Twister Sister Summary - Defense is the name of the game

[acoustimac]

One of the advantages of driving for two hours on the way home from Hilton is having the chance to think about the game. Think about what I thought I saw and what actually happened. Reflection. In the case of this game my perspective changed just a little bit from my initial reactions.

KSU came out in a spread zone defense that met our three point shooters above the arch. It made our around the horn passes more difficult and disrupted that flow. Initially, I felt that we should attack that zone and use motion to go inside. But, it didn't happen. We were living and dying by the three. If one came open the ladies were chucking the ball up quickly. When we went inside it was successful, but it didn't happen often enough in the first. I mentioned the word "quickly." Everything about this game was fast. Everything.

On a positive note, Fritz got off to a good start tonight. She hit our first three and followed with another two points later in the quarter. Diew started. Kane and M&M rotated in early. Coach played with his lineups throughout the quarter trying to find just the right mix. It would take a while to find the one that worked...and typically it was the starting five.

While ISU would take the lead and not relinquish it in the first, KSU closed the gap at the end of the due to some defensive breakdowns that led to free throws or wide open shots. What seemed like a comfortable 1st quarter lead evaporated rather quickly as the quarter ended 18-15 with the sisters in front.

Our offense was a mess much of the 2nd. Their zone is frustrating us. Kane is far too slow on defense. The ladies can't hit a three which is all it seems they are shooting. A good friend texted me and said, "It appears the 2nd is our bad quarter tonight." I hoped he wasn't premature. As fast as the game was moving the defenses were causing problems at both ends. KSU would tie it at 20 while our offense sat in neutral.

Donarski answered the bell with a three, but it just seems KSU is letting us shoot threes and cutting off passes inside to Ashley. As soon as she gets the ball they double and triple team her and a lack of offensive movement didn't leave her with an outlet. I'm not paid the big bucks to coach, but it just seems more movement though the lane would help to bind them up.

Just as she did against OU, Donarski came to the rescue with some treys to move ISU ahead again. KSU answered with three straight treys and that lead again disappeared at 31-29 sisters.

Very messy end of half as the KSU defense continues to frustrate the sisters. It's 32-29 state at the half.

The second half is where things really got interesting. This is where some of that reflection i had comes to play. While the first half was more than a bit chaotic on both ends of the court, the second half is when this team seemed to find itself. It was almost as if they were trying on different clothes in the first half and in the second they found something that fit. It was smothering defense.

The 3rd started off still a mess including the officiating (which was suspect all night..mainly by being inconsistent). But the ladies started to move the ball and move people including drives inside. Fritz and Joens both scored layups to help build a 9 point lead before a KSU timeout. It was 46-37 just under 5 min. With each KSU possession the crowd was getting louder as the ladies clamped down on the purple kittens. Every move KSU made was met by switching defenders, double teams, and stops.

KSU would make a small dent in the ISU lead, but solid defense allowed the lead to stretch to 11. Unfortunately, a defensive breakdown would allow KSU to hit a wide open trey at the end of three to close to 51-45. While the lead was only six, it was clear that some very good things were happening.

The fourth is when we saw this "new" ISU team really gel. The defense continued to lock down on KSU and the misses added up. Even better, after being out-rebounded in the first half (Yes, I did check this time) the ladies were not giving KSU many second chances. One particular sequence of events saw Emily get incensed (I can't use the word I wanted to use) after being hit in the neck while on defense. She did one of her "let me show you how it's done" drives for two and the harm and followed with an arm pumping trey.

At this point the ladies seemed to be playing to milk clock and kept KSU scoreless on the other end for the last 4-5 minutes of the game minutes. The best part was that the defense was doing just that. Kane came in to spell Diew and KSU went on a short 6-0 run. Just an observation, but she just slowed things down too much on both ends. On the offensive end she took a couple of feeds inside that resulted in no points. After watching this high speed game it seemed like when she got the ball things went into slow motion. Yes, that is being overly critical, but that is just how it seemed. As Coach Fen later said, this wasn't the type of game that fit Kane or Izzi. The dagger that was the final blow was Ashley hitting a trey to spread it to 9 with 2 minutes left. KSU was in desperation mode and the shots just weren't falling as our defense never let up. Final score 67-56 for the sisters.

Observations
I mentioned the defense. I can't remember seeing such hustle play on that end of the court in a long time. We've all seen us double team and get caught out of position. Not tonight. Bodies were flying all over the defensive end of the court. I like it.

POG - I was critical of Ryan last game and this time she's the POG. 14 points, 11 boards and 8 assists with only 1 turnover. Add in a couple of steals for good measure. It was good to see her emotion on display on the court tonight. She was definitely doing a "General Patton" out there.

