On the Beat with Brett- Defensive Struggle

[BCPanther]

Defensive Struggle: Panthers come up just short

For 35 minutes on Thursday night, UNI looked like the team that was on top of the Missour Valley Conference through the first four games. It was the other five, however, that would doom the Panthers in the end in a physical game in McLeod Center.

A 10-0 Evansville run to open the second half, coupled with tenacious rebounding, gave the Aces a 56-54 nail biting win in a upper division conference showdown.

The first half would be a back and forth affair that showcased tough defense and gritty rebounding for the Aces and poor shooting for the Panthers. A 7-0 run midway through the half would give UNI a 23-20 halftime lead.

"I thought we were two tentative offensively and gave up way too many offensive rebounds," said 12th year Panther Head Coach Tony DiCecco.

It was after the intermission that the Aces would make their run. A 10-0 run, led by two three pointers by Aces' forward Robyn Jennings would give the Aces their biggest lead of the game at 40-29 with 14:41 left to play.

The Panthers would be brought back to life by the play of senior forward Tara King. King, hampered by foul trouble all night, would lead all scorers with 22 points, 19 of those coming in the second half.

"I'm a senior. When things aren't going right, I have to step up and make sure things go right," said King.

A three pointer by Senior Sarah Larson would bring the Panthers to within three at the nine minute mark of the second half. King's fourth foul at 8:18 would relegate her to the bench for nearly three minutes.

Two big threes by Guard Jesse Biggs and King would pull UNI into a tie with the Aces at 3:42 mark. Those buckets highlighted a 7-1 run that gave the Panthers a chance to win.

King's final two points of the night would give UNI its last lead at 54-52 with :55.3 to go in the game. The lead would be short lived for the Panthers, however.

After Aces forward Shannon Novosel made 1 of 2 free throws, a Panther turnover would give the ball back to the Aces. Jennings would provide the daggar as she knocked down a three with :11 to go.

The Panthers' final posession would produce a turnover on a errant Megan Keefe pass that would give the Aces the victory without the Panthers getting a shot off.

"You have to find a way to get it done at the end," said DiCecco. "We were going to run something simple to get an easy bucket, but it just didn't happen for us."

NOTES-

Streak Snapped- The Ace win ended the Panthers win streak at seven, tying a school record.

Defensive Effort- The Aces came into the game leading the Valley averaging over 90 points a game. "They can really score, we played great defense and really played together well," said Biggs.

The Difference- The Aces second chance attempts proved to be the difference in the game. "We contested shots well, but were just unable to keep them off the backboard," said DiCecco.

"Crowd??"- The small but vocal crowd in the McLeod Center Thursday marked a season low, as there were only 537 attendance...

[PurpleCatFan]

Nice recap of a disappointing loss at home with a disappointing crowd turn out.

Win seven in a row... come home to take on a team at the top of the league.. and you have the smallest crowd of the year...go figure!

This team has a chance to win the MVC but they must learn the value of the ball...turnovers are a killer for this team. The offense or lack of movement and aggressiveness is a concern. If this team is to play up tempo, which Coach D wants, then the players need to turn it up a notch on offense.

The defense was there limiting a team that averages nearly 90 points a game to only 54 which should be enough to win the game.

I still think this team is going to make a run at the MVC regular season and tournament title. Now lets get the "O" rolling.

[pantherclaw]

Good job on the write-up, those were what i was going to say in the game thread i had. thought the officiating was somewhat questionable on both sides of the ball, but alas such is life, go get them flying dogs that eat children.