BYU Scouting Report: Big, Tall, Strong, Physical

[ZAGS ATTACK BASKET]

Kayleigh Troung scored 10 points had a couple of 3s and was clutch. Katie had three 3 pointers and scored 11 points. It was a low scoring BYU type game but we broke the BYU curse tonight. So hope we look stronger in the Kennel.

Hey its a win and we will take it. CLF has to be soooooo Happy got this Monkey off her back, and perhaps CLF now has a better idea how to play this team in the Kennel. Giving MVP honors of the game to Kayleigh Troung way to play with no fear girl total confidence (ATTTTA Girl).

Melody ended up with 7 point and 6 rebounds. And how about Katie (Mighty Mouse) Campbell not only did she have 11 points but she also had 6 rebounds. The bench was huge in the 1st half Louise had a 3, Kaylynne had a 3 and looked good handling the ball, and her sister Kayleigh had a 3 also in the first half looked good bringing the ball up the court.

Special shout out to the bench for carrying us in the 2nd quarter and 1st half.

Hopefully better games ahead in the WCC because in the first 2 games we definitely did not play our best. Lets hope we find our stride San Diego next up last check they were leading Portland by 20 points. Feel lucky we are 2-0 right now.

[ZAGS ATTACK BASKET]

San Diego beat Portland 74-55 tonight. So we better be ready for San Diego on Saturday. Game starts at 2:00 PM Saturday Zag Fans. San Diego just spanked the team that lead us in the kennel for all of 3 minutes of our opening game in the WCC.

Get a good night sleep Lady Zags and enjoy the warm temperature of San Diego tomorrow heard it was 70 degrees today.

[CG3Dad]

Congrats on the win. I called it!


"Zags by 12"

We're tied with Pacific 51-51 going into the 4th.

Definitely NOT an 0 for 16 tonight for my girl Chels. Trying to get a nice win in conference.


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[ZAGS ATTACK BASKET]

Thanks CG3Dad glad to hear your girl is having a bounce back night as long as it is not against us (LOL).

[ZagDad84]

Congrats on the win. I called it!


"Zags by 12"

You called it but you only get credit for it if you called the "bank", I mean the 3-pt heave by Ugwu at the buzzer.

ZagDad

[CG3Dad]

You called it but you only get credit for it if you called the "bank", I mean the 3-pt heave by Ugwu at the buzzer.

ZagDad

LOL


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[Zag Swagger]

Loved the tenacity tonight, I think the difference was guard play, particularly on defense. There were a few times the zoobies (Utah term for those from BYU) were left open, but we did a better job of making them think about it or pass the ball than last year. Favorite moment was Katie hitting the 3 and getting the +1. Nice team effort, well done!

[ZAGS ATTACK BASKET]

On offense it looked like 4 of our starters had a off night against BYU. Hopefully they will bounce back Saturday in SanDiego.

Tip my hat to BYU coverage it was great once again for watching the game, top notch.

[SkipZag]

A good win...

When your top scorer has 11 points and 9 different players score, that’s a team win.

Disagree with ZAB... their is a whole lot more to the game than scoring... like holding your opponent to 43 points with a last second throw up 3...and a lot of that was due to the starting 5. Like we have said, you take what they give and we did... 8 3s by 5 different players.

Time to head to the beach... will be a different game.

Go Zags!!

[ZAGS ATTACK BASKET]

Check out Jenn Wirths last twitter entry its awesome. Proud of you Jenn Wirth thanks for spreading the truth and the word that really counts. God Bless.

[sylean]

that's why I don't get too worried about numbers in the short term......I remember watching Elle play and I thought "she must have a zillion points"...but no, she didn't but what she did do was make a big presence on the floor thru rebounding, stealing, harassing the opponents, and passing efficiently.....

this is a team......if one scores less, someone else will score more....

[sylean]

could you post her twitter entry?

[ZagDad84]

that's why I don't get too worried about numbers in the short term......I remember watching Elle play and I thought "she must have a zillion points"...but no, she didn't but what she did do was make a big presence on the floor thru rebounding, stealing, harassing the opponents, and passing efficiently.....

this is a team......if one scores less, someone else will score more....

Let me offer a different point of view.

