Everyone knew that the women's non-con schedule was going to be a killer. But things are starting to get pretty ugly.
1. Simone Law, one of our best players talent-wise, has disappeared. She scored 16 points in the season opener and looked like one of the few players who could compete with the bigger, taller Georgia Tech team. In the second game at Marquette, she scored 8 points, but fouled out after only 11 minutes. In the third game at Northern Kentucky, she started, had 12 points and 7 rebounds, but got four fouls and only played 15 minutes. She hasn't played since.
2. Courtney Lindfors and Destiny Washington did not play in Sunday's drubbing at Northwestern. Granted, Northwestern is a really good team that's undefeated and bubbling just under the AP Top 25, but without Law, Lindfors, and Washington Loyola got smoked. The Ramblers shot only 19.8% from the field, and only 8 players saw time on the court.
3. Only Law and newcomer Courtney Williams are shooting over 40% from the field, and now Law is out with an injury (or possibly, and more troublesome, an attitude). The game at Missou was winnable. Loyola was tied late in the 1st half before Missou ran away, and Missouri lost their next game on the road at winless Bradley.
4. The next two games are at home against Michigan State and DePaul. If the eight player situation isn't temporary, those could be really demoralizing beat-downs. There has been no mention in any of the game stories as to why Law has not played since Northern Kentucky, or why Lindfors and Washington were out for Northwestern.
Here's hoping that the team gets some key players back, and starts to figure it out. The next four teams on the schedule have a combined record of 21-7, and two of them are ranked. The MVC appears to be a weaker conference this year, but if we're going to be playing with 8 players again this year, and our most talented and experienced player is out, the league being down won't help much.
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