WBB: Gophers v Duke in Durham-Game 6 (12/3)

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Ignatius L Hoops

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http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=210551569&DB_OEM_ID=4200

Minnesota travels to Duke to face double-double machine 6'-6" sophomore Azura Stevens.

• Azurá Stevens currently ranks seventh nationally in double-doubles (4), 18th in blocks (2.86), 33rd in field goal percentage (59.4), 42nd in rebounds (10.0) and 48th in points per game (18.9).
• Freshman Haley Gorecki has hit a three-pointer in each of her last three games, including 7-of-13 overall for a 53.8 percentage.
• Rookie point guard Kyra Lambert owns a 17/9 assist/turnover ratio so far on the season (1.9 per game).
• Blue Devil sophomore Azurá Stevens has seven double-doubles over her last 13 collegiate games.

In their last three games Duke defeated :

Idaho 74-68
Iowa State 86-48
Texas State 85-34
 




Gophers have looked pretty bad and the defense awful but only down 42-33 at halftime.
 


Banh am 1-9 from 3 point range. Actually being kind of a ball hog. No points on the inside. Karley Barnes has done nothing. She also still has a limp. My worry from the start they don't have the mental toughness of last year with Kelly and Amanda B. Banham throughout her career has made big numbers against marginal team. She doesn't perform well against the upper Power 5 teams. Wagner seems the only one not intimidated by Duke and Cameron Arena.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
Banh am 1-9 from 3 point range. Actually being kind of a ball hog. No points on the inside. Karley Barnes has done nothing. She also still has a limp. My worry from the start they don't have the mental toughness of last year with Kelly and Amanda B. Banham throughout her career has made big numbers against marginal team. She doesn't perform well against the upper Power 5 teams. Wagner seems the only one not intimidated by Duke and Cameron Arena.
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She's not hitting her 3's but is leading the team tonight in scoring, rebounds, and assists.
Let's see how Carlie does next year when the other team's focus is on her and not Banham. We're getting killed inside which was a big worry.
 

Banham often plays out of control because she tries to do too much. I give Stolllings another two years as coach. Her recruiting leaves a lot to be desired.
 




Gophers lose 84 -64. Duke called off the dogs in the 4th quarter. The last 30 seconds told the whole story why this team will struggle to be at .500 in conference play. 4 times the Gophers tried an inbound pass after a Duke basket with Duke pressuring the ball. Each time Duke got a hand on the ball. The 5th time Bailey committed an offensive fall trying to get open. Ridiculous. Banham took almost half the shots and she is not playing good defense because she has lost I would say a half a step in quickness. Other than Wagner, the Gophers are not a very quick team. Also Stollings was stupid to try go with a 4 guard offense with the height Duke had. Duke got numerous put backs on
offense. This is the first time I've watched them live. They live and die by the three. Going to be a long season unless some other players can help .
 

Well, that didn’t go as planned. Pre-game, Dawkins downplayed Duke’s pressure defense, Stollings talked about starting Banham at the point and about Barnes needing to make an impact inside. Instead, Duke’s pressure immediately created havoc, Mullaney quickly came in to play the point and Edwards ended up playing 24 minutes compared to Barnes’s 15.

Despite the bad start (terrible three point shooting), Minnesota was still in striking distance beginning the fourth quarter (helped by nice drives to the hoop). Then it was over (insert your own 2-3 match-up zone comment here).

Minnesota was 5-25 from three while Duke was 8-18.

Minutes played:
40 Wagner (23 points)
38 Mullaney
36 Banham (21 points)
35 Bailey
24 Edwards
15 Barnes
10 Hedstrom
1 Garven
1 Lamke
 

She should have started with a high/low post combo of Edwards and Barnes to negate the 6'6" Duke center. Malaney at point and Banham and Wagner on the wings. Bailey for her 35 minutes did nothing all night. I could diagram plays all night on how to use Wagner and Banham cutting off the block , but it is a moot issue. Because of Duke's length and pressure you can't get proper spacing with 4 guards
Malaney spent half her time dribbling.
 

Amazing we now have multiple threads on WBB...good to see.

Only a few years ago people would complain if a women's thread or comment popped up on the basketball forum. Complained it was only about men's BB.

