Ashlynn Shades Shooting

[my2cents]

I posted in the Villanova Post Game thread that even with recognizing Ashlynn's many contributions to the game. Her defense, rebounding and effort all contribute to the success of the team. I commented that I would like to see more of a contribution on offense. It seemed to me that her shooting vs. her freshman year on 2 point shots was not the same.
So, I looked it up. Shade shot 103/167 on 2 point shots for 62% shooting her freshman year. This year, she is 25/59, 42%. A pretty big drop.
I am not trying to be negative, it's just an observation.
I have no idea why either.

 

[Monte]

She seems to be moving more this year. It seems like in past 2 years she stationed herself a lot in the corners. Plus, there is so much more movement and energy spent on defense this year,

 

[HuskylnSC]

Freshman year she was 2.7 makes for 4.4 attempts. Last year it was 1.7 makes for 3 attempts per game. (67/121 55.4%) This year she is 1.4 makes for 3.3 attempts. Freshman year she averaged 33 minutes per game. Sophomore year was 22.3 and this year 24.1. It looks like she needs to play longer duration to get into the flow of the game. Just thinking.

 

[PacoSwede]

I posted in the Villanova Post Game thread that even with recognizing Ashlynn's many contributions to the game. Her defense, rebounding and effort all contribute to the success of the team. I commented that I would like to see more of a contribution on offense. It seemed to me that her shooting vs. her freshman year on 2 point shots was not the same.
So, I looked it up. Shade shot 103/167 on 2 point shots for 62% shooting her freshman year. This year, she is 25/59, 42%. A pretty big drop.
I am not trying to be negative, it's just an observation.
I have no idea why either.

maybe because of nika's presence. it was huge.

 

[Centerstream]

I posted in the Villanova Post Game thread that even with recognizing Ashlynn's many contributions to the game. Her defense, rebounding and effort all contribute to the success of the team. I commented that I would like to see more of a contribution on offense. It seemed to me that her shooting vs. her freshman year on 2 point shots was not the same.
So, I looked it up. Shade shot 103/167 on 2 point shots for 62% shooting her freshman year. This year, she is 25/59, 42%. A pretty big drop.
I am not trying to be negative, it's just an observation.
I have no idea why either.

Where are her stats from last year, where she was coming off the bench and we had Kaitlyn, Azzi, Sarah and Paige? Did she shoot as much and as well as her freshman season?
Personally I think her shooting this season is off, I mean I swore at my tv when she missed a couple in close shots vs Nova, but I think it’s because she is a starter and is more than capable of doing other things. She is uncanny at forcing held balls.

 

[donalddoowop]

I believe that UConn will struggle to win the NC if she does not start shooting a higher percentage. When she scores, UConn usually wins easily. She has also been making more turnovers than before. Hopefully she will regain her scoring touch. She does a lot of things that are important but, I believe UConn can win without those things but will struggle without her scoring. Just m opinion.

 

[browns]

I believe that UConn will struggle to win the NC if she does not start shooting a higher percentage. When she scores, UConn usually wins easily. She has also been making more turnovers than before. Hopefully she will regain her scoring touch. She does a lot of things that are important but, I believe UConn can win without those things but will struggle without her scoring. Just m opinion.

Although it's not good her overall shooting at 40% she is still shooting an above average 3 pt shooting of 38%..couple that with Azzi and Sara 3 pt shooting over 40% and the same for Blanka and Allie coming off the bench and that makes up for Shades below overall shooting
As a team Uconn leads the nation in 3 pt % and is 2nd to LSU in shooting % and they will be just fine going after back to back Naty's

 

[NEforceUConn]

I'm all in with Ashlynn.

Bleed Blue.

 

[victor64]

Because her three ball is still decent, teams are crowding her, making her put the ball on the floor. She needs to find a consistent mid range game a la Azzi. One area of Allie's improvement is her ability to create off the dribble, especially going left. Ash is easily quick enough to get to those spots, they just aren't falling. Plus, she could do a better job kicking the ball out once she feels pressure penetrating.

I am nitpicking here. We could split hairs with every player on the team. Ash getting nearly 30 minutes against Nova indicates to me that the staff is giving her some time to work through whatever struggles she may be having.

 

[TWG236]

It seems to me that this year she is attempting to get her shot off quicker, like Azzi. Seems like the past two years she was more deliberate before shooting. Azzi been shooting fast forever, it’s natural for her, but Ashlynn it appears to be a work in progress.

 

[MooseJaw]

Ash was needed to score more in year one. There were far fewer other options for scoring then. Her game has not diminished but branched out in years 2 and 3. She is everywhere on the court now, snagging more rebounds both offensive and defensive, more help on defense, assists and leadership. Her game has in no way been diminished, with more great shooters she has shifted her focus to a more complete approach. Not every Husky can launch as many shots as Sarah, Azzi or Blanca.

 

[BRS24]

N

Post in thread 'Villanova Postgame Thread'

Today at 11:30 AM

This game proved that if anyone "deserves" to be a starter, it's Blanca.
She has too much talent to not be a starter.
If that's true then some current starter certainly is receiving the "gift" of being a starter from Geno.
It can be explained away as it's "better" that Blanca comes in as the 6th player but I really don't know why other than some UConn starters need a phenomenal sub so they can take their break.
Watching Blanca's giant performance in this game, she makes the BB court seem so small.
She plays so much like a superstar that the BB court literally shrinks when she enters...

