OU vs Belmont

[Soonercuda]

From the game notes:
http://www.soonersports.com/pdf9/5461559.pdf
Belmont is the under the direction of first-year head coach Bart Brooks. The Bruins return four starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's squad that compiled a 27-6 overall record. Belmont won the OVC Championship and earned a No. 12 seed in the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Junior guard Darby Maggard, the Co-OVC Preseason Player of the
Year, led the nation in 3-point shooting percentage last season at .487.
and averaged 14.5 points per game a year ago. The Bruins also return leading scoring Kylee Smith, who averaged 15.9 points per game and scored in doubles gures in 26 of 33 contest during the 2016-17 season. Senior center Sally McCabe also scored in double gures at 12.5 points a game and led the team with 95 blocks. McCabe was recognized with CO-OVC Preseason Player of the Year honors.

This is a legit tough game...Belmont only lost by 4 to Kentucky in the NCAA first round last year and the above shows they return most of last year's team. No first game easy mismatch for us.

 

[sybarite]

Belmont is a good shooting team. But, they also beat Kentucky on the boards. Pressure can get to them.

 

[sybarite]

Good first half. Llanusa showed who she is. Vivi and Maddie doing well. LaNesia off to a nice start. Mandy picked up late.

 

[SKSooner]

We look a lot better than the exhibition games. First 3 quarters have been quality for a first game against an NCAA Tournament team.

Hope we finish strong. I've been pleasantly surprised. The defensive effort and communication looks infinitely better than where we were a year ago against North Texas.

 

[Mac]

ViVi is having a Paris kind of night...

 

[sybarite]

Sherri said before the game that our defense was better now than it was at the end of last year. I think it took Belmont out of their game. They couldn't hit anything early.

Vivi had about as good of a night as she ever has had. She did everything right. With 24 points, 12 rebounds, and even an assist, it was a great night.

Maddie simply took what they gave her. She had 17 points, 7 rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

LaNesia was more valuable than her stats. Good defense. Ten points and a lot of defensive pressure.

Gabbi didn't shoot much. But, she was 2 0f 3 from 3. She had 10 points and five rebounds.

Mandy came out slow. Then, she began to move. Now, you look up, and she had 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting and five rebounds. I don't think she had a rebound in the first quarter.

Ana showed what she can do. She drove at the right time, and played some tough defense. Good on the boards. She had nine points and five boards, was 0 for 5 from three. She's better than that. Nobody was hitting from three tonight. Belmont lives by the three, and they only shot 24.1% (7 of 29).
I was much more impressed by Ana tonight than when she was getting 21 in exhibitions. She got key layups tonight.

Shaina can't be stopped. Can she? She seems to get to the rim so easily. She was missing her layups tonight. But, she did score 8 and had a couple of beautiful assists.

EJ was good tonight: 6 points, 5 boards, 2 of 2 from the field, two blocks, two steals.

Penzo got into the act with a beautiful assist to Mandy.

OU was a good team tonight. Belmont isn't that bad. We were 29-12 in the first quarter good.

 

[Soonercuda]

I was wrong this game was a mismatch. Our athleticism on defense took them out of their offense. ViVi dominated the game and Maddie was very solid at PG and then at small forward when Shaina was in the game. Impressive start to the season. DePaul on Monday will be a tough early road game.

 

[tycat947]

We look a lot better than the exhibition games. First 3 quarters have been quality for a first game against an NCAA Tournament team.

Hope we finish strong. I've been pleasantly surprised. The defensive effort and communication looks infinitely better than where we were a year ago against North Texas.

Totally agree. They looked much better than they looked in either exhibition. I think our defense kept them from being comfortable on their shots. Belmont will give lots of fits to teams this year but we were ready to play tonight and played pretty well. DePaul will be even better.

