WBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[hoopsfan55]

It definitely was a tough day for the Generals yesterday.  Bammer, were you at the game?  I got to watch the game on the webcast, but obviously that is not the same as being there.  I'm just curious if you could tell what the strategy was from the bench.  It seemed like W&L had a difficult time finding an effective defensive strategy. 

[Bammer]

It appeared to me that 1 team wanted the game more.  Poor execution on defense and not very good movement on offense.  Slow starts for the last 3 years with good finishes.  I only hope that this year's team follows that pattern.  It will have to get better and show more heart if it is to improve.

[hoopsfan55]

Bammer, I agree that it seemed like Hollins outhustled W&L for a lot of the game.  I also agree that W&L has had a tendency over the past few years to start off a little slower and get progressively better over the season.  I certainly hope that is the case again this year. 

On a different note, the comment made by Ralph Turner prompted me to do a little research on whether the win by Hollins is as much of an anomaly as he makes it seem.  In listening to the commentators last night on the webcast, they seemed to agree with Ralph Turner and considered this a major upset and one of the biggest wins in the last 10 years of Hollins basketball.  I do agree that this is a major win for the Hollins program.  But after a brief analysis of the team statistics this game does not actually seem too surprising.  I compared the W&L statistics for this game to their season statistics and they almost perfectly mirror their stats from their other 5 games.  Their free throw shooting was poorer, but I do not think enough FT's were taken for this to make a significant difference.  In looking at the Hollins stats, their FG% was better than their other games (44% vs 38%) but their 3FG% was significantly lower (23% vs 31%).  The most noticeable difference in their stats was their turnovers.  They had 10 against W&L and averaged around 19 TO's in their other games.  This may go back to Bammer's point of W&L needing to show more heart, specifically on the defensive end.  But, based on the season stats versus the stats in the game last night, it does appear that the outcome of the game was not necessarily all that surprising. 

I must admit that I was a little surprised by my analysis as this is strikingly different from Hollins teams in years past.  After looking at their schedule from this year though, three of their four losses have been by less than 5 points, including a loss to a Richard Stockton team that made it to the NCAA tournament last year.  Also, I was very impressed by a couple of the Hollins players.  Greene is one of the more dynamic and explosive players I have seen recently in the ODAC.  While she didn't put up many points, her statistics were impressive - 11 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals.  It will be interesting to see if she plays at that level throughout the course of the season.  It will also be fun to see Ingram and Greene battle it out again in the rematch. 

Anyway, while this may be a tough loss for the Generals to take heading into exams, I am optimistic that this will give them some motivation to work hard and put forth more effort in their next game against a tough CNU team.  I have no doubt that Coach King will refocus the team and have them playing at a higher level in a week and a half. 

[wmjofva]

We go into Christmas with EMU sitting near top (4-1) and Virginia Wesleyan & RMC sitting on the warm beaches of Fla and PR.   

Virginia Wesleyan looks good at 4-0; and who would have thought Hollins would be 3-1 and ahead of a lot of other powers.

Looking at RMC play by play of many of their earlier games I see for example..rebound at 8:10 and then 8:06 missed 3 pt attemp.... 4 secs...; other time 7/8 sec then a 3 pt attempt on the 30 sec shot clock..Whoa!!!   Girls you can get THAT shot at any tiime in the 30 sec span.  First of all 1. the defense has only played defense for 4-8 sec..they have hardly bent over in their defensive stance 2.  the defense is between their man and the basket...so you will be out rebounded for the game 3. now instead of being able to rest as the play is run on offense , everyone has to run back down the court and work hard at defense or are we going back to giving up the 3 ft layup so we can run down and take the 23 ft shot?

If we run the play options, it works the defense, gets them out of rebounding position, we can rest as we set picks, or move around, and we can get our feet set for our longer shots.

The seniors played with the 2008-2009 team, which was a very good one.  Amanda Hiltunen hit 40% of her 3 pt shots..Lindsay Riesbeck (who I consider one of the best offensive players on the east coast..didn't take but 2 3pt attempts all year...some might consider if they should be taking 3pters..it's good to know you range..Lindsay did.   Maggie Roy hit 40% of her 3 pters that year...this year she is at 22%..the difference is THAT TEAM  moved the ball around, ran their offense and when Maggie got her shot, she wasn't rushing..ofcourse Amanda got the best defender during that year.  Interestly all the seniors now, who were freshmen had better 3 pt %'s...then.  It's great to have players who will share the ball and set picks for you..ofcourse no one but the team knows their names...cause that doesn't get in the papers.....only who scored the most..right??

