WBB: Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[badgerwarhawk]

WHITEWATER defeated Bethany Lutheran yesterday by sixteen, 79-63.  Similar to the Point Loma game the WARHAWKS started the game stone cold from the field missing their first ten shots and failing to score in the first five minutes of the half.  Fortunately Bethany Lutheran wasn't much better and WHITEWATER only trailed 8-3.  The WARHAWKS managed to build two five point leads during the half but it ended with the two teams tied 32-32.  Free throws played a significant part in Bethany Lutheran's scoring as they went 15-20 in the first half.   Nine WARHAWKS scored in the half.  As cold as they were in the first half the opposite was true in the second one as the WARHAWKS opened the half with a 25-5 run to take control of the game and the lead never shrank below fifteen points after that.

Of the seventeen WARHAWKS who saw action in the game thirteen of them scored led by Dana Thompson with 11 points and Kaitlyn Thill with 10 points.  Chantel Burg led all rebounders with 11 and Emily Bester had a game high 6 assists.  The WARHAWKS set a team record for steals with 29 leading to a 32-4 advantage in points off of turnovers.  Burg had a game high 5 and Thill and Katie Burton each had four.  The steals increased Thill's conference leading total to 57.   

The 17th ranked WARHAWKS will meet 14th ranked George Fox in the tournament championship game today.   

[JMM]

Listning to EC - Hanover. EC has totally self destructed. Englund has done nothing to coach this team in the second half. They have blown a 15 point second half lead. Englund has just left her young team out there to destruct and die. Really bad, bad coaching.  Nothing to calm them done. Nothing to get the offense reorganized and focused.  EC trouble is not the players it is a lack of coaching - my 2 cents.

[buf]

As JMM noted, a horrible mid-2nd half stretch did in EC this afternoon as they fall to Hanover (10-0), 71-70, in the Wittenburg tourney.  EC led by 14 with less than 14min left and were on the verge of blowing out Hanover.  Then all of a sudden, Hanover goes on a 26-7 run over the next 8 minutes to take a 5 point lead.  EC fought back to take a 1 point lead with less than a minute left.  However on the next possession Hanover got fouled shooting a 27 foot desperation shot as the shot clock expired.  They hit 2 of the 3 and EC ended up missing a couple shots in the last few seconds.  EC really controlled this game for 3/4 of the game.  It was just that terrible 8 minute stretch that lost it for them.

EC now has lost 3 close games this season (RF, LX, Han).  EC is too much of a veteran squad to be dropping all these close games.

[JMM]

Buf - all three loses were the coach, not the team - my two cents. Defend the 3 pt shot and Hanover loses by 20.

[badgerwarhawk]

The WARHAWKS won the Surf & Slam championship game defeating 14th ranked George Fox convincingly 73-56.  Unlike the previous two games the WARHAWKS started this one shooting well.  A 6-0 run and later a 9-0 run gave them a quick 15-6 lead in the first five minutes.  Later a 13-3 run built the lead to 34-17 and it stood at twenty one points, 38-19, when the half ended.  George Fox cut the lead to twelve points, 48-36 with ten minutes left in the game but a 12-3 run by the WARHAWKS put the game away for good.

Dana Thompson led all scorers with 24 points and was named the tournament's MVP.  Megan Thuene hit 4 of 5 three point attempts and finished with a career high 15 points.  Jamie Swanson had a game high 9 rebounds while Kaitlyn Thill had game highs of 4 assists and 4 steals. WHITEWATER had an advantage from the charity stripe making 27 of 39 attempts to 10-20 for George Fox. 

[swish4]

I completely disagree with JMM's comments about the Blugolds and Coach Englund. To say that "she left her team out there to destruct and die" is out of line.   Many of my friends are Blugold basketball alum and have had really successful seasons with Coach Englund. She is far from a bad coach as you would indicate. Yes, they lost to Hanover, but there is still plenty of conference season left in this team too.

[JMM]

There is a growing theme with the Blugolds, get a little ahead in the second half and fall apart. St. Benedicts, RF, Hanover, Marian. Boils down to this, bad fouls, bad turnovers and not defending the 3 pt shot. To me this is coaching. No fundamentals. Have seen most blue giold games in the past few years. Someone needs to teach folks how to pass. Should be the coach. Would take two hours of practice. If the person is not open, donot pass. Also the need to keep focused when passing. Messick who is wonderful is maybe the biggest culpret. The passing things is not pressure from defense. It is from not being deliberate and thorough. This is coaching. EC has not defended against the 3 since Englund has been there. It has cost them big time. When you have height, the other team is going to shoot 3 pt shots. So many times, the 3 pt shoot has stopped the blugolds from taking ownership of the game. Again, coaching - my 2 cents.

[Just Bill]

UWEC three-point FG defense under Englund, WIAC rank:

2010-11: 30.9%, 7th (through 1/1/11)
2009-10: 31.6%, 5th
2008-09: 27.4%, 2nd
2007-08: 28.6%, 2nd
2006-07: 30.5%, 5th
2005-06: 30.7%, 6th
2004-05: 29.4%, 3rd
2003-04: 32.5%, 7th
2002-03: 25.0%, 1st
2001-02: 28.7%, 2nd
2000-01: 27.2%, 1st

I don't know if the numbers support your theory JMM. Under Englund, they've been top 3 in the WIAC in 3-pt. FG percentage defense six times and bottom three only twice, including this season which still has halfway to go.

