This finishes a tough stretch for us. Our first 5 games were on the road. I was hoping to come back home with a better record then 1-4 but I think we learned a lot from this tough stretch. I learned a lot about my team and I certainly think we have gotten better every time we have played. We just need to stop hurting ourselves with silly turnovers and offensive rebounds.
Tonights game we got down 18-0 to start. We didn't score our first bucket until 1:17 left in the first qtr. I was pretty proud of my girls though. I think in the past they might have folded and the game could have gotten out of hand. Instead we took that first initial punch, regrouped, and slowly got ourselves back into the game. From the 2 minute mark it was really a back and forth affair. We outscored them in both the 2nd and 3rd quarter. We just couldn't get over the hump.
I thought thier press bothered us in the beginning but we settled down and started to score off of it, which forced them out fo it. In the first half unforced turnovers killed us. We had 25 total turnover for the game but 16 were unforced. We certainly settled down in the 2nd half but offense rebounds became an issue. They had 17 offensive rebounds most of which came in the 2nd half. Between the turnover and the offense rebounds differentials we gave them 15 extra possessions. And when you only lose by 11 on the road against a tough well coached team, you need those possessions. Really other then those first 6 minutes I thought we played like the better team. But when you are on the road you can't get down 18-0 and expect to win the game.
Like I said though, I was proud that our girls didn't give up. We were down 2 captain starters (both sick) and 1 player that could not play. So we only had 9 bodies but 3 of them swing. Unfortunantly Brook got in foul trouble and missed most of the 2nd qrt. So for our team to take that initial surge, battle through some adversity and not give it. Its those little things that you can take with you when you finish a tough road stretch like this. Now we have a quick turnaround with a rematch with Wahconah. So we are gonna watch some film and get a game plan together and hopefully open up with a win on opening night.