As the point position gets experience and the team works out how and who will set the plays, then the talent that exits will shine....it would be great to be Virginia Wesleyan 4-0 on the beach, but 2-2 in PR while everyone else is in the cold...isn't too bad, esp when your best basketball is ahead of you!!

[2RMCFans]

Just signing in to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and of course a Happy New Year... hope the Jackets have success (and fun!) in Puerto Rico this weekend.  We will be following the team from home & wishing safe travels to our wonderful R-MC team, staff and families.

GO JACKETS!!! 

[Bammer]

Good road win for the Generals over Christopher Newport, 51-50.  Good job on the boards and coming through in the clutch.

[wmjofva]

Dec. 3  Methodist *  L, 64-60  Final Box Box Recap 
 
Dec. 17  at Mary Washington  L, 52-48  Final Box 
 
Dec. 19  Wash. & Lee  L, 51-50  Final Box Box Box Box 

Wow...three in a row for Christopher Newport..you wonder if someone key is hurt or what..they were putting the number on ODAC teams.

Great win for WL; you have to wonder if it's going to be that kind of year...really good or really bad?

[sumfun]

Hard to get a new head coach and replace your leading scorer in one year.  It may take a year or two to put it all together again and gel as a team not relying on Schweers.

[2RMCFans]

This board is sooooo quiet this season. 

Wishing the Yellow Jackets a good weekend of games;

and Happy New Year to the ODAC!

GO JACKETS!!!!

[BH2OFan]

Agreed- very quiet. Too bad- seems like there will be a LOT of competitive games top to bottom.

[hasanova]

Guilford went on a 23-6 run to end the game versus Randolph-Macon tonight in Greensboro.  The 90-75 win by the Quakers ended an 18 game losing streak to the Jackets (4-6, 2-3) dating to 2003.  Congratulations to the 8-2, 5-0 Quakers!  VWC visits tomorrow afternoon!

[hoopstermom]

I was able to catch some of the 2nd half of this R-MC/Guildford game on the internet.  When I joined, R-MC actually had a small lead and I was a bit surprised to see them hold their own.  Then when Gibbs hit that 3-pointer that kicked off Guildford's final run, it was all she wrote.  Gabby Olgesby is AMAZING.  She has a smooth shot and an excellent eye for the basket from either side of the rim, making quite a few spinning, fall away jumpers under pressure.  Not to mention, she doesn't miss a free throw too often.

Macon showed they are capable of winning if keep their wits about them. The last five minutes of the game they seemed to rush their shots and were out of position on both ends of the court. The results were poor shot selection and unnecessary fouls allowing Guilford lots of free points.

Guilford, on the other hand, didn't panic when they fell behind (a team they were supposed to beat) and stuck to their game plan.  They could go down low to Olgesby all night long and I don't think anyone could stop her.

Congrats to GC for breaking a long losing streak against Macon.  I definitely want to catch some of their game today against VWC.  Winner takes lone possession of 1st place in the ODAC.

[y_jack_lok]

Yes, Guilford looked good. But it wasn't just the last 5 minutes that R-MC was rushing shots. Seemed like that was often the case during the last 10 minutes of the first half and about the first 10 or 12 of the second half, which is all I saw. Also, some of the worst passing I've seen from an R-M team, plus an inability to hang onto the ball in loose ball situations. Perhaps some of these problems can be attributed to the long holiday layoff. Guilford did play on Tuesday, after their own long layoff. But this R-M team has some work to do.

[hoopstermom]

Guilford over Virginia Weslyan 75-66. 
    Sad, as well as a bit irritating, the game announcer (on audio feed) referred to VWC players as the Mariners  throughout the game.   I guess not as bad as Nessler referring to WVU football team as being part of VA.

R-MC over Emory and Henry 82-66
   LaHaye reaches 499 with this win. Could reach 500 at home next Tuesday when they face VWC.  Tough one but not impossible and maybe a little extra motivation for Macon to play to their potential.

W&L comes back from an early big deficit to beat Bridgewater 62-53. 

Hollins over Lynchburg 73-71

GC takes over 1st in ODAC
VWC now tied with EMU with one loss each (but VWC holds the edge with a win over EMU)

Big bunch up of teams with 3 losses including Hollins, Bridgewater, W&L and R-MC

Very interesting and new look in the standings.  Guilford is closest to playing up to their pre-season expectations.

Oh, how I love the game.

[hasanova]

Sorry about the Guilford announcer referring to the Marlins as the Mariners ... not sure who he/she was, but I'm sure the announcer was a student.  Regardless, that demonstates a lack of motivation to do your homework before the game - inexcusable.  I understand why that would be annoying.  I feel the same way when I consistently see Guilford incorrectly spelled as "Guildford."