By Steve Bruce
It was a mark in the win column again as the Jacks ended their two-game losing streak. I’ve put together some ups and downs from this evening’s game. Let’s start with UPS.
1. The ball started going back into the hoop again! The Jacks took a lot of drives to the hoop and converted. This was nice to see.
2. 23 assists. Of the 10 players who saw action, 9 of the players found the assist column. No selfishness with the basketball.
3. Regan Nesheim! Up until tonight, she had played 2 minutes and due to foul trouble(imagine that) on the team, she played 11 and likely earned some future time. Played good defense & did not turn the ball over. She also hit her first 3 pointer in her only shot of the evening.
Moving on to the DOWNS
1. This kind of contradicts the #2 Up above, the passing was atrocious this evening while going around the perimeter, and your basic getting the ball inbounds plays.
2. Dumb fouls! In the first quarter, Drake was at the line with just under 6 minutes left. The reaching and handsy fouls need to go away as teams will stay in the game just with FT conversions.
3. Depth…outside of Nesheim and Tylee Irwin (who came off the bench tonight so she qualifies) the bench was non-existent and not very effective offensively. It’s a glaring weakness that needs to be improved. 3 games in 5 days are ahead beginning Saturday. Two big, important, tough, road games (Missouri State 12-20 & Montana State 12-21) loom. The Rabbits have not played well on the road to this point, this will be a critical point that they begin to do so before the break and conference season begins. A final game in 2020 at home (12-23) will provide a chance to get a sour taste from their mouths with a home game vs UNI who beat them last week.