Firebirds Fly North to Battle Redhawks Saturday
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Dist. Columbia (7-12, 2-7 ECC) | 25 | 36 | 61 |
|
Roberts Wesleyan (9-8, 4-6 ECC) | 34 | 33 | 67 |
2012-13 University of the District of Columbia Women's Basketball Game Notes
District of Columbia (7-11, 2-6 ECC) at Roberts Wesleyan (8-8, 3-6 ECC)
Saturday, January 26th – Voller Athletic Center (Rochester, NY)
Opening Tip-Off
The Firebirds go on the road to face the Redhawks of Roberts Wesleyan College Saturday afternoon. The game will be played at Voller Athletic Center, and tip-off is at 2 p.m. Follow Live Stats and Live Video.
Updating the Firebirds
The last seven days have been very up and down for the Firebirds. Last Saturday brought the elation of a 21-point win over Molloy, where the Firebirds turned what had been a close game early in the second half into a rout on the strength of an 18-4 run. District of Columbia rediscovered its ability to smother opponents, holding Molloy to only 28-percent shooting from the field. However, the Firebirds followed up that performance with a disappointing outing against Queen's College on Wednesday night. The loss was certainly not for lack of effort, as the Firebirds, who trailed by as many 13 in the second half, used a 24-10 run to take a 64-62 lead, capped off by senior Janelle Junior's (Administration of Justice – Riverside, CA/La Sierra HS) three-pointer with 4:20 to play. However, the Knights clamped down and held the Firebirds scoreless for the remainder of the game, finishing the game with an 8-0 run to seal the win. Poor shooting (0-for-6 in the last four minutes), an inability to get to the free-throw line (a season-low five free-throw attempts following a season-high 36 against Molloy), and an over-reliance on jump shooting (of the Firebirds' 28 second half shot attempts, 25 were jumpers) hampered their chances down the stretch.
Denikka Brent is looking to continue her hot play of late: She's averaged 13.7 on 39-percent shooting over the last four games, up from her 5.7 average on 19-percent shooting during the prior seven games. Leading scorer Janelle Junior has shot 8-for-12 (67-percent) over her last two games and has a streak of 17 consecutive games with a three-pointer made. Freshman forward Tatyana Calhoun (Environmental Science – Disputanta, VA/Sussex Central HS) is also on a bit of a hot streak – she is shooting 7-for-10 (70-percent) over her last two games after shooting 10-for-30 (33-percent) in her prior seven. Meanwhile, junior point guard Teara Shaw (Health Education – Bronx, NY/John F. Kennedy HS) is in the team's top-3 in several categories: scoring (6.2 ppg, 3rd), assists (4.7 apg, 1st), steals (1.4 spg, 3rd), and minutes played (25.7 mpg, 3rd).
Scouting Roberts Wesleyan
The Redhawks' season is quickly unraveling as they have dropped four straight, and six of their last eight. Their slide, after a 6-2 start, has caused the Red Hawks (3-6 ECC, 8-8 overall) to tumble in the East Coast Conference standings to 8th, where they now sit ½ game above the Firebirds (2-6 conf, 7-11 overall). The Redhawks typically run a balanced, pass-first offence, with six players averaging between six and 11 points per-game, and the team is 2nd in the conference with an impressive 64-percent of its field goals made being assisted by a teammate. This unselfish play has helped Wesleyan rank 2nd in the conference in field goal percentage, and 4th in scoring. However, their offense has betrayed them during their recent losing streak, as their shooting percentage (33-percent during the last four games vs. 42-percent over the first 12), free throw percentage (49-percent vs. 66-percent), and assists per game (12.0 vs. 17.3) have all dipped significantly. The Redhawks' offensive woes have been highlighted by games in the last two weeks where they have been held to 27 points (a 57-27 loss to Dowling), and suffered a 36-point thrashing at home (an 81-45 loss to Bridgeport). Defense hasn't been much kinder to the Redhawks, as the 81 points allowed and 50-percent shooting they gave up to Bridgeport on Wednesday were both season-highs.
The Matchup
Both teams are looking to get their seasons back on track after recent struggles. District of Columbia has lost six of its last seven while Roberts Wesleyan has dropped six of eight. The Firebirds' offense has gotten back on track this week as they have averaged over 68 points in their last two games after being held to under 47 points four times in their previous 5 games. The Firebirds are hoping to take advantage of Roberts Wesleyan's poor defensive play of late, and leapfrog them in the standings. On defense, the Firebirds must apply pressure on playmakers Marrissa Bunce and Brittany Williams. Bunce is 5th in the league with 31 three-pointers made and leads the Redhawks with 3.6 assists per game, while Williams leads the Redhawks in scoring (11.1) and is 2nd in assists (2.7 per game). Both have struggled during the four game losing streak - Williams has had scoring outputs of 2, 3, and 10 during the slide, while Bunce has had outputs of 0, 3, and 6.
The last time these two met on December 15th at UDC Gym, Janelle Junior buried a clutch three-pointer in the corner just as the shot clock expired, giving the Firebirds a four-point lead with 32 seconds left in regulation as District of Columbia held on for a 59-56 win.