Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Changing up roster isn’t solving Islanders’ women’s problems

Marketplace \| Services \| Contact Us \| Community \| Arts & Entertainment \| Local Guides

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Tuesday, January 2, 2001

Changing up roster isn’t solving Islanders’ women’s problems
Playing catch-up in games hurting team, lineup change not helping
By Matt Young
Caller-Times
LARAMIE, Wyo. - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball coach Sheryl Estes knows her team's problem, she just hasn't solved it yet.
   The Islanders have made a habit out of digging themselves a big hole by starting slowly and having to play catch up for most of the game.
   In the Islanders' 64-49 loss to Denver on Sunday, they fell behind 45-22 at halftime. Sitting in that big of a hole, the Islanders' second-half comeback was rendered mute.
   Even when A&M-Corpus Christi beat Air Force by 26 points Thursday, the Islanders had to make a comeback after falling behind early in the game.
   Estes says she's tried everything to attempt to reverse the trend, but so far, nothing's worked. The most obvious tactic Estes has employed is changing the starting lineup. Since that hasn't worked, Estes says she's not sure what else she can do to get her team ready when it plays at Wyoming at 3 p.m. today.
   "I'm not sure there's anything else that I can change really," Estes said. "They have to play with more intensity. They have to come out ready to play. I think we've tried everything to try to get them to do it, but they haven't responded."
   The Islanders' first-half struggles appear to be a result of a domino effect. When they start off slow by missing a few shots, those misses continue to build and nothing seems to fall for the Islanders.
   "It seems to be a trend with this team; whenever we miss our first few shots, we just don't play with intensity on offense or defense after that," Estes said. "We get down on ourselves too easily. We've got to be mentally stronger than that."
   Against Wyoming, Estes says should be able to tell how her team will play after the first few minutes of the game.
   "We've got to find some scoring to start the game," Estes said. "If we don't come out with some intensity and score at the start of the game, we'll be in trouble."



Staff writer Matt Young can be reached at 886-3702 or by e-mail at youngm@caller.com

| Talk about this story | Next Story | Home |

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

[ Printer-friendly version ]
[ Subscribe to newspaper ]

SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND

[an error occurred while processing this directive]