Women Beat Drexel 71 58

[Chescat]

Opened up a huge first half lead. Coach White substituted
in second half with everyone getting real minutes.
What I see with our returnees is that they've
obviously improved. Harris is playing more in
control and the others are showing they now
have some experience and it shows.
The addition of Jayla Everett is huge. She can
basically do it all and is a real threat. Defenses
cannot just overplay Harris. Those two are
clearly our best.

What's interesting is White using other players
at the point. Emy Hayford is fast AND quick and
is getting minutes running the team. She has a
way to go, but it looks promising. Sadrine Clesca
also plays the point and she looks poised and
not at all like a freshmen. The other frosh
look good and can play. They don't play like
freshmen IMO. Ezeja got a lot of minutes
inside. She is physical and hits the boards,
but it's obvious she hasn't played in a while.
The strength of this team is out front with
the guards and wings. We'll still give up a lot
inside, but the numbers are there. I have no
idea of what White"s rotation will be, but I
can see him easily getting 10 players (maybe
more) actual game time minutes.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Sounds good. From boxscore I was a little concerned that they had run out of gas in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Good to know it was deliberate use of bench players to get them experience.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

The use of the bench wasn't just in the second half. Pitt played 10 players in the first quarter alone. And then they played 12 players in the second quarter. The problem in the 2nd half wasn't the use of bench players or the team running out of gas, it was that for about 10 minutes from late in the 3rd quarter until mid-way through the 4th quarter they played poorly. Too many missed shots and too many turnovers.

Pitt shot 48% in the first half and was 6-10 on threes. And then shot 31% in the second half and went 1-9 on threes. The substitution pattern had little to do with that.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Oh, and by the way, Hofstra, not Drexel.

 

[Chescat]

Oh, and by the way, Hofstra, not Drexel.

Sorry about the Drexel instead of Hofstra.
As far as the bench use, yeah we used a lot of players
in the first half too. However the use of so many
in the second half gave us many different looks and
combinations. White tried at least three different
pg's....Harris, Hayford, and Clesca (frosh). He took
Harris off the ball and put her and Everett on the
wings. He had Ezeja getting minutes, and the other
freshmen getting minutes at different position.
I have no problem with White trying these different
combinations and looks, but there's also no doubt
in my mind that it was a major reason for the loss
of the huge lead. Coach was experimenting.
I agree with the "not running out of gas" and yes,
they "played poorly." IMO the poor play was due
to all those changes. No way we're the same
team when Harris comes off the point. I gotta
disagree, the "substitution pattern" IMO had a
lot to do with the fall off in the second half.
That and a young group of freshman substitutes
not used to holding such a big lead at the college
level.

Anyway, we're getting a good look at what he"s
working with this year. Gonna be interesting
to see if he settles on a rotation, or plays
10+ players in a game.

 

[DC_Area_Panther]

Somewhat analogous to Capel trying to figure out how to use some of the newcomers, especially the freshmen to build depth. It does carry with it risks to final scoring margins and also increases the chances to lose some games.

 

[Chescat]

Somewhat analogous to Capel trying to figure out how to use some of the newcomers, especially the freshmen to build depth. It does carry with it risks to final scoring margins and also increases the chances to lose some games.

Yes. These new girls can play though. The transfer Everett would be like
the guys getting another Toney. The women's frosh so far don't play
like freshman IMO.
However, I agree with your point that both coaches are experimenting with
new players and combinations.

 

[MajorMajors]

Only heard some on the radio. Sounded like we missed a bunch of close-in shots.

Jayla Everett looks like a shooter. She was 3 for 7 from 3, and 10 for 10 on foul shots. Sounded like she forced some shots on drives.

The +/- ratings had our top four as:

Harris at +21 in 32 minutes (Scored 13)
Strothers at +15 in 13 min. (Scored 8)
Cynthia at +11 in 11 min. (She didn’t score.)
AB at +10 in 29 min. (Scored 4)

Everett was at +4 in 30 minutes. She scored 23.

Coach said before the season that post scoring was something they really need to improve. I was hoping we’d see better offensive play inside - but we’re still green in there...

Go Pitt.

 

[Chescat]

Only heard some on the radio. Sounded like we missed a bunch of close-in shots.

Jayla Everett looks like a shooter. She was 3 for 7 from 3, and 10 for 10 on foul shots. Sounded like she forced some shots on drives.

The +/- ratings had our top four as:

Harris at +21 in 32 minutes (Scored 13)
Strothers at +15 in 13 min. (Scored 8)
Cynthia at +11 in 11 min. (She didn’t score.)
AB at +10 in 29 min. (Scored 4)

Everett was at +4 in 30 minutes. She scored 23.

Coach said before the season that post scoring was something they really need to improve. I was hoping we’d see better offensive play inside - but we’re still green in there...

Go Pitt.

Yes, Everett is a shooter, but she's much more than that. I
haven't seen many like her come into this program in
the several years I've been watching. She's a long and lanky
5'10 guard and plays at a much different level than any of
our players other than Harris. I really like her floor game.
Some of her passes become turnovers because the inside
players sometimes have no clue the pass is coming their
way. She's quick, and her body movements are not tight
and mechanical, but instead rather fluid.

As far as inside play, we have a long way to go. Igbokwe is
improved but will struggle against ACC bigs. Judkins
looks ok, but she's IMO more of a forward and Ezeja
is very rusty. However she is physical and will fight for
rebounds.
Keep your eye on 6'2" Hueston. She works hard and will
more than likely become a factor.
The other freshmen and transfer Strother all can play.
We need a legitimate big.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Yes, Everett is a shooter, but she's much more than that. I
haven't seen many like her come into this program in
the several years I've been watching. She's a long and lanky
5'10 guard and plays at a much different level than any of
our players other than Harris. I really like her floor game.
Some of her passes become turnovers because the inside
players sometimes have no clue the pass is coming their
way. She's quick, and her body movements are not tight
and mechanical, but instead rather fluid.

It's only two games, but Everett has to be everything the coaches were hoping that she would be. Maybe more. She will fit in just fine in the ACC.

 

[Chescat]

It's only two games, but Everett has to be everything the coaches were hoping that she would be. Maybe more. She will fit in just fine in the ACC.

Yes, she does "have to be everything the coaches were
hoping." Come ACC time and we'll see, but she's definitely
an ACC level player IMO.

I mentioned Syracuse on here a while ago. Keep your eye
on them. They have a lot of players back, the return of
their best player who sat out last year, and a top five
recruiting class with a 5 and 4 star players.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I mentioned Syracuse on here a while ago. Keep your eye
on them. They have a lot of players back, the return of
their best player who sat out last year, and a top five
recruiting class with a 5 and 4 star players.

Agree on Syracuse. That recruiting class of theirs came out of nowhere. I mean they've been good and they've recruited reasonably well, but nothing like this class.