WBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association

[Flying Dutch Fan]

In their previous 3 games, Hope was 9-59 (.152) from 3, including a 1st Q against St Marys where they went 0-11.  That will certainly lead to some passing up open 3 opportunities.  It was actually pretty amazing to see Hope up over St Marys 18-5 aafter 1Q, given that 0-11 from 3 in that period.  Hopefully that slump is over for good.

[scottiedawg]

Hope is noted for its ball movement and making the extra pass, but it seemed to me watching the St Mary's game that they were almost over-passing, continuing to move the ball even when they had a wide open three.  Perhaps that was by design, given their overmatched opponent.  I think sometimes when you don't take that open three when it's there, you become too deliberate when you do eventually shoot rather than shooting within the flow of the game. 

100% agree.

[pointlem]

Hope is noted for its ball movement and making the extra pass, but it seemed to me watching the St Mary's game that they were almost over-passing, continuing to move the ball even when they had a wide open three.  Perhaps that was by design, given their overmatched opponent.  I think sometimes when you don't take that open three when it's there, you become too deliberate when you do eventually shoot rather than shooting within the flow of the game. 

100% agree.

I noticed the same . . . as if players had lost confidence in taking the open 3 when the game gave it to them, only to settle for a lesser shot as the clock ran down. Last night, they seemed to have their confidence--and their shooting--back.

[HOPEful]

Hope is noted for its ball movement and making the extra pass, but it seemed to me watching the St Mary's game that they were almost over-passing, continuing to move the ball even when they had a wide open three.  Perhaps that was by design, given their overmatched opponent.  I think sometimes when you don't take that open three when it's there, you become too deliberate when you do eventually shoot rather than shooting within the flow of the game. 

100% agree.

I noticed the same . . . as if players had lost confidence in taking the open 3 when the game gave it to them, only to settle for a lesser shot as the clock ran down. Last night, they seemed to have their confidence--and their shooting--back.

This has been somewhat of a problem all year. I just think culturally this team is to TOO unselfish. I want my superstar, 5th year seniors to want the ball in their hand and be looking to drain the open three or take it hard to the rim when the opponent switches and they have a mismatch. I don't know what's worse, the hesitation three that turns it from open to contested or the extra, unnecessary pass into traffic.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Hope is noted for its ball movement and making the extra pass, but it seemed to me watching the St Mary's game that they were almost over-passing, continuing to move the ball even when they had a wide open three.  Perhaps that was by design, given their overmatched opponent.  I think sometimes when you don't take that open three when it's there, you become too deliberate when you do eventually shoot rather than shooting within the flow of the game. 

100% agree.

I noticed the same . . . as if players had lost confidence in taking the open 3 when the game gave it to them, only to settle for a lesser shot as the clock ran down. Last night, they seemed to have their confidence--and their shooting--back.

This has been somewhat of a problem all year. I just think culturally this team is to TOO unselfish. I want my superstar, 5th year seniors to want the ball in their hand and be looking to drain the open three or take it hard to the rim when the opponent switches and they have a mismatch. I don't know what's worse, the hesitation three that turns it from open to contested or the extra, unnecessary pass into traffic.

Not sure I would call it a problem folks.  I mean let's keep things in perspective here.  NCAA stats (including games through 2/7/22) shows this Hope team ranked like this:

#2 in Scoring Offense: 89.0 PPG
#5 in Scoring Defense: 47.0 PPG
#1 in Scoring Margin: 41.9 PPG
#2 in FG%: .481
#2 in 3PT%: .371

Total speculation on my part, but if there was any hesitancy in shooting threes, I believe it may have been Coach Mo after an 0-11 first Q vs St Mary's encouraging his team to move the ball and find better inside shots. 

[Roundball999]

We do get spoiled, don't we

This is a team loaded with sharpshooters top to bottom.  Certainly that 15% over the three game stretch that included a loss to Trine and a closer than expected game vs Albion was some cause for concern.  But as I said in another post, the fact that they could put up such shaky numbers and still win vs Albion and almost pull out the Trine game is a testament to the strength of their overall game.  It should serve them well come tournament time since an off shooting night won't necessarily end their season.

[TUAngola]

Trine with a hard-fought win over Albion last night.  I was impressed with the Brits; they've improved tremendously since I saw them play last November.  Trine turned in a dominant defensive performance in the 1st half, probably the best defense I've seen them play this year, holding Albion to 12 points.  However, Trine couldn't pull away at all as Albion has really improved their defensive pressure, they have perimeter players who will guard you well beyond the 3-point line.  They turned us over way more than any other team not named Hope.  In the second half Albion was able to make some adjustments on offense and get a few more open looks.  I actually thought we played decent, although Tara struggled to get anything going offensively.  We did go up 18 at one point in the 4th quarter, but Albion scored 11 unanswered points to make things interesting at the end.

