WBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[Bammer]

Congratulations to Becca Bolton, ODAC player of the week.

[hasanova]

Guilford over visiting E&H tonight, 58-53.  It was a low-scoring, sloppy first half that ended in a 19-19 tie after GC put up the last 7 points before the break.  Extending the run into the second half, the Quakers built an 8-10 point lead and maintained this margin for most of the last 20 minutes.  A buzzer-beating three by the Wasps cut the final margin to five.

[hoopstermom]

RMC avenges it's earlier loss to Lynchburg. They came out determined and never let up.  Final score  95-67.   Molly was one rebound shy of another double double in 23 min of play. 21 pts, 9 rebounds.

Maggie Roy with 12 pts and Taylor Wieczorek off the bench with 18 pts.

I tell you what though, Lynchburg is a darn quick and scrappy team.  Booker made so many weaving driving layups through RMCs defense it was amazing.  I can see why they have (RMC's only ODAC loss so far) and could still be the spoiler for the conference leaders this year.  

[wmjofva]

Final score  95-67.

If a team almost puts a century mark on me, I don't talk about scrappy and quick but how can I teach them  to move their feet.   

You play offense with your hands and your mind, defense with your feet and your heart.

[Brookland]

The real story of the RMC-LC game is the shooting percentages. Stats were pretty close in all other areas: FTs, rebounds, steals, etc., even shots taken: 63 for RMC, 61 for LC. But RMC hit 54% from the field, and 46.7% from the arc, while LC hit 32.8% from the field, with only 21.4% from 3-pt range. That's a very big spread.
wmjofva makes a good point about defense, but while LC (once again) had way too many breakdowns on defense, it certainly wasn't a defensive collapse that resulted in the 95 points. RMC came out fired up, looking for revenge, got hot early and never let up.
I agree with hoopstermom that LC's Booker had a great game, and I also think the LC girls can keep their heads up. Despite the lopsided score, they showed no signs of quitting - the were simply overmatched last night.
Last weekend, LC definitively proved where the bottom of the ODAC is, with a 25 point win over Randolph and a 30 point win over Hollins. They simply overmatched those teams.
Last night RMC definitively proved where the top of the ODAC is - they and Roanoke have separated themselves from the pack. They have more talent, depth and experience than the rest of the league.
The real battle is for the 3rd through 8th seedings for the tournament. I think LC will be in that mix for sure, and may yet prove they are better than their record!

[egghead]

Does anyone know the extent of the injury to EMU's Danielle Scott? She posts up really well in my opinion. 

[Brookland]

It's too bad the ODAC doesn't acknowledge defense.  That is very important in basketball.  Sometimes a team shoots badly because the other team is playing defense.  The is no award for a defensive player in the ODAC.  Susie 3-ball gets all the media.  Shooting gets newpaper clippings and awards.  Rebounding and defense wins championships!

AMEN!!! I think this is a flaw in the way the game is taught starting in house leagues. Too many coaches get dazzled when they see a girl with the ability to go on a shooting spree.  Matador defense? Not willing to set a pick? Won't take a charge? Don't like to pass? Won't dive on a loose ball? Won't work for a rebound? Won't box out? Basketball IQ limited to "Give me the ball"? No problem! That 3 pointer can cover a lot of sins! You get to be the star! ;-)
Virtually every college team I have seen has players who averaged double-figure scoring in  high school and made All-something because of it but don't amount to much in their college careers. Shooting above all else is great if you want to score 65 points a game. Not so great if you have to give up 70 while doing it... Give me a well-balanced, fundamentally sound, defense-minded, willing-to-work player any day!

[whitecaylxx]

Hear, hear!  Alas, SOME coaches just can't get past the darling who shoots no matter what.  Most good basketball players can score a lot of points if they shoot all the time.  But a lot of "stars" are too lazy to play defense.

[Bammer]

After looking at the team defensive stats, I was surprised to see RMC ranked so far down in team defense.

