Over the weekend our TEAM traveled to Lake Region State College to compete against Jamestown College JV, and Iowa Western. WE played well enough to come home with one win and one loss on our way to a 3-1 start to the 2013-2014 season. So far this TEAM has shown moments of outstanding offensive fluidity to go along with tremendous stretches of TEAM defense to create fast paced scoring. Although coaches and players are saying it's early in the season WE have too many glimpses of poor execution, miscommunication, and lack of physical rebounding.
The final score against Jamestown JV was 74-52. WE had a 20 point lead at halftime while shooting 80% from the field, and forcing 18 turnovers in the first twenty minutes of play. During the second half we did not sustain are defensive prowess, began taking contested shots, and proved we have much work to do regarding our consistency of TEAM philosophy. I'm sure several spectators would assume WE are being too critical as our guys did play hard, but it is HARD WORK to become a great TEAM.
Going into our second game with Iowa Western I believed we clearly needed a reality check, because our guys started to have a false confidence toward our individual and collective ability to play basketball with a couple of wins under our belt. Iowa Western is currently ranked #8 in the nation at the NJCAA DI level. The final score was 99-88 as we came up short. At halftime the score was 43-39 in favor of Iowa Western, and with 10 minutes to play it was a two point game. Free throws (or lack there of), rebounding effort, and poor passing down the stretch was the difference. Most importantly our TEAM was disappointed in the outcome because WE did not give Iowa Western our best shot. It was a learning lesson versus a strong opponent as well as an eye opener demonstrating the "potential" this TEAM may have if we begin taking ownership over our preparation, execution, and readiness to play BEFORE the ball goes in the air.
Julian Vasquez played extremely well delivering 30 points and 5 assists in only 26 minutes due to foul trouble. Vasquez has struggled to find a balance between aggressive offense and distributing the basketball to teammates early in the season. Freshman PG Xavier Cruz was also instrumental in keeping us competitive coming home with 17 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. He has been very effective coming off the bench for Billy Engel, and continues to change the game immediately upon checking in.
Our next game is tomorrow, November 11th against Dawson Community College with tip-off at 8p. WE will attempt to get back on track. Get to "The Woodshed" and support your Ladyjacks at 6p followed by or Men's TEAM at 8p.
Get Jacked UP,
Cory Fehringer
