Well that was fun. Texas is pretty good and very big and they have one pesky point guard.
1. Really glad to see Uconn running that foul line curl for Lou - it is unstoppable and she should be as good with it as Maya was.
2. Thought the refs were weird tonight - didn't really affect the game that much, but very physical game with lots of tickytack fouls called while a bunch of the big ones were missed.
3. Natalie is a critical member of this team - complain all you want but we probably would have lost three games already without her.
4. Thought Texas ran out of gas at the end of the third. Their bigs were not a factor in the fourth.
5. Kia kept her rhythm from the DePaul game. Napheesa and Gabby continued being brilliant. Thought Dangerfield got seriously exposed as a freshman in this one - her defense was pretty much a swinging door.
They say that a rookie ML baseball player needs to have around 500 at bats before being able to really handle a curve ball. There is no shortcut to acclimating to defending against the top talent in D-1 WCBB. Crystal's certainly quick enough and tough enough. She just needs the repetitions, as they say, to be able to have the game slow down a bit for her and for her to have seen enough to anticipate movement. Once league competition starts, she should get plenty of that.Crystal Dangerfield has some growing to do but will be a force in the near future.
Brooke McCarty is an 1st team all Big 12 and a junior, she did what she was supposed to do against a freshman, Dangerfield will be fine. She got her ass kicked bad, which is what her coach asked for....From another thread:
On the money, Miami ...per Geno.
How come you are getting all the likes for my post?!From another thread:
On the money, Miami ...per Geno.
She had 15 points agains the National Defensive Player of the Year last year. McCarty reminds me of Leilani Mitchell--small, quick, and deadly from distance.Brooke McCarty is an 1st team all Big 12 and a junior, she did what she was supposed to do against a freshman, Dangerfield will be fine. She got her ass kicked bad, which is what her coach asked for....
After watching this game at the Sun I can attest that Natalie took quite some abuse under the basket. A lot of "should have been called" that wasn't. My bet she is going to feel it tomorrow. I didn't see the final stats but I believe the 1st half rebounds were something like 14-4, not for the good guys. I don't think we would have won without her. When she was in it was easy to double on their bigs in the post. I give here an attaboy for this game!
Iron sharpens iron. Texas was a great precursor game for UConn to prepare them for Notre Dame. UConn had to work hard, and battle their BIGS the entire game. UConn had to go on a 12-0 run after the Longhorns had cut the lead to 2. You're right. Natalie took a lot of abuse today. It got her ready for Wednesday. Unlike the game Notre Dame played today. They played a very soft "cupcake" in Valparaiso who they just Pimp slapped for 40 minutes. ND jumped out to a 26-0 lead to begin the game, and never looked back. Playing a cupcake before a big opponent as UConn could be costly. That game today did nothing to help ND prepare for UConn.
UConn normally plays a cupcake before a big game...Iron sharpens iron. Texas was a great precursor game for UConn to prepare them for Notre Dame. UConn had to work hard, and battle their BIGS the entire game. UConn had to go on a 12-0 run after the Longhorns had cut the lead to 2. You're right. Natalie took a lot of abuse today. It got her ready for Wednesday. Unlike the game Notre Dame played today. They played a very soft "cupcake" in Valparaiso who they just Pimp slapped for 40 minutes. ND jumped out to a 26-0 lead to begin the game, and never looked back. Playing a cupcake before a big opponent as UConn could be costly. That game today did nothing to help ND prepare for UConn.
UConn normally plays a cupcake before a big game...
short memory I guess...Really ? Like #14 Texas today? They were ranked #8 in the preseason.
There's only one way to scramble eggs. You just have to scramble the eggs
That's what the Irish will have to do: catch the tiger with their bare hands and a basketball. This is not going to go well for ND. Home is the worst place to catch a tiger. Don't try this at home.That same philosophy is also employed when making "Tiger" stew. First, you must catch the tiger.
Just don't think she's gonna get past 5'5".Crystal Dangerfield has some growing to do but will be a force in the near future.
I think Geno has found his lineups for the the Season now that Natalie has shown him what she is capable of in big games, IMO. For teams that have big and athletic 'Bigs' at the 4 & 5 positions such (Texas, Baylor or USC), a lineup of Nat, Pheese, Gabby, Lou and Kia works best. Though she may not start, Nat's presence inside frees Pheese and Gabby to show their athletic abilities on both defense and offense. For 'smallish' and athletic/quick teams (ala Dayton and ND), he has Pheese, Gabby, Lou, Kia and Saniya/Crystal. As long as they stay out of foul trouble I think he has the horses to handle all comers the rest of the way. Regarding offense, I especially like Lou's 'tight curls' around screens from her Bigs (Pheese or Nat) for those mid-range jumpers. She was deadly against Texas in the 2nd Half when those plays were called for her. Initially Texas crowding and literally mugging her seemed to work until she started to move actively around screens to shoot those mid-range. Those were money and I loved every bit of it.With 2:36 left in the 3rd quarter with the score 51 to 49 Gen0 sent Natalie in to replace Crystal. The lineup of Kia, Natalie, Gabby, Napheesa and Lou played the rest of the game without substitution until the last minute, when Geno cleared the bench. They outscored Texas 21 to 5.
However, in the Baylor game, the exact opposite happened. Natalie replaced Napheesa when she got her 4th foul in the second half. UConn had a lead at the top, but Baylor chipped away at it and got to a tie of 54-54. Geno pulled Natalie and brought back Napheesa despite her four fouls, and she played great at both ends. Before long, the score was 72-58 UConn and the game was over. So that was an 18-4 run.With 2:36 left in the 3rd quarter with the score 51 to 49 Gen0 sent Natalie in to replace Crystal. The lineup of Kia, Natalie, Gabby, Napheesa and Lou played the rest of the game without substitution until the last minute, when Geno cleared the bench. They outscored Texas 21 to 5.
On Saniya - yes, I think it is by design. Not always, but often the Uconn sets include one player who is floating at the arc to provide an outlet option/reset if the ball gets stuck - and it is often on the off side. While the idea is to keep constant motion on offense, it can become congested if you have all five players cutting through the lane all the time. Maria Conlon often float at the arc as well, KML too. You think, well that makes it easy on the defense, but it is amazing how often an assigned player gets drawn in towards the lane, and then loses that floater as they concentrate on the ball movement.I have watched the Texas game 3 times now. A couple of things. The NCAA supposedly has gone out of their way to free the offensive player to make cuts and to generally " clean up" the game. Really ? I just laugh at the announcers. There is a difference between " physicality" and the blatant constant holding and grabbing and pushing that was obviously the Texas game plan. One of the worst case of officiating I have seen in a long time !
Saniya just looked totally disconnected to me. In the half court sets, she dribbled a couple times , passed the ball, and then just hung out and watched from one side of the floor opposite the ball. Is this by design ?
The lineup of Butler, Collier, KLS, Gabby and Kia has by far the best floor balance. Even if Natalie does not score , she frees up Collier, KLS and Gabby to take advantage of mismatches on the offensive end , and create more havic on the perimeter.