WBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

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Very bad news for UWEC.

Burns out 6-8 weeks with a broken thumb.

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Stout down early to Point 20-8.  No Duoss, at a wedding.

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UWO wins over UWEC in OT 63-59.

UWEC jumps out to a 24-16 halftime lead but it could have been more if they would have hit some bunnies that they missed.  EC plays great defense. 

About 3min into second half Becker gets injured (ankle) while in a full court press.  While shes down, UWO has a 5 0n 4 advantage and O'Keef ends up hitting a 3 with a EC foul occuring away from the shooter.  So UWO gets the ball and O'Keef hits another 3.  Definately the turning point in the game.  UWEC's fresh and sophs play even with UWO the rest of the way.  After EC ties it with seconds to play, Mueggenborg goes down with an injury, leaving Eggers wide open at they top of the key and she hits a 3 with 7sec left.  EC zipps through UWO's press and Heidi Arch. hits a 3 (the only 3-pointer for EC) at the buzzer sending the game into OT.

OT can plainly be summed up looking at the FT stats.  EC 0-5 (including a front end miss on 1-1)  UWO 4-5

Injuries:  With Burns already possibly out the rest of the year, EC didn't need to lose Becker to injury.  Her injury did not look good.  After the game, she was putting no weight on it.  She might be done, not sure though.  Mueggenborg did come back in for the last few seconds of the OT period, so it looks like she'll be OK.  Brooke Hakanson has also been out the last few games.  I don't know any details on her condition.  EC even ended up playing a couple players that I haven't seen play this year (except for Blue-Gold game).

Glad to see EC underclassmen play right with UWO with their two leaders out (Becker, Burns).  Now they need to play well on the road.  Flat out, EC needs some 3-point shooters.  An average high school team shoots better than EC from the perimeter.  Mueggenborg needs to hit her open 3s (0-6 tonight).

Neither of these teams are near where they have been in the past decade.  I was wondering at the half where UWO stars where (Herick, Eggers, O'Keef), but they sure played well in the 2nd half.

EC needs a big win Wednesday when Point comes to Zorn.  UWO has a tough game at Lax.

Point blows out Stout (no Duoss) 97-66.  Shows you what Stout is with out Duoss.  She is definately MVP of the WIAC so far.

[badgerwarhawk]

Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers and more turnovers.   That was pretty much the story of the WARHAWK[/color]/River Falls game.  WHITEWATER[/color] committed 30 and River Falls committed 24.  The WARHAWKS[/color] were within four points with just under two and half minutes remaining but three consecutive turnovers, solid free throw shooting by the Falcon and a three pointer by Cordes doomed any chance of pulling the game out.  RF was 9/19 from beyond the arc, the WARHAWKS[/color]shot 27% in the second half.  Lindsey Buechner led WHITEWATER[/color] with 17 points and 7 rebounds.  The final was 69-59.

[bulk19]

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Nice summary of the 'Golds vs. Titans match, which I attended.

I looked at the stats, and what surprised me was EC was 4-11 from the free throw line, but I didn't realize they missed all 5 in overtime... Yes, they do need a shooter from the outside, too... Will be interesting to see who steps up on this team as a leader in the next few years, too - who will want the ball down the stretch?

Would also really be interesting to see what would happen if this team got out and ran, run and gun. Not sure that is what you want to do with a young one, though...

Blugolds did hang in there, though, including an incredible three to force OT. But they had a few too many turnovers in OT, as Coach Englund noted in postgame comments...

This young team is playing its heart out. Hope they aren't getting discouraged, since they aren't seeing immediate results - Ws. But they will come...

[cmhwest]

I really hope I didnt Jinx Lax!!!  I was at the stout Lax game last wed and I was very impressed at the halftime adjustments Stout made. With a one point lead at the half Lax looked alot stronger than the one point lead suggested. There inside game was on fire and if it wasnt for a couple of desperation NBA 3 pointers while the shot clock was running down they would have been up by 7. The second half was a whole different game. Every time the ball went into the post, the Stout defense doubled  and triple teamed the reciever. This caused Lax to turn the ball over several times leading to easy baskets for Stout. I kept waiting for the LAX to pass the ball out of the post for a wide open 3 but it never came. Lax had several girls open on every possesion but seemed to prefer to force up a shot down low. Stout looked like they made up there mind that they were going to make Lax beat them from the outside. If Lax could have gotten the ball to somebody open for a few 3s that may have opened the post again but they never did.  LAX needs to keep there head up and realize they have ATLEAST one more shot at Stout this year and its at home. One more thing...  The Bench for Lax had been so productive all year...   They didnt play much against Stout and the starters seemed to get tired half way throught the second half. The last game of the year against Stout is going to be a big one. GO EAGLES!!!!!

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As of now I would have to think that Burns and/or Arch. would be the future leaders, but that could change.  When the shot clock was running down last night, Arch. was the one taking it to the basket.  After Becker went down, UWO put their best defender (Knapp) on Arch.

I would also like to see EC full court press a bit more.  They could put 3 out of these 4 (Witt, Arch, Mugg, Becker?) on the court and probably have some success with it.  Against a team like UWO (who doesn't have a deep bench), I would think a press could "pay good dividends" by the end of the game.

