Baylor post game thread

[BroadwayVa]

lol wut

Hey, I wasn't worried about Baylor neither and I'm still not worried about them. I don't worry about wins or losses. I don't worry about records, awards, notoriety. When you live in reality you rarely worry.
Its just a blankety blank game.

 

[SECbbfan24]

Hard to believe C. Williams and N. Smith are both sophomores. Tremendous players.

 

[WNBA 09]

I would have kept AG in the game to defend Smith . She was benched due to her inefficiency on the offensive end.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Geno said we'd learn some things tonight, and he wasn't kidding. My biggest takeaway is that if your last name wasn't Dangerfield, Walker or Williams, you were in no way ready for prime time tonight.

Walker was 5-20.

 

[bballnut90]

Really entertaining game, was a 1 point game midway through the 4th. Smith just took over late. I think for Baylor Richards was a HUGE difference maker in the 2nd half with her defense and her passing. Really did a great job in the 2nd half of slowing down Walker. Should be a contender for DPOY IMO. Held Megan to 5-20 shooting overall and last year held Ionescu to 6-24 shooting.

Cox was just a monster inside for Baylor too. Just her presence inside completely deterred UCONN from going after her. She hit shots too until the 4th. Great comeback game for her. Completely shut down ONO who has comparable size and length.

Cooper finished with a gaudy stat line but had some ups and downs. Still not sold on her as a PG, I honestly think Baylor is better running the offense through Richards/Cox because Te'a definitely has a scorers mentality. That's about as much negative as I can say about someone who put up 27 points, 6 boards and 5 assists.

Smith was the difference maker down the stretch. Their best finisher around the rim and her ability to finish through contact and grab boards is superb. Started strong, quieted down, and then really took over. She's gonna be really good with time.

Egbo was a non factor in limited minutes. Same with Landrum. Ursin did well in her limited time.


For UCONN, Williams and Dangerfield carried a lot of the load tonight. Dangerfield has so much range on her shot and Williams seemed to be everywhere tonight. Thought Williams could've hunted shots more than she did but she was the best player for UCONN. Walker struggled after a strong start, she was working really hard on every play and had a fantastic defender on her in the 2nd half, looks like she just wore out. Problem for UCONN is that was the extent of their roster, those 3 scored all but 3 points.

The rest of the team shot 1-16 and 1-10 from deep. Irwin just didn't look confident at all her in shooting and was late on a couple of attempted charges that maybe affected her shooting. ONO just got dominated by Cox. I thought her defensive presence was quite good though. Cox is in her own league as a defensive presence but she'll have other opportunities going up against Tamari Key, Aliyah Boston and Ruthy Hebard. (Note, I'm not saying Key is in their league, but she's a big 6-6 girl that ONO will get to practice against).

I actually thought Griffin battled really well out there and played big for her size. Seemed more effective than Makurat.


Ultimately I think UCONN's success this year rides on ONO's development and ability to score against other bigs her size. She has the length and frame to become a monster, but whether she develops into one by the end of the year is the question. For Baylor, I think their success ultimately comes down to Te'a Cooper. Is she going to look for teammates to score when games get tight, or will she play Te'a ball. Both teams are firmly in the hunt for a title. Great win for Baylor, not the worst loss for UCONN despite the final margin.

 

[cohenzone]

It was like only certain kids were allowed to shoot.

No offense from the middle. Our center is not a threat, at least against better teams. The ball movement disappears and we wind up with a lot of forced shots.

 

[CTtoSanDiego]

I posted earlier in the week, after watching Baylor on TV, that they would be a handful. I got a lot of flack, but I'm going to say "I told you so." Some observations on this game: UConn hung in there for 3 quarters, but there were lots of bad signals. You can't win with only 3 scorers. Liv was non-existent, which Geno obviously saw, since he sat her the whole 4th quarter. Kyla was clearly over her head in this game, which many of us expected would happen against a very good, athletic team. Christyn played hard and played well, but her inability to hit a 3 pt shot (plus a lackluster performance from the foul line) hurt us big time. Megan was good early, but her inability to finish down low ( that missed open layup late was big, momentum wise). Crystal was just "ehh"...
Now, having dropped the hammer on our Huskies, I think they can compete with the best teams if they can improve in the areas mentioned above. Live HAS to be a factor. Christyn HAS to hit some 3's. Kyla HAS to play better, or needs to go to the bench. Crystal HAS to shoot well in big games ( she's done it in the past). Anna and Aubrey HAVE to do more.
All of that is possible. I haven't given up hope. But reality reared it's ugly head tonight.

