Women not looking good either

[CalallenStang]

UTA 76 SMU 65...a little more than 3 minutes left.

[ALEX LIFESON]

UTA???

[Tipoff96]

I was at the game - tough loss for the team. They have a tough non-conference schedule so this loss hurts. Here are my observations:

- Obvious void at the post position without Dodds; the freshman kid Elliot will be a nice player but she's going to need time to develop
- Wills is still solid - she was a monster on the boards but she's going to need some offensive help from Gates and Severin; she needs to stay out of foul trouble
- The Day kid is greatly improved from last year - hardly played last year and is starting this year
- Hill is quick - by far the quickest player on the team
- Offensively the team needs to get to the rim off the dribble more instead of settling for long range shots

As a team they just need more time/games to gel. Several times there were two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman on the floor. I'm staying optomistic - they lost a lot from the best team in SMU women's basketball history. You've got to get your wins when you're supposed to so this loss stings. Long season though.

[BleedingRed+Blue]

I was there, too. My thoughts:

- The Ponies looked very much like a team that was trying to figure out how to play without several experienced players who have been key cogs for years: Janielle Dodds, of course, and Katy Cobb, Sharee Shepherd and Katie Gross.
- We shot poorly. That will happen to a lot of teams at times, especially teams that is trying to establish a new identity.
- Delisha Wills is awesome ... but didn't play much because of foul trouble.
- There will be a lot of games that will be determined by how well Jillian Samuels shoots. If she hits her 3s, we'll win several game. If she goes cold, we'll struggle.
- Brittany Gilliam struggled. Looked like she was forcing things, trying to do too much.
- Both sophomores - Haley Day and LaShandra Hill - looked vastly improved. There's talent in that class that will help the team grow.
- I agree with Tipoff96 that Christine Elliott is going to be good - very good.

All in all, a disappointing night, of course. This looks like a team that will be fun to watch, though. We're young enough that there will be nights like this, when the shots aren't falling and we'll lose to a poor team, or get thumped by a very good team. But we also have enough talent - Wills, Samuels, Gilliam, etc. - that we'll have good days and beat some better teams. We're going to take our lumps in non-conference games, but we should be better-prepared when the C-USA games roll around.

[mustangbill67]

I was there as well. The women played hard but seemed out of control at times forcing many shots. While we outrebounded UTA 46-38, we shot only 39% and 29% (5-17) of our threes with UTA hitting 51 % of its shots and 50% (7-14) of its threes. SMU appeared to be more talented team but we could not hit our shots. I also came away impressed with Day and Elliott. Both will only get better. Elliott at 6-2 is a strong wide body kind of player against other women. She will be a very good player in the years to come.

[MustangStealth]

I was there, too. My thoughts:

- The Ponies looked very much like a team that was trying to figure out how to play without several experienced players who have been key cogs for years: Janielle Dodds, of course, and Katy Cobb, Sharee Shepherd and Katie Gross.

Hit the nail on the head there. None of the juniors stepped up and took a leadership role in this game. They will need to get that figured out real quick or we will continue to have these question mark games.

[Bigtime41]

I agree with the assessment that they have got to find their way because losing JD was a huge void to fill. I also agree that someone has to step as a leader for this team. This I think will play to their competition and that can be a double edged sword. We must be much more attacking and get to the paint. I got to play more of an in & out type of game. I think D Wills, Samuels and Gilliam must show up every game. BG struggled, Samuels didn't shoot enough and D Wills was a monster. Severin must be a force on the boards. The one player I am continually impressed with is Morgan Shell. She is a player and I think she is going to play herself into a lot more minutes. Overall we will be fine.

[SMUFan]

I think Jillian Samuels has to become the emotional leader of the team - maybe Severin, but I think Samuels is the best option. How someone takes on that role, I don't know. But Wills and Gilliam seem like talented but quiet players. Samuels is a junior now, like the other two, and she has the cred (see the 3-point record last year) to make people listen, and as the point guard, she has to be the quarterback on the court, anyway. Personally, I hope she starts to act like it's her team. It's not JUST hers, of course - Wills is fantastic, and Gilliam and Severin are very good, and it looks like Haley Day and LaShandra Hill are better, too. But I'd like nothing better than to see stories about Samuels leading the team in practice and getting after her teammates in practice and on the bench. She has to do things the right way herself before they'll listen, and I have no reason to believe she won't. She has to lead by example - run until she's ready to drop in practice. Get in the weight room, even more than required. Stick around after practice for extra shooting. Be the Sharee Shepherd of the team this year, the one who screams before tipoff and cheers like a maniac when she's on the bench. This team has the firepower to be very competitive in C-USA ... we just need the spark.