Two women’s games over the weekend. The outcomes brought up contrasting situations. The common denominator was taking a loss. The contrast lies in how a loss is perceived and handled given one’s particular situation.
On Friday evening Seton Hall, a team with Big East Conference championship aspirations, hosted Princeton. The Pirates were coming off a convincing win over Atlantic 10 favorite VCU just three days prior.
The Pirates took an early lead. Despite losing Shadeen Samuels, an outstanding senior, just three minutes in, Seton Hall built an eight-point first period lead. As the half wore on there were tell tale signs Princeton was not about to go away. On several occasions a Princeton guard or wing drove the middle, and when the defense picked up, a pinpoint pass found an open cutter. On other possessions there was a wide open look on the perimeter.
At the half the lead was three in favor of Seton Hall, with the momentum lead arguably in the favor of the visiting five. The second half saw Princeton heed the halftime advice of coach Carla Berube, which was to attack the basket. There were too many breakdowns by Seton Hall. The Tigers took the lead and built on it. With six minutes left the difference was eleven. All good teams do not go away without a run, and Berube knew Princeton had one.
Seton Hall cut that deficit to one with eight seconds remaining. Following a time out, Desiree Elmore of Seton Hall traveled. Princeton’s Maggie Connolly was fouled and hit one of two. Seton Hall had to go the length of the court in four seconds. Lauren Park-Lane raced up court firing a long three pointer that hit back rim. Princeton emerged 78-76 winners.
You can argue that Seton Hall was so close. Maybe inches judging by how close Park-Lane’s last attempt was. In reality, this was not your game of inches. Greater than two points separated these teams on this night in Walsh Gymnasium.
Crediting Princeton for pulling this one out, Seton Hall coach Tony Bozzella called it “terrible, just an awful loss.” What concerned Bozzella was his team’s lack of aggressiveness. “We lacked toughness,” he said. “This was just an unacceptable effort. And for all intents Princeton won the game near the end of the third and carrying over into beginning of the fourth period.” The mental aspect of the game as well as physical irritated Bozzella, who added, “we called time out and drew up a play with eight seconds to play. We came out, ran it wrong and didn’t execute. Just awful.”
Samuels never returned to the game and her post-game status was ‘day to day’. No one on Seton Hall was pinning the loss on her absence. As the Hall’s Alexis Lewis, the game high scorer with 27 said, “we did not lose due to injuries. We have good players capable of filling in. We made mistakes that cost us the game.”
The distance from South Orange, site of Seton Hall’s campus, to Fairleigh Dickinson University is about 25 miles. In terms of where the respective programs are, the distance is significantly longer. Seton Hall is established, a Big East contender. FDU is trying to rebuild and become a consistent contender in the Northeast Conference.
FDU entered their Saturday afternoon matinees against Manhattan of the MAAC. Both teams were 0-2 and hoped a win would be a jump-start to turning things around.
The host Knights are under the tutelage of Ang Szumilo, a long-time assistant to Stephane Gaitley now in her first year at FDU. In the first two periods, the Knights fall behind. With just under six minutes before the half, Manhattan built its biggest lead at seven. Resiliency is evident in this FDU team. For the second period in a row they battle back to enter intermission tied at 30.
The second half, in a game with nine lead changes and eight ties, sees FDU go on a run in the final period. With 1:45 remaining, it appears Szumilo’s first win as a head coach is in reach. On the opposite bench, Manhattan mentor Heather Vulin keeps her group focused, realizing one hundred five seconds can be an eternity. Possession by possession, they chipped away.
With under fifteen seconds left Manhattan gets a five-second violation on an FDU inbound. On the Jaspers’ final possession, Courtney Warley, who had a team-high 17 points and game-high 16 boards, scores on one of her eight offensive rebounds. FDU would have to go the length of the floor in four seconds. Lindsey Mack pushed it upcourt, but her final three-point attempt, which missed, had been ruled too late by the officiating crew. Manhattan prevailed 62-61.
Following a short talk with her team, Szumilo emerged from the locker room. She was pleased with the effort and hustle in her group. “We did get beat on the boards,” she said. “They (Manhattan) had twenty offensive rebounds. That’s the difference.” In their defense, FDU was without 6-foot senior Lauren Francillon, a good inside presence. Szumilo cited Francillon’s rebounding presence being missed, but also her senior leadership. “We had a combination of nine freshmen and sophomores out there,” the FDU coach said. “A young team depends on seniors for direction.”
Madison Stanley, a junior forward, led the Knights with 22 points, showing much improvement over last season. Sophomore point guard Rachael Niles showed poise running the offense. Mack, a sophomore, knocked down four threes for a 12-point outing. “It’s so different from last year,” Mack said. “Everyone is positive and working hard. We’re getting better and I think we can surprise a few people in (Northeast) conference play.”
The body language of the group echoed Mack’s words. There was disappointment in falling short. No heads were hung low and the ladies spoke with friends and family with a positive attitude – one that said they were looking forward to getting back in the gym to get to work. And get that first win.
The two games were a contrast in situations: Seton Hall, the veteran team hoping to make a championship run in conference, and FDU, a young team finding their way and aspiring to move up in their particular league. Both had the hardship of dealing with close defeats. Little surprise: neither coach was pleased. In Tony Bozzella’s case, complete disappointment in the way his club responded or failed to respond to a challenge. In Ang Szumilo’s perspective, satisfaction in her group’s resiliency and willingness to give a 40 minute effort.
Safe to ascertain, in both situations the respective coaches will utilize their game as a prime teaching tool for a closer look into the reasons why they lost. A closer look to remedy the situation and prevent it a reccurence.