Joens - it may have seemed like a quiet night for Ashley, but KSU focused on her (duh). Drives inside were met with double teams and she didn't get much help. She still found her way to 14 points and 9 boards. That inside pressure led to 4 turnovers.

Donarski - she was the second quarter savior. I believe she had 12 at the half and only picked up 2 more, but she kept us in it. As usual, her defense was STELLAR on Serena Sundell. Sundell might be looking behind doors for a while wondering if Donarski is there.

Fritz - BEST game of her career. She has played two AMAZING defensive games in a row after being assigned OU's top scorer over the weekend and today getting the task of stopping the league's top scorer. Wow. She frustrated the living crap out of Gregory who came in averaging nearly 22 points per game. Held to 9 tonight including a late meaningless bucket. AND Fritz put in 14 points of her own along with grabbing 7 boards. We need this every game.

Diew - 8 points, but where she shined tonight was...guess...defense. She managed the middle in the key and was fantastic. 7 boards, 2 blocks, 2 steals. She was good folks.

M&M - she got some minutes tonight as many on here hoped. Sadly, it didn't yield much statistically, but did offer nearly 10 minutes of rest for some of her teammates. I hope she finds her shot and can provide 6-8 per game.

The team had been hit with unprecedented tragedy over the weekend. They had to answer. They not only did that, but they started (IMO) to find a new identity. The level of team play increased. The defense was outstanding in the second half. When the defense is good the offense follows. The level of emotion being shown on the court was a positive thing.

Next up...Texas. This will be a different beast. They have some traditional size and this is where Kane and perhaps Izzi can really contribute. UT isn't the powerhouse they were thought to be starting the season (for a variety of reasons), but they are still very dangerous. They will be physical. They will use full court pressure. They are big in the middle. So, the ladies will need to take that next step in developing this new identity on this trip to Austin.

BTW...good news...and scary...OSU beat Baylor tonight. Does that mean OSU (on a rebuilding year) is better? Baylor not so much? Probably both. But it sure contributes to the chaos that is the Big 12. ISU is back into a tie for first at 3-1.

 

[WartburgClone]

Fritz also had 3 blocks on Gregory. Kind of nice to do that to the other team for once.

Hope the starting 5 can get their legs back in time for Texas.

 

[acoustimac]

Fritz also had 3 blocks on Gregory. Kind of nice to do that to the other team for once.

Hope the starting 5 can get their legs back in time for Texas.

I think they will all sleep hard tonight!

 

[cykadelic2]

M&M - she got some minutes tonight as many on here hoped. Sadly, it didn't yield much statistically, but did offer nearly 10 minutes of rest for some of her teammates. I hope she finds her shot and can provide 6-8 per game.

Next up...Texas. This will be a different beast. They have some traditional size and this is where Kane and perhaps Izzi can really contribute. UT isn't the powerhouse they were thought to be starting the season (for a variety of reasons), but they are still very dangerous. They will be physical. They will use full court pressure. They are big in the middle. So, the ladies will need to take that next step in developing this new identity on this trip to Austin.

The problem with MEM's PT is that she didn't offer any rest to Joens, Ryan and Donarski who all played 39+ minutes which is not sustainable for the rest of the conference season and IMO reduces their odds of winning the conference title which is still doable without Soares given B12 competition this season.

Bill had to go smallball last night vs KSU as the team was -9 points in Kane's 11 minutes. Against teams where the smallball lineup with Diew at the 5 is not effective, Bill will need to rotate Kane, Vick and Izzy as required, play aggressively with them and use up their fouls.

 

[Clonefan32]

He's going to have to force himself to play the bench. It may not always look as good as it does when the starters are in, but you just can't have girls playing all 40 minutes each night. It's not sustainable and this group will be completely gassed by February. You also have to worry about the wear and tear on girls like Ashley, Lexi and Emily who have already played a ton of basketball.

 

[MJ271]

The problem with MEM's PT is that she didn't offer any rest to Joens, Ryan and Donarski who all played 39+ minutes which is not sustainable for the rest of the conference season and IMO reduces their odds of winning the conference title which is still doable without Soares given B12 competition this season.

Bill had to go smallball last night vs KSU as the team was -9 points in Kane's 11 minutes. Against teams where the smallball lineup with Diew at the 5 is not effective, Bill will need to rotate Kane, Vick and Izzy as required, play aggressively with them and use up their fouls.

