Women switch to pack-line defense
Head women’s basketball coach Sue Guevara plans to shake things up on defense for the Chippewas this season.
After giving up a league worst 77.3 points per game last season, Guevara has decided to implement the pack-line defense.
“I hate the pack line,” Guevara said. “I hate playing against the pack line, and that’s exactly why we went to it.”
Mid-American Conference teams such as Bowling Green and Northern Illinois, who ranked first and second respectively in scoring defense last year, have used the scheme during the last three seasons.
“NIU id one of the best defenses in our conference,” Guevara said. “We always struggle against them, so I thought, ‘you know what? We’re going to run that thing.”
Senior guard Crystal Bradford hopes the Chippewas’ pack-line defense can reach the level of efficiency of NIU.
“I like (NIU) pack,” Bradford said. “I would break one defender and then I would be wondering where the other person came from. I love their help side. I would like to get to their level by the middle of the season.”
The defense is a hybrid of a soft zone and man-to-man scheme, that is used to limit penetration from teams that prefer to drive the ball to the basket.
“To me, it helps our help,” Guevara said. “We get so focused on our player when we’re off the ball, that when the ball starts penetrating in, we’re more concerned about our player as the ball is going to the basket.”
Guevara said she finally has the talent to run the strategy efficiently.
“We want to stop the ball from going inside, and I think we’re quick enough and long enough to do it,” she said.
Guevara said she put the defense in during the spring and the veteran players have begun to become more comfortable with it.
“Our upperclassmen have an idea of what it is like,” she said. “I think they really like it. I haven’t put in any traps or anything yet, so it’s still in its infancy.”
One of the players Guevara said would benefit the most from the change in defense is junior transfer forward Lorreal Jones.
“Lorreal Jones is just a beast,” Guevara said. “She can jump and she can defend positions one through five. She can guard on the perimeter and she can guard in the post.”
Jones said that playing in the pack line scheme should improve the Chippewas defense tremendously.
“It doesn’t just rely on athleticism,” Jones said. “If you have a girl that isn’t as quick on her feet, she can still rely on the pack for her teammates to help her. It really forces you to trust your teammates.”
Jones said she also believes the new system will benefit CMU’s offense.
“We like to run and gun and get out into transition,” Jones said. “With the pack defense, as soon as someone throws a lazy pass we are off to the races.”
