The Bobcat Nation

Up 18-14 in the first half.

Yay! Bobcats win 56-48 and qualify for the Big Sky tourney with some games in hand. Nice send off for the seniors.

SENIOR SENDOFF: Semanksy, Adams help Bobcats sew up Big Sky bid with Senior Night win
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=30137" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yea, I was there last year for Sr. night and it was a real downer. Great to win this time around. However, 27% shooting will not take the Cats anywhere in the BSC tournament. It will be one and done if the ladies don't seriously up that %.

Congrats to the ladies, who seem to have turned things around a little bit in their last two games. Maybe they didn't play all that great tonight, but I know many MSU fans (including myself) thought they might not win another game this season, and they had a great effort against UM on Saturday in additon to beating SUU tonight. It's at least great to see that they haven't packed it in, after what must have been a very discouraging month since their win in Missoula. I think I still feel better about the women's chances in the tourney, as compared to the men's.

Teams know that Rachel Semansky is their only dangerous scorer. Tonight coach Binford took Rachel out of the low post and had her running around facilitating the offense, kicking the ball out as soon as the double and triple team came. She had 4 points and 11 rebounds. The Cats really hit the boards and it was the reason they won.

The bad news is they shot 27% from both the floor and 3 point land. That ain't gonna make it in the tournament. Several times Rachel kicked the ball out to a wide open Emily Allen, Jackie Elliott, Latisha Adams, Rachel Carter, Lexi Dawkins and Ashley Brumwell. Each of them either passed up the shot and passed to the right , the left, or back to Semansky who was being double teamed. It was frustrating to watch. If they hadn't gotten about 17 turnovers and out rebounded SUU by about 10 they would have lost.

If not this year...they have to start right after the season to get all of the non-senior players including Callie Durham to set their feet, square up, concentrate on correct form, and get the 3 pt shot off quickly...or at least make sure they are set up correctly when they are open. They need to do it daily and accumulate at least 1000 shots a week until next year. Tonight it was weird because SUU sat in a tight zone all night and at times there was no Bobcat closer to the basket than the 3 pt line. Semansky ran through the paint once in a while and was mugged by three players as soon as she did. She did a hell of job rebounding and finding open shooters who at least 80% of the time turned the shot down. The Lady Cats have to find more than one three point shooter. Callie Durham will shoot it, but her form is questionable. She leans into the shots and sacrifices accuracy for speed. The good thing about Callie is that she realizes that her 3 pt percentage is low and she will drive the lane, take the mid range shot, and hit the boards like a bull. She is always there when the opponent gets a rebound to try and tie them up. She had a double double tonight.

Jackie Elliott (personally one of my favorite players) did not play much tonight, but when she was in she really played defense well and hit the boards...and also had a couple of assists....but did not look to shoot at all! When you have only two maybe three of your players that are the only ones that threaten the rim...teams find it a lot easier to defend you, and your confidence takes a hit...this is my opinion about what has happened to our ladies!