He's going to have to force himself to play the bench. It may not always look as good as it does when the starters are in, but you just can't have girls playing all 40 minutes each night. It's not sustainable and this group will be completely gassed by February. You also have to worry about the wear and tear on girls like Ashley, Lexi and Emily who have already played a ton of basketball.

I'm inclined to agree with both of you, but those three are also certainly used to playing that many minutes. Joens, Donarski, and Ryan averaged 35.6, 36.2, and 36.6 minutes, respectively, over the course of last season. After 1/1, Joens had 12 games where she played 38 minutes or more, Donarski had 13, and Ryan had 16. Of course, that season did not end in a conference title, but I'm not sure there's evidence that them getting more rest would have helped it result in a title.

I hope that Maggie's game picks back up where she can play 20 minutes and give each of them a few minutes of rest. But right now she's shooting 25% from three; last night she was 0-3. As long as that's the case, he doesn't have a lot of options in competitive games. I will agree, though, that in non-competitive games, Fennelly should be doing a bit more to make sure none of them play more than 35 minutes.

 

[Clonefan32]

@MJ271 I guess them being used to playing these many minutes is kind of my point. For as fun and accomplished as this group has been, no Big 12 regular season or tournament title, a Round of 32 exit and a Sweet 16 exit to an inferior opponent last year. If the goal is to be playing your best ball at the end of the year, I'm not sure we've accomplished that lately and alot of that has to do with overplaying your starters. This league is too hard and it's too much of a physical grind to have girls playing 40 minutes every night.

I guess I just think it's short-sighted. But to each their own.

 

[cyclone13]

He's going to have to force himself to play the bench. It may not always look as good as it does when the starters are in, but you just can't have girls playing all 40 minutes each night. It's not sustainable and this group will be completely gassed by February. You also have to worry about the wear and tear on girls like Ashley, Lexi and Emily who have already played a ton of basketball.

this has been some of the posters' observations that BF will have to change his ways in utilizing the rosters - it's a long season and he will have to trust the entire roster and give them some valuable playing time.

 

[MJ271]

@MJ271 I guess them being used to playing these many minutes is kind of my point. For as fun and accomplished as this group has been, no Big 12 regular season or tournament title, a Round of 32 exit and a Sweet 16 exit to an inferior opponent last year. If the goal is to be playing your best ball at the end of the year, I'm not sure we've accomplished that lately and alot of that has to do with overplaying your starters. This league is too hard and it's too much of a physical grind to have girls playing 40 minutes every night.

I guess I just think it's short-sighted. But to each their own.

I get what you're saying, and it does sound logical on its face. But I look at some of those performances a little bit differently than you. In both of those Big 12 tournaments, they took Texas to OT, but fell just short, even though Texas had destroyed them in all four of the regular season games. In the 2021 NCAA tournament, they were a #7 seed starting three freshmen and they still took a #2 seed down to the wire (and arguably should have won that game if not for officiating). Even last NCAA tournament, yes they got upset, but Creighton was obviously playing great at the time (having just beaten Iowa). I also might be remembering wrong, but the way I remember that game was that Iowa State just looked one defender short--as in Creighton was essentially playing all of Kane, Jordao, MEM, and Aubrey Joens off the court defensively. It didn't seem like a built-up fatigue issue for the team's Big 3.

Ideally, I'd like them to play fewer minutes. I'm just not sure we can point to it as the root of any perceived lack of success over the past couple of years.

 

[acoustimac]

I get what you're saying, and it does sound logical on its face. But I look at some of those performances a little bit differently than you. In both of those Big 12 tournaments, they took Texas to OT, but fell just short, even though Texas had destroyed them in all four of the regular season games. In the 2021 NCAA tournament, they were a #7 seed starting three freshmen and they still took a #2 seed down to the wire (and arguably should have won that game if not for officiating). Even last NCAA tournament, yes they got upset, but Creighton was obviously playing great at the time (having just beaten Iowa). I also might be remembering wrong, but the way I remember that game was that Iowa State just looked one defender short--as in Creighton was essentially playing all of Kane, Jordao, MEM, and Aubrey Joens off the court defensively. It didn't seem like a built-up fatigue issue for the team's Big 3.

Ideally, I'd like them to play fewer minutes. I'm just not sure we can point to it as the root of any perceived lack of success over the past couple of years.

THIS. All the speculation about the players being worn out is just that. Would it be nice to have the bench players step up more? Absolutely. Until that happens the horse that got us here will still be just fine. Look at some of the other top teams and minutes in tough games. The starters are putting in 30+ minutes. I took a glance at a few teams ranging from Baylor to South Carolina…we aren’t unique.