While it does not matter who scores the points, it does matter how "efficient" the player is playing/shooting. For example, the Wirth twins played a total of 55 minutes (27 mpg & 28 mpg), scored a total of 9 points while shooting 4-21 or 19%. Other numbers include a total of 6 rebounds with 2 of those rebounds on the offensive side of the ball, 2 blocks, 2 assists, 4 turnovers and 0 steals. To be fair, Moody, Salmon and Hamson certainly did not have games to write home about, but Ugwu had a very good game against our front court. MK, playing against the same BYU frontcourt as the Wirths was much more efficient of both sides of the ball (7 pts, 50% shooting, 3 off rpg + 3 Def rpb) in her 22 minutes.

While I understand that numbers don't tell the complete story, you are going to lose more games than you win if your two (2) starting frontcourt players take 38.2% of the team's total shots yet only contribute 16.4% of the points. While the Wirths were shooting at a rate of 19%, the entire rest of the team was shooting at a rate of 52.9%. This game would have been a 20+ point victory had the Wirths shot at a more typical 40% or if more of the overall total shots were taken by somebody other than the Wirths last night.

In comparison between the front courts (for GU JW,LW, MK & AV & for BYU, Moody, Hamson, Ugwu & Salmon), GU's frontcourt took 50.9% of the total number of shots taken while BYU's frontcourt took 40.4% of their total number of shots. The lady zag frontcourt made 25.0% of the team's made shots (BYU 47.1%) resulting in 16 points (BYU 20 pts) or 29.1% (BYU 46.5%) of the total number of the team's points.

Offensively speaking (points, shooting%,etc.) the BYU frontcourt was much more efficient than the lady zag frontcourt. If the GU frontcourt is going to continue to take 50% of the shots, CLF needs to get them easier shots, they need to shoot a better percentage, get to the free throw line more often or let the backcourt take a greater percentage of the shots. I did not record the game, so I can't go back and see why the Wirths had such an off game on the offensive side of the ball but we will need a better plan or better execution of the game plan for the rematch in the Kennel.

ZagDad

[SkipZag]

Okay ZD... I’m not sure what you are trying to point to or why.

First off while this was not the Wirths best shooting day, I was impressed with the way they set up the guards... and pulled the posts away from the basket to open the lanes. Can you say game plan. Points in the paint GU 20 BYU 12... that’s right 12.

As I have said, you take what they give and as in the past, they wanted our guard to be the shooters... and for the Wirths much of their shots were away from the basket because of pulling their posts out and dealing with 9’ standing in front of them.

The Wirths have been a big part of our team leading them in scoring a number of times...and definitely the defense.... so I’m not sure why the comments.

Go Zags!!

[upan8th]

Despite best efforts from the rest of this group, the Zags will not win, to the extent we're all expecting, without increasingly impactful contributions from the Wirth twins Their frustrations at multiple missed bunnies & 10 foot jumpers vs Portland seemed obvious to this observer. I'm chalking it up to a one-off. Grateful for the enhanced role they've been given, and assumed, in the team's progress from last year to this. By the end of the season, seems reasonable to expect double-digit scoring averages from each of them will lead to a sweep in conference & tournament play, and a four seed in Spokane for the dance. But, anything less, I fear, and some folks posting here will lay the blame squarely upon the rather dainty (for 6'3" athletes), size-ten sneakers of the With twins and call for their scholarships to be yanked.

Get real. Lighten up. The Wirth twins, often their own worst critics, when combining scoring, REBOUNDING, and execution within the system on both ends of the court, are the heart of this team. Expect better & better from them going forward. Next year, I'm betting they'll be leading a stellar group on a deep 2A tourney run. Any takers?

[ZagDad84]

Skip/Upan8th,

I must have worded my post very poorly because it was misinterpreted significantly. I apologize for dissecting your post (Sylean complains bitterly when I do that to her posts), but it allows me to clarify my intent of the above post.

Okay ZD... I’m not sure what you are trying to point to or why.

In every game you have areas within which the team played well and some areas were the team played not so well, teaching points as you like to call them. We discuss them after every game. Generally speaking, the lady zags played very well yesterday (see my game review in the other post). Holding any team to 43 points (really 40) is a darn fine defensive job by the entire team especially against a quality team and a quality coach like BYU. Statistically, the Lady Zags won almost every meaningful statistical category, so not to much to comment on that point. However (you knew there was going to be a but...), the fact that Gonzaga only scored 55 points yesterday or 25% less than their average despite winning almost every statistical category jumped out to me for further analysis. The reason (IMO) the lady zags scored 25+% less than their average was the purpose of my comments. The teaching moment as it were from yesterday's game.

