Coach Keith Pruden said that the twinge in his stomach wouldn’t leave until March, when the basketball season would be over. For now, the coach of the Concordia women’s basketball team must face one of the biggest problems known throughout the sports world: consistency.
And while the word consistency is often used as a panacea to all the woes facing many teams who are struggling, the basketball team’s success in the New Year will depend on how consistently they play. One might even say they are teetering on the edge of disaster.
The season began with a trip out west to the Manitoba Bison invitational where the team took two out of three games. “We played with consistency for all the games,” Pruden said. “We just ran out of gas.”
After being crushed by Laval in the season’s first league game, Concordia rebounded with two home wins. The statistics looked good: Jennifer Neil had a strong performance against McGill, and Pascal Morin was a force against Bishops.
The strong and relentless guard M.J. Roposo also played a role in the victory and Rosie Mendez-Douglas continued her defensive prowess.
As a team, the Lady Bees work well together. However, they seemingly fall together when there is six minutes remaining in each game.
On Nov. 22, McGill was trailing the Stingers by ten points with six minutes on the clock. That ended in a late game steal by Rosie Douglas, who nailed her foul shots for the win.
On Nov. 30, Bishop’s might have been considering revamping their overall performance when, oops, Concordia seemed to realize that there was six minutes remaining on the clock. A desperate last-minute press with Bishop’s in foul trouble somehow managed to keep the Gaiters from taking over.
But Pruden is not planning to cut anyone right now or change the offence or defence. Entering 2003 with a 2-1 record is a good position to be in.
“Our effort level is really good,” Pruden explained. “We just have to play the same in every game.”
“There was a definite improvement in every league game we played,” co-captain Jennifer Neil said. “The changes that need to be made are the little things, like paying attention to boxing out and team defence.”
Taking two out of three game in the Nike-Concordia Tournament last December was a good way to start the second half of the season.
Consistency is also one of the most difficult problems to correct. Neil has a suggestion. “The second half of the season is where we need to really buckle down and play as a team on the same page. If we do this, realistically we should end up second [in the standings].”
Pruden agrees. “Our goal is always to be in the playoffs, period. First is always better because you get a whole week to prepare for the final, but realistically we should finish in second.” Pruden said. Unpredictable women’s squad needs to improve on consistency
