03-17-2014, 07:53 PM
We are playing the South Dakota Coyotes, who are in the tournament for their very first time.
In contrast, the story is very sad for their cross-state rivals the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, who we beat in Mexico last Fall.
The Jackrabbits beat our future opponent two times quite handily in the regular season. In fact, the Jackrabbits were 13-1 in conference and 22-9 overall, including an impressive win over Penn State. Our future opponent the Coyotes, in contrast, were a mediocre 7-7 in league and 19/13 overall, with no impressive wins. But they got hot in their league tournament and won it. So although they were a mediocre 4th place team in their own league, they get the automatic bid and the Jackrabbits are out.Â
South Dakota won its tournament by beating Western Illinois 96-94, then it beat its cross state nemesis 72-58 in their third game of the year, and finally it beat Denver 82-71. You might say that it is the U. SC of the Summit league for knocking off the favorite in the second tournament round after losing to them twice earlier in the season.
So who are these Coyotes? Here are their starters:
Polly Harrington, a 5'11" senior forward. You can see Ros interview her here:
http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basket...ta-coyotes
Polly is one of their leading scorers at 12 ppg, but averages only 21 minutes. She leads the team in fouls and has fouled out 5 times this season. If she stays out of foul trouble she may be their most dangerous player. She shoots 55% of her field goals.
Tia Hemiller, a 5'6" sophomore guard. She leads the team in assists, but Seecamp is close. I would guess that Hemiller is their point guard. She hits 42% of her threes, but has attempted just 78 of them. It seems that she is more selective about shooting the three but more effective when she does. She should not be left wide open.
Lisa Loeffleur, a 6'1" junior forward. She has started every single game, makes 45% of her field goals and is one of their better free throw shooters at 78%. The fact that she plays nearly all the time, despite the fact that her scoring is modest, suggests that she is valued for her defense.
Nicole Seecamp, a 5'10" junior guard. Seecamp is their leading scorer at 15 points per game. She is an Aussie. She shoots 88% of her free throws. While I have not seen a game, her free throw shooting and her stats point to a mid range shooter. She hits 36% and has takes a lot of shots. As for three point shots, she hits 31% on 91 attempts, the second most attempts on her team.
Raeshel Contreras, a 5'7" junior guard. Contreras seems to be their designated three point shooter, while she is hitting a fairly ho-hum 34% and has taken twice as many as anyone else.
Thoughts?
This looks to me like a team ripe for the lob to Chiney. Last fall we destroyed smaller teams just by lobbing the ball over their heads, letting Chiney go up for it. To take Chiney away you need more than just to double or triple her. You need to double or triple her with players of similar height and leaping ability. South Dakota cant do that. This game should play out like C.al Poly, or Fresno State, or New Mexico. We beat those three teams by 30 points each, with Chiney scoring 36, 20, and 32. (Fresno held Chiney to 20 only because Tara sat her for much of the second half.)Â
In contrast, the story is very sad for their cross-state rivals the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, who we beat in Mexico last Fall.
The Jackrabbits beat our future opponent two times quite handily in the regular season. In fact, the Jackrabbits were 13-1 in conference and 22-9 overall, including an impressive win over Penn State. Our future opponent the Coyotes, in contrast, were a mediocre 7-7 in league and 19/13 overall, with no impressive wins. But they got hot in their league tournament and won it. So although they were a mediocre 4th place team in their own league, they get the automatic bid and the Jackrabbits are out.Â
South Dakota won its tournament by beating Western Illinois 96-94, then it beat its cross state nemesis 72-58 in their third game of the year, and finally it beat Denver 82-71. You might say that it is the U. SC of the Summit league for knocking off the favorite in the second tournament round after losing to them twice earlier in the season.
So who are these Coyotes? Here are their starters:
Polly Harrington, a 5'11" senior forward. You can see Ros interview her here:
http://espn.go.com/womens-college-basket...ta-coyotes
Polly is one of their leading scorers at 12 ppg, but averages only 21 minutes. She leads the team in fouls and has fouled out 5 times this season. If she stays out of foul trouble she may be their most dangerous player. She shoots 55% of her field goals.
Tia Hemiller, a 5'6" sophomore guard. She leads the team in assists, but Seecamp is close. I would guess that Hemiller is their point guard. She hits 42% of her threes, but has attempted just 78 of them. It seems that she is more selective about shooting the three but more effective when she does. She should not be left wide open.
Lisa Loeffleur, a 6'1" junior forward. She has started every single game, makes 45% of her field goals and is one of their better free throw shooters at 78%. The fact that she plays nearly all the time, despite the fact that her scoring is modest, suggests that she is valued for her defense.
Nicole Seecamp, a 5'10" junior guard. Seecamp is their leading scorer at 15 points per game. She is an Aussie. She shoots 88% of her free throws. While I have not seen a game, her free throw shooting and her stats point to a mid range shooter. She hits 36% and has takes a lot of shots. As for three point shots, she hits 31% on 91 attempts, the second most attempts on her team.
Raeshel Contreras, a 5'7" junior guard. Contreras seems to be their designated three point shooter, while she is hitting a fairly ho-hum 34% and has taken twice as many as anyone else.
Thoughts?
This looks to me like a team ripe for the lob to Chiney. Last fall we destroyed smaller teams just by lobbing the ball over their heads, letting Chiney go up for it. To take Chiney away you need more than just to double or triple her. You need to double or triple her with players of similar height and leaping ability. South Dakota cant do that. This game should play out like C.al Poly, or Fresno State, or New Mexico. We beat those three teams by 30 points each, with Chiney scoring 36, 20, and 32. (Fresno held Chiney to 20 only because Tara sat her for much of the second half.)Â
