Moriah Jefferson Making A Difference

By Marya Fratoni

The top-two teams in the American Conference went head-to-head in a rematch of the 2013 national championship game on Sunday afternoon in Storrs. The No. 1 University of Connecticut Huskies (25-0) defeated the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals (23-2), 81-64, before a sold-out crowd at Gampel Pavillion. The Huskies also showed their support for breast cancer by sporting pink accented jerseys in honor of the Play4Kay Pink Game. Fans donned pink and waved free pink pom-poms as they cheered the Huskies on to victory.

Many of the Huskies produced some very impressive numbers on the day, but one in particular was put to the test and proved that she can play well under pressure. Sophomore Guard Moriah Jefferson played the entire 40 minutes of the game and netted a career-high 18 points. Jefferson showed focus and determination when she was able to swish two back-to-back 3-pointers during a crucial moment of the game in the second half. Being the hard-working individual that she is however, she was focused on the things she needed to improve upon.

“I was mad at myself,” said Jefferson. “I had three turnovers I think, and they were careless turnovers so I need to be more careful with the ball. But, collectively as a group we played really well and I’m proud of how we did.”

Tapping into the opponent’s game plan, Jefferson heard Louisville Head Coach Jeff Walz yelling to his players from the sidelines to not play as much defense on Moriah, leaving her wide open. Jefferson knew exactly how to handle the situation and did not pay a mind to its negatively implied message.

“Sometimes they’d say to leave me open…If I’m not making shots, I’d leave me open too! I don’t take it as an insult. I take it as a challenge and I stood up to that challenge.”

UConn was controlling the game on offense and defense throughout the first half and continued to dominate in the same way through the second half. The Huskies were able to get more open than Louisville on the offensive end, creating more looks on which they capitalized. This is exactly how Jefferson seized her moments to widen the gap and show that she will not be overlooked among a talented roster.

Moriah admits that she struggles with deciding when to take control and when to pass it off to a teammate. But in reality, this is a good problem to have since it’s obvious that every player wearing a UConn jersey on the court is a threat to the hoop.
“I’m really confident in my team. Anytime somebody’s down, somebody’s going to step up, so we always have that good factor,” said Jefferson.

On top of scoring under pressure, Moriah had a few unbelievable hustle plays, one of which she ended up flying into the Louisville bench. Hustle plays are often difficult to expect from players who stay in for the entire game. More than a few times Jefferson has launched herself into the stands after a loose ball, demonstrating her `all-out’ effort on both ends of the ball. The sophomore once again showcased her defensive abilities, trading off guarding duties with Bria Hartley on Louisville’s top scorer in Shoni Schimmel. Jefferson helped hold Schimmel to just 4-of-15 from the floor and just nine total points on the afternoon – her second-lowest scoring game of the season.

Moriah credits the practice preparation for paying off in game play. “We go a lot harder in practice than we do in a game,” said Jefferson, referencing the notoriously difficult practice sessions riddled with nearly impossible scenarios against male practice players concocted by head coach Geno Auriemma and his staff to challenge the team. “So you’re basically playing 40 minutes of basketball anyway in practice that are harder than what you’re doing in a game. So, if we have to do it, then we have to do it.”

Overall, it’s clear that Moriah Jefferson has stepped her game up considerably this season and is making a huge impact on the lineup as a sophomore, especially over the past few weeks. Jefferson has already far surpassed her total steals (52) and assists (69) from her freshman season, racking up 68 thefts and 133 assists so far this year. Both markers are team-bests. She has averaged 11 points and 6.6 assists in her last nine contests, setting career-highs in both points and assists in the process.

Jefferson is yet another example of a UConn player willing to step up for her teammates in times of need: “I think right now I’m the most confident that I’ve been here at school. I’m happy where I am right now and I just want to keep pushing and go forward.”

Reprinted with permission from UConnHuskies.com

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