The Thunder play at Kalamazoo tomorrow night then return home Saturday with another test from a pretty good Calvin squad.

[Roundball999]

Trine with a hard-fought win over Albion last night.  I was impressed with the Brits; they've improved tremendously since I saw them play last November.  Trine turned in a dominant defensive performance in the 1st half, probably the best defense I've seen them play this year, holding Albion to 12 points.  However, Trine couldn't pull away at all as Albion has really improved their defensive pressure, they have perimeter players who will guard you well beyond the 3-point line.  They turned us over way more than any other team not named Hope.  In the second half Albion was able to make some adjustments on offense and get a few more open looks.  I actually thought we played decent, although Tara struggled to get anything going offensively.  We did go up 18 at one point in the 4th quarter, but Albion scored 11 unanswered points to make things interesting at the end.

The Thunder play at Kalamazoo tomorrow night then return home Saturday with another test from a pretty good Calvin squad.

Agree, Albion is kind of scary.  A really tough out.  There was discussion the other day on the Top 25 thread about Ithaca and how they might surprise some people.  I put Albion in the same category, in fact Massey has them at #30 vs. Ithaca at #42.  The trouble is that the MIAA is not typically a 3-team league for the NCAA tournament and Albion will likely have at least 7 losses after the MIAA tournament.  6 of them likely at the hands of teams currently ranked #8 or higher nationally; in a fair world that wouldn't DQ them from a 64 team tournament.

[HOPEful]

Not sure I would call it a problem folks.  I mean let's keep things in perspective here.  NCAA stats (including games through 2/7/22) shows this Hope team ranked like this:

#2 in Scoring Offense: 89.0 PPG
#5 in Scoring Defense: 47.0 PPG
#1 in Scoring Margin: 41.9 PPG
#2 in FG%: .481
#2 in 3PT%: .371

Total speculation on my part, but if there was any hesitancy in shooting threes, I believe it may have been Coach Mo after an 0-11 first Q vs St Mary's encouraging his team to move the ball and find better inside shots.

I understand. But a 61 game win streak demands critiquing the team on something other than the numbers they stack up against 95% of the teams on their schedule that are woefully outmatched. Sure being a top ten scoring offense and defense is impressive, but is beating St. Mary's 101-41 or Kalamazoo 112-31 an indicator of how they'll preform in the playoffs?

In many ways, this team is National Championship or bust. Noticing and fixing the hesitation or extra unnecessary pass in games you win by 50 can be the difference in the close games against teams like Trine down the stretch.

[scottiedawg]

Looking at those same stats in Hope's 8 toughest games (Trine, Trine, Albion, Albion, Calvin, B-W, Alma, Mt. Union), and.....the differences aren't as big as I was expecting:

Scoring Offense: 78.0 PPG
Scoring Defense: 51.5 PPG
Scoring Margin: 26.5 PPG
FG%: 41.15%
3PT%: 37.20%

Pretty impressive that 3PT% is the same against good teams as it is for the entire season.

One difference is that in the first 6 of those games, Hope averaged 9 made 3s per game.

They've averaged 3.5 in the recent games vs Trine and Albion (hard to infer that much though from such a small sample size)

11 made 3s against B-W and Calvin is impressive!

[HOPEful]

Looking at those same stats in Hope's 8 toughest games (Trine, Trine, Albion, Albion, Calvin, B-W, Alma, Mt. Union), and.....the differences aren't as big as I was expecting:

Scoring Offense: 78.0 PPG
Scoring Defense: 51.5 PPG
Scoring Margin: 26.5 PPG
FG%: 41.15%
3PT%: 37.20%

Pretty impressive that 3PT% is the same against good teams as it is for the entire season.

One difference is that in the first 6 of those games, Hope averaged 9 made 3s per game.

They've averaged 3.5 in the recent games vs Trine and Albion (hard to infer that much though from such a small sample size)

11 made 3s against B-W and Calvin is impressive!

In the last two wins, Kasey has been 3 for 5 and 2 for 3 from three. I love it!

When she is firing and hitting, that starting five is just unbeatable. Voskuil and Schoonveld will always draw the defenses attention, so there's just sooooooo much opportunity for Kasey, Kate, and Sydney to get great looks. And from three, Kate is 54.2% on the year, Sydney 42.3%, and Kasey 39.7%!!! Oh, and Olivia is over 40% too...

So Hope's 4 starters the aren't 1st team pre-season All Americans all shoot at or above 40% from 3. Fire away ladies!!!

[Roundball999]

Nice to see the Dutch on fire yet again from beyond the arc, 56% with 9 makes on 16 attempts vs Calvin last night.

