Nelms did more than just earn herself more playing time on Wednesday.
I think her performance in Stillwater made it very clear that she should be starting at this point.
It's no coincidence that our rally began when CNC inserted Nelms into the game with 1:44 left in the 3rd.
We were down 17, Scott had been shut out in the 3rd, and we were headed to Blowout City.
Suddenly, we went on a mini-run to end the 3rd (cut the lead to 12).
Then Nelms hit a jumper at the start of the 4th, and suddenly, we were off to the races.
Next thing you know, we were within 5. And finally, we overtook the Cowgirls with JVG's 3.
Never relinquished the lead after that.
Even the announcers acknowledged the play of Nelms, and stated how she was in the middle of everything.
Not sure CNC even saw that coming, as she has been reluctant to play Nelms more frequently. But to her credit, she did stick with her this game (unlike last week against Tech), and only took her out to get quick breathers down the stretch.
That substitution pattern worked out well, since Abraham was able to come in fresh (and with less pressure) and contributed a block and a key bucket late to preserve the lead.
Nelms's stat line in just 13 minutes of action:
10 points
8 rebounds (4 offensive boards)
2 assists
Nelms might only be 6'1, but she plays much bigger.
She can alter shots, blocks out and seals her player off well due to good positioning, passes well, is a threat to score from the outside, and just plays the center position better than anyone we have.
She's also our best screener and is good at just getting in the way of opposing players, which helped free up enough space for JVG to hit her first big 3 during the rally.
When Nelms is in the game, the team's center of gravity shifts somewhat, and opponents have to suddenly account for her on the floor.
When that happens (and especially with Deng on the floor with Nelms) we suddenly become a more dangerous team, because now our opponents have to pick their poison between Nelms, Scott, Deng, Bella, and Buggs. This also takes pressure off of JVG, and she is able to free herself up better for open looks (which we witnessed last game).
We may not win today in Ames (hopefully we do). But even if we don't, I think we can turn things around moving forward with Nelms playing a bigger role from here on out.
If this last game didn't prove how valuable she can be to our team's success, then I don't know what else will.
I think her performance in Stillwater made it very clear that she should be starting at this point.
It's no coincidence that our rally began when CNC inserted Nelms into the game with 1:44 left in the 3rd.
We were down 17, Scott had been shut out in the 3rd, and we were headed to Blowout City.
Suddenly, we went on a mini-run to end the 3rd (cut the lead to 12).
Then Nelms hit a jumper at the start of the 4th, and suddenly, we were off to the races.
Next thing you know, we were within 5. And finally, we overtook the Cowgirls with JVG's 3.
Never relinquished the lead after that.
Even the announcers acknowledged the play of Nelms, and stated how she was in the middle of everything.
Not sure CNC even saw that coming, as she has been reluctant to play Nelms more frequently. But to her credit, she did stick with her this game (unlike last week against Tech), and only took her out to get quick breathers down the stretch.
That substitution pattern worked out well, since Abraham was able to come in fresh (and with less pressure) and contributed a block and a key bucket late to preserve the lead.
Nelms's stat line in just 13 minutes of action:
10 points
8 rebounds (4 offensive boards)
2 assists
Nelms might only be 6'1, but she plays much bigger.
She can alter shots, blocks out and seals her player off well due to good positioning, passes well, is a threat to score from the outside, and just plays the center position better than anyone we have.
She's also our best screener and is good at just getting in the way of opposing players, which helped free up enough space for JVG to hit her first big 3 during the rally.
When Nelms is in the game, the team's center of gravity shifts somewhat, and opponents have to suddenly account for her on the floor.
When that happens (and especially with Deng on the floor with Nelms) we suddenly become a more dangerous team, because now our opponents have to pick their poison between Nelms, Scott, Deng, Bella, and Buggs. This also takes pressure off of JVG, and she is able to free herself up better for open looks (which we witnessed last game).
We may not win today in Ames (hopefully we do). But even if we don't, I think we can turn things around moving forward with Nelms playing a bigger role from here on out.
If this last game didn't prove how valuable she can be to our team's success, then I don't know what else will.