Ressel's words fuel MSSU women with confidence in final stretch
· Yahoo Sports
After suffering two losses to teams below them in the MIAA standings, Ronnie Ressel said his Missouri Southern State University women’s basketball team was capable of beating anyone in the country when everything is clicking on the basketball court.
“That’s a big deal for him to say that. That gives us a lot of confidence in each other, and when we can be confident in each other, that’s when we play our best,” MSSU sophomore guard Grace Frazier said a week later.
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Frazier and her teammates felt as if they’d proved coach Ressel right after a bounce-back week. That proof came in the way of a 78-67 victory over the then-sixth-ranked Tigers of Fort Hays State University.
“Yeah, for sure,” MSSU redshirt junior Ashlyn Alloway said of the win being proof of their ability to beat anyone.
Ressel’s words didn’t come after his team was already on top of the world with a big win. It came after two upsetting losses.
“It shows their character, what type of individuals they are and the pride they have. They knew they didn’t play very well (that) week, and they came in ready to go on Monday in practice,” Ressel said.
MSSU had lost to Northwest Missouri State University and Missouri Western State University. Missouri Western is 8-10 in the MIAA, 12-15 overall and tied for seventh in the conference standings. Meanwhile, Northwest is 10-8 in the MIAA, 17-11 overall and in sixth place in the conference standings. The Lions are 13-5 in the conference, tied for third and 19-8 overall.
Those losses two weeks ago also came after the Lions had strung together six straight wins.
‘We got after it’
“It’s just one of those where we’d won several in a row coming into Northwest, and you see the record’s not very good, and they understand the MIAA is tough, but I think we took too many plays off,” Ressel said. “These last two games, we didn’t take any plays off. We got after it.”
Ressel’s group turned it around with an upset over a nationally ranked opponent the next time out and then followed that midweek Thursday night win up with a Saturday win over a team in the bottom half of the conference in University of Nebraska-Kearney (15-15, 8-11 MIAA).
He noted it’s easy for a team to have a lull when playing a team like Nebraska-Kearney right after beating the sixth-ranked team in the country. He says there can be a little lull after getting that big win.
MSSU did drop Wednesday’s game this week after its last two wins but will try to end the regular season on a strong note at Washburn University. It is tied with Washburn for third in the MIAA standings. A win means third place, and a loss means fourth. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. Saturday in Topeka, Kansas.
Southern is a young team with just three upperclassmen and no seniors. Alloway is one of three juniors on the roster — all of whom are in their first season with the green and gold.
So the only players with extended collegiate experience are players in their first year in Ressel’s system. Other juniors are Nicole Lillard and Hattie Pyle — both are junior college transfers. Alloway transferred from former MIAA school Lincoln University.
Frazier and Makenna Yokley are sophomores who both have started the majority of the season. Yokley came off the bench in two games. Redshirt sophomore Nariah Clay is another starter. Redshirt freshman Camryn Smith and true freshman Lilly Thomas have both played key minutes for the Lions.
When it comes to the players having confidence, Ressel points to assistants Bryant Porter and Rebekah Wendland for a lot of the team’s confidence by working on them individually on their specific talents and roles within the team.
By the numbers
Despite their youth, the Lions are second in the MIAA, scoring 74.5 points per game. Frazier leads the team with 16.4 ppg and ranks fourth in the conference. Alloway is ninth in the MIAA and averages 13.7, while Clay comes in at 11th with 13.5 ppg.
MSSU is the only team with three players ranking inside the top 20, and they’re all in the top 11.
Alloway also comes in fourth with 8.5 rebounds per game and 12th in free throw percentage at 78.3. Frazier is seventh in field goal percentage (41.6%) and 18th at 72.1% on free throws. Clay is tied for fifth, making 1.9 3-pointers per game.
MSSU leads the conference in free throws attempted (631) and made (455), and it is sixth in percentage (72%). It is fifth in total rebounds (1,100) and third in rebounds per game (40.7). In terms of offensive rebounds, it leads the MIAA with 397 and 14.7 per game. The team is second in rebound margin, pulling down around six more caroms per game.
The Lions turn the ball over the third-fewest times a game at 13.3 and force opponents to the fourth-most at 16.7. Its margin of plus-3.33 is an MIAA-best mark.
With those numbers and the coaches pouring in words of encouragement, it’s impossible not to believe in themselves.
“They got to buy in. … That’s the showing of a team that’s got good character, and they want to win for each other,” Ressel said.