We have an attack, attack, attack mentality

5:30 game
Destroyers I      17
Sting Belles      39

Yesterday nine of the 13 players who made the game attempted shots. We had 43 attempts and 6 makes. One player was 2 for 2 from the 3 point line. Three players scored from the floor.  Two players made it to the foul line.  We had 31 rebounds with 12 players being active on the boards. We had 6 blocks, half by one player.

6:30 game
Destroyers II            43
Natick                      39

Eleven of the 14 players made attempts on the basket. We had 64 attempts and 18 makes. We were 2 for 5 on 3 point shots. Three players scored from the floor. We had 43 rebounds with 13 players being active on the boards. Six players made it to the foul line. We had 4 blocks, one by 4 different players.

It was an exciting game. Tayja tied things at 35 at the end of the game with a 3 pointer. She then stole the game with 7 points made on 4 shots in the over time period. Celine got to the line during OT and split her free throws to net an extra point. This gave Group 2 their first "score board" win of the summer season. Sofia B. was the defensive star in overtime.

7:30 game
Destroyers I             12
Natick Bearcats        50

Ten of the 13 players made attempts on the basket. We had 29 attempts and 5 makes. Three players scored from the floor.  Four players made it to the foul line. We had 16 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. Nine players were active on the boards.

8:30 game
Destroyers II            49
Sting Belles              19

Thirteen of 14 players made attempts on the basket. We had 74 attempts and 19 makes. We were 0 for 7 on 3 point shots. EIGHT players scored from the field. Three players made it to the foul line. We had 47 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Twelve players had rebounds.

These four games tell me that there are still holes in our defense large enough to hide a herd of elephants. We are getting better, slowly. The girls are starting to talk to each other a little bit on the floor. I am hopeful for the future.

In Other News
I am delighted that we hosted a shooting clinic on July 26. The girls who attended made 42 out of 156 attempts for 27 percent. The girls who missed the clinic were at 6 percent and made 4 out of 60 tries. When I look at free throws, clinic girls are 10 for 32 or 31%. That is terrible, I know, and we do not work on foul shots yet at practice. The girls who missed the clinic are 1 for 8 or 12% during yesterday's games.

The Bay State Games happened just before the shooting clinic. In 3 games Tayja was 15 for 46 from the floor (33%), 0 out of 3 from the 3 point line and 2 of 7 on foul shots (29%). Yesterday in 3 games she was 22 for 40 from the floor (55%), 1 of 3 on 3 pointers (30%) and 3 of 8 on foul shots (38%).

Let's look at all the players who played in 3 games yesterday and played all 3 games during the Bay State Games.

Brooke in the 3 Bay State games was 0 for 2 from the floor. Yesterday in 3 games she was 1 for 8 from the floor (13%).

Nilijah in the 3 Bay State games was 0 for 13 from the floor. Yesterday in 3  games she was 1 for 13 from the floor (7%), and 2 of 6 on foul shots (30%).

Britney in the 3 Bay State games was 2 for 9 from the floor (22%) and 0 for 3 from the 3 point line. Yesterday in 3 games she was 2 for 18 from the floor (11%), and 3 of 4 on foul shots (75%).

Celine in the three Bay State games was 3 for 16 from the floor(19%) and 0 for 6 from the 3 point line. Yesterday in 3 games she was 4 for 37 from the floor (22%), 3 of 11 from the 3 point line (27%) and 1 of 2 on foul shots (50%).

One of the things that Tommy Freeman, the shooting coach, preached seems to have stuck with the girls:

"Believe that the next one is going in and keep shooting. The only shot that you are guaranteed to miss is the one that you did not take."

Another change that I noticed is that most of the clinic girls will now drive to the basket. All are attempting more shots. These girls had 86 attempts at the Bay State games compared to 116 attempts yesterday.

We will host another shooting clinic in the fall. I LIKE this new attack attack, attack mentality.

Robin