Rantings of an Insane Platypus : Women's Basketball

Sydney Uni 74 Bulleen 88 WNBL game notes

Sunday 06 November 2005

In the middle of a then low scoring third quarter, Trish Fallon steals the ball after a lazy pass between the Bulleen guards and lopes down the floor for an easy layup, putting Sydney up by 3 over Bulleen, 49-46.

This was the turning point of the game. I have no idea why!

After this moment, the Flames went into "headless chicken" mode (as another Flames fan has put it so aptly). Bulleen's zone, which they found so easy to exploit in the first half, suddenly became an incomprehensible puzzle. The Flames resorted to the "Lin Dunn offence" (aimless passing around the perimeter) and when they did look to pass inside, they forced it and usually coughed up the ball. The once crisp passing was now sloppy (I counted three-four consecutive fumbled passes in the one possession) and potentially open shooters did not get the ball in time because by the time the ball got to them, it was too late.

It wouldn't have been so disturbing if the Flames had never figured out Bulleen's zone because at least it would have been an easy issue to identify. However in this case, Sydney had figured out Bulleen... but then they all suffered amnesia and couldn't get back their focus for the rest of the game.

I think Sydney needs to try something different on offence. How does a shooter like Belinda Snell only get nine shots? Teams have learned that face guarding her will reduce her effectiveness and since she doesn't get any picks set for her, this really reduces her shot opportunities. I would LOVE to see her put the ball on the floor more for the purpose of scoring. Why do natural penetrators like Michelle Musselwhite and Eva Afeaki not drive? Musselwhite did start to attack the basket late in the game and was rewarded for it but when you're down by 18, it's a bit too late. How did Natalie Porter suddenly become so ineffective on offence? She looks out of sync with the rest of the Flames offence - the team doesn't see her when she's in good position and the team often tries to force it in when she's not in good position.

Defensively, Sydney needs to box out better and not sag off the shooters. Katrina Hibbert nailed some tough shots (including a very fluky end of first half buzzer beater) but she also nailed some shots because the Sydney D sagged off her and if you're open, why not? (Another nitpick - can Sydney's shooters take the shot when they're open and not overpass?) Sagging off Bulleen is not a particularly smart idea. They're the best jump shooting team in the league and I'd at least try to make them work off the dribble.

Bulleen were their usual mechanical self. It's really enjoyable to watch their offence work as they move the ball with purpose and have a bunch of players who can knock down the open shot. Katrina Hibbert is an amazing WNBL player and it's great to see the Bulleen offence designed to get her good looks.

In conclusion, Sydney needs to do a significant rethink on what they're doing at the moment. The talent is there but it's not meshing for whatever reason. In case you didn't catch the implications of what I'm saying above, I'm starting to think that coaching is a real problem... (of course, the players not staying focused for the whole game doesn't help either)

Other observations

* Trish Fallon has better post footwork and more post moves than Hollie Grima. Quite disturbing to say the least. Hollie is young and still has time to develop but really, I'm amazed that she hasn't shown any inklings of developing this in the last couple of years. Get her down to Gary Fox and Dandenong.

* Narelle Lindsay did not score a single point in the second half after 17 in the first half. I think that's pretty indicative on how much the Flames went down the crapper in the second half.

* Vicki Brick's game seems to be deteriorating as time goes on. She's gone from being reasonably competent to me cringing every time she touches the ball. I hope she can regain some poise.

* I like Purcell's hustle. She looks awkward on the offensive end though.

* The refs sucked more than usual. Evidently they haven't figured out that hacking people's arms is a foul. I'd love to see Karen slag off the ref for a tech foul; it might get the team a bit more fired up.

* The scoreboard people still suck. It's not that hard to have the correct amount of fouls up.

Permalink | Comments (2)