Atlanta v Chicago

[triaddukefan]

oh my

 

[msf22b]

Amazing win for Chicago after being behind the whole game.
Elena is virtually unstoppable

 

[JoePgh]

EDD had 34 points (10 of 19 from the floor), including 17 in the final quarter, and also including the game winning basket with 8.2 seconds to go. She rebounded and played defense as well.

What a different person EDD is now -- a mature and clutch young woman who carried her team to victory in the biggest game of her career.

Assuming her health holds, she is lock for the USA team this year and in the Olympics.

 

[RadyLady]

I'm stunned. EDD was just incredible.

She came to LIFE in the latter part of the game - amazing she was!!

 

[katiecrum1992]

I caught bits and pieces of the game, turned it back on when there was 2 minutes left so enough time to see Chicago win!
Pleased with the end result.

 

[UCONNfan1]

Wow great come back for Chicago. Really nice win for them. Did Atlanta just fall apart? i mean Chicago outscored them 30-13 in the 4th quarter - that's pretty pathetic for a professional basketball game, on their home court...

 

[Orangutan]

I told y'all not to question Chicago's mental toughness! EDD is fully healthy and what a difference it makes!

 

[msf22b]

What a different person EDD is now --

Not to criticize but seems to me that what we're seeing is her game, more or less unchanged since High School
I was curious how you see her as being different

 

[Flyegirl]

Not to criticize but seems to me that what we're seeing is her game, more or less unchanged since High School
I was curious how you see her as being different

I think EDD got some nice calls to go her way....she spent a lot of time at the charity stripe.
Personally, I like the Dream. Tiffany and Shoni are some of my favorite players and wish they had been able to hold on.

 

[stwainfan]

EDD is just a great player.

 

[psconn]

What a shame this was not a national broadcast on ESPN.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Incredible game...no team should let another team up off the mat like that...but, Elena is just flat out amazing. She looked so tired after that first game, and somehow she comes out and plays like this on the road...she's made my Olympic team...

 

[easttexastrash]

I told y'all not to question Chicago's mental toughness! EDD is fully healthy and what a difference it makes!

I don't think EDD is fully healthy, which makes this performance even more impressive. Kind of like the MJ "flu" performance.

Atlanta really let that game get away. Thomas will be thinking about those two free throws for a long time. She had a chance to ice the game and couldn't come through.

 

[connboy77]

EDD is a great player and I wish she had played four years at UCONN!

 

[RadyLady]

Wow great come back for Chicago. Really nice win for them. Did Atlanta just fall apart? i mean Chicago outscored them 30-13 in the 4th quarter - that's pretty pathetic for a professional basketball game, on their home court...

Delle Donne woke up in the 4th quarter
Atlanta their shots weren't going in and both Thomas and DeSouza left some points on the floor missing at the free for free throw line which could have been the game decider
To call Atlanta's performance pathetic in the fourth, one would have to call Chicago's performance in the first two quarters pretty lousy. let's be fair here: shots go in, shots don't go in. luck turned in opposite directions for Chicago and Atlanta in the fourth quarter
I don't think anybody fell apart per se

 

[RadyLady]

I think EDD got some nice calls to go her way....she spent a lot of time at the charity stripe.
Personally, I like the Dream. Tiffany and Shoni are some of my favorite players and wish they had been able to hold on.

From what I could see I felt that the game was called fairly well. I have no complaints about the fouls that Elena or anyone got. As the game went on and the situation became tighter people were becoming more aggressive naturally, Elena earned a lot of points at the stripe simply by driving to the hole

 

[VAMike23]

EDD is a great player and I wish she had played four years at UCONN!

Tina+Maya+EDD

It was incredible with just the first two playing together. Had EDD stayed on, it would have been the greatest assemblage of talent in WCBB history, eclipsing even (IMO) the TASS years or the Shea/Sveta injury years where we missed out on NCs but had incredible squads. Geno has often referred to one of those non-NC squads (2000?) as the most talented he ever coached, by a fair margin. Not only would EDD have pushed her teams over the top talent-wise, the fact that her skill set was complementary to both Tina and even Maya (some overlap there) would have made the teams even more devastating.

