WBB: Game #30 - B1G Tournament vs Rutgers

[colhusker]

Oh my lord, what an absolute horrible final four minutes of this game.  Passes to air, turnovers and not boxing out. 

[Red Don]

Lady Huskers lose 66-63, in a Thriller of a game coming down to the final 5 sec.

One and Done! Post-season hopes rest on a WNIT Invitation!

[Bugeaters1]

well nuts

[hskr4life]

That was a terrible last 4 minutes of the game for the ladies.  

[B1GN]

We really need tougher, more athletic bigs.

Jess looks pretty ordinary without Theriot.

[Row6Seat10]

Terrible way to go out! Costly turnovers down the stretch and the lack of rebounding on the defensive end cost us dearly in this one.

 

If we ever needed Rachel Theriot, tonight was the night!

 

We got to find someone to get in there and battle consistently for a defensive rebound. Where was Blackburn the second half?

[Red Don]

Great effort by the ladies to come back from 14 down early, in a thriller, losing in the final second.

 

I don't mean to be critical but it seems to me a major difficulty is finishing in the paint; we seem to miss more shots than we should close-in that their more experienced opponents tend to make (a recurring problem all season), 

 

Even Allie's shots close-in off the glass in today's game bounced around the rim before going in, maybe it's just trying too hard or being over-eager.  It seems like it's more a matter of effort and strength.  More experience and strength conditioning in the off-season and we should really be formidable next season.

[Cazzie22]

Great effort tonight but our lack of interior defensive presence really hurt.  Good job of containing Scaife but the the reserve guard Parker hurt us badly.  We don't have an player that can consistently beat the defender off the dribble, penetrate, rise up and shoot a jumper.  We are a team that has to screen, move and shoot well to defeat the more athletic teams. 

 

Hopefully, the Lady Huskers get the opportunity for some sort of post season play.  The more these girls play together and mesh, the better for next season.  Need to get Jess S. out of her funk and be more assertive.  I was not aware that she might be injured.

 

 

The Huskers will be competitive next season but probably finish in the middle of the B1G pack.

[swmckewon]

 

Jess looks pretty ordinary without Theriot.

Certainly Jess is better with Theriot -- who isn't -- but Shepard was also above the free throw line a lot tonight setting screens. 

 

Jess has a whole offseason to work on FT shooting and that mid-range jumper. She will, it'll get better, and she'll become more of a triple threat. She may even score a little less and have 3/4 assists per game. 

 

Jess can set every useful record Nebraska has, but I'm not sure what the point would be if Nebraska doesn't win big while she's here. Maximizing all she can do -- vs. just sticking her two feet from the hoop -- is the next step for her and the team. 

[HUD]

We can cut through the chase and admit that when you give the opponents 16 more shots then we get we are probably going to get beat.  That has been our nemesis all year long.  We have way too many unforced turnovers and give up a lot of offensive rebounds.

 

I predicted a win if we could stay at 10 or less turn overs.  We had 14.

[redsteve]

We really need tougher, more athletic bigs.

Jess looks pretty ordinary without Theriot.

 

Jess is a freshman...but...she has to learn to do it more on her own.  If she isn't able to score, then rebound. Granted we hope to have PG that can make assists, but may take a year or two to happen. She had maybe 4 rebounds tonight. I kind of think she kind of ran out of gas late in the season...physically and mentally... exhaustion ...as most freshman do. She has been asked to do a lot all season. She carried us on her back an awful lot.

 

It takes more than just the post to rebound successfully.  Allie had more rebounds tonight (10) (...and points) ... than all the other post players combined. Not the kind of stats we want to see.

But Allie was awesome tonight.

 

Rutgers is very athletic, they all rebounded well,  Our squad, as a whole, just can't seem do what they did rebounding. 

 

Considering that we lost two starters a couple of games ago, what we did tonight was pretty amazing. Played a lot of bench players that don't have much experience. Sure it would have been great to win.

 

Hope we get in WNIT, and just play some more...if that's what the team wants to do.

[Bugeaters1]

Maybe this explains some things.

[redsteve]

Do Connie and the coaches work on boxing out?  This is silly

 

Anya is about the only one that does it consistently. Burns does too. The rest of the team...not so much actual boxing out.

