Newsfeed
Printer-Friendly ModeBuzzer beater drops SVSU
January 11, 2010 —
After the Cardinals hit a last second buzzer-beater to beat Lake Superior State a week earlier, head coach Shannon Baugh can now sympathize with LSSU head coach Jamie Pewinski.
Trailing 60-58, Ferris State made a last second three-pointer to defeat the Cardinals 61-60.
“It’s really tough to be on the losing end this time,” Baugh said. “Now I know how Jamie [LSSU head coach] felt after we won that game. It’s not a good feeling.”
The game was a back-and forth battle throughout, with each team at some point in the game having a double-digit lead.
From the opening tip-off, SVSU never led until 1:50 remained in the half. Ferris State led by as many as 11 points, although the Cardinals battled back.
The Lady Cardinals forced turnovers on four consecutive defensive trips midway through the first-half, creating open shots and lay-ups, which SVSU turned into a 10-0 streak. Sophomore guard Marah Kyle capped the run with a lay-up, bringing the Cardinals to within one point of the Bulldogs.
The team’s traded baskets before the Cardinals went into the half with a 29-27 advantage.
SVSU opened the second half much of the same way Ferris State opened the first half: with a lot of intensity that eventually led to a 13-point advantage. In the end, it turned out to be not enough.
“We just have such a young team,” Baugh said. “We need to do a better job of sticking to the game plan. We had a lot of open looks, we just couldn’t get them to fall.”
In close games, free throws can win or lose the game. This game was no different, as the Bulldogs converted on 89 percent compared to the Cardinals’[ 65 percent.
“When you look at the big picture, we have to hit our free throws,” Baugh said. “The easiest way to be competitive is to score points while the clock is stopped. We didn’t do that enough against Ferris State.”
With exactly ten minutes remaining, the Cardinals led 50-37. From there, the Bulldogs began chipping away at the lead. Ferris State ended the game on a 24-10 run, something Baugh believes is due to a lack of experience.
“We are playing a lot of young girls that haven’t been in pressure situations like this before,” Baugh said. “As a team, sometimes we try to do things that we shouldn’t. The girls want to win so badly, sometimes they try and do too much.”
Even with a tough loss, Baugh believes the team is improving.
“We dominated them on the boards,” Baugh said. “That has been something that we have been working on all year. We challenged the girls to go up and get as many loose balls as possible. We have been doing a good job of that for the most part this year.”
For the game, SVSU held a 46-32 advantage.
The loss drops the Cardinals record to 4-8 overall, 2-5 in the GLIAC. With three games against opponents who are all .500 or below this week, SVSU has a chance to get back into the GLIAC hunt.
“This is a huge week for us,” Baugh said. “I know the girls have been looking at the records to see where we stand. If we take care of business, we’ll be right back in the middle of things.”