Dcheetah said:
I wonder if part of her stamina relates to how she is playing. In the tournament when she got more extended minutes, she did not appear too tired and she was much more engaged.
I've never heard that about Bella and Bella has played a number of games over 30 minutes, but it's possible because of the amount of energy that she extends on defense and then the amount of punishment that she absorbs, taking charges, etc. I would rather have more players who could play as hard as she does all the time. I suspect it is her energy expenditure that has also affected her offense to some degree although it has improved with her shooting form in the second half of the season.
There is no doubt in my mind that Bella's 3 ball was noticeably effected by in game fatigue. There is an old saying that when the legs go the 3 ball goes (same issue with Sarah, Yaya & Jada).
Bella changed her 3 ball form/technique and she started launching instead of shooting the 3 ball. .... to my thinking that is an adjustment she made to compensate for her feeling fatigue. Bella has by far the most natural strength of any player on the team !!! When she is fresh her shoot is a perfect parabola - Sever times this season Bella would shoot and nothing but net on her first shot and then go 0 for 4 or 0 for 8. She is a better 3 baller than that. OK I WILL SAY IT - ITS A CONDITIONING ISSUE. and she is not the only one who looked gassed in the 4th in our games vs all three games vs TCU and GCC and Ole Miss..
Her commitment to defense has been crucial to the teams success the last three years !! A way forward has to be found that gives Bella the best chance of success BOTH offensively and defensively.. .
I have been saying since the start of the season that Kyla needs more playing time. Kyla moved around so much in her younger years that she never received any consistent coaching on even basic fundamentals. Kyla is also a very nice young lady and the intensity of D1 ball is a shock to her. She made a lot of improvement this season and I am confident there is a lot more natural talent ready to come out with more time. She is a very coachable athlete and wants to please Sophia and CNC. She needs some confidence building and boosting - maybe folks attending the appreciation banquet can stop by her table and give her a shoutout on how much she has improved her game this season.
I hope CNC honors her with the most improved award at the banquet.