Women’s Basketball | Photo by Qusai Takuri | The Wright State Guardian
Wright State University (WSU) Women’s Basketball had its best weekend of conference play so far this season versus the Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Jaguars and the University of Illinois-Chicago (UIC) Flames.
The Raiders fell to the first-place Jaguars 73-60. But WSU gave IUPUI a scare, tying the game at 46 halfway through the third quarter and shooting better in the paint and nearly even from three.
WSU used that momentum to shut down UIC’s offense two days later, forcing 30 turnovers throughout the game that would eventually go the Raiders’ way, 69-63.
“I mean, to shoot better than them from the floor and almost even from three, that’s excellent,” Kari Hoffman, head coach for WSU, said after the game against IUPUI. “Offensively, I’m proud of our players and how they played.”
Testing IUPUI
The Jaguars have not only been a dominant force in the Horizon League (HL) this season, currently ranked first in the conference, but have challenged ranked opponents as well. The team took Michigan, currently ranked #4 in the nation, into overtime, and beat #25 Iowa at the buzzer with a last-second basket.
The Raiders came into the contest with a plan to deal with three-time HL Player of the Year Macee Williams, putting WSU’s 6 ‘3’’ Jada Wright on Williams, denying her the shots that she wanted.
“The plan was to not over help and make her make back-to-the-basket moves,” Hoffman said. “She still does what she does, but it seemed to work, especially in the long stretches.”
The Jaguars would struggle to break through WSU’s defense in stretches of the game, allowing the Raiders to stay in the contest by making a 12-3 run in the second quarter and a 16-4 run straight out of halftime.
“We got them on their heels,” Jada Roberson, a junior guard for WSU, said. “That was the plan, start from the defense and the offense will come. Execute on defense and whatever happens on offense happens.”
By keeping Williams from taking easy shots and with Wright, Roberson, Destyne Jackson, Channing Chappel and other WSU players driving to the basket, the Raiders ended up outsourcing IUPUI in the paint by 18 points.
“To outscore them in the paint by that much, 18 points more than them in the paint, I would never have guessed that against Macee Williams,” Hoffman said.
Taking care of the ball
In the rebound win against UIC two days later, it was WSU’s defense and turnovers that haunted the Flames’ offense all game.
UIC gave up the ball 18 times in the first half alone and 30 times throughout the game, stopping their offense before it could even start.
Jada Wright played a big part in this game as well, bringing down 15 rebounds with four steals and four blocks to secure the game for the Raiders on the defensive end.
On the offensive end, the Raiders balanced scoring incredibly well this game, with six players scoring seven or more points, and all of WSU’s players putting in at least a basket.
“I feel like we’ve been playing together more than we ever do,” Roberson said. “lately, we’ve been having a problem of sharing the ball or getting in the groove of our play, but we executed for sure.”
