Missouri State

[Shocker-maniac]

Final:

Shockers win 71-59

Great game by Harden

[Shocker-maniac]

Harden 31 pts, 5 Rebs, 7 assists.
Bonner 19 pts, 2 Rebs, 2 assists

Good halftime adjustments by coach Adams.

[flyingMoose]

On the post-game radio show, Jody "commented" that the game was called very tightly, and the Shocks had some difficulty adjusting (and perhaps never really did). Surprising, since at least two of those officials have worked the Final Four, and you see them often doing the games of the really big name teams.

[Shocker-maniac]

Final Team Stats

Shockers


STAT TOTAL
Points71
Field Goals29-59, 49.2%
Free Throws7-10, 70.0%
3-Pointers6-13, 46.2%
Off. Rebounds9
Def. Rebounds21
Total Rebounds30
Assists14
Blocks4
P. Fouls21
T. Fouls0
Turnovers8

MSU

STAT TOTAL
Points59
Field Goals20-44, 45.5%
Free Throws15-25, 60.0%
3-Pointers4-16, 25.0%
Off. Rebounds9
Def. Rebounds24
Total Rebounds33
Assists8
Blocks4
P. Fouls15
T. Fouls0
Turnovers16

[WuDrWu]

UNI wins at home vs SIU 79-70
Drake hammers Illinois State 86-51 in the Knapp Center. Drake's 3 Valley wins are by 26, 33 and 35. Of course those 3 teams are a combined 3-39.
Indiana State defeats Bradley in Terre Haute 64-50.

With WSU's win, Drake, UNI and WSU are all tied atop the conference at 3-0.

[flyingMoose]

Deleted by OP

[1972Shocker]

Nice win by the Shocks but the lack of depth is really a concern. Alex Harden emphatically disproves the alleged Wichita Eagle Article Jinx.

I did not get to watch the 1st half. I didn't think we really got that much out of the press in the 2nd half and overall thought it hurt us more than helped us. I'll have to watch a replay.

I thought the Shocks did a good job on the boards hanging with the bigger MSU forwards losing the rebound battle by only 30-33. Rebounding not a particular strength of this team.

Kind of a typical Shocker win. Good defense, a lot of energy, 2 to 3 players show up on offense and they stave off foul trouble. Alex goes the full 40. Kelsey 39, Allie 36 and Jamillah 33. Not unexpected considering our non-existent bench and the fact that this was our only game this week. Got to admire this starting 5. They rarely look like the more tired team at the end of games and they don't take many plays off on the defensive end.

Hope Jody gives the Ladies Saturday and Sunday off. They have certainly earned it. Road games next week at Bradley and at Loyola should give Jody a chance to give her bench some work in game situations. I would like to see her mix the bench in with the starters as much as possible.

[oldtimewomen's hoopcoach]

Nice win by the Shocks but the lack of depth is really a concern. Alex Harden emphatically disproves the alleged Wichita Eagle Article Jinx.

I did not get to watch the 1st half. I didn't think we really got that much out of the press in the 2nd half and overall thought it hurt us more than helped us. I'll have to watch a replay.

I thought the Shocks did a good job on the boards hanging with the bigger MSU forwards losing the rebound battle by only 30-33. Rebounding not a particular strength of this team.

Kind of a typical Shocker win. Good defense, a lot of energy, 2 to 3 players show up on offense and they stave off foul trouble. Alex goes the full 40. Kelsey 39, Allie 36 and Jamillah 33. Not unexpected considering our non-existent bench and the fact that this was our only game this week. Got to admire this starting 5. They rarely look like the more tired team at the end of games and they don't take many plays off on the defensive end.

Hope Jody gives the Ladies Saturday and Sunday off. They have certainly earned it. Road games next week at Bradley and at Loyola should give Jody a chance to give her bench some work in game situations. I would like to see her mix the bench in with the starters as much as possible.

I hope they get some rest as well; however, even on rest days I've seen Alex, Alie and Kelsey in the gym working on their game and even getting in some running. They (The starting five at least) are driven and want to get past the first round in the NCAA. Every game on the road will be a challenge and I just don't see our bench being a factor. No foul problems, and no injuries and we'll be fine.

[flyingMoose]

Hope Jody gives the Ladies Saturday and Sunday off.

In the post-game, she said she was going to do that.

[flyingMoose]

Nice game article from the News-Leader.

[oldtimewomen's hoopcoach]

Nice game article from the News-Leader.

Nice article and accurate quotes. Alex is very special and her teammates know that as they set picks to get her open and look for her to get her shot, though she gets many shots on her own.

[oldtimewomen's hoopcoach]

Nice article and accurate quotes. Alex is very special and her teammates know that as they set picks to get her open and look for her to get her shot, though she gets many shots on her own.

Alex and Kelsey are 1, 2 in the valley in minutes played only one minute separates them. I don't see this changing.

[1972Shocker]

I went over to the MSU message board to see check out their take on the WSU game. They seem pretty upbeat that they are heading in the right direction. I think they probably are, at least has far as relevancy in the Valley is concerned. They were generally fair and had some positive things to say about the Shockers in general and Alex and Jamillah in particular.

However, a fan posting as big red222 made the following comment:

Adams is a good coach in most respects but her unwillingness to develop depth is her Achilles heel. Her bench players are not that bad except they are not given an opportunity to develop which is really going to come back and haunt her as a Coach.

And a fan posting as TCSPORT10 posted the following:

Anyone else think that Jody will move on from Wichita State after this year? She has not developed her bench players and don't really have anyone mind blowing coming in next year. I think she will take her 2-3 NCAA tourneys and move on to a higher profile job. WSU better take advantage of this year, because they will be hurting the next few years.

I can't take too much offense at those comments since I expressed similar concerns about our lack of depth and about our prospects for next year. However, it does remain to be seen whether those concerns will be borne out.

I suppose Jody could move on but if an opportunity presents itself but she is in pretty good shape at WSU after signing a pretty sweet new deal after last season.

I am anticipating that next year will be a step back for the program. Replacing the skills, production and leadership of Alex, Jamillah and Kelsey will indeed be a tough task. This will be a tough challenge for Jody and staff.

[VOTS]

I would be careful about saying the cupboard will be too empty going into next season. You should see Diamond Lockhart play before making those assumptions. There are other possibilities too that could be promising. There may never be another Alex, but I'm enjoying what this season produces and will wait and see who is here and what they bring to the table next fall.

[1972Shocker]

Alex and Kelsey are 1, 2 in the valley in minutes played only one minute separates them. I don't see this changing.

The stats I am finding on the Valley website show Evansville's Sara Dickey leading in average minutes played at 37.5 mpg. Alex is #2 at 36.5 mpg, Kelsey is #6 at 33 mpg, Alie is #9 at 32.5 mpg and Michaela is #10 at 31.7 mpg. Jamillah can't be too far out of the Top 10 at 30.4 mpg.

Outside of WSU, Evansville is the only other team with more than 1 player in the Top 10 list. Mallory Ladd is #4 at 33.9 ppg.

In any case, you will rarely see a team with 5 players averaging 30+ mpg. I think we will continue to see this when we play Drake, UNI, Evansville, Indiana State and MSU. I am hoping the 6 games with Illinois State, Bradley and Loyola will provide and opportunity to reduce the minutes for the starters.