Reed's lack of shot-making, taking slowing down UALR women's offense

BURN THE HORSE

   The UALR women couldn't pull out another Houdini act on Wednesday and saw their 14-game winning streak come to an end to Western Kentucky. The loss is surprising only because UALR hadn't lost at home in such a long time. But it really isn't surprising when you consider the decline of Chastity Reed's scoring numbers this year.

   UALR has made up for the loss of Kim Sitzmann by playing solid defense, but it has only barely been able to overcome the drop of production from Reed.
   Last year, Reed averaged 10 of 22 from the field and 4 of 6 at the free-throw line each game.
   This year, Reed averages 8 of 19 from the field and 2 of 3 at the free-throw line each game.
   It doesn't sound like a lot, but those six points are huge. They provide the cushion in some of these close games. More importantly, the threat of those six points opened things up for others. And it's an even bigger loss on the night's that 10 of 22 turned into 17 of 28.
   Give Reed credit for continuing to play hard. She plays defense. She rebounds. She hustles. And once her shot starts falling, things will start to look a lot more like last year. Hopefully that happens before it's too late.