We made the trek out to Ft Worth from Plano for the game. A few thoughts:
Not my first trip to the arena, but Dickies is a very nice midsized arena.
I know we weren't supposed to like The Star, but even with the upper levels curtained off, Dickies feels cavernous with no people in it. Takes away the energy in a bit, even more than an empty Super Pit.
This Mean Green Women's BB team attempts to play a fast-paced offense that we haven't seen in years of watching Mens BBall with Hodge and Mac before that.
The Mean Green Women's fast-paced offense sometimes feels totally out of control. I am not a BBall savant, but their ball-handling skills cannot keep up with the pace of the offense they are attempting to play.
The Rice defense appeared to shut down our offense at times, especially when we made sloppy passes through traffic in the middle that lacked power.
It was clear who could sink 3s from the Rice team. I think it was #11 and #3 (I might have the second number wrong; I think she was a blondish white girl). We frequently left them open at the top of the arc, and they frequently scored from those positions.
When the pace seems to get out of control, Burton needs to call a Timeout. There were a few times when we were perfectly fine letting the whole game get fast and sideways, but a simple timeout would have brought the pace to zero and given us time to reset. Burton gives Littrell vibes in this regard. You don't get extra points for saving your timeouts or having so many at the end that you just call them one after another in the final seconds.
I feel for the women's team and understand the gravity of a 3-way tie winning the regular season and looking like you're going to go out in the first game in the Conf Tourney. Still, you GOTTA pull it together in the clutch final seconds of a winnable basketball game. Burton needs to find a way to bring the mental fortitude of the team up for next season.
Great job, Women's team. I say that sincerely, and I also acknowledge and apologize for how easy it is for all of us to be Monday Morning Quarterbacks. I'm excited for the years ahead!
Regroup, improve, mature, and recruit great in the offseason, and we will only see greater successes next season.