Scott will travel to Hebron to take on Conner. Who wins and will free throw shooting become and issue again for the Lady Cougars?

If Scott has resolved their issue with taking care of the ball, it should be a good game. If not, Conner could win by a pretty decent margin.

After 3 qtr this game looked to be going to the Cougars. Not sure if the pace or pressure wore down Conner but the game definitely came back to Scott in the 4th. Overtime was dominated by the Eagles as they jumped out to a 5+ point lead and never looked back. Shots that Conner was making earlier in the game seem to fall short or end up in Eagle hands on the rebound. Great effort by both teams and a great game to watch. Congrats to the Eagles on the win.

Definitely didn't have anything to do with pace or pressure, just a GREAT 2nd half game plan by Klette and the Scott coaching staff! Switched out of a 1-2-2 zone in the first half to a 2-1-2 or hybrid 2-3 zone in the second half that completely baffled the Conner sideline. Conner took the bait and tried to consistently shoot over the top of the zone...chucking up bad 3 after bad 3 (especially late in the game). The baseline was wide open for cuts/easy buckets and they rarely exploited it.

 

#30 from Scott (Clephane?) had a monster second half & OT...quite often putting her head down and driving hard to the basket. Conner players just got out of the way frankly. Scott fans, you should be very proud of that team and that coaching staff for the adjustments made at half time and the discipline the team showed in following the game plan!

 

Perhaps one day, the Conner coaching staff will figure out that you don't need to live and die by the 3. It's becoming readily apparent when they face really good coaching staffs, that their undisciplined style of offense/defense causes them major problems, even with all the talent they have...and they are extremely talented!

 

At the end of the day, it was a GREAT win for Scott...congrats!!

You seem to be quick to judge Conner whenever they lose. Fortunately that has only happened 3 times this year. Last I looked Conner has won 12 games with this particular style of play and we're starting to get statewide recognition. You are right that Conner is young and with that at times comes some inconsistent play occasionally. . Last night was one of those off nights. Scott played a good game and I'm sure the Conner girls will learn from this and come back ready to play their next game.

You seem to be quick to judge Conner whenever they lose. Fortunately that has only happened 3 times this year. Last I looked Conner has won 12 games with this particular style of play and were starting to get statewide recognition. You are right that Conner is young and with that at times comes some inconsistent play occasionally. . Last night was one of those off nights. Scott played a good game and I'm sure the Conner girls will learn from this and come back ready to play their next game. Go Cougars!

You seem to be quick to judge Conner whenever they lose. Fortunately that has only happened 3 times this year. Last I looked Conner has won 12 games with this particular style of play and we're starting to get statewide recognition. You are right that Conner is young and with that at times comes some inconsistent play occasionally. . Last night was one of those off nights. Scott played a good game and I'm sure the Conner girls will learn from this and come back ready to play their next game.

 

Agree big zig, anyone that knew anything about Conner knew they would have some down nights because of youth. It happens and I'm sure those young girls learn every time they take the floor.

 

Regarding the 3 ball, it's really no surprise when you play Conner, you are going to see the 3 ball flying. Yes, sometimes it gets you a win and sometimes you can shoot your way out of a win. But at the end of the day, that's been their style for awhile now.

 

I do think with this group, they could look to identify when young kids are having an off night and maybe go to a different style, but that's not our call. They have kids that can get to the basket. But again, it's all about gaining experience. One thing that I think this team is missing is Taylor Gambrel. That's not a knock on this team, it's just that experience of controlling and finishing games that I think is one of their challenges until they gain that experience.

 

Also, we are getting to the meat of the season. Several of these kids that are being relied on the perform every night are young and not fully developed yet. I said at the beginning was one thing to watch with this group would be how the season wears on them. Was their body and mind ready to perform up to the rigors of a varsity schedule? Banging with kids that are usually bigger with you and the mental exhaustion of "now being the go to player", can have an affect on the younger kids. It's nothing they can't overcome, but in the middle of a long season can become tiresome. When championship play begins, kids can turn on a new motor. But the middle of the season can be monotonous.

Not sure where the quick to judge comes in when they lose, but I'll bite. It was one game for sure, but it's certainly a trend for Stamm's teams that they shoot the 3 ball too much over the years. We're not just looking at one partial view of a season here. Note RCC's point that it's no surprise that you're going to see the 3 ball flying when you play Conner...even when there are times that it's exactly what the defense wants you to do (as in last night). You both are right that they have a younger team with some different responsibilities for players, which belays my point that the staff has to step in, providing guidance, recognition, and discipline. If you were at the game RCC, this wasn't a game lost completely due to youth...even with Taylor, they would've struggled bc teams rarely see a 2-1-2 zone. Honestly, she would've made a bigger difference defensively keeping Scott from penetrating so much in the 2nd half. Remember too that while they're young age-wise, 2 of those starting sophomores are juniors in experience now and the other 3 starters played a significant amount of minutes last year (albeit in different roles to your point RCC).

 

Here's what I'll be watching for from Conner here on out...for the most part, they'll be in their district/regional games with most of the teams really knowing each other. How does Conner handle their offense when teams game plan to take Hurst off her ability to spot up and shoot the 3? Highlands was extremely effective at it earlier in the season, as was Mason County. She can put it on the floor, but she's definitely not as consistent there. Will they run more sets for Duncan/Jordan or look to run more of a dribble-drive derivative?

 

Relax BigZig...sometimes players have bad games, and sometimes coaches have bad games. Last night, they didn't get it done as a staff IMHO. Doesn't mean their season is over and it doesn't mean that they won't get it figured out. They had a great game plan defensively against GRC during their tourney and I gave kudos for their staff.

 

Anyway, thanks for the discussion guys...love to talk hoops!!

this was an excellent game. It appears the 9th and 10th regions are coming into form. I was impressed with the way Scott pressed the pace and continued to change defenses. Conner settled for long shots and the impatience was the difference. Conner seemed to tire from the middle of the 4th quarter and OT. The 9th region tourney should be a doozy when you add Highlands and Holmes and Ryle into the mix. Girls basketball is fun to watch in this part of the state.

Agreed kyhoopfever! It will be interesting to see what those 9th region teams look like once we get to regionals! There's just a ton of talent in this part of the state (even though quite a bit of it is younger)...it's gonna be fun!!