Inexperienced WSU women still out of sync

Injuries have taken a toll on the Wichita State women’s basketball team, but the extent of the impact wasn’t realized until last week when the Shockers were swept by Indiana State and Illinois State in 20-point losses on the road to open Missouri Valley play.

Five players have missed four or more games due to injury, which made for a disjointed start to the season that has left Wichita State a step behind the rest of the conference.

Wichita State will have to work through its issues this weekend when the Shockers (3-10, 0-2 MVC) return home to host Northern Iowa (6-7, 1-1) on Friday and Drake (8-5, 1-1) on Sunday.

“We have five that are in shape and five that are still trying to get in shape,” WSU coach Jody Adams said. “So if you have someone that is still working to match that tempo, they could be three steps behind and that throws things off. We’re a tempo offense and we need that timing.”

Adams remains confident WSU has the pieces for an effective offense, but without timing the numbers aren’t pretty through 13 games. The offense is producing a conference-worst 52.4 points and 19.4 turnovers per game.

Timing comes with continuity in practice, something Adams hasn’t had this season. Wichita State still hasn’t had its full complement of players available for a game and the non-conference slate saw WSU suit up as few as six players.

So Wichita State is now playing catch-up with a team that entered the season as the most inexperienced team in the Valley. Adams is trying to make up the difference in the film room, even showing her team what is working for other teams in the Valley.

“Right now we need to continue to work on the details,” Adams said. “We have to still be detailed, but we also have to speed up our footwork and our decision-making. We have to start seeing that second layer of defense quicker and adjust quicker on the floor.”

It’s been a challenging start to the season, but one Adams feels will be instrumental in where the program is headed.

“It is frustrating, but I know in the end where this team needs to be for the future,” Adams said. “I don’t want to slow this team down. I want them to learn how it’s going to be and how it has to be for us to win games and for us one day to win championships. Right now we’re having to learn a lot from failure and disappointment.”

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 8:14 PM with the headline "Inexperienced WSU women still out of sync."