The Javelinas are off this week due to finals, but are back in action the following week. They play host to Southwestern Oklahoma on December 18 and Cameron on December 20. Those will be the final two games of 2010 for the team.
Last Week
The Javelinas went 0-3 last week against Lone Star Conference North Division opponents. On Thursday, they lost at home to nationally ranked Northeastern State, 71-55. They dropped another home game on Saturday to Central Oklahoma, 82-52. Then, on Tuesday they traveled to Southeastern Oklahoma and fell, 68-63.
Barlow Baller
Sophomore point guard Meagan Barlow has been coming on lately for the Javelinas and put together two of her best games of the year this past week. She was one of the only players to play well against Central Oklahoma and very nearly led the team to an upset over 6-1 Southeastern Oklahoma.
Barlow dished out a career high nine assists against UCO missing out on the school record by one. She added seven points and two steals while going 5-for-5 from the foul line. On Tuesday, she scored a career high 14 points while going 5-for-5 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers.
Barlow currently leads the team in minutes played (31.6), free throw percentage (.786) and assists (4.0).
Stepping Forward
Freshman wing Chelsea Solis has become a consistent scoring threat for the Javelinas. After scoring five points in each of the first three games of the year, she has scored in double figures in each of the last five games.
Solis started her recent scoring streak with 14 points against Our Lady of the Lake. She came back with three straight 11-point performances against East Central, Northeastern State and Central Oklahoma. On Tuesday, she scored a team high 14 points and went 6-for-13 from the field at Southeastern. She is currently second on the team with 9.5 points per game and leads the team with 11 three-pointers made.
The Hidalgo Hammer
Hidalgo native Victoria Gonzalez is staking a claim as the top rebounder in the conference and one of the best in the nation. She currently leads the LSC with 11.3 rebounds per game and has posted three games with at least 15 rebounds this year.
Gonzalez has been the Javelinas’ best player this year leading the team in scoring and rebounding. Last week, she averaged 10.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game against the top two low post players in the LSC North, NSU’s Jasmine Webb and UCO’s Ashley Beckley. She followed that with a brilliant 12-point, 17-rebound game at Southeastern Oklahoma.
Gonzalez is also one of the top shot blockers in the conference. She had two blocks in all three games last week. She is averaging 1.9 blocks per game and is third in the LSC. She moved into 10th place in school history with 25 career blocks in only 36 games.
Looking for W’s
Dating back to last year, the Javelinas are 1-11 in their last 12 games played. They closed the 2009-10 season with four consecutive losses, including one in the LSC Tournament and have opened this year 1-7. In 2003-04, the Javelinas started the year 1-16 en route to a 2-25 season.
Yearly Comparison
The biggest difference between last year and this year for the Javelinas has been on the offensive end.
On defense, the 2009-10 squad and the 2010-11 squad have been remarkably similar. Last year, the team held opponents to 40.8 percent shooting from the field and 31.4 percent from three-point range. This year, those numbers are 39.3 percent and 32.2 percent. They were outrebounded by 1.5 boards per game last year and 1.4 per game this year. Finally, they allowed 68.1 points per game a year ago and 70.1 this year.
On offense, the team has been dramatically different. The 2009-10 team was one of the best offensive team’s in school history averaging 76.2 points and 8.8 three-pointers per game compared to 57.4 points and 5.3 three-pointers per game this year. They shot 44.3 percent from the field, 38.8 percent from three-point range and 69.7 percent from the foul line. This year, the team is shooting 34.4 percent from the field, 27.6 percent from three-point land and 63.4 percent from the foul line.
Looking Ahead
Despite their early season struggles, the Javelinas still have much they can accomplish. The team has seven freshmen and sophomores playing at least 10 minutes per game and they have gone through the normal up’s and down’s.
The LSC South Division schedule does not start until January 12 when the Hoggies travel to Eastern New Mexico. The team plays 14 South Division games with the top four teams in the division advancing to the LSC Tournament in Bartlesville, OK.
Slow Starts
The Javelinas have put themselves behind the eight-ball all season long with slow starts. They have yet to hold a lead a halftime in any game this year. They have been outscored 287-189 in the first half this year and only 274-270 in the second half.
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