Unless I am mistaken, this game begins in 15 minutes on ESPN+. Gonna be a whole lotta rust to shake off.

It looks like 10 players are dressed. Freshman still injured.
WKU finally got their senior center back from overseas so they've been playing better during conference than early in the season.

Very bright start on both ends for Rice. 8-2 early.

Halfway through the 1st, Rice leads 11-4. Schwartz with 6 points.

Turnovers still a problem for Rice. 5 in the 1st.
Rice 18-15.

A bright start derailed by some usual sloppiness and some semi-usual poor shooting. 18-15 (I swear WKU should have 16). I'd say the rustiness is expected after such a long layoff, but to be honest it doesn't look much different than before the break.

WKU's center should take 25 shots in this game. Coaching malpractice if she takes any fewer (assuming Rice doesn't eventually double her).

Elgedawy with 12 points already, WKU now leads 19-18.

Love WKU pressing us hard. We tend to turn it over against vanilla defenses, so smart for teams to turn up the heat on us. We're showing that we panic/get sloppy when there's less time to think.

Rice spreading the minutes this game so far. All 10 players have checked in.

WKU's offense is hysterical. They pass it around for 20-25 seconds, half-heartedly looking for a shot, and then just throw it into their center who, more often than not, scores over Nancy. (I guess other teams might say the same about us). 28-26 Rice.

Wow, we can't stop Elgedawy...22 points.

I'm not sure I've ever seen an offense, in either men's or women's, so dependent on one player. Which isn't necessarily a criticism, because they're kicking our ass right now on both ends. But I do think the coaching staff should get a bit of flack. Inexcusable to let one player beat you. Start doubling her and make others beat you. 35-34 WKU at the half.

Rice down at the half, 34-35. Schwartz started off strong but picked up 2 fouls and sat most of the 2nd.

(02-12-2021 03:25 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  WKU's center should take 25 shots in this game. Coaching malpractice if she takes any fewer (assuming Rice doesn't eventually double her).

Well she has 18 shots at the half. It would be great if the Owls could limit her to 25 shots. The rest of the WKU squad is 5-16. Make them beat you.

Feels like even with all the success that Langley has had, the fundamentals of her teams have been slightly below par. So many little mistakes every game. For example, passing the ball to a player within 2 feet of the sideline against a pressing team on two straight possessions. 42-39 Rice.

And also, hate to be that guy, but I'm still not sold on Bellamy, Austin, or Jackson. I'm not sure you can call any of them recruiting wins yet.

At the end of the 3rd, Rice up 52-44 .

Mulkey with 20 points, 8 rebs, 5 blocks.
Elgedawy with 26 points, 7 rebs, 3 steals.

WKU a bit peeved with the refs. Definitely blew that last OB call which clearly came off of Smith. But, with no evidence to back up my claims, I think refs tend to have a harsher whistle against teams that press. They just view them as more aggressive and so they blow the whistle quicker.

What adjustments did we make?

Mulkey sits and WKU scores and Rice continues to have turnover issues (18 now). 54-48.