[Husker] NU women's basketball

Thu Nov 18 14:56:28 CST 2010

Judging from last night, Yori's reserves are Periago (6'4", Sr, C),
Mauer (6'3", Fr, C), Leick (6'1", So, F), and McCann-Smith (5'9", Fr,
G).  Moore played 39 minutes.

Of course, injuries can hurt any team.  An injury to Moore really
would change the dynamics of the team (as one might judge from the
number of minutes she plays).  Losing Kelley or Hooper would remove
a player who can really be a factor in a game.  Losing Redmon would
be more of a problem against a team with height in the middle ---
there would be a real drop-off to Periago and Mauer is a freshman.

Still, one might argue that last year's team would have suffered more
from the loss of Griffin than this year's team would suffer from the
loss of any one player.  (To argue that, look at the record of two
years ago and then last year.)

So, yes, an injury to key players would affect the success of this
team, but as they are now, I think that the preseason Big 12 Coach's
poll, which picked NU 7th is way off the mark.  I think some of that
is wishful thinking that last year was a fluke.  Those coaches have
Kelley honorable mention, but didn't give Moore the same credit.
Moore is going to be a big contributor this year.

I don't think #5 is too high.

First, the schedule works in favor of NU.  Arguably, the four best
teams are in the South --- Baylor, TAMU, OU, and Texas.  NU gets to
play some of the weaker teams --- CU, Missouri, and KSU --- twice.
OU, Baylor, and TTU are in Lincoln.

Suppose that NU sweeps CU and Missouri; splits with ISU, KU, and
KSU; and beats TTU.  That is 8 wins --- enough to finish .500 ---
and there are other winnable games.  Pick up a couple of other wins
and NU is 10-6.

Winning against OU or even Baylor is possible in Lincoln.
Beating KSU in Manhattan, KU in Lawrence, and/or OSU in Stillwater
are not unlikely.
Winning in Austin or Ames will be tough and winning in College
Station probably will be tougher still.

Still, a 10-6 record doesn't require too much going NU's way and
a 10-6 record probably would be at least #5.

It's tough to see either TTU or OSU, which play in the South, finishing
with a better record than NU and if one of Baylor, TAMU, OU, or Texas,
which also play in the South, struggles even a little, they could finish
lower than NU.  In the North, NU should finish ahead of CU, Missouri,
and KSU.  So, that might leave NU competing with ISU, KU, and the 4th
place South team (e.g., Texas) fighting it out for the 4-7 positions.
If ISU or NU plays really well, with the advantage of playing in the
North, finishing #3 isn't impossible.

> I not buying it yet Not much depth at the 3,4,5 spots so one better hope 
> that injuries pop up. I think the number 5 seed in the Big 12 might be a bit 
> high. you have Baylor,OU, OSU,aTm, ISU and maybe KSU with more experience.
> 
> > Some folks may not see much news about the women's basketball
> > team, so here is a recap of last night.
> >
> > The NU women's basketball team beat a good Miami team at home
> > last night 99-85 and is now 2-0 on the season.  Miami was the WNIT
> > runner-up last year, finishing 22-14, and returned the core of its
> > team.
> >
> > NU is ranked #21 in the ESPN/USA Today poll and is just out of
> > the AP top 25.  Most people figured that was mostly a carryover
> > from last year's success and that the voters hadn't considered
> > how much NU had lost off that team (3 of its top 4 scores, including
> > its #1 and #2 scorers, and 3 of its top 5 rebounders, including its
> > #1 and #2 rebounders).  That said, this team looks really good.
> >
> > Kelly is still a great all-around player
> > Moore is still a great point guard and has stepped up her scoring
> > Redmon has stepped up, especially scoring
> > Burke has come back from an injury to be a solid second guard
> > Hooper, just a freshman, looks great and although she can't make
> >  up for the loss of Griffin and Montgomery, is filling the gap
> >
> > Look at the line from last night against a quality team:
> > STARTERS  MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
> > J Hooper  32  6-13  4-7   6-6     0  6   0   1   1   4  4  22
> > C Redmon  34  7-8   0-0   0-0     5  13  1   0   1   4  3  14
> > D Kelley  31  7-10  0-0   11-13   1  9   5   1   0   5  4  25
> > K Burke   26  3-3   2-2   0-0     0  2   3   1   0   2  2  8
> > L Moore   39  8-11  2-4   4-6     0  2   9   2   0   7  1  22
> > The turnovers were bad, but when you score 99 points and shoot
> > 35-55 from the field, you can afford a few errors.  Every starter
> > was in double figures except Burke who was 3-3 including 2-2 on 3s.
> > Among the starters, the worst shooting was by the freshman Hooper,
> > who was 6-13 and 4-7 on 3s to score 22.  Otherwise, the other
> > starters shot 70% or better.
> >
> > Massey's computer rankings have NU at #4.  That is almost certainly
> > too high and based on last year's performance, but it's hard to argue
> > otherwise after last night's performance.  It looks like NU may have
> > almost reloaded from last year, which would be really something.
> >
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