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I think this one boils down to the matchup between Ashley Luke and Vicki McIntyre (6'7") who leads Summit in Rebounding APG (15+). Last time out against IUPUI McIntyre snagged 22 boards while tossing in 21 points. Will either or both player(s) manage to stay out of foul trouble? I suspect that Ashley is quicker and more mobile but she may need to play a little further away from bucket than she is accustomed to. If she has that 10-12 foot shot in her arsenal it will come in real handy in this one to draw the big gal out a bit from basket and set her up for the drive to the hoop. Look for Ashley to also get a ton of passes into paint (high post?) with quick dishes to the perimeter. If we nail those long distance shots like we did in Denver, we win.
Staying on the subject of dogs, mascots, and such, did you know this?
The Golden Eagles mascot is named "Eli" and there is more to it than just a name. The "E" appropriately stands for education, the "L" for life skills, and the "I" for integrity.
OK, Leatherneck Nation, we cannot be outdone. I am now taking suggestions for "R".
The Leathernecks have a big hurdle to win in Tulsa. ORU is 7-1 at home and they have no road victories(1 neutral court). They defeated USD handily at Tulsa. On paper, it should be a manageable win for WIU. This is a weekend USD and WIU can get separation from the field or blur the season race. The "R" for the Leathernecks in this game is rebounds that you do not let McIntyre pull down.
We got a couple of fouls of their big gal. Surprising they are leaving her in. Ashley taking it her every time. Ashley is also the only one scoring. That is not a good sign.
WIU up 33-27 at the half. Luke winning the battle of the bigs. She has 18 points and could probably have 25 if she could make the 10-15 footer. They are letting her have it all day long.
Western goes down 76-73. I had a bad feeling in my gut for most of the second half. Never really got into a good flow on offense. It was a good show by Ashley but no one was shooting with much confidence. We need to work on mid-range shooting.
After scratching my head a few times last night, my guess is there was a whole bunch of "cat and mouse" going in this game. They were giving Ashley wide open looks all day long probably hoping she would do exactly what she did. That makes it difficult for the other 4 on the court to get any open looks and find any sort of rhythm. I might be mistaken, but it seemed we did a lot more dribbling in this game than we did at Denver. I was hoping for more inside/out passing to set up the good open looks. I see the same thing on the men's side. If we are dribbling alot around the perimeter, I know it is going to be a difficult night. Not 100% sure, but I think we are 0-3 when Ashley scores 30+.
