Lady Bobcats vs UNC

[bpcats]

Great defensive showing by the Bobcats tonight. They really shut down their star player. Bussey got on a little hot streak (23 points ..hit three 3 pointers). I think she is two away from tying that all time Big Sky conference record.

With the win the Bobcats maintain 3rd place in the Big Sky standings.

As a side note the Lady Griz struggled vs ISU on Tuesday and lost to the Bengals.

[MSU01]

Good win - I was surprised to see in the standings today that UNC only had 4 losses so far in conference play. This should go a long way in possibly getting MSU the 3 seed in the conference tournament. Hopefully a win over Sac State followed by a pretty favorable road schedule to end the season (Weber, NAU) will lead to a good finish.

[bozbobcat]

Tonight's game was just a hard fought battle. It seemed like two fighters were going punch for punch. It didn't seem like the Cats' offense was running smoothly all evening, and Katie Bussey really had a quiet 23 points to me. She did hit some big threes and the Cats put it away. Ashley Albert and Rachel Semansky had nice games. Coach Binford also tweaked the starting lineup a bit and it seemed to work. A win against Sacramento State on Saturday would be big. It seems way too early yet for a final home game, but it should be a fun one.

As for the schedule, it works out in MSU's favor. Since the women's season doesn't have the Bracketbuster or a mid-week conference tournament, it makes for a much less compressed home stretch. This is the last week where MSU has a two-game week. After Saturday, the Cats go to NAU on Feb. 16, play in Missoula on Feb. 25 (Saturday), and visit Weber State on March 3. I think that 3 of the final 4 are should win games, and we can win games against the Grizzlies in Missoula these days (strangely enough ) I feel that this MSU team can go on a run into the tournament and have a very special finish to the season.

[Colter_Nuanez]

MSU women punch ticket to Big Sky Championship tournament
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[aucat]

I agree that the Lady Cats put forth a strong defensive effort, other than allowing a bunch of drives inside to the hoop. However, I was disappointed in the rebounding and also the offense. We've got some good rebounders, so I don't know why it is that so many times our opponents will come down with an offensive rebound. It just kills me to give them 2 or 3 shots. It ought to be one and done. I think I heard we were outrebounded 43-32 or something like that. We need to work on boxing out and technique. Chelsie did not play much last night. I wondered if she was banged up. It looked like she had more tape along with that brace on her knee.

On offense, it seems that we spend a lot of time running and passing around the perimeter. I would like to see more penetrating. It almost seems to me that some of the girls are afraid to take shots. Latisha, for example, almost never shoots or drives to the bucket. She has ability to do that. Ausha does it some, but needs to do it more. I noticed that many of UNC's baskets were layups. They managed to drive inside much more than we did.

What I think a lot of this boils down to is, the team seems to me to rely too much on Katie.. She is a great player, no question, but I really do think that some of the younger players pass up shots in favor of getting the ball to Katie. Well, she's not superwoman and frankly, the more balanced the shot selection and scoring, the strong our team will be. Having said all that, this a fun team to watch and I'm sorry we are down to only one more home game. I hope the ladies finish strong and make noise in the tournament!

p.s. One off-season suggestion. I think the girls need to hit the weight room. Several times I would see players like Ashley, Chelsie and others come down with a rebound only to have it ripped away. Rachel seems to be the only player who is really physical and strong enough to hold on to the ball inside.

[Helcat72]

I agree that the Lady Cats put forth a strong defensive effort, other than allowing a bunch of drives inside to the hoop. However, I was disappointed in the rebounding and also the offense. We've got some good rebounders, so I don't know why it is that so many times our opponents will come down with an offensive rebound. It just kills me to give them 2 or 3 shots. It ought to be one and done. I think I heard we were outrebounded 43-32 or something like that. We need to work on boxing out and technique. Chelsie did not play much last night. I wondered if she was banged up. It looked like she had more tape along with that brace on her knee.

On offense, it seems that we spend a lot of time running and passing around the perimeter. I would like to see more penetrating. It almost seems to me that some of the girls are afraid to take shots. Latisha, for example, almost never shoots or drives to the bucket. She has ability to do that. Ausha does it some, but needs to do it more. I noticed that many of UNC's baskets were layups. They managed to drive inside much more than we did.

What I think a lot of this boils down to is, the team seems to me to rely too much on Katie.. She is a great player, no question, but I really do think that some of the younger players pass up shots in favor of getting the ball to Katie. Well, she's not superwoman and frankly, the more balanced the shot selection and scoring, the strong our team will be. Having said all that, this a fun team to watch and I'm sorry we are down to only one more home game. I hope the ladies finish strong and make noise in the tournament!

p.s. One off-season suggestion. I think the girls need to hit the weight room. Several times I would see players like Ashley, Chelsie and others come down with a rebound only to have it ripped away. Rachel seems to be the only player who is really physical and strong enough to hold on to the ball inside.

I believe Chelsea's minutes have been cut because she is not quite strong enough and doesn't play as physical as Jackie Elliot. Jackie is going to be a major force in the coming years. I think she will be the new Sara Strand. Last night she played tremendous defense, she didn't take many shots but had a couple of assists. In fact she shot less than she does when she doesn't start. She is very athletic and has a decent shot.

True some of them need to hit the weight room, but mostly their body types are not the "weight lifter types". If you notice most of the teams in the league are heavier...the Bobcats better players however are mostly lanky and slightly built. I don't know if this is one of Tricia's preferences or not, but it sometimes is the reason these bigger teams push us around underneath. Rachel is the only one who can match their physicality. Ashley Albert with her length can handle herself in the key, not bodying up, but by flashing in there get a pass and shooting the 10 footer over the defense.

Bobcats do drive to the basket a lot when teams play man defense on them, and when they are hitting the threes it is hard to stop them....but they are streaky. Teams that play zone, sag inside, or play physical man to man seem to shut us down better than others. In other words, the Griz, ISU, and Eastern Washington