 

[BoxsterCy]

What you see is what you get on minutes, it's going to have to be a seven gal rotation for the most part. Other than the seven we saw last night we aren't likely to see much of the others, mostly just Zingaro on a given night based on matchups and pace. Maybe Vick in a real pinch. Not sure I see options of going deep into a bench that isn't Big 12 level after the top seven. We went from deep at post to undermanned at post with Soares and Jordao both gone. Diew is essentially out of the small forward role and will be a makeshift post a lot of the time. MEM is the only reserve guard , it's not like Dawkins or King are coming in.

 

[cykadelic2]

Ideally, I'd like them to play fewer minutes. I'm just not sure we can point to it as the root of any perceived lack of success over the past couple of years.

There is a recent example, last Sunday's OU game. Ryan was noticeably fatigued in the last quarter (she played 40 minutes) and that manifested in some defensive lapses on her end which enabled the OU win. Certainly not the only game in recent memory and not just related to Ryan, it has impacted Donarski and Ashley J as well.

 

[cykadelic2]

THIS. All the speculation about the players being worn out is just that. Would it be nice to have the bench players step up more? Absolutely. Until that happens the horse that got us here will still be just fine. Look at some of the other top teams and minutes in tough games. The starters are putting in 30+ minutes. I took a glance at a few teams ranging from Baylor to South Carolina…we aren’t unique.

Big difference between playing "30+" minutes vs "39+" as we have been seeing with Ryan, Donarski and Ashley J.

 

[mred]

I also might be remembering wrong, but the way I remember that game was that Iowa State just looked one defender short--as in Creighton was essentially playing all of Kane, Jordao, MEM, and Aubrey Joens off the court defensively.

This is absolutely what was happening in the Creighton game. The Creighton offensive plan was genius.

 

[Clonefan32]

@acoustimac (sorry, I can't seem to use the quote feature)

I don't necessarily disagree with what you are saying, but it's really a "chicken or the egg" type scenario for me. How do you "step up" when you aren't given a role? It's not like they can insert themselves into the game, or go rogue offensively to call your own number.

I guess to my eye we just seem destined for the same result as years past. A good team with a lack of variety, limited ceiling and players who will be exhausted by February. And at the end of the day the lack of depth comes down to the coaches' inability to develop depth, recruit depth and put girls in spots where they can be successful.

 

[cykadelic2]

What you see is what you get on minutes, it's going to have to be a seven gal rotation for the most part. Other than the seven we saw last night we aren't likely to see much of the others, mostly just Zingaro on a given night based on matchups and pace. Maybe Vick in a real pinch. Not sure I see options of going deep into a bench that isn't Big 12 level after the top seven. We went from deep at post to undermanned at post with Soares and Jordao both gone. Diew is essentially out of the small forward role and will be a makeshift post a lot of the time. MEM is the only reserve guard , it's not like Dawkins or King are coming in.

7 man rotation is fine but in doing that, you don't have to play Ryan, Donarski and Joens 39+ minutes each, especially with hard stops at the ends of the Q1 and Q3 where he can easily manage 2 to 3 minutes of rest for at least one of those 3 without having to burn TOs.

 

[mwwbbfan]

There is a recent example, last Sunday's OU game. Ryan was noticeably fatigued in the last quarter (she played 40 minutes) and that manifested in some defensive lapses on her end which enabled the OU win. Certainly not the only game in recent memory and not just related to Ryan, it has impacted Donarski and Ashley J as well.

As was stated earlier - Ryan's defense I believe was more a function of having four fouls than fatigue.

 

[acoustimac]

@acoustimac (sorry, I can't seem to use the quote feature)

I don't necessarily disagree with what you are saying, but it's really a "chicken or the egg" type scenario for me. How do you "step up" when you aren't given a role? It's not like they can insert themselves into the game, or go rogue offensively to call your own number.

I guess to my eye we just seem destined for the same result as years past. A good team with a lack of variety, limited ceiling and players who will be exhausted by February. And at the end of the day the lack of depth comes down to the coaches' inability to develop depth, recruit depth and put girls in spots where they can be successful.

You step up in practice. Players don’t miraculously change on the court as compared to what they show in practice.

 

[WartburgClone]

There also were not very many stoppages in play last night which means no chance to catch your breath.

There was one quarter where we didn't hit the media timeout until there was ~1:40 left.

 

[kcdc4isu]

You step up in practice. Players don’t miraculously change on the court as compared to what they show in practice.

Coach has stated this a number of times, you "practice hard you get playing time" this is what determines who gets minutes. then once you get in a game you must help the team and not just be someone on the floor.