Shocks v Drake

[WuDrWu]

Hope this isn't a duplicate. Lady Shocks survive a battle of runs to prevail at home tonight.

WSU moves to 5-5 in the Valley.

Almost impossible to believe but if not for the total meltdown on the road against bottom feeders SIU and Evansville, this team would be tied for 2nd.

[1972Shocker]

One of those games where you scratch your head and say "How did we pull that one out?".

Shocks looked dead in the water mid-way through the second half but managed to find their offense in time to do just enough to win, although they tried to give the game to Drake a couple of times. One when Jordann Plummer picked Jessica Diamond with 8 seconds left and the game tied and headed full steam down court. I believe it was Marisah who made a game saving strip on Plummer as she attacked the basket.

Jessica came back to hit a big 10 foot jumper in the lane in OT to put the Shocks up 65-61. The Shocks then proceeded to miss 5 straight free throws to leave the door open for Drake, but fortunately Drake was unable to take advantage.

A couple of reasons the Shocks won was Sheena and Morgan. Sheena has quietly become this team's best and most consistent all-around player. I thought Morgan had her best game as a Shocker. Sheena dropped in 22 and Morgan chipped in 19.

Jessica who was kept under raps most of the game hit some big shots at key times late in the 2nd half and the aforementoned shot in OT.

Haleigh is struggling with her shot right now. Seems to have flattened out considerably from earlier in the year.

Chynna went to the bench and stayed their for the remainder of the half which I am assuming was due to a lack of hustle on a play where she missed an inside shot, fell (or was knocked to the floor), but simply did not get up and hustle back as Drake scored a layup. I don't think Chynna was hurt.

I thought Michelle brought a lot of energy and physicality to the game.

A good grind it out win.

[tgcshock]

Good summary.

Actually it was Jessica who hustled back to strip the ball away after getting it stolen (which was the only good thing about the play). Jessica struggled all night but she did come up big at the end.

We have not had many wins against Drake in recent years. This one was big for the Shockers.

[The Mad Hatter]

From Jody's comments in the pregame, it sounds like a lot of the freshman are hitting the freshman wall physically. They aren't used to playing this many games and having to push through the fatigue and nagging pain. I think that was most evident with Chynna, and to a lesser extent Jessie.

If Jessie can get her mentality right, she can be so good. Right now she gets down on herself too easily and it gets her into slumps. If she can forget past mistakes and keep aggressive, she will end up making more good plays than bad. Not a great game for her, but she came up with some clutch shots late, which shows how valuable she is.

What can you say about Sheena? She has been my favorite player all year long, and she showed why once again. Even when she is not scoring she is a huge asset, but she is so good at giving us baskets when we are struggling to score as a team. Morgan was also great tonight. She was very efficient on offense and her shot blocking in the first half took made their guards think twice about driving inside.

We made so many mistakes, but still managed to win and that is huge, especially coming off two disappointing losses.

It is odd to say it, but coming into this stretch of @MSU, @EU, @SIU, and Drake, you would have expected 2-2 with wins over EU and SIU. As bad as losing to those two was, we won the 2 games I wouldn't have necessarily expected us to. We could very easily be 3-1 or 4-0 over that stretch and it is too bad that we are not, but it also could have been a lot worse.

[Shoxtastic]

Shocks took a nice step toward staying out of the playin round in St. Charles with a win over the Bulldogs. They can take a much bigger step towards that "goal" with a win on Sunday against the Jays. It will not be easy, but if the Shocks can manage to win out at home the chances look that much better. There should be plenty of motivation for WSU after the beating they took in Omaha last month.

I know it's Super Bowl Sunday, but it's also family day, so hopefully all of us can get out and make a win over Creighton part of our pre-game festivities for tomorrow night!

[1972Shocker]

Good summary.

Actually it was Jessica who hustled back to strip the ball away after getting it stolen (which was the only good thing about the play). Jessica struggled all night but she did come up big at the end.

We have not had many wins against Drake in recent years. This one was big for the Shockers.

Thanks for the correction tgc. I did not get a real good look at who got the strip as I was pretty much blocked by Plummer.

I will say this about Jessica. When we need a key basket she is the player Jody wants taking the shot. Not only is she a good shooter, but she has the ability to create space for her shot. Her ability to create space and rise up on her jumper is not something you see everyday in women's BB. I think the sky is the limit for what Jessica can do in her Shocker career.

As far as Sheena is concerned I think the table is being set for who will be the Senior leader on this team next year.

Morgan also seems to be settling down and letting the game come to her much better.