The Nevada women's basketball team doesn't get to ease in to conference play.
After a trying nonconference schedule, the Wolf Pack starts WAC play today against Fresno State. The Bulldogs (12-4) beat No. 23 Oklahoma last month. They lost at UNLV by two points last week, 73-71, despite playing that game without their second-leading scorer, Rosie Moult, who was out with a concussion.
Moult returned Wednesday in Fresno State's 71-61 win over Seattle and drained a school-record nine 3-pointers.
Nevada has struggled to a 4-11 nonconference record, but the team's players and coaches have pinpointed WAC play as a fresh start.
"It will be a tough test for us, especially starting at Fresno, which is one of the toughest paces to play besides at La. Tech," Nevada senior Kate Kevorken said. "It definitely will be difficult for us, but it will set the tone for the rest of our season."
After playing at Fresno State at 2 p.m. today, the Pack has two more WAC road games, at Idaho and Utah State, before returning home Jan. 26.
Nevada is coming off an 85-76 win at Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday in which five players scored in double figures.
"It was what we needed to show that everyone can contribute," Kevorken said. "We just needed some confidence, and that's what the Bakersfield game gave us, especially winning our first game on the road."
The focus was on Fresno State at practice earlier this week, where the Pack worked on defending the Bulldogs' dribble-drive offense.
Nevada coach Jane Albright said defending the dribble-drive has been a focus for her since she arrived at Nevada four seasons ago. She brought in outside help last summer to teach her and her staff more about the offense.
The guard-oriented offense spreads the floor and allows for dribble-penetration to the rim for layups or lets the ball handler kick out for 3-point shots. It creates gaps in the defense, and it makes defenders prone to fouling.
"We have an understanding of what to do, but (the Bulldogs) are just really good at it," Albright said.
(Page 2 of 2)
Kayla Williams, Nevada's second-leading scorer (12.2 ppg) and leading rebounder (8.0) said the Pack needs to play with urgency from the first whistle.
"We need to come out with a lot more fire than we did in the preseason," the senior said. "We'll need to pick up our defense. ... We usually never have problems on offense against Fresno. We just have issues with their dribble-drive. We need to take it up three levels on defense to beat them."
Fresno State likes to push the tempo. Although Nevada can play at a fast pace, turnovers have been an area of concern. Nevada is minus-6.33 in the turnover category while Fresno State is plus-4.44.
"We've got to take care of the ball," Albright said. "We know that. They're going to speed us up and make us play fast."
Albright said the Wolf Pack has to get a lot better in short order. Nevada is 9-28 overall against Fresno State and has not beaten the Bulldogs since the 2006-07 season.
"We have a losing record, and we have to go play, on paper, the best team in the league," she said.
No comments:
Post a Comment