The Mustangs lost to Arcadia at home on Saturday by a final score of 59-47. They were competitive for the entirety of the game, but the smaller aspects came back to make up the overall difference.
Second-year guard Anaya Price had a team-high 8 points to go along with a pair of threes in the game. Second-year guard Nadia Ferguson also added 6 points and a team-high 5 assists with 3 rebounds in the bout. Fourth-year forward Destiny Towns was a monster on the glass, pulling down a game-high 12 rebounds paired up with 5 points on the day.
“I really just want the best for my team. I see where I lack and I try to pick it up in other places. So, if I’m not shooting well, I try to go get an offensive rebound, or get an assist,” Towns said. “My effort comes in where my faults are. I try to balance those out with effort.”
The scoring began with a solid turnaround shot for fourth-year forward Kalea Wynter, but after that point of time, shots were missed for both sides. Arcadia was in the same slump due to textbook coverage on the defensive side for the Mustangs.
The effort was there, as Arcadia had the advantage in offensive rebounds on the day (15 on the day). However, the conversion rate on these opportunities felt infinitesimal, as there was not much to show for it if it couldn’t be matched with efficiency.
The game was low-scoring throughout the first half, which could be viewed as a negative considering the accumulation of these lapses.
Although 2nd quarters have typically been the deciding factor (or at least the most direct observation) across what has now become a 5-game losing streak, the Mustangs got within a 3-point deficit after a 3-pointer from first-year guard Isabella Serrano.
The halftime score was 30-23, but they were hanging around. One could finally believe that they were competing on the same playing field and could win in the events that they took advantage of this striking distance.
It felt like this mindset– even if they were still trailing– could translate well in the 2nd half, and it certainly did for a time. Ferguson and fourth-year forward Tessa Boswell played a two-woman game, showcasing their chemistry.
However, recurrent habits crept back up for the team as they gave up a 15-6 run that Arcadia never looked back from in this game.
There were some inexplicable turnovers at times, but the more impactful insight on the game came from the long rebound. Rotations were not always on time with the defense, and that did hurt them at times. At others, they were fortunate to see Arcadia players miss while having several defenders in range to grab rebounds.
Somehow, the ball consistently found the hands of a different Arcadia player after a miss from deep, and it created the difference in second-chance points (11 for Arcadia, 8 for Stevenson).
The major takeaways came specifically from the seemingly helio-centric approach and deep attack from Arcadia. The opponents relentlessly punished these late rotations with silky smooth perimeter shooting on the day (36.7% shooting with 11 makes for Arcadia).
The Mustangs could not come close to matching the volume or efficiency on their own end (4-16 shooting from beyond the arc) and had trouble accounting for that aspect of their offense.
The team effort in contributions is a commendable one, and it can be argued that both teams possessed this in a litany of ways. Sometimes, these close matches come down to players making plays, and no matter what they incorporated into the gameplan, they could not crack the code on Arcadia fourth-year guard Hanna Rhoades, who had a game high in points (21) and 3-pointers (4) while shooting 7-16 from the field.
Combining these threats ultimately forced Stevenson’s hands, as multiple backdoor leaks were given up as a result of committing heavily to manning the three-point line later in the game. Stevenson teetered around being within 9 points or greater with the deficit before reaching the previously stated outcome.
“We’re only playing defense for a half, and we really quite haven’t bought into the defensive end, which is pretty disappointing,” head coach Jackie Boswell said.
A 5-game losing streak is tough to see for any team. However, there were flashes of redemption and a potential turn-around shown in this game. Like all of the other dropped games this season, it comes down to a matter of consistency at all levels.