First off while this was not the Wirths best shooting day, I was impressed with the way they set up the guards... and pulled the posts away from the basket to open the lanes. Can you say game plan. Points in the paint GU 20 BYU 12... that’s right 12.

Agreed, it certainly was not the Wirth's best shooting day (25% and 11.1%). Yes the Wirths and the rest of the frontcourt pulled the BYU frontcourt away from the hoops at times and did a nice job. However (another but..) as you said, GU scored 20 points in the paint to BYUs 12, how many of GUs points in the paint can be attributed to MK (6 pts), that leaves 14 points in the paint attributed to the Wirths and the GU backcourt, not a very large amount but not necessarily insignificant.

As I have said, you take what they give and as in the past, they wanted our guard to be the shooters...

If BYU wanted our guards to be the shooters, they choose poorly as the guards and wings shot 55.6% for the game. MAYBE, at least yesterday, if the guards and wings shot more frequently (and the frontcourt shot less often), the final score for GU would have been much closer to our average score instead of 55.

and for the Wirths much of their shots were away from the basket because of pulling their posts out and dealing with 9’ standing in front of them.

My response then, is why are they taking contested shots with 9' standing in front of them? Maybe their shot selection could have been better or as CLF likes to say, make that extra pass. Taking shots against players much taller or more physical than you does not seem to be a winning situation. First way for improvement is to recognize when you have a poor shot and pass it out.

The Wirths have been a big part of our team leading them in scoring a number of times...and definitely the defense.... so I’m not sure why the comments.

They comments were about yesterday's game only (don't know why you are trying to tie my comments in this thread to the rest of the season). My comments were only about the Wirth's shooting and shooting inefficiencies, nothing about their defense or non-statistical benefits that they provide. This is a "team" game and if the "team" is to win they have to play as a team. Also remember that MK played against the same BYU frontcourt as the Wirths and had a much better shooting percentage and better rebound numbers in fewer minutes. Against Portland, JL played fewer minutes and K-11 played more minutes because the "team" played better (against Portland) with K-11 in the game. Maybe yesterday, MK should have gotten some more minutes and the Wirths a few less minutes based on how they were playing. On the other hand, maybe CLF say some of those non-tangible benefits provided by the Wirths and left them in. That is why she gets the big bucks and I am a Monday morning quarterback.

IMO, the poor shooting of the Wirths was the primary reason for the lack of scoring by the Lady Zags. You simply cannot have any two (2) players take 38.2% of the total number of shots when those shots only result in 16.4% of the points. The rest of the team, shooting 55%, covered up this deficiency (yesterday only), but what would have been the score if the rest of the team only shot 40%? The game would not have been a double digit victory, it would have been another nailbiter game.

So what do the lady zags need to improve from this game for the rematch in the kennel, you tell me? I will take the same level of defense as we had yesterday. I will take the backcourt shooting 50+% overall and 61.5% from 3. Maybe the free throw shooting could use some work at only 43.9% but since we only took 7 free throws yesterday it was not a big part of the game. Their was one, very obvious, offensive, shortcoming yesterday and I identified it. I am sorry, that it seems to have really bothered you, but if we have any two (2) players take as many shots as the Wirths did yesterday and have as few go thru as went thru yesterday, there will be a game when the rest of the team will not shoot well enough to cover this deficiency. It will happen.

As to why the poor shooting, there can be several reasons and certainly not limited to the following; just a bad shooting day, poor shot selection, waiting too long to take a shot cumulating in double teams, a lack of game planning or plays run to get them open shots, etc. If you watch the highlights, the Wirths have several highlights within the video. A couple of nice 12-15' shots from the elbow. My favorite, a jab step towards the hoop followed by a step-back fade away. I also recognize that a few of the Wirth's shots went halfway down and came back out, can't help it. The Wirths did not have to take a lot of contested shots, they chose to.

When it is not your day, it is not your day. Yesterday, was not the Wirth's day (shooting wise). There are several ways to improve this for the rematch in the kennel. Work on getting the Wirths to take quicker shots or to pass the ball out quicker. Hanging on to the ball simply leaves time for the opposition to set up their defense. Maybe have the guards set some picks on the opposition bigs to allow the GU front court to shoot against a guard. Maybe work on having the Wirths recognize which shots to take and which shots not to take - better shot selection.

