BEAVS vs Wolverines

Encouraged by all 3 newcomers to the Beavs tonight - granted against a lower level opponent.  Between Goodman, Corosdale and Grymek:  24 pts (9-15 FG...4-5 on 3pt, 8 RB, 6 A; only 3 TO).  Not a bad showing for 3 young women playing one of their first few college games.  Ball movement was off the charts, for the team as a whole.

I have not see ND play, so I can't surmise anything other than they are likely #5 for a reason (although if you apply that logic to Stanford's ranking at the beginning of the season, the premise of my message gets diluted).
Examining ND's roster, I see plenty of tall timber (eight players over 6', two at 6'4", average height of those 8 almost 6'3") and plenty of short (5'7" or 5'8") and likely quite quick guards. So most all of what worked against UVU won't work against ND.
They have already gotten in a road game at Western Kentucky, with a score resembling our game 1 score, and a couple cupcake games at home (IUP, Mt. St. Mary's) where they went over 100 points.

I would have liked for this upcoming game to occur later in the season, but that's life. What I have seen so far from our team (with a very small sample size) is:
Maddie looking a lot better in game 2 than game 1. Good interior passing over the top of a shorter opponent. I would like to have seen more passes that would require you to be 6'5" with Gulich and 6'8" with Joanna in to interfere with, because we will need that on Sunday. I can see where Grymek made her living in juco ball - she keeps the ball high when she catches it, and within a few feet of the basket most opponents likely didn't have the height to stop her (though I suspect ND will be athletic enough to contest the pass if not the finish). Her footwork is a work in progress, as are her nerves (a bit surprising for a junior). Her length will bother most shooters, but she will need to learn to be more straight up and down than her swatting attempts which seemed to result in fouls. As with most all of the newer folks to the team, need to go get that board with authority, and then hang on tight until the crowd clears.
Gulich looking good, but she hasn't been challenged by world-class post play these past two games, something that will change on Sunday. She will need to hit her free throws. And will be interesting to see how she does with someone her size leaning on her all game, because we drop off quickly at her position.
PIvec looking good, though she had an uncharacteristic stretch in Q3 which I hope was just lack of concentration when up by 50 where she had some turnovers, fouls and bad passes in what has to be considered "bunches" for an excellent player like her. Kalmer was typical aggressive Taylor, though she hasn't had to really create any shots for herself yet - in both these games we were able to pass the ball around the perimeter and get open looks, I think we will see a much quicker opponent Sunday capable of playing our players tight(er) on the perimeter. Goodman looked heady and calm, and she looked like she could handle the rock in traffic. Her passes, though not made under duress, indicated that we might have found our future PG. I liked her spacing coming up the floor and in the half court set, promising for a freshman. Thropay just needs a dose of confidence and some seasoning - I see the physical tools, but Maddie is ahead of her just by virtue of getting all those minutes last season while Janessa had to sit.....
I would like to have seen McWilliams drive and shoot more this game, she seemed content to let all her teammates go off, but we will need her to be an offensive threat Sunday. I liked what she was doing in game 1, was hoping for more of the same in game 2.
I can't decide if Corosdale is slow getting up and down the court, or the game just hasn't sped up for her yet. I am going to go with the latter explanation, you don't get to be the 24th ranked player in HoopGurlz if you can only manage loping down the court. While her outside skills remind me of Deven, I am not yet reminded of Hunter's nose for the ball, the willingness and physical tools to go mix it up and do the dirty work, and the aggressive rebounding. Hoping it emerges Sunday, we will need it from Taya's position.
Kat is shooting her way out of her slump, which we dearly need, but she seems to be trying too hard on D (i.e. I thought she did better in spurts last season than she has shown in longer stints this season).
We actually seem to value the ball a little more this season (it is early, and the opponents of a lesser grade, mind you), which is gratifying.

We will have to value each possession and score with efficiency against ND. We will have to rid ourselves of the bad habits playing slow, short opponents might have instilled over the past 2 games. We will have to be aggressive on D and O, and not get any of the key contributors in foul trouble. And we will have to determine who we will look to when we need a score or a lift. Will be an interesting measure of this team's ability and potential, and with a full Gill, I expect a close game.

Go Beavers!