Truth!!! The only downside is that they can lead to easy baskets, and they’re tiring on the D as well.

(03-19-2023 02:11 PM)MarginalDuke Wrote:  Reminds me a lot of the Maryland game back in 2019. #8 Terps pressed us and we proceeded to meltdown and blew at 15+ point lead in the 4th.

JMU handled the OSU press well until mid-way through the 2nd quarter. Until then they broke OSU’s press at-will, and the Lady Duke’s rang up a big lead. From there on it’s like either JMU forgot what they had practiced, or OSU adjusted. It’s also possible that JMU’s bench players were not up to the starter’s ability to break the press and things went south from there.

JMU played the first quarter with the same energy and near perfection as they had played against TXST in the SBC championship game. Then JMU reverted to the frustrating form we had witnessed in other in-season games. At their best JMU proved they can play with just about any team, but at their worst…ugh. Hope Coach O can use this season to recruit a high(er)-level of talent.

(03-19-2023 12:20 PM)orange-to-purple Wrote:  

(03-19-2023 08:47 AM)Dukes94 Wrote:  

(03-18-2023 08:51 PM)dukes13 Wrote:  I will have to say I am one that has not been overly enthusiastic about Coach O, but he definitely has the ship back on course. Now to see if he can continue to steer in this direction. I do like the staff he has assembled as well, seems like a much more tight knit bunch.

Good stuff today ladies, they played really hard.

I’ve also been critical of Coach O but I really thought he did a hell of a job the second half of the season. The team came together and we took it to Ohio State for a quarter. End of the day—it’s Ohio State. A Big 10 school is going to get players who won’t give the Sun Belt a glance. But we acquitted ourselves well.

Absolutely. Look at it this way---we only lost by 12 to a school that's seeded #3 (which I still think is too high, but nm). Last time we went to the NCAA, we lost to DePaul, I think, and it was a lot worse drubbing, IIRC. It was Coach O's first year, with a team largely inherited from Kenny. This is a team of his own creation, with a staff of his own creation. And this is his seventh year here. Look at my sig line and see if you don't think that's a bit prophetic. He's building a program here now, ladies and gentlemen. We might be idiots to let him go now. Let him continue to build. Like any program, it will require tinkering, but he can continue to be successful. There will always be injuries, and occasional players who don't work out well, but stuff happens.

And on another topic, I don't know how many of you are watching the other women's games, but I was really impressed with Toledo, who took out #5 Iowa State. I think Coach should schedule a pre-season game with them if at all possible. It would be great training/conditioning for our team. FGCU or USF would be good too, if we didn't have to play them there. Those are really top tier mids, and we have at least one player from FL (Mya Koné).

Actually the DePaul game was Kenny's last game at JMU. DePaul won the game in the first half shooting the lights out. Our team looked shocked and frankly not prepared IMO. For weeks prior, there were rumors of Kenny leaving and it seemed likely as he sat in his chair during the second half, bent over with his face leaning on both hands and staring at the floor. Meanwhile Sean was the coach that was standing and coaching. The player that played her heart out was Perez, who earlier in the CAC tournament saved Kenny from losing to an #8 seed in the first round. She scored our last seven points in little over a minute including the game winner with 6 seconds left. Years later when we lost to Hofstra in the first round, with an injurie riddled team, Sean was labeled by some on this board as a poor coach, that couldn't get us to the NCAAs. I always thought about how we almost did the same thing years earlier when Kenny was coach.

For next year, we need to aim for no worse than a 12 (a few of those sunbelt losses were catastrophic this year); unlike the men there is a gigantic difference between being a 12 or better (essentially a first round neutral site and there could be an argument that the fans of the host team rally behind the underdog) and a 13 or worse where you are subjected to a literal road game in which it is exponentially harder to win (we were the only 13 or higher that lost by less than 15 points) still a terrific season and I hope Kiki runs it back! We have unfinished business !!

Ohio State is playing North Carolina today. Frankly, I am rooting for UNC because I never could stand OSU, having been brought up in the Big Ten (go Badgers!) but y'all may be rooting for OSU on the grounds that if they win, we lost to a team that made the Sweet 16 or higher. I say it's a good day when Ohio State loses.

(03-20-2023 10:47 AM)orange-to-purple Wrote:  Ohio State is playing North Carolina today. Frankly, I am rooting for UNC because I never could stand OSU, having been brought up in the Big Ten (go Badgers!) but y'all may be rooting for OSU on the grounds that if they win, we lost to a team that made the Sweet 16 or higher. I say it's a good day when Ohio State loses.

Well we also lost to unc and it was a closer game ! Ohio state fans are arrogant and think they are entitled to win a national championship in every sport! I am glad lacrosse put them in their place! Go dukes!

(03-20-2023 10:53 AM)JMUGrad2013 Wrote:  

(03-20-2023 10:47 AM)orange-to-purple Wrote:  Ohio State is playing North Carolina today. Frankly, I am rooting for UNC because I never could stand OSU, having been brought up in the Big Ten (go Badgers!) but y'all may be rooting for OSU on the grounds that if they win, we lost to a team that made the Sweet 16 or higher. I say it's a good day when Ohio State loses.

Well we also lost to unc and it was a closer game ! Ohio state fans are arrogant and think they are entitled to win a national championship in every sport! I am glad lacrosse put them in their place! Go dukes!

Their team was arrogant. I will watch the end of their Saturday game enjoying seeing their emotions when losing.

OSU plays UConn next. I wish they could both lose, but much as I hate OSU, I hate UConn worse.

(03-22-2023 01:33 PM)orange-to-purple Wrote:  OSU plays UConn next. I wish they could both lose, but much as I hate OSU, I hate UConn worse.

Now OSU vs Tech. Wow, should be the Dukes!

(03-26-2023 10:09 AM)BleedingPurple Wrote:  

(03-22-2023 01:33 PM)orange-to-purple Wrote:  OSU plays UConn next. I wish they could both lose, but much as I hate OSU, I hate UConn worse.

Now OSU vs Tech. Wow, should be the Dukes!

Wonder if Kenny and Sean will talk prior to the game? We did, after all, get a very close up look at OSU-things that may not be evident on film.

Tech struggled with UT’s press. We struggled with OSU’s press. Hell, UConn struggled mightily with OSU’s press. If AMoore and the Hokies don’t turn the ball over due to the press, they can win this.

Turned on the vt/osu game in the middle of the third and can report that the same osu players who cried in every possession against us are still crying. I haven't hated a team this much in a while..

Tech has been pretty aggressive in finding the open player when OSU presses. Got several easy buckets and got the Buckeyes to back off for a bit.

So nice to see the smirk being wiped off Ohio States' faces...

OSU went through a spell for about five minutes when they couldn't buy a bucket at the beginning of the fourth, this broke it open for Tech, then Tech made the crucial free throws and continued to play good defense.

(03-27-2023 10:13 PM)hburg Wrote:  So nice to see the smirk being wiped off Ohio States' faces...