The Rams (4-10, 1-5 MEC) fell to the Cavaliers of UVa-Wise (10-4, 5-1 MEC) on the road Thursday afternoon by the score of 81-42.
In the first quarter, both sides could not seem to find the bottom of the basket. The Cavaliers led 8-6. Clearly both teams were having great difficulty generating anything offensively.
From the second quarter on, the Cavaliers found a great rhythm, finding many holes in the Rams’ defense. Whether it was from inside or from the three-point line, the Cavaliers had their way with the Rams’ defense. As a team, the Cavaliers more than made up for their first quarter performance offensively by going on to shoot 49.1 percent from the field for the game.
Also, whereas the Rams struggled from three-point territory (the Rams shot just 13.3 percent there) the Cavaliers found a reliable option there, shooting 9-of-20 from distance as a team.
If an offense struggles early like the way the Cavaliers’ did, one way to generate instant offense is points off turnovers. The Cavaliers turned the ball over a fair share themselves (20 times), but also forced the Rams to do so 18 times, which led to 25 points that really gave the team confidence.
Once the Rams started turning the ball over, the floodgates opened for the Cavaliers to come in and build their commanding lead.
The defense of the Cavaliers kept the Rams’ offense in check for the majority of the game. Shooting just 27.1 percent as a team, the Rams just could not get into a good rhythm offensively all game long. Even when the Rams got to the foul line, they made just 8-of-14 foul shots. Any chance at a comeback faded with their performance in this crucial area of the game, as well as their turnovers.
One way for the Rams to get back into the game and generate easier baskets was through offensive rebounding. However, the Cavaliers prevented any chance of that with their stellar rebounding display, out-rebounding the Rams by a 49-28 margin.
Taylor Sandidge of the Cavaliers was a constant scoring threat, finishing with a game-best 22 points, going an efficient 7-of-12 from the field. Mackenzie Cluesman lit up the scoreboard with not only her 13 points, but also by sharing the ball, to the tune of eight assists.
In the loss, junior guard Kayla Tibbs of the Rams was the Rams’ high-scorer with 11 points. She shot 5-of-10 from the floor.
Senior guard Cara Mason filled up the stat sheet with nine points and four assists. What was particularly impressive for sophomore guard Kari Lankford was the number of rebounds she posted from the guard position. She finished the evening with nine to lead the team.
Following the game, Coach Eckleberry of the Rams commented on the biggest factor she felt affected the outcome of the game the most: “We couldnt get anything to fall early in the game on offense and our defense was keeping us in it. Then we started taking bad shots and not giving our defense a chance and it was a domino effect that led to our phases of the game not being good.”
Coach Eckleberry also detailed what the team has to improve upon for their next game against West Virginia State University: “Our next opponent is going to play a fast paced trapping style of play. We will need to take care of the ball and convert on offense when we have numbers. We need to have the game go our tempo and not get caught up in the tempo they want us to have.”
Looking to get back on track, the Rams will face West Virginia State University Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at home in the Butcher Center. It will also be Smallwood & Small Insurance Day and Meet the Rams Day.
Anthony Bracken is the Sports Editor for The Picket. He can be reached at abrack02@rams.shepherd.edu