• NycUcWbbFan

• 

 

[HuskyNan]

No one knew who Ash was in her freshman year so defenses keyed on Paige and Aaliyah. Last year she got more defensive attention so her stats suffered.

This year, she seemed to be trying too hard early in the year although she’s been more selective about her shots in more recent games. I’m guessing her shooting stats will continue to improve as the season progresses

 

[JoePgh]

I was going to start a thread on this subject, because I heard announcers say in more than one game that Ashlynn has been shooting very well if you omit the first three games of the season, where she was 1-for-12 from 3. In fact, as you can see from the table immediately above, that is in fact true.

After those first three games, she has been shooting 42-for-98 (42.9%) overall, 23-for-51 from 3 (45.1%), and 19-47 (40.4%) from 2-point range. Note especially her 3-point percentage, which is pretty good for the 3rd-best 3-point shooter on the team (behind Azzi and Sarah) as far as most defenses are concerned.

Moreover, her shooting stats in "big games" are of interest. I define UConn's "big games" thus far as Louisville, Ohio State, Michigan, Southern Cal, and Iowa. In those five games, she is 17-for-43 overall (39.5%), 9-for-23 from 3 (39.1%), and 8-for-20 (40%) from 2-point land. Those are about the same as her excellent overall averages, which definitely makes her a major threat to be accounted for when teams plan to guard UConn.

Among UConn national championship teams, I would compare her to Kaitlyn Chen on the 2025 team or Kia Nurse on the 2015 and 2016 teams. Without checking, I will bet that her shooting efficiency is comparable to theirs, and I suspect that her shooting volume is greater, even with all the other shooters. So, based on that history, she is doing more than enough to enable UConn to win a championship this year.

And meanwhile, she is playing a Nika-like floor game in every single game, with more scoring and without Nika's tendency to get in foul trouble.

 

[Bone Dog]

Just for comparison, here are the numbers for Ash's career so far.

Per Game
2023-24: fg% - .481, 2p% - .617, 3p% - .356

2024-25: fg% - .480, 2p% - .554, 3p% - .411

2025-26: fg% - .402, 2p% - .424, 3p% - .381


Totals
2023-24: fg – 167/347, 2p – 103/167, 3p – 64/180

2024-25: fg – 120/250, 2p – 67/121, 3p – 53/129

2025-26: fg – 49/122, 2p – 25/59, 3p – 24/63

It's clear enough her numbers have declined, not just in terms of accuracy, but also in terms of frequency. Ash is not as focused on getting her shot as she once was, and this is not happening without Geno's knowledge. Some of this is probably because of changes in the cohort, and a shift in the way Geno has the entire team play. The focus on high-energy pressing is pretty new, even an enhancement (I think) from last season. And the addition of Blanca isn't just a placeholder for Paige, but a bit of a new direction in the offensive and defensive flow. Perhaps more than any other player, Ash's role seems very context dependent. She is the shape-shifter who fits herself into whatever form the team needs.

 

[donalddoowop]

Ash was needed to score more in year one. There were far fewer other options for scoring then. Her game has not diminished but branched out in years 2 and 3. She is everywhere on the court now, snagging more rebounds both offensive and defensive, more help on defense, assists and leadership. Her game has in no way been diminished, with more great shooters she has shifted her focus to a more complete approach. Not every Husky can launch as many shots as Sarah, Azzi or Blanca.

She can shift her focus and still shoot accurately. Weak excuse.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

Perhaps more than any other player, Ash's role seems very context dependent. She is the shape-shifter who fits herself into whatever form the team needs.

Which is a very important role. Geno notably asked Paige to perform that role in the Final Four — do whatever the context needs (help defense, flying out to shooters, muscling for rebounds, stirring the offense, defending one of the opponent’s better players etc.).

Paige can adapt instantaneously. But it probably affected her offense. But she was always a threat and had that unbelievable start to the NCAAT, so that allowed Azzi and Sarah the space to excel, while she minded the little strategic things.

• Ash has adapted in that role. There are still 13 games to the regular season (the metamorphosis period) for her offense, apart from 3s to return to norm.
• And her minutes is one of the higher ones on a historically flat minutes distribution team; which means that Geno and CD value her and what she does is by Geno and CD’s design.

 

[Bigboote]

It's clear enough her numbers have declined, not just in terms of accuracy, but also in terms of frequency. Ash is not as focused on getting her shot as she once was, and this is not happening without Geno's knowledge. Some of this is probably because of changes in the cohort, and a shift in the way Geno has the entire team play. The focus on high-energy pressing is pretty new, even an enhancement (I think) from last season. And the addition of Blanca isn't just a placeholder for Paige, but a bit of a new direction in the offensive and defensive flow. Perhaps more than any other player, Ash's role seems very context dependent. She is the shape-shifter who fits herself into whatever form the team needs.

(bolded) Bingo! Geno playes Ashlynn a lot (third in minutes, roughly the same as KK, behind Sarah and Azzi), which he wouldn't do if Ash wasn't doing what he's asking of her.