Not Good in Springfield

[Peruna88]

Mustangs down 43-22 at the half. Started down 19-2. Janielle Dodds has played, but she didn't start.

[Peruna88]

FINAL
83-56

Janielle played 16 minutes, but there was no need to push her any harder. This game was over in the first eight minutes. Katie Cobb led the Mustangs with 13 points on 6-16 shooting. Sarah Davis added 11. Mustangs shot only 34.9% for the game against 49.1% for SMS. SMS also was 12-23 (52.2%) from three-point range.

Thanks for a great season, Mustangs. We'll look forward to seeing you at the banquet in April and on the court next year.

[Peruna88]

Forgot to wish the best to Ray Caniveri who was unable to make the trip. The game wasn't the same without you on the air.

[ALEX LIFESON]

Another blowout? Good grief!!!

[mustangbill67]

I know we are young and have some injuries, but this is embarasing. Being familiar with SMS, a regional university in the Ozarks, SMU should be at a much higher level.

[PK]

Unless I didn't hear it right, I thought the announcer said that the SMS men beat up on Rice yesterday or something like that. Just perhaps they play pretty good hoops up there. Anyway Dodds was gutsy to play with seven or eight stiches in her foot...that couldn't have been pleasant for her.

I'm looking forward to a good year next year for the ladies. Maybe we will even have more than nine players next year for Rhonda to work with.

[youngalumpony]

Wow, I think a few people are overreacting a little bit. SMS was good enough to be in the big tourney, but got upset in their conference tourney after winning the regular season title, and are very good at home. This was a very good season for the ladies with a very dissapointing ending, but this might actually be a good thing, the ladies can have the way this season ended in the back of their minds as they prepare during the offseason. Trust me, this team will be back in the big dance either next year or the year after....mark it down. I wish I was as optimistic about the men.

[Stallion]

didn't Southwest Missouri beat us in the NIT a few years ago? Apparently, their Men's Team pummeled Rice last night as well in the NIT.

[Peruna88]

Tap the brakes, people. SMS is a quality team who had a realistic chance of making the NCAA's. They lost in the first round of their conference tournament to a team they had already beaten twice this year.

According to CollegeRPI.com, here are the final rankings for SMS and SMU:

Team - RPI/Strength of Schedule
Southwest Missouri State - 53/90
SMU - 65/86

This was a tough road game in front of 6,500 fans for a team that was 11-2 at home this year. Our best player was injured. We started two true freshman, a sophomore and two juniors.

Next years team loses only Shonte Roberts and adds four new players, including one who will seriously battle for a starting spot, along with getting Juli Colli back. 19-11 is impressive for such a young team and I'm proud of their accomplishments this year.

Am I disappointed in the loss last night? Yes. But it's been a great year to be a fan of SMU Women's Basketball.

[The XtC]

[quote="mustangbill67"]I know we are young and have some injuries, but this is embarasing. Being familiar with SMS, a regional university in the Ozarks, SMU should be at a much higher level. :x[/quote]

What level is that? You may be familiar with the university, but appparently not the team. The SMS womens team has made the post-season 14 times in the last 15 years, including 3 Sweet Sixteen appearances, and 2 trips to the Final Four (1992, and 2001.) They were one of the countries best perimeter shooting teams, and we were serious underdogs before Janielle hurt her foot. They average twice as many fans as our mens team, and almost never lose at home.

I'm dissapointed in the way the season ended, but I also know there were 4 injuries that never made the paper, and that was part of our slide at the end of the season. Now, Katie Gross can get her knee scoped, Janielle can get a cast put on her hand, and Kendall Shead can let her back heal. Next year we return 9 players that started at least 1 game, Juli Colli will be healthy, and Kenzi Cole will be eligible. Add in 4 freshman who are all capable of playing right away, and instead of being short handed there will be people fighting for playing time.

This year ended poorly, but it was still a step forward from the previous season. Next year should be another.

The SMS men beat Rice Wednesday night, 105-83. The SMU men lost to SMS in the first round of the NIT, in 2000.

[EastStang]

At least we have some idea that the women's team returning next year can play at a tournament qualifying level. Hey, congratulations on a great year and you now see what you have to do to get to the next level.

[mustangbill67]

I know we are young and have some injuries, but this is embarasing. Being familiar with SMS, a regional university in the Ozarks, SMU should be at a much higher level.

What level is that? You may be familiar with the university, but appparently not the team. The SMS womens team has made the post-season 14 times in the last 15 years, including 3 Sweet Sixteen appearances, and 2 trips to the Final Four (1992, and 2001.) They were one of the countries best perimeter shooting teams, and we were serious underdogs before Janielle hurt her foot. They average twice as many fans as our mens team, and almost never lose at home. [quote]

Comparing SMU to SMS on any level except perhaps some athletics is like comparing apples and oranges. No comparison. So with all we have going for us in terms of academics, extra curricular activities, location, facilities and a beautifull campus, why do we continuously struggle against teams like SMS. Is it because they are able to get better athletes because of low academic entrance standards?

[The XtC]

Maybe its because they support their teams a great deal better than SMU does? Perhaps its because they have a very different atmosphere and attitude towards competition. All those great extra curriculars you mentioned are sometimes referred to as "Distractions."
In Springfield, SMS is the only game in town, and draws a great deal of support from the local community, both in terms of attendance, but also in corporate/commercial sponsorships. After the mens team played up there I had to listen to Dement rant for half an hour about all the things they had that we didnt (private plane for recruiting, full gym for every game, better student spirit groups, bigger budget, etc, etc.)

The SMS women have been a strong program for a long time, and succcess has bred more success. They consistently draw well, and the combination of a successful team and community support has helped them maintain their level of play. Looking down your nose at them because your ego wont allow you to accept something, isnt productive.

[OldPony]

we have played in their tourney in Men's BB at least a couple of times. SMS plays pretty good hoops. Not Nat'l powers but pretty solid basketball. They sneak up on a top 25-30 tewam every once in a while.

[Peruna88]

Comparing SMU to SMS on any level except perhaps some athletics is like comparing apples and oranges. No comparison.

Good point. They average 7,146 for their women's basketball games (13). We averaged 1,015 (16 games). Let's not even think about how many are tickets are discounted or are parents who come to watch their kid dribble or dance at halftime and then leave. I'm sure Rhonda's recruiting budget would be twice what it is if we had anywhere near those numbers in Moody. I have no idea how many contribute to their women's program, but it would be nice if our Friends of Women's Basketball group was double or triple. Kids want to play in front of big crowds, and we haven't delivered.

Mustang Club donations go a long way towards competitive athletic teams. There's a nice plan for a new practice court for basketball and volleyball. Why isn't it built? Money. Larger donations would also increase recruiting budgets for all coaches. Talk to any of our coaches and you'll find that it's amazing that they accomplish what they do with the limited budgets at their disposal. And they don't complain. They just make do.

Being in the WAC didn't help recruiting either. CUSA should be a big help in this area. Kids can play closer to home and the ESPN TV deal is another big plus.

Sorry to rant, but this really gets under my skin. Just because we're SMU and they're in the Missouri Valley Conference doesn't mean we should win. Go ask Alabama fans what they think about Wisconsin-Milwaukee today. Or maybe ask a Longhorn about that loss to mid-major Nevada.