Hill looking for players to step up
Justin Smolkovich
Issue date: 2/10/05 Section: Sports and Recreation
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The Lady Penguins will be hosting two games following a two-game absence from Beeghly Center that saw the Penguins drop two to Cleveland State and Loyola.
Head coach Tisha Hill said she is looking for the team as a whole to step up to the challenge and contribute more.
"Right now I am looking for people to step up," Hill said. "The consistent play obviously has been Perugini on the boards and in scoring."
The play of the Penguins has been hampered, however, by opposing teams keying in on the Penguin shooters.
"Cathy (Hanek) and Barb (Fabianova) are both there to break into double digit scoring," Hill said. "People are playing them tough and are really making it difficult for them to get shots off."
Against Cleveland State the duo of Hanek and Fabianova was held to just 2 points.
However scoring has not necessarily been the problem for the Penguins, Hill said. It has been the defensive end that has proved worrisome for the second year coach.
"Some of the players are really trying to pull it out of others to get us to buckle down and get those stops," Hill said. "It's going to take some time to believe in a defensive system and know that it is not just one-on-one defense."
So far the Penguins are winning basketball games, posting nine wins on the season, the most since 2002.
While the nine wins are an improvement over her first season at the helm, Hill is not ready to celebrate.
"Our staff, by no means are we sharing with them that they have done good because we have gotten nine wins. It's not enough. It's not enough for us right now," Hill said.
The first step to chalking up more wins will come primarily from how hard the Penguins decide to work to make the season as rewarding as possible, and to give the Penguins a chance to make some noise in the conference tournament.
"It will definitely come with the hard work they are putting forth in practice," Hill said.
With the conference tournament looming on the horizon, Hill and the Penguins are buckling down and concentrating at the task at hand.
The journey to the conference championship and ultimately an opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament must begin now.
"Right now, with us, it's one game at a time. We've got to play hard and we've got to play together and then we will be fine," Hill said.
Call Justin Smolkovich at (330) 941- 3758
Head coach Tisha Hill said she is looking for the team as a whole to step up to the challenge and contribute more.
"Right now I am looking for people to step up," Hill said. "The consistent play obviously has been Perugini on the boards and in scoring."
The play of the Penguins has been hampered, however, by opposing teams keying in on the Penguin shooters.
"Cathy (Hanek) and Barb (Fabianova) are both there to break into double digit scoring," Hill said. "People are playing them tough and are really making it difficult for them to get shots off."
Against Cleveland State the duo of Hanek and Fabianova was held to just 2 points.
However scoring has not necessarily been the problem for the Penguins, Hill said. It has been the defensive end that has proved worrisome for the second year coach.
"Some of the players are really trying to pull it out of others to get us to buckle down and get those stops," Hill said. "It's going to take some time to believe in a defensive system and know that it is not just one-on-one defense."
So far the Penguins are winning basketball games, posting nine wins on the season, the most since 2002.
While the nine wins are an improvement over her first season at the helm, Hill is not ready to celebrate.
"Our staff, by no means are we sharing with them that they have done good because we have gotten nine wins. It's not enough. It's not enough for us right now," Hill said.
The first step to chalking up more wins will come primarily from how hard the Penguins decide to work to make the season as rewarding as possible, and to give the Penguins a chance to make some noise in the conference tournament.
"It will definitely come with the hard work they are putting forth in practice," Hill said.
With the conference tournament looming on the horizon, Hill and the Penguins are buckling down and concentrating at the task at hand.
The journey to the conference championship and ultimately an opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament must begin now.
"Right now, with us, it's one game at a time. We've got to play hard and we've got to play together and then we will be fine," Hill said.
Call Justin Smolkovich at (330) 941- 3758