[mwm89]

Maybe this explains some things.

I started to wonder about some sort of injury just observing she wasn't very mobile and not reacting much when it came to defense and rebounds. She clearly put on some weight in the year she was injured and needs to lose that while becoming stronger for next year.

[Silverbacked1]

It would be nice for more games, but... might be time to shut it down so that we can heal up for next year. Lays want to play but they have been at it since before Spain and we might just be done.

[colhusker]

Be nice to get a very athletic 3 for next year.

[HUD]

The injury thing has me bewildered.  According to my recall the only players not suffering one this year were Anya and Woody.

[Mixtapedropsfriday]

Does anyone have a link to the press conferences?

[Row6Seat10]

Here's the postgame comments from both teams.

 

Rutgers Quotes
COACH STRINGER: First of all, Nebraska played a great game. I was extremely proud of our team, mainly because we have had problems in the fourth quarter. But in this case, we didn't blink. And what you guys will be happy to know is that we had eight assists -- I mean eight turnovers period. Only eight. Sixteen -- and some of them who actually had assists was -- we're really, really happy about that; namely, Kahleah Copper.

And then something that most of us are used to seeing is a lot of blocked shots from Rachel. She didn't block shots, but she had 10 rebounds, and that's what we asked her to do.

So what we clearly did is did what we had to do to win the game. So it was a great team effort. Everybody hung in there down to the last second because we've lost a couple of games by two and three points and overtime, and it was a very rewarding and exciting win.

Q. Shrita, you had pretty clutch free throws there at the end. How great does it feel to come up like that for your team?

SHRITA PARKER: It feels great. I always prepare myself for these type of situations. But, yeah, it felt amazing; one of the best feelings in the world.

Q. Tyler, talk about your fourth quarter problems of late. What changed in going in this fourth quarter that got you over the hump tonight?

TYLER SCAIFE: Well, if we lose, we got to go home. So I don't think anybody was ready to go home. So we just fought to the end.

Q. Kahleah, we saw you take off the mask about halfway through the second quarter. Was that just a comfort thing or what was going on there?

KAHLEAH COPPER: The possession before that, it was a rebound that I missed, and I knew I could have had it. So I just had to take the mask off and I had to start getting busy.

Q. Shrita, when you were down by the margin you were, did some of that start to creep in your mind about the struggles you've had of late, wondering, "Oh, no, here we go again"?

SHRITA PARKER: When we are practicing, we always practice on everybody guarding Tyler and Kah (Kahleah Copper) and they always leave me and Bri open. And I took advantage of it tonight.

Q. Coach, I had the same question. Did something go through your mind in the fourth quarter, the thoughts you've had of late, when Nebraska had the lead?

COACH STRINGER: Yeah it crossed my mind but I wanted to make sure I did what I could to shake them out of that nightmare. Just remind them that we have been here before. So I think that that realization came, as Tyler said, because we have been hurt too many times. We have got about four or five games that, really, it could have gone one way or the other, and we were on the wrong end of that. We know what time it is and, quite frankly, throughout this entire year there's been only one game that I feel like we played to what I would consider Scarlet Knights basketball, and that was the last game. And so it's better late than never. And as long as we knew what they felt like.

We got anxious at one particular point in the game where we may have made one or two passes and then we were shooting the ball. So we didn't give Nebraska an opportunity to make a mistake. Generally, that's what happens, or they get tired. Because we got anxious, like you're in a drowning boat and you start to grab the one life preserver that you have and everybody's trying to grab onto that. But that's not how we were -- and have been able to overcome deficits or to overcome, you know, the issues that we have been having. I thought that we settled down, were reminded of we have been there before, we can't let this happen again, and everybody needs to really buckle down and play some great defense, get the rebounds, and work much better on the offensive execution side of things.

Q. Coach Stringer, you had two tough losses against Ohio State this year. Do you think that gives you or your players any extra motivation to really come out and put up a great performance tomorrow night?

COACH STRINGER: Well, it's like this. I mean, anytime you play an opponent, you want to have a great performance. Ohio State is an outstanding team. So it gives me no pleasure to play someone that you're going to beat by 40 or 50 points. That's a joke.