[bballfan20]

Lynchburg lost another close game to EMU tonight, is EMU the better team? Player wise probably not, but they were outcoached in the second half, regardless they were without Danielle Moorad because of disciplinary reasons, but lynchburg had alot of momentum late in the second half and their coach called a time out, and then EMU has time to compose itself and finish out the game, I hate to say this, but i believe with all the talent lynchburg has there is no reason they should be playing as badly as they are. If they were physically outmatched that'd be one thing, but they are sloppy and commit to many turnovers, and that lands on the back of the coaching staff. Congrats girls on a hard fought game.

[wmjofva]

EMU hasn't had Danielle Scott, their very fine post player, since she twisted her knee 30 seconds into the Roanoke game.    Watching them beat Randolph Friday night, it didn't appear she would be playing for a while, as she didn't put any weight on the injured leg as she sat on the bench in street cloths.

Too bad.  She is fun to watch.

[Brookland]

Lynchburg has multiple woes. One of them is a consistently slow start. Against EMU, they were down 7-0 before beginning a rally with subs in the game. They then went on a tear to build a lead of as much as 15 before EMU cut the lead to 5 at the half. At the start of the second half, another slow start, with EMU going on a 9-2 run to take the lead. The LC women made a great effort to fight back and almost win the game, but it would have been better to have held the first half lead... Needless to say, playing more consistently, especially on defense, would go a long way towards getting them where they need to be.
EMU has a lot of talent, much of it young. They are still one of the better teams in the ODAC in terms of consistent talent levels, in my opinion. LC is still rebuilding. They have some very talented and experienced players, some talented but inexperienced players, and some players who may never develop into consistent contributors. Their focus right now needs to be on playing themselves into the tournament one game at a time.   
One startling statistic from that game: LC was 1-1 from the free throw line in the second half. EMU was 10-12. So much for home court advantage!!

[wmjofva]

After looking at the team defensive stats, I was surprised to see RMC ranked so far down in team defense.

I am interested what stats you are checking to get team defense rank?  We were talking about defense this past week, I'll respond and use RMC as an example.

[Bammer]

The team defense was average for points allowed per game.  Also, I don't think the talent level is that great at Lynchburg.  They are a scrappy team but don't have the height or bulk needed.  You can pound them inside.  Coaching will not cover up physical mismatches. 

[wmjofva]

Quote from: Bammer on Yesterday at 11:22:56 am
The team defense was average for points allowed per game.  Also, I don't think the talent level is that great at Lynchburg.  They are a scrappy team but don't have the height or bulk needed.  You can pound them inside.  Coaching will not cover up physical mismatches. 

Also one might look at 'blocks', steals etc.  It would be very had to pick a 'defensive player' of the year because no one (coaches included) talks about defense, tho if the ODAC had that, it might cause discussion.  Let's face it...we say "let's go out and shoot some hoops?"..we don't say " let go out and do some defensive slides" 

RMC...2007-2008  Marta Merkel   5'9" guard/forward.  She ,for a number of years on the very good RMC teams ,was a "glove"..put her on quick guard/small forward and that player for that game was shut down...no driving to the basket for layups. 

Your good scorer gets 20 points the night before they played RMC, but that night she went 1-6 or seemed to have a 'BAD NIGHT"...that's because Marta was almost inside her jersey the whole night.  Also the player may get their points but it was after the game was decided and against the replacements.

Marta injured her acl before the 2007-2009 (her senior) year, she forgo the operation till after the season and just wrapped her knee and played and still was one of the best defender in the ODAC.  RMC has been lucky to keep their players in the program, so you have always have 4 yr/5yr players to go with the Jr's and Sophs, as well as their super freshmen.  That gives you the experience and bulk you need...the physical difference between a  freeshman  is normally about 20-30 pounds by the time she is a senior.

Programs that either cut or lose their Sr and Jrs normally pay for it two or three years down the road.