The Cal State Northridge women’s basketball team’s weaknesses are starting to show. They were exposed once again, but this time it was to Northern Colorado Friday evening, in the Matadome. The Matadors were bounced out early at the Warner Center Marriott Classic, losing 79-42.
CSUN’s last two games have not been pretty. They were dismantled by the University of San Diego, 90-54, on Nov. 24. Now they have a 1-4 record with the loss to the Bears. So, why are the Matadors having problems?
A few reasons could be that the team is young and they are starting to face the injury bug. One of those problems is bad enough, but having two could be a sign of another sub-.500 season for the Matadors.
The Matadors have only one senior, Katrina Thompson. She is the leader on the court, but she needs players to follow her. It is nothing like having a team full of seasoned veterans. They have been together for a while, and they know what head coach Staci Schulz wants.
Young players tend to miss assignments or not follow the head coach’s system. The Matadors displayed this Friday night.
“We were not playing the ball screens right, so we went into a 2-3 zone. However, our freshmen did not listen. Two of the freshmen stayed in man,” Schulz said.
The Bears made the Matadors pay for their mistakes. They knocked down 15-of-22 from 3-point range. Northern Colorado’s Kaisha Brown, the sharp shooter out of Iowa, was perfect from downtown hitting 6-of-6.
Not only were the Matadors messing up on assignments and getting lit up from beyond the arc, but they were also missing key players like Bianca Davies and Jasmine Erving.
The Matadors missed their quickness and size. Davies may not be the best player, but she still is one of the most versatile players. She has defensive of skills to guard a forward or a center.
Erving, the best post player on the team, was badly missed.
“She is our go-to girl, and a strong player on our team. It was hard not seeing her on the block. She is a key person on our team,” Matador Anna Simmons said.
The Matadors had no inside presence, so they could get nothing going on offense. They had to take a lot shots from outside the paint, and that resulted in 29 percent shooting from the field against the Bears.
The Matadors should look to fix these cracks to stave off a less-than-stellar season. They will have a chance to rebound against Eastern Washington Friday night.