This makes your back straight and it makes you anxious, like you can't even sit in your seat, anxious to play a team of that caliber. They're well coached. Just a great team and it gives us a chance to measure ourselves. And the game is 40 minutes. So it doesn't matter whether it was Ohio State or Maryland or UConn or anyone else, to be able to play when your back is against the wall, you have 40 minutes. You play or go home. Simple as that. And you find out what you're made of. You don't have an excuse because that's not the time. That's when you gather together and play. So it was nice to see the way we handled ourselves today. Now, that -- Nebraska is not Ohio State. But, on the other hand, I think that this is the experience that we needed and we are hopefully able to transfer that experience to the situation we're going to have tomorrow.

Q. Coach, you have been in these situations before where you have been the team that has to beat a team for at third time in a season. Is there an edge either way in that situation?

COACH STRINGER: Well, you're right. Not only that, but I have been in the situation where we have had two days of a bye. And so how sharp can you be?

But given that we just played extremely hard, I sort of would like to have had fresh legs. But on the other hand, it's kind of nice to be able to have played, know what it feels like, and adapt to that atmosphere.

But you're exactly right. I think that people could take it for granted that just because you have won two times, it's easier. I'm sure the coach will do whatever he needs to do to motivate them and help them understand that that very well could make a difference in terms of where they're seeded with the NCAA and, quite frankly, with great athletes, they don't know how to play any way less than their best.

So our challenge to our team is going to be to recognize and help them to believe. Because I do believe that, with all of my heart, that if we play our best game now -- we can't come in there halfway -- but if we are playing our best game, we have as good a chance as Ohio State does in winning, and we have to bring it. Simple as that. They are great team, but we have got to bring it.

I live for these kinds of situations, and I'm hoping that our team lives for that. And I have a feeling that we do.

Nebraska Quotes
COACH YORI: Sure. That's one that you feel numb about because we had that game in pretty good position down the stretch. And you know we let it slip. So you feel -- you know you just feel kind of numb. I was really proud of the way that we played and the way we battled back, you know, despite -- you know, we get down and our kids battle back and got ourselves back in it the second quarter and we played really, really hard. We just couldn't finish some plays in the fourth quarter with a defensive rebound and that was a killer for us. And if we would have rebounded a little bit better there we would probably be playing tomorrow. But congratulations to Rutgers and they played hard too. We had two teams that played really, really hard.

Q. Natalie, what kind of led to the bad start you guys had and what did you do to turn it around there?

NATALIE ROMEO: I think we had a pretty positive attitude throughout the game and our team was really encouraging towards each other. We just kept fighting and I think that's what led to our lead.

Q. This is for both players. I believe Rutgers switched to more of a pressure defense, full court, with about five minutes to go. What did that change sort of do for you guys? Did it pressure you guys and put you guys in a difficult place?

ALLIE HAVERS: I think the pressure bothered us in the beginning and then we got together and figured out what we had to do. Rutgers is a great pressure team. All credit to them for that. But I think like Coach said, it came down to rebounding and getting the last box out.

NATALIE ROMEO: Yeah, I think it sped us up, and we were a little bothered by it at first. But I agree with Allie and what Coach Yori said.

Q. Allie, what did you think about what Natalie did in the second quarter to hit all of those 3 pointers and get you guys back from a 13 point deficit?

ALLIE HAVERS: It's not shocking to me. We always look for Nat when we need her, and it's just been really fun to watch her grow from last year to this year. I mean, she has developed a lot and she had a great year, and really proud of her.

Q. So much success in the post, and what made them tough to stop down there?

ALLIE HAVERS: Well, their number one player in the post is the center. She is really aggressive, she moves her feet really well, she's a great rebounder. She is just an all around good player. She can get through any contact. And I think that bothered us, not getting -- letting her get position on us really hurt us.

Q. Coach, despite the loss, do you kind of have a better handle of who your leader is going into next year?

COACH YORI: Yeah. We have a very young team. And you look at who is out on the court at the end of that game, and we really only have two players that played tonight that had been in this situation. Allie had some experience not as a starter being in the Big Ten tournament. And Natalie, of course, is the only other player that we had -- we are basically playing with one returning starter now. So we're very inexperienced. I think that was -- I think that showcased itself at the end of the game.

