The Allen Lady Devils got off to a rough start in conference play Wednesday night thanks to a 71-52 home loss to Pratt.
The loss drops them to 2-8 and 0-1 in KJCCC play and moves their losing streak to six straight.
Mentally it weighs on us, head coach Rachel Janzen said. Were tired of losing. We have all of the talent in the world but it doesnt show for all 40 minutes of the game.
Things got off to a strong start for the Lady Devils after starting the game on a 7-0 run but poor shooting in a brief first-half run for Pratt gave the Lady Beavers all they needed to knock off Allen on its home court.
For some reason, round ball wouldnt go in round rim, Janzen said. At this point, our freshmen dont understand that when shots arent falling we want them to attack the rim and mix it up, but instead they settled for jump shots. We were shooting threes like we were making them but we werent. We werent creating offense, we were settling for offense.
Pratt quickly erased that lead and both teams battled their way to 14 before the Lady Devils were left behind by a 13-point run. That run bridged the first and second quarter, driven in part by Beaver guard Rylee Alexander who hit three threes in that span of time to put Pratt up.
We planned a zone that covered the corners because thats the only place that (Alexander) shoots from but we didnt execute that gameplan at all so we switched, Janzen said. After that, Alexander didnt score. But the hole she dug was already there. Weve got to execute better than that.
The Lady Devils would get back within 10 a couple of times throughout the course of the game but would never get closer than seven. Their 32.8 percent shooting percentage and 14 Pratt second-half offensive rebounds kept Allen from mounting any real comeback.
Pratt outrebounded Allen 49-33 including 17-11 on the offensive glass.
Its been every game, Janzen said regarding the rebounding discrepancy. Were going to be undersized in every game. Our guards are little and our posts cant do all of the work. We did really well in the first half, only allowing them three offensive rebounds but they ended the game with 17 so that and the second chance points that come from that is the ballgame.
Freshman guard Ariel Walker had the only good scoring night for the Lady Devils, turning in a 26-point night on 9-20 shooting including going 6-12 from three.
Sophomore and leading scorer Jaikira Wilson ended the game with nine points in a very uncharacteristic performance after suffering a minor injury in the first half.
She tweaked her ankle in the first half so I dont know if that had any effect on her game, Janzen said. If it did it was probably mental. At times she seemed hesitant. If shes her normal self and is able to attack aggressively on offense and defense, its a different game.
The Lady Devils set west as they travel to take on Garden City on Saturday. The Lady Broncbusters have struggled so far this season and carry a three-game losing streak of their own into this weekends game.
Every road game is hard and they are athletic, Janzen said. But were going to go fight and try to figure things out.
