Good game tonight. They needed this win. Headline should read 58 rebounds!

It just amazes me when they play the way they did tonight, they look unstoppable. I remember listening to the announcers at the WKU game saying "this is the team that beat South Alabama?". Not the team that showed up against WKU or MTSU, but the team that beat USA is the one that came and played tonight.

I will do a recap in the morning. I want to digest some of the numbers.

Getting a 9 seed would give us a decent shot at a 1st round win.

CMJ - I agree. A middle-of-the-pack seeding holds more promise than the bottom.

The team (and I have been preaching "TEAM", for a while) that showed up last night can beat (or hang) with anyone. It helped that shots were falling (53% for the game), they made free-throws (75% for the game), they shared the ball (17 assists for the game) and they rebounded (58 for the game). The fouls were pretty even, so the refs had little to do with the outcome of the game.

That rebounding number is very big (no pun intended), considering how badly they were out-rebounded against UALR. I'm sure it was the topic of focus at practice the past few days - because the entire team exceeded their season averages.

They still turned the ball over a little too much (21 for the game, ULL had 11), but since other parts of the machine were running on full tilt - they were able to cover up the mistakes and score a wopping 90 points. The 2 point loss to ULL, earlier in the season - can be filed under my "3-C's" category, but last night they came out and proved that they are a much better team then the bottom of the SBC.

It will be important to bring the intensity & team-work effort to ULM. I'm sure it is very frustrating for SS, not knowing which "team" is going to show up.

What is promising for the future... 48 of the 90 points were scored by Fresh/Soph's. 12 of the 17 assists came from the Fresh/Soph's. 30 of the 58 rebounds came from the Fresh/Soph's. 4 of the 7 steals were by Fresh/Soph's. 11 of the 21 Turnover's were by the Fresh/Soph's. Also the underclassmen shot 65% from the field and 71% from the FT line. As long as they continue to grow - as mentioned in a previous thread - this is a nice core of players to build around. I would say by SS 4th season - they will be the next MT or UALR - because at that point, the Soph's will be Seniors... and the team will have 3 yrs together as a unit playing under SS system. I also see next year as being much improved - but will be dependent on how many late-signee posts she brings in (that can rebound and make free throws).

SS has 6 scholarships available (according to this year's roster). 2 have gone to the HS recruits - McCoy & Evans... the other 4 - IMO, I would like to see 1 more PG recruit (or combo-guard) and 3 post players. The team is very heavy (and talented) at the 2/3... a little more depth at 1 & 4/5, I think was a lesson learned this year. It's also very hard to carry so many scholarship athletes because of P/T... but the injuries/illness this year are also things that are unforeseen.

A win at ULM will also match last year's W/L stat. I don't see this team getting any worse and even though some of the point spreads did not indicate how talented this team is - it does show that these young players are just as good (and will be better) than the Seniors from last year.