards. I was looking forward to having all that positive ru hoops talk after last nights games as we approached the tourney for both. Hopefully they regroup strong

 

[richthedentist]

That was disappointing. I really thought that we had a shot at RU's first B1G team championship.

I was concerned about this game when I read the article about the team being "super confident." It sounds like RU was never really in the game after a wonderful 9-game run in which they were running on all cylinders. Hopefully they will be more focused on their next opponent in the NCAA tournament.

I was so disappointed with last nights result I know they’ve struggled with a couple mediocre starts of late but I was surprised. Thought they’d be ready and hungry. There was a lot of chirping about the lack of awards. I was looking forward to having all that positive ru hoops talk after last nights games as we approached the tourney for both. Hopefully they regroup strong

I was more disappointed with the coaching and the lack of adjustments made they were easily breaking our press and instead of just playing straight up man to man we were just lost on defense the Marshall girl who hit all the 3( pointers in the first half was not even close to being contested on any of the 3’s she hit in the first half
Also I agree I think AG just continually forced it all game and every time she didn’t get a call she would just complain instead of getting back on defense but I noticed in the last few games that she just looked tired so I agree CVS played these starters too much in this streak

 

[RUcrazee]

I understand what you are saying as Rutgers starting 5 played 177 of the 200 minutes. But Iowa's starting five, who just played the night before played 180 of the 200 minutes. And Chris' article the other day about how they were "super excited" to play. It was Iowa that was super excited.

I'm referring to starters playing entire games over the 9-game stretch, not just last night's game. Tekia being the head of the 55 defense did the most running. Remember,...they pressed for the entire game during some of those games Also, we have to consider the lengthy practices.

Wish we could incorporate some more of the bench. I would have liked to see Sakima get some minutes against the Iowa big and Martino get minutes earlier in the first half and more often.

 

[kupuna133]

Disappointing results. Lots of truth in most if not all of the comments made here in this thread so far. Although we came in on a winning streak, a few things gave me reason to be worried. The in-game "scoldings" from player to player looked troubling to me. The first being Tekia calling out Diamond a few games back (loudly on national television). I just wish they would be more constructive in the tone. It seems to happen more and more since that instance. Rella and Mael often on the wrong page. Team play seems to suffer and lack unity. Rella has to trust her teammates more. The stretch of last year taught her that she can't do it all by herself. True trust will go a long way with the talented teammates around her.

Playing the starters so many minutes seemed to catch up to us. THE DIFFERENCE IN THE GAME TONIGHT, ..........Tekia Mack looked dead tired for the first time i can remember. No bounce in her step all night. Look at her stat line and it confirms what I'm saying. A stat line closer to her norm likely lifts the energy of everyone else and eeks out a Win.

Way too much infighting on this team. Tekia and Mael seem to be the ring leaders. I have seen this on many teams when seniors lose some of the attention they think they deserve. Diamond needs to be boosted up not torn down. The team needs Diamond and superior guard play to make a run in the tournament.

 

[sammybb]

I don't know what the team's issue seems to be with Iowa and letting their 3-point shooters go off. Getting down by such big numbers in two straight games is disheartening, and frankly, bizarre. If there's any positive, let's home the team can reset and refocus before San Antonio.

That being said, the B10's #2, #3, and #4 seeds all lost yesterday. Shitty day to be a top seed. Move on and get ready for the NCAAs.

 

[DennisHajekRC84]

I'm referring to starters playing entire games over the 9-game stretch, not just last night's game. Tekia being the head of the 55 defense did the most running. Remember,...they pressed for the entire game during some of those games Also, we have to consider the lengthy practices.

Wish we could incorporate some more of the bench. I would have liked to see Sakima get some minutes against the Iowa big and Martino get minutes earlier in the first half and more often.

Yes I realize. But the had like 5 days off prior. Iowa played day before. Perhaps the practices were too much. Oh well. Who knows. Defintely need deeper bench. Even just some bodies for D.