I enjoy the updates gang.
 



http://www.dukechronicle.com/articl...or-blue-devils-in-stifling-minnesota-shooters

Defending Banham:

The Blue Devils gave Minnesota a lot of different looks on defense to make it difficult for the Golden Gophers to find openings on the perimeter. Duke head coach Jonane P. McCallie’s squad used a 3-2 zone periodically to keep defenders close to shooters on the wings, and several different defenders guarded Minnesota's top offensive weapon—guard Rachel Banham—during the game.r

Prior to the game, McCallie insisted the Blue Devils know where Banham was at all times. The redshirt senior recently became Minnesota's all-time leading scorer and was fifth in the nation at 25 points per game, coming into the contest on the strength of a torrid 20-of-43 start from downtown. Banham still finished with 21 points against Duke, but it took the Lakeville, Minn., native 23 shots to get to that mark, as she shot an uncharacteristic 1-of-10 from long distance.r

“We had some pretty good effectiveness—if someone goes 8-of-23, they’re working hard,” McCallie said. “I loved Oderah [Chidom] on her, I loved Azurá [Stevens] on her, we had Crystal [Primm] on her, we had Kyra [Lambert] on her—a lot of different people. I think everybody pretty much stepped up.”

Defending Wagner:

The Blue Devils clearly made it a point of emphasis not to allow the Golden Gophers to stay in the game and gain confidence by knocking down treys all night, which left some openings for Minnesota to penetrate. Duke’s defensive intensity on the 3-point line allowed sophomore Carlie Wagner—more of a slasher by nature—to slice through the paint and lead the Golden Gophers in scoring with 23 points on an efficient 10-of-17 shooting.

“[Wagner] was the one that, really, that was irritating,” McCallie said. “I think we should have done a better job on [Wagner] and could have held them to 50 or less points and really been dominant, but she’s a competitor and she really played very well.”
 

station19 said:
Amazing we now have multiple threads on WBB...good to see.

Only a few years ago people would complain if a women's thread or comment popped up on the basketball forum. Complained it was only about men's BB.

I enjoy the updates gang.
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The game has become more fast pace and the skill levels have increased tremendously even from the Whalen years. I love the 4 quarter concept and the 2 shot rule after 5 fouls. My interest is probably higher because I had 3 daughters that played at various levels and I also coached. In regards to the Gophers I hope Stollings learned something last night. If you want to run a fast pace offense you better rebound and play adequate defense. Last year she had Zhaui and Kelly underneath to rebound and block shots. She doesn't have that this year, so she is trying to run a 4 and sometimes 5 guard offense. The mindset must be she thinks she can outscore everyone. Well,
last night the Gophers were 5-25 from the arc. Banham was 1-10. I think she needs to rethink the offense and do more switching on defensive sets
 

Agree with Ruppert.

Play some defense. No question Gopher women a lot more fun to watch now under Stollings than under Borington, but they'll never win big (compete for a conference title) until breathing on someone on the defensive end becomes more of a priority.
 

SelectionSunday said:
Agree with Ruppert.

Play some defense. No question Gopher women a lot more fun to watch now under Stollings than under Borington, but they'll never win big (compete for a conference title) until breathing on someone on the defensive end is considered something more than optional.
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We have switched styles from Borton who stressed D to Stallingswho wants to play as she calls it " an exciting brand of BB " She does not have the talent inside to do both effectively. I think it is too early to say she can not recruit as she got a couple of MN players to transfer back which Borton never had happen.
 

GringaGopher said:
We have switched styles from Borton who stressed D to Stallingswho wants to play as she calls it " an exciting brand of BB " She does not have the talent inside to do both effectively. I think it is too early to say she can not recruit as she got a couple of MN players to transfer back which Borton never had happen.
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For clarity, I didn't say Stollings can't recruit. My point is, at least early on in her tenure, it appears defense is mostly optional.
 

SelectionSunday said:
For clarity, I didn't say Stollings can't recruit. My point is, at least early on in her tenure, it appears defense is mostly optional.
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Agree SS. She is using a 2-3 zone . The same thing Maryland uses under Brenda Frese. Here's the thing. To play that effectively you need to have extremely quick players. As I said in a previous post, the only player we've with that quickness is Wagner Banham to me, has lost about a half a step. It doesn't hurt her on offense, but on defense she is not as quick to cover
 

Saying something new about the Gopher match-up zone is unlikely; but, like others, I wonder why we don’t trap or double more. We have a havoc defense without the havoc. A joke without a punch line.

You don’t necessarily need quickness to make it work. You do need anticipation (I find it difficult to believe that Banham, Wagner and Mullaney can’t read a passing lane; but the evidence is scanty). Whatever, for the last year our traps are limited to jumping the guard dribbling into the forecourt. Even those excursions are limited to a couple times a game and Stollings calls them from the bench.

Maybe things will improve as the lineup adjusts. However, I was a bit disappointed after Fred Chmiel moved on to South Carolina that his replacement wasn’t a defensive specialist.
 

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