 

[soonermike22]

Yes, very impressive. Defense was hustle hustle hustle all game, and when you work that hard a lot of good things occur. Kept Belmont from settling in even when a really good offense got some open shots for them. Hard push after defensive rebounds with so many good ball handler got us some easier shots, and also kept Belmont on their heels somewhat.
Still too many missed layups by Gabbi, Pellington, and also LaNesia, but the drives kept the pressure on the defense.
Our offense is much better when ViVi is in the game, because of both her good play, and the threat of her inside.
Free Throws could Improve.
Effort, preparation, and teamwork all get A's, and when you compete that hard and play that well as a team, I am a fan win or lose.

 

[sybarite]

Was Belmont overrated, or are we better than we had thought we were at this point in the year? For a November game, we looked good. I don't know that last year's team ever looked any better, and they had veterans. I think I'd rather have Ana, Shaina, and Mandy.

 

[Oliver Hardy]

I thought it was a solid all-around performance. I think Simpson finally started to relax when she got some boards and made a couple of buckets. She is going to be a good one for us.

Pellington —that speed. Just needs to fine-tune finishing. I love everything Vivi does. I think she’s the best player overall on the team.

Manning. She’s already having the best year of her career. Playing with ease and confidence. She disappeared scoring for a span in the second half, but she works so hard on both ends of the court. It is great to have her.

Gabbi is a bit out of sync right now playing the 2. That’s all she’ll get rolling.

Williams is going to have a breakout night. I feel it coming. She’s been really much for solid for us than I think any of us expected.

One of the things I have liked most this season is Sherri going big almost exclusively, not playing a 4 guard offense. I think it is making a big difference.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[j2d2]

This is what good defense does for you. It also keeps the offense pumped up.
I am really impressed with Llanusa. Really impressed.
Mandy looked lost, dazed and confused the first quarter on both ends. Gradually came out of it.
I can only hope that ViVi plays this way every game. Looks quicker and seems to move easier this year.
I like EJ. The more time she is on the court the more experience she gets the better she is.

 

[MsProudSooner]

They really pick up the pace when Llanusa and Pellington come into the game.

Williams had a really good game.

 

[tycat947]

They really pick up the pace when Llanusa and Pellington come into the game.

Williams had a really good game.

They really do! With the new class just signed I think the program is moving back towards the top of women’s basketball.

 

[sybarite]

The game is being telecast today at:

4:30 The network that carries the Rowland Show (Uverse 648 in Dallas)
7:00 FSC Okla (Uverse 751 in Dallas)

 

[rocjunkie]

The more I watch this team the better I like them. The kids are having fun playing the game, something I don't think we have seen in the past couple of years. The pressure they are putting on defense is really good. I agree with Ollie on the three guard and two bigs in the game. Sherri is putting a premium on rebounding, and with Vivi, Mandy, and Maddie in, you have kids who can and are hitting the boards. The speed that Shaina and Ana bring when they are in, we haven't had in a long time. My constructive critique would be, Shaina really needs to work on her free throw shooting, she is going to get to the line a lot this year. On and off side help needs to tighten up on drives and back cuts. The youngsters will figure it out. If they can concentrate on the little things as the season progresses, this is going to be a solid team to contend with when we hit January. Really good stuff last night.

 

[SoonerinNC]

We are simply better than last year. More athletic which will help us in the big games but just as important will make it harder for an Oral Roberts to beat us.

ViVi appears to have developed her back to the back game with new moves that will help her against the bigger defenders. Footwork has improved.

Williams is very quick and seems to get to the hoop well. Wish she would pull sometimes for a short jumper instead of putting up an impossible layup. We complain a lot about missed layups but women are going to miss more than the men. they are farther from the hoop when they let it go. But we should have a little better judgment about when to go all the way for the layup.

Not worried about Ana missing the treys. She will hit a bunch before she finishes at OU. Really like her overall game. Good defender but got burned on the backdoor pretty bad.

I was beginning to wonder if the Div I game was too fast for Simpson but she made good progress in this game. Very heady player.

Maddie great overall game. Got burned on the backcut a couple of times but Belmont runs a good offense and if you put pressure on the ball as OU did last night you are going to be subject to a backcut. In the big games Maddie is going to have to be agressive the entire game.

