MSU

[bbjunkie]

I'm worried about the Portland State Vikings Women's Basketball Team. This is NOT the same team that started the season with an 11-5 record with impressive wins over UC Davis and Denver. Montana State put on a clinic against us in the second half, after we held the lead at halftime. Coach Murrell was outcoached, and PSU was out-hustled, and out-played in a woeful second half of action.

What happened in the second half that caused the wheels to come off and allow MS to finish the game on a 28-5 run? I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here, but here I go again. Coach Murrell absolutely refuses to play a zone defense - it's obviously a point of pride with her! To add insult to injury, Montana State switched over to a zone defense at the beginning of the second half, limiting us 1 field goal made in the last 14 minutes of the game! Ouch. They made adjustments during the half and we stuck with a man-to-man defensive scheme that has repeatedly proven to be ineffective this season, resulting in us being outscored in the paint 38-20. The second half possessions were a succession of MS lobbing the ball into their posts for easy scores, while we were forced into a stagnant half-court offense of missed outside shots and turnovers. Once again we lost the turnover battle 23-11, and were dominated in second half field goal percentage, as MS scored easily in transition, mostly on inside shots.

Once again our ladies appeared to give good effort, especially in the first half. But it must be frustrating when the game plan isn't working and no in-game adjustments are implemented by our coaching staff.
I think this famous quote says it best: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results." Sorry to be so harsh, but I really feel like we need to make some changes in our defensive and offensive schemes or the rest of our games are going to be a replay of losses to MS, EWU and IS. This Saturday would be a good time to give it a try. Go Viks!

 

[mikechristoffer]

BB: You sound like a broken record but the tune you play is right on. Teams watch film and they have determined how to defend Kate Lanz (2 of 8 from the field , 2 boards and 6 turnovers) and know that all they have to do to win is play tough defense and get the ball inside. PSU has decided for some reason to start a lineup that has their tallest player at 5"10". They simply cannot guard taller posts. They might as well start giving Brock and Samms more playing time. What have they got to lose? When this team won the Big Sky Tournament two years ago, a lot of us thought that they had a great group of undergraduates that would result in more returns to the NCAA tourney. They played tough defense both inside and out and were one of the biggest teams in the league. I remember watching the PSU/ISU tournament game on the computer and the ISU announcer kept noting how big and how strong PSU was as it dominated ISU on the boards and blocked shot after shot. The team lost Wade but Samms had one heck of a year and was aided by Courtney Cremer,Stephanie Egwatu and Freshman Brock. With the addition of Lanz, who was the Oregon Player of the year in high school, it appeared this team had a chance to go undefeated in league and easily return to the NCAA tourney. . The team just doesn't seem to have the chemistry this year that it had before and there are too many players in Murrell's doghouse. Once you get relegated to the backyard, it is almost impossible to get out. I don't think anything will change and PSU will win when its guards dominate and Lanz is allowed to go one on one against a single defender. I feel a little sorry for this year's seniors and hope that things can turn around. They deserve better than getting beat by 20.