The Plattsburgh State women’s basketball team went 1-1 in its first weekend of action and now has two weeks off to analyze what went right and what went wrong in preparation for in-conference competition.
PSUC beat Juniata College 76-66 and lost to New York University 86-70. While the team’s play was a bit inconsistent at times throughout the weekend, one player played consistent.
Junior transfer Allie Taylor seems to be adapting to the Cardinals’ style of play quite quickly, providing a spark off the bench with her explosiveness.
Taylor put up impressive stat lines in both games. She put up 16 points and eight rebounds against Juniata, and netted 14 points while collecting five rebounds against NYU.
Head coach Cheryl Cole, who has previously raved about Taylor’s explosiveness and athleticism, was pleased with Taylor’s performance.
“She had a couple plays in transition that had me saying ‘wow,’” Cole said. “She is coming a long way in a very short amount of time.”
Taylor was happy to finally get out on the court for a real game and also feels that she is getting the hang of PSUC’s system.
“It felt so good to be back on the floor,” Taylor said. “Any time I thought I had to score in transition I took.”
With the stat lines Taylor posted this past weekend, it would seem she is going to continue to take these opportunities as the season goes on.
The Cards had success in multiple areas, such as consistency on offense, getting to and making from the foul line and getting on the offensive and defensive boards. While these were areas that looked solid, there were areas where improvements are needed.
Senior Devona Paul cited team chemistry still being a bit rusty and as one possible area in need of improvement. Early in the season, with key pieces from last year missing and new pieces now in place, it is expected that a team would struggle with chemistry issues.
“We are definitely getting used to each other’s habits and playstyles,” Paul said. “It is tough to get a grasp of those things early on.”
Cole stressed that as nice as it would be to win every game on the schedule, the point of this first tournament of the season is to get them prepared for their approaching SUNYAC schedule, the most important games of the season. Cole believes the tournament did just that.
With Thanksgiving break next week, PSUC has 13 days without a game. Paul believes in the philosophy that practice makes perfect, and this break should not negatively affect the team.
“I think we will get a solid week of practice and lifting out of the break,” Paul said. “We can settle down, get our heads on right and get ready to go into conference play.”
Email Bailey Carlin at bailey.carlin@cardinalpointsonline.com.
