|
|
|
It hasn't been a dream start to the conference schedule for first-year head coach Lucas McDonald, but tonight's contest against Colby could be the medicine for the Lady Conqs' woes in 2012.
Dodge City is coming off back-to-back losses to begin the second half of their season, dropping game number one to a sound Hutchinson team that is ranked number three in the country, and then following that up with a seven-point loss to Barton at home, which the girls controlled for most of the game.
Now as they gear up for a road trip to take on the Lady Trojans, McDonald says his team will be focused on executing and not making those mental mistakes that cost them the game Saturday night.
"The last couple days what we've worked on is finishing and execution, I thought this past game where we played Barton County, we had great effort on both ends of the floor, but during crucial times in the second half we weren't able to execute and finish offensively," he said. "We weren't able to knock down a few shots during that period where we went cold and, also on defense, not having a few mental lapses, which Barton was able to capitalize on and build up their double-digit lead."
This week's practice has been more about focusing on the miniscule details that often get overlooked during the game, hoping these reminders serve well during their game tonight.
"We've talked a lot about details and little things, things that could make a huge difference in the overall outcome of the game," McDonald said. "Going on the road in this conference is not easy, so we are going to have to take care of those details and little things when we head to Colby to play tonight."
The Trojans currently sit at the bottom of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference standings at 0-2 in league play and 4-12 overall. They have also begun their 2012 schedule with two consecutive losses to Cloud County and Seward County, both by more than 20 points.
One thing that will be a challenge for McDonald's team will be the potential size that Colby can utilize on the floor, starting two girls that are both 6-foot-4, which could challenge the Conqs on the interior.
"They have good size that they use a lot of high-low stuff with and they have a lot of different things offensively and defensively, so we have been preparing for those," he said. "It comes down to execution for us, trying to get high percentage shots and getting stops on the defensive end."
Leading the way for the ladies will be Je'nae Strong, who was named the KJCCC Player of the Week for her perfomances during the Conqs' two losses last week. She averaged 24.5 points per game, while shooting 45 percent from the floor and grabbing 4.5 rebounds per contest.
One addition to Dodge's lineup that comes at a much needed time is the return of sophomore Amanda Casey, who is coming back from a back injury that sidelined her for the first half of the season.
She has returned to give the Conqs valuable minutes and experience as they begin conference play.
"It was really good to see Amanda out there getting into the flow, which she's been getting closer to that in practice every day and I think she's feeling better now than she has in a while, which is good for us," McDonald said. "It's good to have her out there, it gives us another weapon on the perimeter as well as being able to sneak in there and get some rebounds, she's pretty crafty at rebounding. She's going to get more comfortable the more she plays and positive things are going to happen for us."
Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight in Colby and they will return home on Jan. 14 to take on Pratt.
It hasn't been a dream start to the conference schedule for first-year head coach Lucas McDonald, but tonight's contest against Colby could be the medicine for the Lady Conqs' woes in 2012.
Dodge City is coming off back-to-back losses to begin the second half of their season, dropping game number one to a sound Hutchinson team that is ranked number three in the country, and then following that up with a seven-point loss to Barton at home, which the girls controlled for most of the game.
Now as they gear up for a road trip to take on the Lady Trojans, McDonald says his team will be focused on executing and not making those mental mistakes that cost them the game Saturday night.
"The last couple days what we've worked on is finishing and execution, I thought this past game where we played Barton County, we had great effort on both ends of the floor, but during crucial times in the second half we weren't able to execute and finish offensively," he said. "We weren't able to knock down a few shots during that period where we went cold and, also on defense, not having a few mental lapses, which Barton was able to capitalize on and build up their double-digit lead."
This week's practice has been more about focusing on the miniscule details that often get overlooked during the game, hoping these reminders serve well during their game tonight.
"We've talked a lot about details and little things, things that could make a huge difference in the overall outcome of the game," McDonald said. "Going on the road in this conference is not easy, so we are going to have to take care of those details and little things when we head to Colby to play tonight."
The Trojans currently sit at the bottom of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference standings at 0-2 in league play and 4-12 overall. They have also begun their 2012 schedule with two consecutive losses to Cloud County and Seward County, both by more than 20 points.
One thing that will be a challenge for McDonald's team will be the potential size that Colby can utilize on the floor, starting two girls that are both 6-foot-4, which could challenge the Conqs on the interior.
"They have good size that they use a lot of high-low stuff with and they have a lot of different things offensively and defensively, so we have been preparing for those," he said. "It comes down to execution for us, trying to get high percentage shots and getting stops on the defensive end."
Leading the way for the ladies will be Je'nae Strong, who was named the KJCCC Player of the Week for her perfomances during the Conqs' two losses last week. She averaged 24.5 points per game, while shooting 45 percent from the floor and grabbing 4.5 rebounds per contest.
One addition to Dodge's lineup that comes at a much needed time is the return of sophomore Amanda Casey, who is coming back from a back injury that sidelined her for the first half of the season.
She has returned to give the Conqs valuable minutes and experience as they begin conference play.
"It was really good to see Amanda out there getting into the flow, which she's been getting closer to that in practice every day and I think she's feeling better now than she has in a while, which is good for us," McDonald said. "It's good to have her out there, it gives us another weapon on the perimeter as well as being able to sneak in there and get some rebounds, she's pretty crafty at rebounding. She's going to get more comfortable the more she plays and positive things are going to happen for us."
Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m. tonight in Colby and they will return home on Jan. 14 to take on Pratt.