I do believe that we have some kids that are developing as leaders. I think Jas Cincore is doing that for us. I think Natalie is a great leader by example. I think she's somebody that we're going to have to be a little bit more vocal for us. I think we have some young players that have the potential to be great leaders for us.

Q. What would you like to see Jess do to be more effective with her matchup in this game?

COACH YORI: Well, Jess, you know -- to kind of fill you in, Jess hasn't practiced -- didn't practice yesterday because of a stress fracture, and she didn't get a lot of practice time here. And we were in a boot basically since Tuesday. And she didn't have one of her better games, but she also is not healthy.

So, you know, we thought that she could attack off the dribble a little bit against the matchup she had. And, you know, we tried to run a couple of things for her to post early and did a good job of defending it. But today was a day where she had an opportunity to attack off the dribble.

Q. You have been without Rachel obviously for a few games. But did it really show through at the end with a couple of passes that just went out of bounds? And is that one of the areas where you miss her the most?

COACH YORI: Oh, yeah. Obviously that last three or four minutes, we didn't execute very well. And, you know, you're without your starting point guard. And, you know, we have had to shift -- and Kyndal Clark was our backup point guard. So not only were we without our starting point guard, but we were without our backup point guard. So we are going to some options there that haven't really been on the floor for us at that spot. So clearly we didn't execute very well at the end.

Q. Coach, on the second to last possession, the one with four seconds left, did you want the ball to go to Shepard on the long pass or did you try to draw up something else? What was your general reaction?

COACH YORI: Well, that's a play that we run and we have worked on a lot this year. But unfortunately, we just haven't worked on it a lot with the people that were out there running it today. So it's something that we -- you know, normally Rachel would be taking the ball out of bounds for us in that situation and, you know -- so we did want the ball to go to Jess on that play if we could get a seal.

 

http://www.bigten.org/sports/w-baskbl/recaps/030316aaj.html

[HB]

Sounds like a  good chance that the season is over.  Even if we get a WNIT bid (which is far from certain given our RPI), Connie hinted that she might lobby for us to reject it.  In addition to Clark and Theriot being out, Shepherd has a stress reaction (a/k/a "Husker Syndrome"  ) and Blackburn has a surgical leg issue.  Not sure who else is playing hurt but we would have trouble putting a lineup out there.  

[whoopdeedoo]

well, think coach could put a squad out there, but, i definitely would shut it down for ANYONE with an injury. let them do what they need to do to prepare for next season.

 

let's see, you would have anya, cincore, woody, ramacieri, washington, maddie, nat, and probably havers? wouldn't allow for much subbing, but, guess you could do it. would think coaches will have a talk with the players.

[HB]

well, think coach could put a squad out there, but, i definitely would shut it down for ANYONE with an injury. let them do what they need to do to prepare for next season.

 

let's see, you would have anya, cincore, woody, ramacieri, washington, maddie, and probably havers? wouldn't allow for much subbing, but, guess you could do it. would think coaches will have a talk with the players.

 

The athletic department would have to be involved  in that discussion.  Connie would say her peace, but it would be an administration decision.   It's all speculation anyway since we don't have a invite at this point.     

[redsteve]

Maybe this explains some things.

 

Wow.....that does explain her late season funk. Too bad for her...had a great year at NU, but a tough last couple of years with injuries. She needs time off to fully heal and recover. As does Burns, and a couple more.

 

Foot /leg injuries has been talked about a bunch here.  Running on the hard boards all the time is tough on the feet/legs.  We must be doing something that makes it worse.  Trainers have a task to try to figure it out. Anyone heard of other women's teams having the same kind of issues?

[HUD]

I still think Coach Yori plays some people too long in the games making the aforementioned even worse.  Besides depth isn't developed.  Why do you put all your cards at point guard on two players coming off major knee and ankle surgeries when neither one is going to be here next year anyway.  Puzzling to me.

[whoopdeedoo]

huh. well, seems to be a reoccurring topic on this board.