2008 Woodie Awards
Time to rebound
Emily Kram
Issue date: 2/1/06 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
After being soundly beaten by Wayne State College on Saturday, Jan. 28, the Southwest Minnesota State University women's basketball team has a lot of work to do if it plans to pull off a win on Hawaiian Night. This year's Hawaiian Night game will be held on Feb. 4 at 6:00 p.m., and will feature a rematch between SMSU and WSC. But unlike their earlier match-up the Mustangs expect to have a significant home court advantage this time.
"I think [Hawaiian Night] will be beneficial to the team," said Kelly Crimi, a senior guard for the Mustangs.
She said the crowd should help energize the team and give the Mustangs a bit of an edge.
Mike Power, head coach of the Mustangs, wasn't sure what kind of response to expect from the team on Hawaiian Night. Power said because the team is relatively young, they could either get a boost from the energy of the crowd, or they could become nervous. He said he would just have to wait and see how it turned out.
One thing is certain, however, the Mustangs will not win on Hawaiian Night if they play as they did in their last game against WSC.
In the game, on Jan. 28, SMSU never held the lead and trailed by double digits for all but the first two and a half minutes of the game. In those opening two and a half minutes, WSC was on fire from behind the arc and went on a 15-2 run. The Mustangs managed to pull within ten points of WSC at the 16:13 minute mark, but never got any closer.
At halftime SMSU was down by 18 points, and the second half started off poorly for the Mustangs, with WSC hitting a three-pointer on their first shot. WSC continued to dominate in the second half coasted to an easy 76-52 victory over SMSU.
Sara Leidall led SMSU in scoring with 15 points, and her eight rebounds were also the team high for the game. The only other Mustangs to score in double figures was Kasey Loeslie, who had 10 points.
"We didn't play well at all," Crimi said. "We let the pressure get to us and we played outside ourselves."
WSC capitalized on SMSU's shortcomings, scoring 28 points off of turnovers while SMSU only made 7 point in that category. Coach Power said turnovers and difficulty rebounding were definitely the big problems in the game.
"If we do those things [on Hawaiian Night] I think we can win the game," Power said.
Before coming home to play WSC, however, the Mustangs are traveling to Brookings, S.D. to take on NCAA Division I opponent South Dakota State University at 6 p.m tonight.
"We know they're going to come out and pressure us just like Wayne State did," Crimi said.
Crimi said SMSU will do well if they play like a more mature team and refuse to be intimidated.
The Mustangs will need to retain that same attitude on Hawaiian Night, as WSC is still undefeated in the NSIC and only has two losses overall.
Crimi, for one, is taking her own advice and remains undaunted.
"I definitely think they're beatable," she said.
"I think [Hawaiian Night] will be beneficial to the team," said Kelly Crimi, a senior guard for the Mustangs.
She said the crowd should help energize the team and give the Mustangs a bit of an edge.
Mike Power, head coach of the Mustangs, wasn't sure what kind of response to expect from the team on Hawaiian Night. Power said because the team is relatively young, they could either get a boost from the energy of the crowd, or they could become nervous. He said he would just have to wait and see how it turned out.
One thing is certain, however, the Mustangs will not win on Hawaiian Night if they play as they did in their last game against WSC.
In the game, on Jan. 28, SMSU never held the lead and trailed by double digits for all but the first two and a half minutes of the game. In those opening two and a half minutes, WSC was on fire from behind the arc and went on a 15-2 run. The Mustangs managed to pull within ten points of WSC at the 16:13 minute mark, but never got any closer.
At halftime SMSU was down by 18 points, and the second half started off poorly for the Mustangs, with WSC hitting a three-pointer on their first shot. WSC continued to dominate in the second half coasted to an easy 76-52 victory over SMSU.
Sara Leidall led SMSU in scoring with 15 points, and her eight rebounds were also the team high for the game. The only other Mustangs to score in double figures was Kasey Loeslie, who had 10 points.
"We didn't play well at all," Crimi said. "We let the pressure get to us and we played outside ourselves."
WSC capitalized on SMSU's shortcomings, scoring 28 points off of turnovers while SMSU only made 7 point in that category. Coach Power said turnovers and difficulty rebounding were definitely the big problems in the game.
"If we do those things [on Hawaiian Night] I think we can win the game," Power said.
Before coming home to play WSC, however, the Mustangs are traveling to Brookings, S.D. to take on NCAA Division I opponent South Dakota State University at 6 p.m tonight.
"We know they're going to come out and pressure us just like Wayne State did," Crimi said.
Crimi said SMSU will do well if they play like a more mature team and refuse to be intimidated.
The Mustangs will need to retain that same attitude on Hawaiian Night, as WSC is still undefeated in the NSIC and only has two losses overall.
Crimi, for one, is taking her own advice and remains undaunted.
"I definitely think they're beatable," she said.