2nd half thread!

[speedoo]

final... 77-37.

Mostly good news from this one.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Final, 77-37.

Leading scorer was Bria with 17.

 

[MilfordHusky]

final... 77-37.

Mostly good news from this one.

So-so play, probably better than the Pace game. No one got hurt!

 

[pap49cba]

KML has to be bummed..... got some good looks but just couldn't make a thing.

 

[EricLA]

KML hit the front rim a lot.

she couldn't hit anythign in the 2nd half. 3-13 over all and 0-7 from beyond the arc... but i think she had 7 boards...

 

[UConnCat]

final... 77-37.

Mostly good news from this one.

Interesting. Last year Holy Cross scored 37 points, but UConn scored 117. The team is different this year; very young but it will get better every game.

 

[VAMike23]

KML hit the front rim a lot.

Shooting touch like that is a finely honed instrument, so being out for a while might have upset her equilibrium a little bit. I'll bet once she has a couple more days of normal practice she'll be sharp for the next game. Bria looked pretty good at the end of the game (all I saw) and a nice line for Caroline !! How many minutes did she play ??

 

[UConnCat]

I'm not worried a bit about KML. She hadn't practiced in about a week. She'll be fine. The shots were right there, just a little off. We all know she'll make most of those.

 

[Icebear]

KML hit the front rim a lot.

She may not be getting her normal lift from her calf.

 

[pap49cba]

the radio announcers also mentioned how active and good buck looks. that's a great sign.

Geno actually gave her a pat on the back when she went to the bench.

 

[VAMike23]

Geno actually gave her a pat on the back when she went to the bench.

Little gestures like that are probably huge for Heather's confidence (seriously)

 

[Icebear]

If Heather plays like this she will be able to give us valuable minutes in big games. Spelling Stef ocassionally will work.

 

[HuskyNan]

Interesting. Last year Holy Cross scored 37 points, but UConn scored 117. The team is different this year; very young but it will get better every game.

Holy Cross is a better team this year, too.

 

[RoyDodger]

Some observations after game 1. They don't look as dominant as in the past (or Holy Cross is, as Bob Picozzi and Meghan Culmo kept saying, a better team than last year). KML seemed to be nervous, missing so many three-pointers. It was wonderful seeing Caroline back in there, especially when she hit two three-pointers in a row. Geno had the finger on his lips for quite awhile. Heather looked better, but look at the competition. Lauren Engeln seems to be headed for a permanent bench career at UConn. They'll beat Pacific, but it's going to be very interesting to see how well they do vs. Stanford.

 

[RoyDodger]

And I also should mention that the game looked fantastic in HD on CPTV. What a major improvement. We can actually see what the girls look like now (on CPTV).

 

[VAMike23]

45.2% FG is not a great stat against HC

 

[HuskyNan]

Heather looked better, but look at the competition.

It's not the competition but the fact that Heather was willing to take the shots she did. Last year she played hot potato with the ball on offense; this game she was actually calling for the ball. She seems to have a different mindset and I'm happy to see it.

 

[connboy77]

Nice game for Heather, and it was great to see Caroline on floor, but for the most part the team played terrible. UCONN needs to get better in a hurry because on the 21st they play a very good team.

 

[RoyDodger]

It's not the competition but the fact that Heather was willing to take the shots she did. Last year she played hot potato with the ball on offense; this game she was actually calling for the ball. She seems to have a different mindset and I'm happy to see it.

Oh, I see the improvement, Nan. Just pointing out that we need to wait and see how she does when the competition (i.e., Stanford, Texas A & M, and Baylor) reaches the next level.

 

[MilfordHusky]

She may not be getting her normal lift from her calf.

That's what I was thinking too. She may have been long on some, but mostly they seemed to be short. She'll still shoot 45% for the season.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Geno actually gave her a pat on the back when she went to the bench.

Nice!

 

[blackbird]

First of all..
Caroline, that girl is amazing. She looked, imo, fantastic. Very mobile, very confident. She shot the ball well. And I'll tell you something, I think this team already has it's identity. It's her. Doty's the clear emotional leader.I can't get over how good she looked, with everything. (That pass she made from thirty feet out was unbelievable.)

Bria, needs to be more aggressive throughout the whole game. She took a lot of shots late, because of who was on the floor with her. But we can't have her (and Stef) only taking 6 shots a game. They are probably going to end up our most efficient scorers, so they need to be the ones shooting. She also needs to watch the turnovers. Some of them aren't her fault. It's not her fault if Stef loses her balance, and the head fake is beautiful - it's just a shame it tricks the refs into calling a travel half the time she does it. She's going to be Geno's target this year. She should take it as a compliment.

Bria and Caroline also have fantastic chemistry together, already. And it became obvious pretty quickly you definitely can't have them both out of the game at the same time. (It's bad enough when you just take Caroline out..)

