Gators eat women's basketball team

Team drops to 2-17 as Alleghany Gators put on pressure

Winter term is supposed to be a break from the general stress of Oberlin. Try telling that to the women's basketball team. After going 1-6 before winter term, the time off from school and the light winter term schedule resulted in only one more win and 10 losses.

The Yeowomen's record stands at 2-17 after last night's 60-46 loss to Allegheny College, in which the team showed some improvements after 11 more games together, but also manifested some of the breakdowns in attitude that come after six straight losses.

That steak is still shorter than the nine-game losing streak the Yeowomen had to face before their second win of the season, which came this Winter Term against Lake Erie College.

Despite the unpleasant numbers, Wednesday's match-up against Allegheny proved that the Yeowomen are still an extremely talented team. First-years Monica Bush and Ikeya Hillman lead the North Coast Athletic Conference in rebounding and scoring, respectively.

And while the game, at times, threatened to turn into a showcase for Hillman's dribbling skills, when the other players were able to get open, and when Hillman found them, the shots went in.

This is a strong, young team. Individually against Allegheny there was no question that the Yeowomen were in the game the whole way.

Team chemistry is another matter. Which explains why Oberlin got smoked by 14 points.

"I tell the kids that basketball is organized chaos and it's just who can sort it out the best," said assistant coach Blake New. "We just stay in the chaos a little too long."

New's comment was an accurate descpription of the Allegheny game, in which the Yeowomen were thoroughly befuddled by the full court press of the Gators. Time and again, Oberlin lost the ball as it tried to maneuver through the Gators' quick backcourt of Chris Stefanini and Jen Cribbins.

When they got the ball into the offensive half, the confusion often continued. Cuts and picks on the baseline were sloppy, and the result was limited passing around the 3-point line and little testing of the Gators' defense.

With Hillman at point, the Yeowomen were often caught doing their best imitation of Michael Jordan and the Jordanaires, or 1 vs. 5 basketball.

On defense, trouble with communication resulted in difficulty with switching marks, which helped to give Allegheny their first half 53.3 shooting percentage and a 13 point lead.

Team numbers also contributed to the loss, particularly in the second half, with only two substitutes available to relieve players who were fighting a full-court press on offense. Shakila Williams, who pushed the number to eight players, left the team after winter break and has yet to return.

The Yeowomen will have to make changes if they expect to win the next five games, which players and coaches believe is possible.

"We've been saying all season that we're a young team," said first-year Katy Durham-Hammer, "but I've never liked that excuse because we're a talented team."

Execution seems to be the key word. It was one of the things Coach Ann Gilbert stressed heavily during the Allegheny game, and will be a deciding factor as the season comes to a close.