Dixie Three Game Skid

The new year has not been kind to Dixie. Although they began the year with a win over Dayton Christian, they have dropped 3 games in row since then. They played well for 3 quarters against Middletown Madison but coughed up 23 points in the last quarter before being dropped. Next they played the CCC's Arcanum where they got off to a slow start and spotted the Trojans a 14 point lead. They then played furiously in the 2^nd half, but their comeback fell short 74-63. Next up was Carlisle, in 2^nd place in the SWBL Buckeye Division. But even with home court advantage, Dixie fell to the Tribe 69-42.

A lot of fan's were hoping that Dixie would be able to put together a complete game. Against Madison the team played well until the 2^nd half, while against Arcanum they had a bad first half – but had a late comeback attempt that fell short. So a lot of folks were hopeful that the team could play 2 solid halves against Carlisle, but it was a game where things started well but faded as the game went on. Cold shooting and the inability to stop Carlisle on defense were their downfall.

Both teams played furiously in the first quarter. The scoring was fast paced and the teams seemed to score at will. The score was even – 16 points apiece at the first break. Both teams played man to man defense at that point. Dixie would later try a zone and full court pressure in an attempt to slow down Carlisles potent offense. In the second quarter, Carlisle went on a little run and opened a lead. Dixie was cold from the floor and had problems pulling in rebounds against Carlisles bigger lineup. So they did not get many 2^nd chances on missed shots.

So Dixie went to halftime down 9 (21-30). And in the 2^nd half, Carlisle picked up where they left off – scoring the first 5 points of the half to open a double digit lead. Coach Williams had seen enough, he cleared his bench and pulled his 5 starters. The replacements pressed hard, but their defense not enough to slow down the Indians who gradually lengthened their lead in the second half. And with Dixie pressing they piled up the fouls and by the end of the 3^rd quarter they were giving up bonus – sending Carlisle to the foul line for free shots.

Then in the last quarter, Dixie gave up some easy turnovers which Carlisle turned into points. Carlisle was able to extend the Dixie losing streak with a 69-42 win.

There was a long meeting in the locker room by Coach Williams after the game and he spoke afterwards, “Not to take anything against these three teams, and against Carlisle tonight we would have had to play really, really well to win – but we are beating ourselves. As coaches we are trying to get through to these guys that we are not defensively sound enough to win these games.”

He continued the thought, “The guys are playing hard at the wrong end of the basketball court. Meaning that they are playing hard offensively but lagging back on defense. We are not getting back, not going after rebounds – that's what is killing us. We have to put forth a better effort defensively. If you work hard on defense, offense will be easy for you.”

On the 5 out and 5 in substitution in the third quarter, “That was a move by me to make a point. We came on the court only down by 9, they jumped out in front of us because we would not defend. We seem to think we can get it back with a 3 point shot here or a jump shot there, but we just need to defend. We were not doing that, so I brought 5 new players in.”

Next week Dixie plays Waynesville at home on Tuesday and league leading Northridge at Northridge on Friday, then end the weekend as road warriors at National Trail on Saturday night.