Tiffany, I love the intensity and the aggression of Tiffany. She was all over the place. And I really think that's the "lead by example" aspect of Tiffany's game. And you can tell she's almost as happy as Doty, to have Doty back. Loved the defensive intensity today. When she was a freshman, I thought she was the best defensive player I'd ever seen at Uconn. And then Kelly came, and Tiffany was suddenly the second best defender on her team. Not today. Tiffany was fantastic. On the negative, she takes too many shots. Some of those need to be distributed to Bria, and especially Stef, and heck, maybe even Caroline. I like her aggressive, I just want her to be smart. But I'd rather her play like that, and I'll take the bad shots the same way I take some of Bria's stupid turnovers.

Kelly, she had a really poor game for Kelly. Pretty good defensively, but even that was missing. She wasn't heavily involved offensively, she didn't rebound well. Not worried about her though, I'm sure she'll be the same old Kelly next game.

Stef, what can you say about 6 for 6 (other than she needs to shoot more..) She looks fantastic. I don't notice the body change, but there is definitely an aggression change. Says something about her that our entire offense revolves around her.

Bench
KML, I thought she played well. I'm not shocked or worried about her missing her three pointers.I'm impressed with the rebounding too. And I think it's something this team will desperately need.
Banks, honestly didn't notice her too much. But I don't mind that. It's nice to have a player that can come in, not do too much wrong, even if they don't make a huge impact.
Heather, very good game for Heather. She's actually a very good defensive post, and always has been. Which is why it shocks me she doesn't get to play that much. (Although, last season with the limited offensive option, it was hard to put her in there.) She looks like she's improved some on the offensive end. I hope she builds on it.

Overall, I think it was a decent game for the Huskies. There are some definite kinks, but I think there are some definite positives from everyone.

 

[Sonny44]

First of all..
Caroline, that girl is amazing. She looked, imo, fantastic. Very mobile, very confident. She shot the ball well. And I'll tell you something, I think this team already has it's identity. It's her. Doty's the clear emotional leader.I can't get over how good she looked, with everything. (That pass she made from thirty feet out was unbelievable.)

Bria, needs to be more aggressive throughout the whole game. She took a lot of shots late, because of who was on the floor with her. But we can't have her (and Stef) only taking 6 shots a game. They are probably going to end up our most efficient scorers, so they need to be the ones shooting. She also needs to watch the turnovers. Some of them aren't her fault. It's not her fault if Stef loses her balance, and the head fake is beautiful - it's just a shame it tricks the refs into calling a travel half the time she does it. She's going to be Geno's target this year. She should take it as a compliment.

Bria and Caroline also have fantastic chemistry together, already. And it became obvious pretty quickly you definitely can't have them both out of the game at the same time. (It's bad enough when you just take Caroline out..)

Tiffany, I love the intensity and the aggression of Tiffany. She was all over the place. And I really think that's the "lead by example" aspect of Tiffany's game. And you can tell she's almost as happy as Doty, to have Doty back. Loved the defensive intensity today. When she was a freshman, I thought she was the best defensive player I'd ever seen at Uconn. And then Kelly came, and Tiffany was suddenly the second best defender on her team. Not today. Tiffany was fantastic. On the negative, she takes too many shots. Some of those need to be distributed to Bria, and especially Stef, and heck, maybe even Caroline. I like her aggressive, I just want her to be smart. But I'd rather her play like that, and I'll take the bad shots the same way I take some of Bria's stupid turnovers.

Kelly, she had a really poor game for Kelly. Pretty good defensively, but even that was missing. She wasn't heavily involved offensively, she didn't rebound well. Not worried about her though, I'm sure she'll be the same old Kelly next game.

Stef, what can you say about 6 for 6 (other than she needs to shoot more..) She looks fantastic. I don't notice the body change, but there is definitely an aggression change. Says something about her that our entire offense revolves around her.

Bench
KML, I thought she played well. I'm not shocked or worried about her missing her three pointers.I'm impressed with the rebounding too. And I think it's something this team will desperately need.
Banks, honestly didn't notice her too much. But I don't mind that. It's nice to have a player that can come in, not do too much wrong, even if they don't make a huge impact.
Heather, very good game for Heather. She's actually a very good defensive post, and always has been. Which is why it shocks me she doesn't get to play that much. (Although, last season with the limited offensive option, it was hard to put her in there.) She looks like she's improved some on the offensive end. I hope she builds on it.

Overall, I think it was a decent game for the Huskies. There are some definite kinks, but I think there are some definite positives from everyone.

And kiah?

 

[pap49cba]

Kiah was solid. Missed a few bunnies but overall played well I thought.

 

[NCorBust]

Doty can play only so many minutes. She will sit simply due to her leg. And when she does, I agree, the team won't be as good. Bria dribble, dribbling at point is not very effective.

This is why I have insisted that CD' will be the PG and is critical to our success. It will be easier to swap KML and Bria than to remove CD'.