Perhaps the best way to improve, is to recognize that today is not your day, and then get the ball to the people who are feeling it, today. Tomorrow may be your day (which has been very frequently this year for both of the Wirths).

By the end of the season, seems reasonable to expect double-digit scoring averages from each of them will lead to a sweep in conference & tournament play, and a four seed in Spokane for the dance. But, anything less, I fear, and some folks posting here will lay the blame squarely upon the rather dainty (for 6'3" athletes), size-ten sneakers of the With twins and call for their scholarships to be yanked.

Maybe, just maybe, little too extreme. I think GU has given up drawn and quartering in the quad at dusk.

Get real. Lighten up. The Wirth twins, often their own worst critics, when combining scoring, REBOUNDING, and execution within the system on both ends of the court, are the heart of this team.

Upan8th, I was very real. I recognize exactly how much the Wirths mean to this team in all aspects of the game, last year, this year, and hopefully next year. Yesterday (again only pertaining to the BYU game) the Wirth's had a very poor shooting game and yet continued to take more and more shots when almost anybody else on the team was shooting better than they were. Absolutely nothing in the game would have been lost by the Wirths simply reducing the number of shots they took (again yesterday) by 20-30% and allowing somebody else to take the shot except that the Lady Zags may likely would have had 10-15 more points in the final score.

I have no impact on the team or the coaching staff. Hopefully we all realize that the players cannot all be on everyday and somedays are just not their day. Yesterday was not the Wirth's day (shooting percentage wise). IMO they compounded the problem by continuing to take, questionable(??) shots while other players were shooting at a 50+% clip.

All I care about is the lady zags improving for the next game. If we lose we lose, and we will support them regardless. Basketball is a "team" game and the "team" wins and loses as a "team". A loss, just like a win, cannot be attributed to any one player. Nobody knows better than the team what each game means to the team and the team's season.

The Wirth twins, often their own worst critics,

You are absolutely correct. The Wirths know exactly how they played yesterday as soon as they walked off the court. The GU coaches will certainly point out the areas that need improvement immediately after the game. Why do you think the coaches and the players, in their post game interviews, are looking at the stat sheets? Do you think that either the Wirths or the coaching staff would disagree with anything I have said above?

My point was, there really was only one area of the lady zags game that needed significant improvement yesterday and I pointed it out. It was one (1) aspect of a pair of players games (only yesterdays game) that IMO needed to be addressed. I did not mention any other parts of their game, which they performed admirably yesterday.

If pointing out areas of the lady zags game or an individual(s) game that need improvement (a teaching moment Skip) based on yesterdays game offends you I am certainly sorry, but it does not refute that the specific area does need to improve.

On to San Diego, where I am sure I will have something else to say that will upset somebody

Go Zags,

ZagDad

[SkipZag]

Well put 8th...

ZD... I agree with what you said and we, including the Wirths, feel the same about their baskets made per try. But we see that with every player during the season... part of the game and to put it on the Wirths I didn’t think was fair. 8th has it right that they are a big part of this team and when a player has an off night, the other players usually pick them up.

Also you talked about the low score... this team is working real hard on the next pass...to get to a players best shot. And it is burning up the clock... this team can do the run and gun but seems to be working hard at running effective plays.

In the long run... makes for a good combination.

Like what you’re saying ZD but don’t alway agree. Plus you’re going to run out of ink.

Go Zags!!

[Kemo 1966]

I watched the 3rd and 4th quarters of the game on BYU.tv........ As ZD always 'harps' on....... YOUR DEFENSIVE EFFORTS IN those two quarters propelled the Lady Zag's to a 'comfortable' victory. Pretty much stayed a double digit lead, after BYU pulled within one point, 33-34? I was impressed with Kay-- Troung (?) frosh point guard... she has the disposition of a 'seasoned Jr or Sr' and hit two shots... when they presented themselves.... she did not go out of her way too 'seek shots' ... You don't often see this type of composure in a pure Frosh!!!!!! CLF rested JT and she responded with her usual efficient play. I haven't seen all the WCC teams yet, but so far, GU has the best defensive team in the league.

Pacific took care of LMU, but the crew of Ref's were deplorable!!! Hope you don't get them vs SMC, as you may have to resort to wearing some football pads! IMO

[ZagDad84]

Plus you’re going to run out of ink.

Much like the Wirths shooting on Thursday, when 500 words doesn't get your point across, double down and go for 1,000 and hope it works this time.

ZagDad