It took nearly four minutes for the Quakers to get on the scoreboard Saturday against Army. By that point, they had already dug themselves into a hole too deep to overcome.
Ten minutes into the game, the team had two points and five turnovers, on its way to a 26 percent shooting night in the 53-44 loss.
The team couldn’t get any momentum going in the first half, scoring just 15 points. Coach Mike McLaughlin said a lack of energy led to the poor offensive outing.
“It’s not that we didn’t have the energy,” McLaughlin said. “Things weren’t going our way, which drained the energy … Our energy level picked up when we started making a few baskets.”
McLaughlin was happy with his team’s defensive performance, saying they are “doing enough to win and stay in games,” but the offensive effort impacted their defense as well.
“Not scoring, missing shots does affect the other end of the court,” he said. “As a young group, we need to learn that very quickly.”
The Quakers (2-4) trailed by nine at halftime, and came out in the second half with a full-court press. They cut the lead to six on their first possession when freshman Alyssa Baron hit a three, but they were unable to keep the momentum.
Senior forward Jerin Smith was a bright spot for the Quakers, scoring more than half of the team’s points in the first frame. Smith finished the night with 10 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes.
“We need Jerin to play 20 minutes a night effectively,” McLaughlin said. “Hopefully, this will begin something better as the year goes on.”
Smith said her success came from a desire to prevent a three-game losing streak.
“I just really wanted this victory, so automatically it made me play a lot harder than I have previously,” she said. “Hopefully, next game, coming off of three losses, the whole team will be able to pick it up.”
Baron, who has already been named Ivy League Rookie of the Week twice, shot just 5-for-20 from the floor.
McLaughlin said Baron is now being more heavily guarded by opponents, requiring her to find new ways to get open and score.
“She’s settling a little too much for a few jump shots and I’d like to see her learn how to get to the basket a little harder,” he said.
While the Quakers fell apart in last week’s last-second loss to Niagara, it was their lackluster first half that led to the defeat Saturday to Army (3-5).
“We’re getting kind of complacent right now and when we get out of that mode, we’ll be able to get a couple victories under our belt,” Smith said.