 

[RadyLady]

Although I must say they subbed Shoni in only once during the final minutes of the quarter and I think that was a mistake. It is true that she is a defensive liability, but she is amazing at getting the ball to players in position to score. They subbed her in she couldn't get the ball to anyone so she took the shot herself and that's the one that went in and then they subbed her out and put Thomas back in. I suppose it is a crap shoot but I think the offense ran better when Shoni was distributing the ball. Without her it seems they got the ball into Angel's hands quickly and then she had to move to get into position to try to take a shot with Chicago's defense collapsing on her.
I am NOT surprised because Shoni is a bit of a show man but I don't think anybody can argue that she is not clutch when she has to be and she is showing signs of growing up and maturing. I'm disappointed. I would have loved to have seen her in the finals, but now I have to wait until next year.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

It's going to take a long, long time for Atlanta to get over this loss! A total collapse by ATL and a lot of guts by the Sky!
EDD must be feeling much better as she's put her name in for USA BB!

 

[Flyegirl]

Although I must say they subbed Shoni in only once during the final minutes of the quarter and I think that was a mistake. It is true that she is a defensive liability, but she is amazing at getting the ball to players in position to score. They subbed her in she couldn't get the ball to anyone so she took the shot herself and that's the one that went in and then they subbed her out and put Thomas back in. I suppose it is a crap shoot but I think the offense ran better when Shoni was distributing the ball. Without her it seems they got the ball into Angel's hands quickly and then she had to move to get into position to try to take a shot with Chicago's defense collapsing on her.
I am NOT surprised because Shoni is a bit of a show man but I don't think anybody can argue that she is not clutch when she has to be and she is showing signs of growing up and maturing. I'm disappointed. I would have loved to have seen her in the finals, but now I have to wait until next year.

I agree. Loved Shoni's game play in the play-offs. I think Atlanta should have left her in....just go with what is working at that moment.

 

[Shmermerer]

Although I must say they subbed Shoni in only once during the final minutes of the quarter and I think that was a mistake. It is true that she is a defensive liability, but she is amazing at getting the ball to players in position to score. They subbed her in she couldn't get the ball to anyone so she took the shot herself and that's the one that went in and then they subbed her out and put Thomas back in. I suppose it is a crap shoot but I think the offense ran better when Shoni was distributing the ball. Without her it seems they got the ball into Angel's hands quickly and then she had to move to get into position to try to take a shot with Chicago's defense collapsing on her.
I am NOT surprised because Shoni is a bit of a show man but I don't think anybody can argue that she is not clutch when she has to be and she is showing signs of growing up and maturing. I'm disappointed. I would have loved to have seen her in the finals, but now I have to wait until next year.

She definetly runs the offense better than Thomas. Shoni gets everyone involved and doesn't just pass I give the ball to Angel at the top of the key like Jasmine. Shoni may be a bit of a liability on the defensive end, but she makes up for it. I bet she would have made those free throws at the end of the game if she was in.

 

[RadyLady]

She definetly runs the offense better than Thomas. Shoni gets everyone involved and doesn't just pass I give the ball to Angel at the top of the key like Jasmine. Shoni may be a bit of a liability on the defensive end, but she makes up for it. I bet she would have made those free throws at the end of the game if she was in.

Mind you I'm thinking that that was a set play: "get the ball to angel." or at least it was a set mindset. I blame the coaches rather than the players and I'm not prepared to debate free throws. Jasmine Thomas is more upset about those missed free throws than anybody.

 

[Blakeon18]

Mike: it is the 2000-2001 team that Geno references as being our most talented team ever...though he still
calls the 2001-2002 team as simply the best one.

2001 NCAA semifinal: we had lost Shea and Svetlana to season ending injuries but still had eventual champ ND
down by double digits at the half. A rare meltdown followed. As a firm believer in 'good losses', I think this loss
was a key factor in our winning the whole thing 3 times in a row following this game.

 

[RadyLady]

Mike: it is the 2000-2001 team that Geno references as being our most talented team ever...though he still
calls the 2001-2002 team as simply the best one.

2001 NCAA semifinal: we had lost Shea and Svetlana to season ending injuries but still had eventual champ ND
down by double digits at the half. A rare meltdown followed. As a firm believer in 'good losses', I think this loss
was a key factor in our winning the whole thing 3 times in a row following this game.

What?