Who is Amber Williams? She is a freshman point guard out of Fontana, Calif. She was hot from downtown, shooting 8-of-9 from the 3-point line, and set a school record for 3-pointers in a game.
“We were in man and we lost her,” said coach Staci Schulz. “Our players did not take the 3-point shooting serious and when she made one, we did not adjust. In the second half she was hitting them in transition and that put the nail in the coffin.”
Point guard Anna Simmons added, “I wouldn’t say it was luck, but she was wide open. If we would have put a hand in her face, she would have not made all those shots.”
Furthermore, Williams was the story of the game, but there were two other side stories. The Matadors had two fast break points, and the Roadrunners had 18 fast break points. Also, CSUB had 34 points off of turnovers. These stats show that the Matadors were unable to get their offense going.
“They play good team defense and they contained us. They were able to get into the passing lanes and they got their hands on a lot of our shots,” Violet Alama said.
Nevertheless, the Matadors had some bright individual performances. Freshman point guard Amanda Thompson had a career-high three 3-pointers. Also, junior Analee Viena-Lota hit four field goals on her way to 10 second-half points.
However, the Matadors probably could care less about individual stats right know. They have a road game coming up against UC Riverside and they will need to play team ball to win it.
Coach Schulz remains pretty optimistic.
“I think they will only play seven or eight people, so hopefully we can take advantage,” she said.
One of the seven players that should be playing is Alyssa Morris, a junior point guard from Fresno, Calif. Morris just came off of a game where she scored 20 points and six rebounds. Her strong point is getting to the free-throw line. Last game Morris shot 10 free throws from the charity stripe.
Finally, the Matadors have lost six straight games leaving them at a whopping (2-11) record for the year. On top of that the team chemistry is not the greatest.
“I think there is doubt, and our leaders will sometimes dip. The leaders always need to think positive,” Schulz said.
The Matadors have a shot to get back on track at the Student Recreation Center in Riverside. Tip is planned for 7:00 p.m.
