CL82 and I watched the game from mid-court last night. First of all, Paige. 32 points on 17 shots is just ridiculously efficient. She was cold to start the second half also, missing her first 3 if I remember correctly. I would simply point out that Caitlin has taken no less than 18 shots in any game this year. Honestly, Paige easily could have had 40 last night. It's not just Paige's offense, it's her ball handling, passing, rebounding, intelligence and defense. I would urge everyone to see her play live, as close as you can get. It's really like watching an art form with her.
Seton Hall is a tough team to play at home. They are very physical, strong, helter skelter at times, and have a top tier BE player in Baines. In the second quarter we turned up the defense and shut down their open 3s and drives and suddenly we were up by 15 plus. Game was almost over although they cut it to 9 at one point but Paige took over the game again and that was that.
We were above the UCONN bench and you could see how "animated" Geno was about the defensive lapses and not getting through picks. Not happy at all. When Paige went down we were all horrified but when she came back in you would have thought that they were playing in Storrs.
It was an ugly game for the most part except for Paige with Ash having an off night and our passing reminiscent of the early part of this season in the beginning of this game especially. It was more about forcing and timing on the passes. 18 turnovers is just too much but it was that kind of a game.
Some promising items though. First of all KK hitting her 3s bodes very well for us. Q is still lost on defense but was energetic and in the middle of things and that move on the fast break was sensational. She is very, very talented and she is going to be one hack of a player once she gets the defense down pat and gets more comfortable.
Ice was off also on her timing to a certain extent but her whole trajectory was never going to be a straight line up since it rarely is. She hasn't played in year and is a freshman we have to remember.
Aaliyah was getting pounded underneath, players pushing, falling, hacking but a lot went uncalled. Still 17 and 9 are AA type numbers and she did not have a great game. Clearly the best big in the league and is out of position as a 5 but that is what we got.
Nika is fun too watch and showed me things in warm ups I only saw fleetingly before. A one dribble pull up with a real jumper from 15 feet made me say to myself "Shoot that during the game as often as you can". She is a beautifully unselfish player, but at times it becomes a fault. Honestly, I would like to see her take 10 shots a game between her drives, pull up and 3 ball but it won't happen. Her drive move and shot are significantly improved over previous years. She is just a defensive force out there and did a great job on Baines when she switched over to covering her. She is all about the team and it shows in everything she does. Make no mistake. Paige is the heart and soul of the team but Nika is the Voice.
Please see them play live. They are a pure pleasure when they get it going. That was tough to do against the Pirates at Walsh but the fact that they eventually did says a lot and it was the defense that did it with a lot of the best all around player in the country mixed in. 32 points seemed like 18-20 tops. If I didn't see it on the scoreboard I wouldn't have believed it. The sign of a truly great player who knows who she is and is so generous with her persona with everyone ( including my family) and especially all those young girls who rightfully idolize her.
Seton Hall is a tough team to play at home. They are very physical, strong, helter skelter at times, and have a top tier BE player in Baines. In the second quarter we turned up the defense and shut down their open 3s and drives and suddenly we were up by 15 plus. Game was almost over although they cut it to 9 at one point but Paige took over the game again and that was that.
We were above the UCONN bench and you could see how "animated" Geno was about the defensive lapses and not getting through picks. Not happy at all. When Paige went down we were all horrified but when she came back in you would have thought that they were playing in Storrs.
It was an ugly game for the most part except for Paige with Ash having an off night and our passing reminiscent of the early part of this season in the beginning of this game especially. It was more about forcing and timing on the passes. 18 turnovers is just too much but it was that kind of a game.
Some promising items though. First of all KK hitting her 3s bodes very well for us. Q is still lost on defense but was energetic and in the middle of things and that move on the fast break was sensational. She is very, very talented and she is going to be one hack of a player once she gets the defense down pat and gets more comfortable.
Ice was off also on her timing to a certain extent but her whole trajectory was never going to be a straight line up since it rarely is. She hasn't played in year and is a freshman we have to remember.
Aaliyah was getting pounded underneath, players pushing, falling, hacking but a lot went uncalled. Still 17 and 9 are AA type numbers and she did not have a great game. Clearly the best big in the league and is out of position as a 5 but that is what we got.
Nika is fun too watch and showed me things in warm ups I only saw fleetingly before. A one dribble pull up with a real jumper from 15 feet made me say to myself "Shoot that during the game as often as you can". She is a beautifully unselfish player, but at times it becomes a fault. Honestly, I would like to see her take 10 shots a game between her drives, pull up and 3 ball but it won't happen. Her drive move and shot are significantly improved over previous years. She is just a defensive force out there and did a great job on Baines when she switched over to covering her. She is all about the team and it shows in everything she does. Make no mistake. Paige is the heart and soul of the team but Nika is the Voice.
Please see them play live. They are a pure pleasure when they get it going. That was tough to do against the Pirates at Walsh but the fact that they eventually did says a lot and it was the defense that did it with a lot of the best all around player in the country mixed in. 32 points seemed like 18-20 tops. If I didn't see it on the scoreboard I wouldn't have believed it. The sign of a truly great player who knows who she is and is so generous with her persona with everyone ( including my family) and especially all those young girls who rightfully idolize her.
and I believe she now has a future in the W. I’m looking forward to see even more improvement by tournament time! As Geno said recently, she has had to adjust to no longer having the ball in her hands all the time. I think it’s fair to say “Mission Accomplished”! Finally, one of the things I find most endearing about her is the special relationship she has built with Paige! It was quite touching to see the obvious concern she showed for Paige after her scary collision last night.