 

[jaydee602]

I was hoping that Geno was saving Aubrey as a spark plug &secret weapon for tonight. But she faltered in her first few minutes & never received another chance.

 

[Bayloralum]

T’ea Cooper came to play tonight!

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Hey, I wasn't worried about Baylor neither and I'm still not worried about them. I don't worry about wins or losses. I don't worry about records, awards, notoriety. When you live in reality you rarely worry.
Its just a blankety blank game.

Nah, Baylor is FAR better defensively than the Huskies. They're also much tougher. UConn would've scored 40 if not for extra possessions.

 

[Blueballer]

Almost a mirror image of last year's game. Baylor has just too much talent, depth & physical presence - that wore UConn out by the 4th quarter. UConn would have to shoot lights out for 40 minutes to beat this team. Not even close tonight.

Not really. They shot 45% from field which they don't always do by a long shot. We shot 29% which we don't always do. There's a LOT of room between 29% and "Lights out" for us to have been able to win. Just Not a great scoring night. Not a bad loss. A loss in the American would be a bad loss.

 

[MooreMayaNY]

Wow,

Liv was really bad. Cox made her look REALLY BAD. She has to get stronger.

Meg & Christyn played pretty well and Crystal finally started scoring in the second half. I was hoping we could execute better in the fourth when we got within 1. Richards played a difference guarding Meg in the second half, but I think she settled for a lot of jump shots.

I wish Kyla hit those open threes she was given. It would have made a difference. Smith is a monster for Baylor and Cooper following up here 30-pt game with 27 vs. UConn was definitely surprising.

Think we’re all disappointed in our fourth quarter execution. It was abysmal! On to the next one.

 

[Huskie02]

Some thoughts on the Baylor game:

• The game started out like two heavyweight fighters measuring each other while circling in the ring. In the end Baylor got the knockout in the 4th qtr.
• There will be a lot of over analysis about this game. To me, it simply came down to Baylor’s interior size and strength. They were too much for UConn in the paint.
• Christyn, Megan and Crystal all put up double figures, but UConn needed more from their supporting cast.
• Keep the faith. Liv will have much better days. Today, Cox was a mismatch for her.
• So much for home winning streaks. Time for the Huskies to start a new one.

Hard to win when 2 of your starting 5 score 0 points. UConn just doesn’t have the height to match up in the front court. I hope this isn an omen of things to come ie South Carolina. We went toe toe with them for 3 periods. In period 4 we looked tired and our lack of depth off the bench was evident. Fortunately the cavalry is coming with the next 2 recruiting classes.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Kind of a shame that Kyla wasn't able to make her shots after being so on in recent games. Otherwise I liked her play, steady on defense and offense.
Just feel extra bad for her (and for everyone) after this hard fought loss.

The pressure to make was much greater for ALL. If she had nailed one in the first quarter (or taken one then) she may have replicated her great game. All in All she played way beyond the Irwin I had become to know. Kudo's to her a very very good game by Kyla, Aubrey, Ania they need to shoot when open.

 

[Rb335]

Williams played really well tonight and I am not the least bit surprised. If she starts shooting well from 3 and the FT line, she can easily be our best player. I hope this is the start of consistent play for her.

ONO, on the other hand, is really going to want to forget about tonight. I hope she uses it as motivation to get better because she is a crucial piece to the puzzle. With her out, we were so exposed on the interior. I really hope CD is able to get her to stop swatting and shooting layups from her hip because at her height, there is no reason for her to be so ineffective against similar size.

The team played a solid 34 minutes and hung with Baylor, but we won’t win against the top teams by relying on only 3 players. We need to play 5v5.

