This game was the very definition of heartbreaker. I thought Murrell was going to loose it and break down crying in the post-game interview. Loosing an 8 point lead with 1:12 remaining has to be one of the biggest collapses in PSU women's basketball history and exposes some glaring weakness on the team - the inability to maintain poise under the pressure of SUU's press in the final minute of the game being the most obvious.
Murrell has to take partial blame for the team's collapse in the last minute of the game by not giving clear instructions in how to protect the ball during this crucial time - basic coaching.
Let's face it, ALL PSU would have had to do was maintain possession and make SUU foul to secure the win. With an 8 point lead, PSU would'nt need to score, and would probably not have had to make all of their free throws to secure the win. Turnovers, from inexplicably trying to pass the ball under a heavy SUU press, and an important foul reflected a sense of panic in our players during crunch time that gave the game away. Murrell blamed the loss on PSU being a young team in her post-game interview. Except for Easom, who played a great game in her first start, the numbers don't back up Murrell's assertion.
Murrell has to take partial blame for the team's collapse in the last minute of the game by not giving clear instructions in how to protect the ball during this crucial time - basic coaching.
Let's face it, ALL PSU would have had to do was maintain possession and make SUU foul to secure the win. With an 8 point lead, PSU would'nt need to score, and would probably not have had to make all of their free throws to secure the win. Turnovers, from inexplicably trying to pass the ball under a heavy SUU press, and an important foul reflected a sense of panic in our players during crunch time that gave the game away. Murrell blamed the loss on PSU being a young team in her post-game interview. Except for Easom, who played a great game in her first start, the numbers don't back up Murrell's assertion.
