big lesson from russians. 43-81
1period: 8-24
2period: 17-20
3period: 4-22
4period: 14-15
tough. tough defeat. nightmare start. 1period: 10 TO, we stress in taking shots which causes 2/7 2pts and 1/4 3pts. Because of their tempo and 7 off.reb. they get almost twice more shots. Our frustration shows on both ends. In basketball is simple, if we dont score, opponent doesnt score. That wasnt the case. They are big, but more than half of their points has nothing to do with their size. It was about rotation, and their pick/roll game. We lacked discipline of all 5 players on the floor. They could swing the ball to easy or kick it inside. We didnt hedge as we discussed.
In the second quater, we used some 2X3 zone and it worked pretty good in moments. We got also more of our offense and cut down on TO. But still russians dominated inside. We tried to double on pick/roll but wasnt not quality work.
In the third period, our offense isnt working at all. We take-10 reb., russians-14reb. We have 4 TO, russians-2 TO.
We were just too passive in attacking, not aggressive in creating 1X1, not disciplined. We didnt look confident in our actions.
By loosing so big in the third quater left us no chance to catch up.. That is why I decided not to play Lollo, Stefanie, Martina, Dani and Bibbi. Very positive how Maria and Kathleen played. Kathleen made 2/2 3pts.-good timing and looked secured. Maria's first big debut in EM.
To conclude, they are a very good team, but our performance was far away to show how good players we are. I know we can do better. Mentally it was tough from the first minutes..Their dominance started with tip-off....Their is always tomorrow. Things happen. I know we are smart enough to learn and move on. One game doesnt determine who we are.
jk