 

[hoopsfan22]

No matter what ONO does, she will never be Stef or Kiah in the lane. Hopefully we are bringing in some big bodies that take up space around the basket and are hard to move in the coming years.

 

[bballnut90]

something up with ONO? has not been good past few, maybe playing hurt?

Playing against much larger competition. Cox has a ridiculous wing span is a shut down defender. Tough matchup for anyone going up against her. I didn't see the SMU game, but per their box score they had a 6-4 girl inside going up against her for much of the game. Against smaller opponents she's been able to score at will (Ex. DePaul, Oklahoma).

 

[enigmatic]

Hey we lost but I still support this team no matter what. As cliche sounding as it is, this is the kind of game that we needed to see what we need to work and improve on. I trust Geno and staff to make the needed adjustments. I wish I could see the team's next practice after today's game for what will be addressed. Otherwise, GO HUSKIES!

 

[HopJim]

Liv was suffering from a bad case of Lauren Cox. Fortunately, Cox will be in the pros next year.

I have been tough on ONO this year but predict after this game she will learn she is truly 6'5". Being a bit facetious, but all she needed to do was turn around and in one motion shoot over Cox. Cox is good defender but has no "ups" and would not have been able to guard turnaround. Would have been good if Geno had taken ONO out early in game and done some coaching. Glad this happened to ONO early in season.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Wow,

Liv was really bad. Cox made her look REALLY BAD. She has to get stronger.

Meg & Christyn played pretty well and Crystal finally started scoring in the second half. I was hoping we could execute better in the fourth when we got within 1. Richards played a difference guarding Meg in the second half, but I think she settled for a lot of jump shots.

I wish Kyla hit those open threes she was given. It would have made a difference. Smith is a monster for Baylor and Cooper following up here 30-pt game with 27 vs. UConn was definitely surprising.

Think we’re all disappointed in our fourth quarter execution. It was abysmal! On to the next one.

Uconn didn't "execute better because there was a good team on the floor with them. Uconn was well scouted and executed against. If Uconn had another AA or 2 it may have been different when 3 of the starting 5 does all the scoring that isnt a good night. Baylor had how many scoring --10??

 

[UConn2SF]

silver lining, CW had an excellent all-around game. She seemed like the only UConn player capable of getting in the lane, drawing a foul, or getting a layup.

 

[tomcat]

This was what I was afraid might happen, only worse. Never mind Lauren Cox. Somebody tell me how UConn was supposed to have an answer for that Smith kid, because she was the issue throughout. Tall and mobile and just plain good. Kyla played as well as she could, which was pretty well. Megan did well, and after not being much of a factor early, Crystal made her presence known with some important 3s.

I really did not expect Olivia to be a no-show, though, but Cox and the rest of the Baylor front line really schooled her. Williams was spectacular, but if she hadn't been, this might have been a blowout. Consider that, folks.

 

[j66kicker]

We played

Kind of a shame that Kyla wasn't able to make her shots after being so on in recent games. Otherwise I liked her play, steady on defense and offense.
Just feel bad for her (and for everyone) after this hard fought loss.

I feel bad for her too, but let’s face it - if she’s the best we can do for a starting player then, we aren’t going to be a contender. Tonight we weren’t even competitive. Unfortunately, in addition to Kyla doing absolutely nothing, ONO also did practically nothing as well, so basically we played 3 on 5. We don’t have an alternative for ONO, but at least can’t we just call this a rebuilding year and put an elite athlete in there to get experience in Kyla’s place?

 

[SECbbfan24]

something up with ONO? has not been good past few, maybe playing hurt?

ONO is a great player but you saw a relative inexperience sophomore go up against a dominant physical senior. Cox made ONO look rough but it will be good for ONO in the long run. She wasn't ready for that kind of physicality and presence tonight. She will get better.

 

[Figurehead]

We have been saying all week someone besides the core three needs to step up. We got nothing. 29% shooting, Ono a big zero (I said several times she was key to getting a win tonight) and only three players contributed and a whopping 6 points in 4th. Hoping they learn a big lesson tonight.

What were the numbers from the bench for both teams?