[EChoops]

UWEC needs to run more. As you could see last night, that is what they were successful at unlike earlier this season when they didn't do that. I have to think  the next two years will be much different. If it takes a losing season this year, then that's how it will have to be. We're a young team and those rebuilding years are tough.  Plus right now, we are plagued by injuries and illnesses, and that certainly doesn't help. Burns will be out possibly for the season,  Brooke is questionable, Becker is questionable, Muggsy is questionable at this point. But this team is tenacious, and they are playing to win, with or without Burns despite what the Leader Telegram stated in today's article.

They played an awesome game last night and were very competitive. There are a few good leaders on that team. You'll see who they are next year for sure.

[foul_language]

Stout certainly missed Duoss in Stevens Point; but to be fair, Stout made some monumental mistakes that Duoss would have had no control over. Listening to the game, it sounded as though many times a Stout player scored, and immediately a Stout player fouled a SP player--especially toward the end. I don't know what kind of play that is, but if I were a coach, it wouldn't be in my play book. Especially when a team is down by 20 or more with five or fewer minutes left in the game, intentional fouls to get the ball after free throws seems crazy. Crazier if the other team is feasting off free throws.

It still sounds as though the team goes into some kind of panic mode as soon as the opponent gets a lead. Last year, that just made the team lick its lips, hungry for a good battle.

Thomas sounded frustrated during a men's game halftime interview.

On what page does the chapter on defense start?

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Brooke Hakanson has been sidelined because of severe exhaustion.  Don't know when she'll be back.  She has the highest 3-point percentage on the team (with at least 1 attempt per game).

Kelli Emerson, who I believe is a decent outside shooter, is out for the year with a bad back.

[BDB]

On what page does the chapter on defense start?

foul_language,  It had better be Chapter 1, Page 1 from now on. I started getting worried about the Devils defense when Superior put up 70 points at Johnson Fieldhouse.

I guess if the team was going to play such lousy defense in a game and Duoss had to miss a game then it might as well be the same game.

Based upon what I heard on the radio and in talking to people that were there, had Kelsey played the game would have been closer but the result the same.

[shootfromthearc]

FL -

I attended the game in SP.  I was actually looking forward to seeing Duoss play and how the Pointers would match up.  I must tell you, the game I saw, there could have been 2 Duosses on the floor and it wouldn't have mattered.  Point out ran Stout, suprisingly, but they've got some quick, young talent.  The second half was brutal!  I realize Stout is known for their physical abuse, but this was ridiculous.  I don't know what Thomas said at halftime, but it's clear that the game plan was to get away with as much slap crap, reaching in, pushing, displacing and getting thug physical as possible.  I'm not saying they tried to hurt anyone, but it wasn't basketball.  And it never ever surprises me that the officiating just doesn't get it.  I realize that you can't call them all, but if they called 10% we're looking at another hour of play.

I know Stout's game is to run, jack, foul, etc and that changes with Duoss in the paint, but the team I saw was just bad!  Turnover after turnover, fouls, terrible shot choices and a lack of togetherness.  This conference is way up for grabs - but how will our WIAC teams favor against the rest of the country?  Should be interesting...

[billys]

Reading the paper on the game at SP, Coach Thomas doubted whether Duoss would make a 31-point difference. I think it's pretty hard to say the result would be the same with her there. She's worth close to 20 of her own points, who knows how many more for getting teammates open shots, not to mention how she changes the offense of the other team.

Factor in the confidence Point starts the game with knowing she's not in the middle altering shots. And probably the Stout kids wondering where they're going to get those points from.

Take nothing away from Point, they had to play well to blister Stout, but Duoss is the league MVP for a reason. She makes every one around her better on both ends of the floor. They can pressure more on the perimeter cause they have the big helper in back. They also have a big-time rebounder to clean glass.

[foul_language]

On second thought (and third and fourth), if Duoss averages 20 points a game--and assuming she would have hit her average at SP, Stout has 86 points.  Giver her, conservatively, eight rebounds--and to make it easy, we'll make it four defensive and four offensive--and we'll say Stout converts on half the defensive rebounds. We're at 90. Give her two blocked shots, to take away four of SP's points, and now we have a four-point game. Is my math right? The unknown is how many points we don't have from the players who took Duoss' place.

Anyway, if we also assume that Duoss gives Stout a level of confidence, that has to be worth some points. Maybe she could have been the turn-around factor. Billys is probably right in a lot of that. Players relax when they're comfortable; she may lend that level of comfort.

Now, a question about Stout women's play:  if this had been a men's game, would it have been considered 'brutal'? Do women have to play non-contact if that's not what basketball is today? I've wondered about this for years. I was told by a man who played the game over 40 years ago that when rebounding, you go up with your elbows out to catch the opponent under the chin and you come down with your elbows out to nail him on the shoulder. His dad told him that. If that was the rule of thumb 50-60 years ago, what do we expect to see on the court today? More recently, a player told me that she shouldn't have been called for a charge, because the opponent should have known to get out of the way.

I've seen all kinds of 'brutal' play, and it's not peculiar to Stout. That seems to be what opposing teams and fans expect, and you tend to see what you expect. I doubt if any coach tells a team to be rough; a coach is more likely to tell a team to go after the ball; players improvise from there. The question remains: was it brutal or aggressive? Was it 'brutal' because it was a women's game, but it would have been aggressive if it had been men?

Of course, I'm at a disadvantage, because I didn't see this game, but Stevens Point is no pushover team, so I'm pretty sure they gave as good as they got. Plus, they made their shots.  That was the most 'brutal' part.

[foul_language]

What's this karma stuff and how do we get it?