Bears, Tigers provide tough exhibitions for women’s hoops

GCSU women’s basketball head coach John Carrick implemented a new team policy last season for road games.

That procedure involved taking up his players’ cell phones before basketball games.

Why?

“I do it because I don’t want the players to have something upset them and that carry over to the game,” Carrick said.

Specifically, Carrick, who is beginning his 27th year as head coach, wants his team to focus on the game ahead.

“The players have begged me to do away with the rule, so I decided to give the team a chance against Mercer and Auburn in our exhibition games (to prove themselves),” he said

The Bobcats dropped both games, losing to Mercer 80-63 on Nov. 5 and again 73-50 at the hands of defending SEC champions Auburn this past Sunday at Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.

The new policy remains in place.

The lack of attention on defense in both losses was most upsetting to Carrick.

“Against Mercer our defensive transition was the problem,” he said. “We weren’t able to get back and stop the ball. We had a lot of trouble doubling and rotating defensively on ball screens.

The Bobcats never led at any point during the game.

GCSU hit on just 26 of 87 shots in the game, finishing at a dismal 22.7 percent from the field.

“I always say that shooting makes up for a multitude of sins,” Carrick said. “When you shoot the ball well it hides a lot of the bad things you did in the game. If not, then those sins come out.”

The Bobcats had three players in double figures, paced by junior guard Mandi Dudish with 20 points. Sophomore forward Tammeshia Law posted a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds, 10 of which came on the offensive end. Chimere Jordan, a newcomer from nearby Gray, also put up 10.

“Dudish has always been a great shooter, but over the last year she has really taken great pride in getting better defensively,” Carrick said.

Senior point guard Shandrea Moore also distributed the ball effectively, finding her teammates for a team-high seven assists.

“I’m all about the team,” Moore said. “I know I have good shooters around me, so I’m just trying to get the ball to them as much as possible.”

Against Auburn, the Bobcats kept the Tigers at arm’s length for much of the first half, trailing by just seven after almost 10 minutes of play. But the offensive woes returned, as GCSU didn’t record a field goal for the final 10:28 of the first period. GCSU trailed 40-18 at intermission.

In the second half, GCSU responded with a 14-2 run to attempt to get back in the ball game, but the Tigers roared back with an 11-0 spurt midway through the second half to permanently put the Bobcats away. GCSU ended the game shooting just 25.8 percent overall.

“We played with a lot more energy and our defensive transition was better,” Carrick said. “We just couldn’t put the ball in the hole.”

GCSU was led by sophomore guard Dominique Huffin with 16 points, all in the second stanza. Jordan also contributed 10.

“The effort was better than at Mercer,” Huffin said. “We just have to keep practicing and making it a total team effort.”

Carrick agreed.

“It’s good to see Dominique get going,” he said. “We need her and the team to get better defensively too.”

GCSU will host Lenoir-Rhyne on Monday at 7 p.m. to tip off the regular season.

“The things we struggled with (are) something we as a coaching staff and a team can get better at,” Carrick said. “Lenoir-Rhyne didn’t lose anyone from last year’s team. I know they will be one of the best teams we play all year.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 13 2009. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry