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The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Losing streak continues for women’s basketball

    Freshman forward Caitlyn Williams led the team with 11 points in the match against University of Cincinnati. The team are currently on a five game losing streak. File Photo/The Lion's Roar 

    The Lady Lions basketball team couldn’t keep up with the opponents they faced last week as they were handed with three consecutive losses.

    The team lost 82-43 against University of Cincinnati before playing in the 2017-18 Akron Classic.

    Freshman forward Caitlyn Williams with her 11 points was the only Lady Lion with double figures in the scoreboard. However, the team couldn’t overcome 22 turnovers they had against Cincinnati.

    Head Coach Ayla Guzzardo believed that the game was more competitive than what the scoreboard reflected.

    “The University of Cincinnati game was definitely a tough game,” said Guzzardo. “I don’t think the score reflects how tough the game was. We fought on offensive and defensive ends but we just came up short. We got outrebounded and that hurt. Cincinnati is a very good team and I think our team played well the whole game.”

    The team have played in two matches of 2017-18 Akron Classic so far. The first match was against the University of Akron where the Lady Lions faced a 66-54 loss. The team were handed their fifth consecutive loss by Kent State University in the second game they played in the tournament.

    Guzzardo was pleased with the team’s performance despite the losses.

    “The game against Akron was probably one of our best games during the Ohio swing that we had,” said Guzzardo. “They are a very skilled basketball team, very well coached. But it was a tough shooting night for both of the teams. We missed a lot of open shots, but so did they. They beat us on offensive board and that probably hurt us down the long run. Defensively, I think we picked up the intensity. So it helped us and it will help us continuously get better as conference comes around.”

    Guzzardo discussed the team’s improvement during the Akron Classic.

    “We had our freshmen step up,” said Guzzardo. “Morgan Carrier definitely has improved greatly. Tyler Morrison has improved her game drastically. She has become more of a leader for us, and it’s very important for us down the road. And then Ashailee Brailey had some big shots in our Kent State game. She shot well for three points and that’s going to continuously help us get better as a team. We had inside and outside presence. So her hits and big shots are key.”

    Guzzardo explained how the schedule of games has tested the team physically.

    “Our girls were a little tired,” said Guzzardo. “We had five game in eight days. So it was very taxing on their bodies. Plus the travelling on the road, playing LSU, playing Cincinnati and then Akron and Kent State. It’s a tough thing. It’s a tough thing to do. So I’m very happy with how we played overall, and we definitely learnt a lot from the trip and we’re gonna get back and have a full week of practice until we get ready for the Bethune-Cookman team.”

    However, Underwood thinks that the players cannot let the fatigue halt their progress.

    “No, we can’t make that an excuse,” said Underwood. “I mean as long as you play hard, there shouldn’t be anybody that can beat you.”

    Underwood described how she is feeling playing in the tournament.

    “I think it was a great experience,” said Underwood. “We got to go through two games in a short amount of time to put us through something more difficult, to just prepare us for the game that really matter.”

    The team will be facing Bethune-Cookman and resume their road trip after Thanksgiving. Guzzardo explained what it would take to come back from the five game losing streak.

    “Practice is all we have to do,” said Guzzardo. “We have a whole week of practice this week. So we’re gonna get better everyday. There are a few corrections we have to make as a coaching staff. We had a change in our starting lineup a little bit. We just gotta put the right pieces together. Jyar Francis coming in on December will be a huge addition to the team. So we definitely got to work this week.”

     

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