And speaking as a guy who coached basketball for many years, teaching players to pass reliably takes a LOT more than "two hours of practice".

[JMM]

Just Bill, I appreciate your stats and they do have meanning. I would like to see the stats in games they have lost going back to the defeat at RF 2 years ago. I do appreciate Englund as a coach. She is wonfderful with the kids. I guess as an arm chair coach (easy from the arm chair as opposed to the feild) I offer this.

Englund should take some time with Plendil (who I think is a very good D3 player) and show her film of the way Brook Wozniak played defense. Teach her to position herself and play an area, not the ball or a player. When Plendil goes after the ball or a player with the ball from the rear - immediate foul. Plendill is doing good this year.  Wozniak was the best defender I have seen in 35 years. This would be a good idea as a coach - to help Plendil. Show and develop a strategy for Plendil - Wozniak's approach would give the BLUGODS two more wins this year. The turning point in the lose to Hanover was when Plendil got in over head a little.

If a team is having passing problems, who else but the coach should straighten those out. While the team has gotten better this year, they have not cured the problem. Coach needs to take the time and give examples and work for focued passes. It killed them against St Ben's, and most games last year and several others this year. It is OK to go back to basics on passing.

[billys]

The simplicity with which you attempt to describe the cure to UWEC's problems comes off extremely ignorant. You're blaming losses on coaching from games you haven't even seen.
"Englund has done nothing to coach this team in the second half. They have blown a 15 point second half lead. Englund has just left her young team out there to destruct and die. Really bad, bad coaching.  Nothing to calm them done. Nothing to get the offense reorganized and focused.  EC trouble is not the players it is a lack of coaching "
That's one of the most loaded statements I've read on this site and you weren't even there to see it? Seems pretty irresponsible.

You think showing film of the best defender you've seen in 35 years is going to suddenly make another kid a good defender ... nevermind instincts, experience, quickness, etc.

How do you know what UWEC works on in practice? How do you know they don't work on passing? You say they've gotten better ... so maybe she's worked on it a ton.

To make statements like "they haven't defended the three since she's been there" only to see they very recently were 2nd in the league in the stat shows your perceptions are likely not reality.

Would take two hours of practice to fix their passing problems? That's laughable.

You are free to grind your axe wherever you like. There are plenty of basketball coaching positions available on a yearly basis. I'm sure your expertise and the ease with which you could fix a programs problems would be a very valuable commodity in your area.

I don't get too fired up about posts on this board but knowing how good the coaches in this league are and the time they put in ... to make rash comments on games you didn't even watch is BS

[billys]

Slate full of probable clunkers tonight as the season gets going in full swing.

Couple big matchups on Saturday though with UWL-UWSP and UWW-UWRF.

Tonight though looks to be a tune-up night.

[buf]

EC survives @ UWP, 45-43, as UWP missed a 3 at the buzzer.  Ugly shooting as both teams shoot 28%.

[billys]

Yikes ... UW-L beats Superior at HOME by 2. 61-59

Just completed so I haven't seen play-by-play or stats yet but dang.

[PRF2009A]

Yikes ... UW-L beats Superior at HOME by 2. 61-59

Just completed so I haven't seen play-by-play or stats yet but dang.

Ugly win.

Larson and Lang combine to go 4-20.  (Lang 0-9)

A few quotes in the paper sum it up.

"Lindsey got it to me and I just took it up and it went it, but in all reality, it shouldn't have come down to a shot like that," Frank said. "We just didn't come out and play defense. We weren't talking. We looked like deer in headlights at times."

"Our defense lets up for minutes and we let them get back in the game," said Litrenta

It's good to know where your weakness was, now hopefully they can fix it in 3 days.

[badgerwarhawk]

The WARHAWKS started with a 6-0 run and later, leading 25-22, an 11-0 run followed by a 21-5 run to easy defeat Edgewood College 91-63.  The WARHAWKS led 50-34 at the half, 7-12 three-pointers, and recorded 14 steals.  The second half started the same way as the WARHAWKS stole the ball the first three times Edgewood had possession and made a 20-4 run to make the score 70-38 in the first five minutes.  The 91 points and 28 point margin tied team highs for the season.  In all seventeen players saw action with eleven of them scoring.  As a team Edgewood had 32 turnovers, 24 of which were steals. 

Dana Thompson led the WARHAWKS in scoring for the sixth consecutive game with 20 points including 10-12 from the free throw line.  Megan Theune, Jamie Swanson and Kaitlyn Thill all finished in double figures with each scoring 11 points.  Thill with game highs of 7 assists and 8 steals created several additional steals by poking the ball away and having another WARHAWK player recover the loose ball.  Swanson and Thompson each had 6 rebounds.   The WARHAWKS made more free throws than Edgewood attempted going 20-24 to 14-18 for the Eagles.   The WARHAWKS dominated points in the paint 28-12, points off of turnovers 32-13 and points off the bench 46-12.

Danille Dixon had a game high 21 points and Alison Tobin had 19 to pace the Eagles.