Shockers at Indiana State (Friday) and Illinois State (Sunday)

[flyingMoose]

The Shockers open their Valley conference schedule with games this weekend against Indiana State on Friday (6pm CT) and Illinois State on Sunday (2pm CT, according to the Redbird site).

The Shocks are a preseason pick for fifth in the Valley. They have a record of 3-8 with a current RPI of 266.

The Sycamores of Indiana State were a preseason pick for seventh in the Valley. Their record is 4-7 with an RPI of 269. ISUb are led by Cierra Cezear and Ashley Taia. Cezear is averaging 13.2 points per game and 5.8 rebounds. Taia, a native of Brisbane, Australia, averages 11.7 points per game, sinking the three-ball at a 42.9% rate.

Rangie leads the Shockers with 15.8 points per game with Jyar and TaQuandra averaging 12.4 and 11.2 respectively.

Game notes from the Shockers and Sycamores are here and here.

Due to technical issues of some sort, this game will not be on ESPN3. The StatBroadcast is here.

[flyingMoose]

The Shocks trail 5-3 at the media timeout of the first quarter. Sabrina started this game rather than Diamond, but Diamond subbed in at the point for Aundra after two and one-half minutes. The audio (Steve Strain, I think) notes that Brittany has been cleared to play and is available in this game.

[flyingMoose]

Indiana State continues to lead at 15-10 at the end of the first quarter. The Shocks have eight turnovers, continuing an unfortunate trend this season. TaQuandra has six points on two three-balls.

[flyingMoose]

At the half, the Shocks trail 32-14. As Steve Strain said, "This has not been pretty." Diamond now has six points to go along with the six TaQuandra scored in the first quarter. The offensive struggles of the Shockers continue - they are shooting 25% from the floor and have yet to attempt a free throw. They have twelve turnovers.

[WuDrWu]

I realize there are a lot of things at play here, but frankly this entire season is unacceptable and I have been a supporter of Coach Adams. There's just NO excuse to get boat raced by sub .500 Valley teams.

[flyingMoose]

As evidence of the futility in this game, at the media timeout in the third quarter, the Shocks have scored one point in the quarter and the Sycamores, only two.

[Shox1979]

Only 3 lady shox have scored midway through 3 quarters. 15 points in 26 minutes of play... I feel like Rangie takes a lot of shots to get her points. I admit though I haven't followed this year as close as years past, but have had trouble finding interest this year.

[flyingMoose]

I realize there are a lot of things at play here, but frankly this entire season is unacceptable and I have been a supporter of Coach Adams. There's just NO excuse to get boat raced by sub .500 Valley teams.

I was going to wait until after the game, but I will give it a shot now. From where I sit, part of the issue is lack of talent. I think the Jessica Diamond/Chynna Turner teams had more talent. Another issue is that the entire team is just now available. The team has not had a chance play together, to learn their roles. Despite that, am I still very disappointed? You betcha!

[flyingMoose]

After three quarters, the Shocks trail 39-18. TaQuandra scored three of the Shocker four points in the quarter to lead the team with nine.

[wusphlash]

I'm afraid this year will be a huge step backwards. One that will take several years to recover from. I feel badly for the ladies who came thinking they would be competing for championships.

[flyingMoose]

Indiana State 59-33 Shockers

Abysmal second-half shooting (at least, until very late) did not allow the Shockers to cut into the Sycamore half-time lead. At one point, the Shocks were 1-21 on field goal attempts in the second half. TaQuandra eventually knocked down some triples late and led the Shocks for the game with eighteen points. Diamond was next with six. The Shockers shot 20.8% for the game. The Shocks had seventeen turnovers and forced sixteen by the Sycamores. Indiana State shot 43.8% for the game.


Post-game comments

This is a young team that doesn't yet see past the first layer of the defense thrown at them. By not making the correct decision and reacting quickly, they wind up taking rushed, hurried shots. [In particular, it sounded like Rangie was not recognizing and reacting quickly enough when the Sycamore doubled-down on her in the post.] You just have to continue teaching.

Sabrina is playing because HCJA thinks she sees past that first layer. It is just a matter of her getting into game shape coming off her knee issues.

[flyingMoose]

Other Friday Scores

Illinois State 53-71 Missouri State

Drake 67-77 Southern Illinois

Northern Iowa 62-51 Evansville

[shockmonster]

I feel badly for the ladies who came thinking they would be competing for championships.

You probably don't mean to do this but you dismiss the ladies who came thinking they would be competing for championships. They are as much a part of the problem as anyone else playing (including coaches) on this team.

[1972Shocker]

Obviously you won't win many games shooting 20% and scoring 33 points. Perhaps this will prove to be and outlier. Illinois State on Sunday, being the worst team in the Valley and one of the worst in the nation, may prove to be the best medicine.

[flyingMoose]

The Shockers complete their opening weekend of Valley play with a game at Illinois State on Sunday at 2pm CT.

The Shocks are a preseason pick for fifth in the Valley. They have a record of 3-9 and 0-1 in conference with an RPI of 276. The Redbird are a preseason pick for tenth in the Valley. Their records are 2-10 and 0-1 and have an RPI of 342.

ILS are led in scoring by Octavia Crump at 12.8 ppg and Shakeela Fower at 12.1 ppg. They shoot 36% from the field and 23% from behind the arc.

Rangie at 13.7 ppg and TaQuandra at 11.8 ppg are the two leading scorers for the Shockers. The same two team shooting percentages are 39% and 31%.

Game notes from the Shockers and Redbirds are here and here.

The game is on ESPN3 here. The StatBroadcast is here.