Pellington is a cut above what I expected going into the season. Didn't realize her jumping ability. That makes the forced layups easier and she will draw a lot of fouls because she is up high on her release. Maybe as quick as DRob?
Good point guard skills.

EJ is doing things I didn't expect from her.

Finally Ortiz. We have to do a better job of getting her open. Need to screen more. Our offense doesn't screen that much. Aso need to hit her more on the penetrations and on kickouts from inside. We can not afford for our best shooter to get only three shots from outside.

We looked a little gassed late in the second quarter which is something to be concerned about with our short bench.

Best game for OU for sometime. Sparse crowd again. Happens when you play lackluster basketball over a few seasons.

 

[sybarite]

After watching the game again, I can see what Sherri was talking about. The four seniors did set a tone for the game on defense. We came out shooting 58.8% in the first quarter to Belmont's 22.2%. It seemed that Belmont was reluctant to shoot when someone was in their face. She singled out Vivi for her all-around game and Maddie for her performance in shutting down Smith.

Maddie missed three three-point shots, two of which were simply put back for layups by Vivi. Despite her 24 points, we didn't really make a point of passing it to Vivi deep, something which does result in turnovers. She got the ball a step further outside and went to the rim herself. I don't know if she can do that against better posts. But, she wasn't just waiting for the ball underneath. We did get the ball to her off of penetration, which was a certain two points every time.

Vivi, EJ, and Brandy were a combined 16 of 19 from the field, ten of thirteen from the line. Our guards, leaving out Maddie (what does she play?) were 12 of 37. That makes it seem that our guards weren't shooting well. We didn't shoot well from three. But, our guards were very effective in getting to the rim. A lot of shots just rolled off.

I was very impressed that Ana just didn't miss anything except her threes. She can hit those. But, she made some beautiful moves to get to the paint and scored every time. She is a lot quicker than I have seen her. She was much better in this game than in the exhibitions, primarily because she had learned how to use the rest of the team. She made some beautiful assists. Unlike highschool, she isn't alone.

This is the best penetration team that I can remember since we had Maria and Dionnah. We won a conference tournament because they just went off on bigger teams. We have had penetrators, like DRob, Whitney, and Maddie, but two of them got ACL tears. Right now, when we have Maddie, Shaina, and Ana on the floor, it is difficult to keep us from the rim. One play in particular exhibited the difference. We were just passing it around the top when Maddie passed it to Ana. Ana took one step to the right and drove wide open to the rim for two. It just took a little opening, and it was like there was no defense. Ana isn't accustomed to being that open. She exploded to the rim. But, Shaina and Maddie are just as explosive to the rim.

I think Gabbi and LaNesia are good ball handlers. But, they don't have the closing ability that Maddie, Shaina, and Ana do. I was surprised at LaNesia's outside shot. She has learned to shoot. But, Gabbi is better as a shooter than as a driver.

Mandy can also pass. Our co-leaders on assists were Mandy and Maddie with three. Mandy made some beautiful entry passes. Loved the Ana to Mandy to Vivi (EJ?) for two, all within a second.

There were so many good things to see. LaNesia had three steals. Belmont was #57 in the rpi at the end of last year, and they out-rebounded Kentucky. It is interesting that a high-pressure team like Kentucky didn't cause Belmont to come unglued. They shot well against Kentucky. Curiously, they shot 50% in both the second and fourth quarters, but poorly in the first and third. When rested, our defense shut them down.

I don't know if we are as good as we looked. I think we are better. I think Ana and Shaina have yet to show how good they will be. I still want to see Mandy in the Big Twelve. But, Ana and Shaina would have started last year. We have a much better top eight than we did last year.

 

[sybarite]

Belmont 90
Tulsa 65

 

[Soonerguy06]

I hope i'm not speaking ahead of myself, but I think this team, if anything, will be much more solid than last years game, which equals more wins. I don't see this team losing games they should win, like last year's loss to Oral Roberts for example. I think our defense is much steadier and we are more aggressive rebounding and penetrating. Fingers crossed, but i'd like them to go out there and really let loose on Depaul, get their confidence going before Oregon.