 

[motorb54]

I was more disappointed with the coaching and the lack of adjustments made they were easily breaking our press and instead of just playing straight up man to man we were just lost on defense the Marshall girl who hit all the 3( pointers in the first half was not even close to being contested on any of the 3’s she hit in the first half
Also I agree I think AG just continually forced it all game and every time she didn’t get a call she would just complain instead of getting back on defense but I noticed in the last few games that she just looked tired so I agree CVS played these starters too much in this streak

Did anyone check to see the scoring for when we did play straight up man-to-man?
I believe the coaching decision cost us being in this game.
Plus Mack having a poor night.
And Arella being in the funk we have seen for the last month, forcing shots, bad turnovers, and pouting when she didn't get a call. I do believe she is worn out as her misses were often hitting the front of the rim, a sign of tired legs.

 

[motorb54]

they are better than us..they have more shooters and they are bigger and do the fundamentals.

when was the last time we did anything in a conference tournament

How ae we seeded 3 and they. are 6?

You didn't look at our schedule.
During the regular season we did not play the 2 seed or the 4 seed.
This was not an upset. Iowa also beat us during the regular season.
Good teams beat our pressure then have open looks.
Average and weak teams fold under our pressure.

This was a very odd tournament with the 2, 3 and 4 seeds all losing their first game.

I also wonder how many of our first year players might leave based on the lack of playing time.
If I was a highly recruited 5 and saw Stringer never remove the starter unless she was in foul trouble I would be exploring the portal.

 

[sammybb]

So we lose once in our past 10 games to a hot and dangerous Iowa team and suddenly we should be on transfer watch?

This has been an odd season for the entire country but from the way the team interacts from the bench, they seem to be a close bunch. CVS has played most of the freshmen (excluding Diamond) at various points this year for very important minutes, but this season, because of COVID and the long pause, got to be expedited "must win" time and she went with the players she knew she could trust.

If I'm the freshmen, I would be thinking about three things:

1. NCAA Tournament; they are going dancing, and they have a chance to make a splash
2. Arella, Tekia, Gilles are all seniors--that's three full spots in a starting lineup opening up next year (maybe two if you assume Zippy moves back in as a starter, as long as she's healthy).
3. Tekia and Gilles started their careers at RU barely playing; their improvements at RU (not to mention those of Zippy, Tyia, Arella) have been significant. I am VERY excited by the potential of all the freshmen, and can see them all making significant contributions moving forward.

 

[RUcrazee]

I also wonder how many of our first year players might leave based on the lack of playing time.
If I was a highly recruited 5 and saw Stringer never remove the starter unless she was in foul trouble I would be exploring the portal.

Sssshhhh!!!.........Please don't plant that kind of energy to a very enjoyable season. One of the most pleasing sights of the season was the many times the camera panned over to the bench and they were having a party supporting the team. Team seems to have fun playing and supporting each other. Last couple of games, they seemed to be tired, falling behind and having to gut it out to get a win. Couldn't do it against Iowa.

Remember, our bench is "young " in regard to CVS' def and off schemes. Diamond is able to play right away because she is one of those elite players that is ready to make immediate impact. You can see that she has played a ton of basketball over her young lifetime. It shows because she may have the highest bball IQ of all the players on the court, whatever game, whatever team we may be playing. She, Clark(Iowa), Owusu(Md), Bueckers(UConn) are examples of that type of elite player.

Martino looks like she has played a lot of bball and comes from a bball hotbed in PG County Maryland. Therefore, she is more action ready than the other freshman. When the other bench players get comfortable with the system, they will see plenty of time because their services will be needed.

Last point. Remember a few years ago, when we really started to feel the programs resurgence, the team had one of the deepest benches in the country. They were using the platoon system quite effectively. We had Ciani Cryor, Caitlin Jenkins, Sierra Calhoun, Tekia Mack of the bench. All high bball IQ players. We beat MD at MD that year, got edged by Iowa w) Gustafson. Unfortunately, we lost Cryor and Jenkins midway thru the season which took away our edge down the stretch of the season. Point is,....if the players are ready to play the schemes instinctively, they will see plenty of time and we can be that same kind of a scary team to be reckoned with on the national scene.