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Tiger women hurt by turnovers in loss
1/17/2008
By CONOR NICHOLL
Hays Daily News
Sophomore guard Naomi Bancroft believes the Fort Hays State University women's basketball is capable of playing with any team. However, the Tigers, plagued by mistakes and errors, haven't accomplished that in recent games.
"We have the talent and the skill, we just have to put it all together," she said. "We just have to take care of the ball."
Turnovers were again the major problem in Wednesday's night 70-53 to No. 8 Washburn University at Gross Memorial Coliseum. Fort Hays lost its second straight game by double figures and dropped to 7-7 overall and 1-4 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Washburn, a perennial juggernaut, improved to 12-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference. Fort Hays turned the ball over 22 times, five more than Washburn.
The Lady Blues converted the Tigers' miscues into 22 points, including 15 in the first half. Washburn beat Fort Hays for the ninth straight time and the 11th time in 12 games. The Tigers haven't beaten Washburn at home since 1990.
"I think in part, it was us for them starting their offense with the turnovers," Tiger coach Annette Wiles said. "We started a lot of layup opportunities for them just by our poor passing. Our passing is probably as poor as I have seen us pass.
"There were just times that I just felt like we were turning the ball over at an enormous rate and obviously at critical times, especially after halftime," she added.
Fort Hays moved to 4-6 when it has turned the ball over more than 15 times and 3-1 when it doesn't. The Tigers also are 1-4 when they turn the ball over more than their opponent.
"I think a big part of it is that we start trying to think too much instead of just start playing," Wiles said. "I think there gets to a be a point in time where we just have to play.
"It seems like at times we are hesitating and ball faking and in turn, we are actually letting the defense get position to guard us. The catching and shooting when we are open is simple fundamentals and I think so is making entry passes into the post and getting it in right away," Wiles added.
In the four MIAA losses this season, Fort Hays has turned the ball at least 22 times in every game. The Tigers and Emporia State University are the only two MIAA teams that average more than 20 turnovers a contest this season.
"It is mostly us," Bancroft said. "We have to take care of the ball. We are just turning it over and giving it too them most of the time.
"Every once in awhile we do have a turnover when we are going to make a play. There are a lot of turnovers where we are playing keep away and we throw it right to them. We have got to cut back on that," she added.
Fort Hays had problems against Washburn's defense, a unit that ranked 11th in Div. II in scoring defense and fourth in field goal percentage defense. The Tigers took an early 11-7 lead and played well in the first few minutes.
"I thought our practice yesterday was one of the best practices we have had all season long," Wiles said. "I felt like our intensity was there and our enthusiasm was there and I think that our intensity was there at the beginning of the ball game."
However, Washburn went on an 18-5 run that put the game out of reach.
Corkey Stiger, one of the conference's top players, had several easy layups off Fort Hays' turnovers. She finished with a game-high 20 points, one of three Lady Blues in double figures. Stiger also tallied four steals, one behind Jessica Mainz for the game lead.
"Washburn has a lot of talented guards," Bancroft said.
In the second half, Fort Hays cut the deficit to 53-43 after Bancroft (team-high 15 points) hit a 3-pointer with just under nine minutes left. Two Wasburn layups and several Fort Hays turnovers bumped the lead back up to 14 with six and a half minutes remaining.
"That is just a dagger in our heart when we are trying to make a comeback," Wiles said of the miscues.
Fort Hays will travel to Missouri Western State University on Saturday in St. Joseph, Mo. In their last two road games, the Tigers have turned the ball over 54 times and have lost both contests by double figures.
"We can't let the errors happen," Bancroft said.
Sports reporter Conor Nicholl can be reached at (785) 628-1081 Ext. 127, or at
cnicholl@dailynews.net.
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | W 17-5 |
| BB | 5/04 | Pittsburg State | L 4-3 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 15-7 |
| BB | 5/03 | Pittsburg State | L 5-4 |
| SB | 5/02 | Central Missouri | L 3-1 |
| SB | 5/02 | Missouri Western | W 3-2 |
| SB | 5/01 | Pittsburg State | W 6-0 |
| SB | 5/01 | Emporia State | L 11-0 |
| BB | 4/30 | Kansas Wesleyan | W 14-1 |
| BB | 4/30 | Kansas Wesleyan | W 12-2 |