[Roundball999]

Expected big 94-44 win for Hope yesterday over an overmatched but game Olivet team.  A couple of interesting things to note for the Dutch:

- Starters all played 15 minutes or less, everyone scored and everyone played good minutes.
- Team 3pt % was a solid 35% with starters at 50%.  Kate Majerus was 3-4 bringing her season total to 35-63 for a crazy 55.6%
- Coach Mo experimented with a little zone in the 2nd half.  Not sure if the intent was to give Olivet a little break from Hope's normal traps (Hope was +19 for TO on the game), or to practice a zone, but it sure didn't look like a Hope defense....

I didn't see the game but looks like Trine put Calvin away early and coasted in from there.  Quite impressive, Massey had Calvin at #19 (still #24 after the loss) but the Thunder seem to be firing on all cylinders.

[TUAngola]

Trine with a senior day win over Calvin yesterday 65-47 before 1030 at the MTI Center.  Trine with an impressive 1st half, defense was locked in, our offense was very efficient, and we shot lights out from 3-point line.  We went into the locker room with a 44-21 lead.  In the second half Calvin played much better, their defensive pressure ratcheted up a notch, and we may have lost some focus too after the big start.  We only shot 5-25 in the second half.  If Albion/Calvin played in any other league they'd get more national attention as they both have solid programs.  I've always been a big Gabby Timmer fan and it was good to see her play well yesterday.  Anytime we drove into the lane she was there either to block or alter our shots, especially in the second half.  For Trine it was great to see a couple of our injured gals make it back onto the court.  Kaylee Argyle had been out since early December but has been cleared to play and got into both of the games this week.  This is huge as she is a great leader.  She started yesterday and scored 7 points and had 5 rebounds.  I'm not sure if there is a better rebounding 5'3" player around.  Natalee Kunse, although not at 100%, got in for 3 minutes for senior day and was happy to see her score on a rebound bucket in the 1st half.

Congratulations Seniors!  This class will go down as the winningest in Tri-State/Trine history.  They have a record of 83-14 over their 4 years so far.  7 of those losses have come to Hope, so 7 losses in 4 years to anyone besides Hope is pretty impressive.  They did not lose to any other conference team in those 4 years.  Here is a little bio about each on their future plans:

Kaylee Argyle - Freeland MI.  Accounting Major and will be moving to Indianapolis after graduation and work for an accounting firm.
Tara Bieniewicz - Chesterfield MI.  Education Major and will be pursuing teaching in elementary or special education. 
Natalee Kunse - Clare MI.  Pre-Physician Assistant Professional track and will be going to PA grad school.
Rachel Stewart - Pekin IN.  Will be attending grad school in Doctor of Occupational Therapy program.
Kelsey Taylor - Louisville KY.  Will be attending grad school to get her master's degree and will work in marketing in either Health Care or Athletics.
Kayla Wildman - Rockford MI.  Will be attending grad school at GVSU's Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

[Roundball999]

Trine with a senior day win over Calvin yesterday 65-47 before 1030 at the MTI Center.  Trine with an impressive 1st half, defense was locked in, our offense was very efficient, and we shot lights out from 3-point line.  We went into the locker room with a 44-21 lead.  In the second half Calvin played much better, their defensive pressure ratcheted up a notch, and we may have lost some focus too after the big start.  We only shot 5-25 in the second half.  If Albion/Calvin played in any other league they'd get more national attention as they both have solid programs.  I've always been a big Gabby Timmer fan and it was good to see her play well yesterday.  Anytime we drove into the lane she was there either to block or alter our shots, especially in the second half.  For Trine it was great to see a couple of our injured gals make it back onto the court.  Kaylee Argyle had been out since early December but has been cleared to play and got into both of the games this week.  This is huge as she is a great leader.  She started yesterday and scored 7 points and had 5 rebounds.  I'm not sure if there is a better rebounding 5'3" player around.  Natalee Kunse, although not at 100%, got in for 3 minutes for senior day and was happy to see her score on a rebound bucket in the 1st half.

Congratulations Seniors!  This class will go down as the winningest in Tri-State/Trine history.  They have a record of 83-14 over their 4 years so far.  7 of those losses have come to Hope, so 7 losses in 4 years to anyone besides Hope is pretty impressive.  They did not lose to any other conference team in those 4 years.  Here is a little bio about each on their future plans:

Kaylee Argyle - Freeland MI.  Accounting Major and will be moving to Indianapolis after graduation and work for an accounting firm.
Tara Bieniewicz - Chesterfield MI.  Education Major and will be pursuing teaching in elementary or special education. 
Natalee Kunse - Clare MI.  Pre-Physician Assistant Professional track and will be going to PA grad school.
Rachel Stewart - Pekin IN.  Will be attending grad school in Doctor of Occupational Therapy program.
Kelsey Taylor - Louisville KY.  Will be attending grad school to get her master's degree and will work in marketing in either Health Care or Athletics.
Kayla Wildman - Rockford MI.  Will be attending grad school at GVSU's Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

Congrats to the Trine seniors and thanks TUAngola for the bios.  That's an impressive group of young ladies and a great example of what D3 is all about!