Baylor UConn down 1 with 4 minutes left

[Tonyc]

Was at the game last nite sitting in the second row at half court with Gov Lamont sitting infront of us. I was there with our own Charlie Ferraro who is a State Rep out of Milford W Haven. I took their picture and the camera didnt break. lol Gotta tell ya watching the game from there and then the replay when I got home. well its alot different. You cant see the banging and some of the touchy fouls Not Called. Reading the threads I gotta agree it seemed like it was UConns big 3 looking and creating to score and nobody else. I have never seen so many air balls and bricks thrown up in my life. Coming into the game Baylor was not a 3 pt shooting team last nite they were.

The turning point in the game was at the end of the third qtr and beginning of the 4th qtr. I think it was Megan who missed a wide open layup with a drive from the corner with seconds left in the 3rd and then the start of the 4th qtr we missed approx 3-4 layups and a bunch of wide open shots. I think from that point we were 1 of 9 and should have had the lead as Baylor was not scoring either. We looked tired and run down and imo we were tired exhausted and running out of energy. My guess is because we had only 3 players scoring and working for shots. Almost eveybody else was a passer. Still we were only down 1 point with about 4 minutes to play. We must've missed 8 shots making only one before the wheels came off. If we knock down a couple of those shots and we've got the lead and the game turns around. With that said we missed a ton of layups and way to many foul shots and we were down 1 pt with about 4 minutes left. It wasnt as bad as some make it out to be, up to the 4 minute mark left in the game. Understand Baylor up to this game does not make many treys. They did tonite. Still we were down only 1pt with 4 minutes left. Am I making my point. We lacked height, we lacked experience, we had only 3 players scoring, Baylor was making treys, and scoring underneath, and we were down 1 pt with 4 minutes left??????????

So what do we need to do from here? What have we learned from last nite? Well number 1 we need to get Liv up to speed with Tenn SC and Oregon coming up and we will. We need to get scoring from out Mak Griff and Kyla. With that said I would like to think we could find ways to get Mak and Kyla open shots. One way to do that is dribble penetration and passing it out to them. Mak and Kyla some how must be taught to create their own shots. Neither is quick but a simple screen or pump fake and side step will get them open. Griff is a force but was clobbered underneath to many times last nite. Shes only a freshman and this was a big game for her. Shes gonna be terrific but last nite she looked like so many freshman weve seen before in big games. Give her time she will be a star. Liv is only a soph with very little experience in big games. Shes still learning and feeling her way around. The coaching staff will have her ready for the next big game. She got tremendous potential and will get much better over the next few weeks.

So here we are the morning after. Everything that could go wrong did. This is a learning experience for a very young team. Many fans thought we would loose this game and we did. Again we hung in there down 1 pt with 4 minutes left. We can not depend on our big 3 to do all the scoring in a game like this. Our big 3 are really good and just think of our future with Westbrook and our incoming class. Yeah Westbrook just think if she couldve played in this game we wouldnt have been 0 for 14 ( 3 players stats )and maybe wouldve won the game. Again with 4 minutes left down 1 Westbrook wouldve made the difference. We arent far off from being really good. The thing is we need to get another scorer.

 

[Dokey]

Was at the game last nite sitting in the second row at half court with Gov Lamont sitting infront of us. I was there with our own Charlie Ferraro who is a State Rep out of Milford W Haven. I took their picture and the camera didnt break. lol Gotta tell ya watching the game from there and then the replay when I got home. well its alot different. You cant see the banging and some of the touchy fouls Not Called. Reading the threads I gotta agree it seemed like it was UConns big 3 looking and creating to score and nobody else. I have never seen so many air balls and bricks thrown up in my life. Coming into the game Baylor was not a 3 pt shooting team last nite they were.

The turning point in the game was at the end of the third qtr and beginning of the 4th qtr. I think it was Megan who missed a wide open layup with a drive from the corner with seconds left in the 3rd and then the start of the 4th qtr we missed approx 3-4 layups and a bunch of wide open shots. I think from that point we were 1 of 9 and should have had the lead as Baylor was not scoring either. We looked tired and run down and imo we were tired exhausted and running out of energy. My guess is because we had only 3 players scoring and working for shots. Almost eveybody else was a passer. Still we were only down 1 point with about 4 minutes to play. We must've missed 8 shots making only one before the wheels came off. If we knock down a couple of those shots and we've got the lead and the game turns around. With that said we missed a ton of layups and way to many foul shots and we were down 1 pt with about 4 minutes left. It wasnt as bad as some make it out to be, up to the 4 minute mark left in the game. Understand Baylor up to this game does not make many treys. They did tonite. Still we were down only 1pt with 4 minutes left. Am I making my point. We lacked height, we lacked experience, we had only 3 players scoring, Baylor was making treys, and scoring underneath, and we were down 1 pt with 4 minutes left??????????

So what do we need to do from here? What have we learned from last nite? Well number 1 we need to get Liv up to speed with Tenn SC and Oregon coming up and we will. We need to get scoring from out Mak Griff and Kyla. With that said I would like to think we could find ways to get Mak and Kyla open shots. One way to do that is dribble penetration and passing it out to them. Mak and Kyla some how must be taught to create their own shots. Neither is quick but a simple screen or pump fake and side step will get them open. Griff is a force but was clobbered underneath to many times last nite. Shes only a freshman and this was a big game for her. Shes gonna be terrific but last nite she looked like so many freshman weve seen before in big games. Give her time she will be a star. Liv is only a soph with very little experience in big games. Shes still learning and feeling her way around. The coaching staff will have her ready for the next big game. She got tremendous potential and will get much better over the next few weeks.

So here we are the morning after. Everything that could go wrong did. This is a learning experience for a very young team. Many fans thought we would loose this game and we did. Again we hung in there down 1 pt with 4 minutes left. We can not depend on our big 3 to do all the scoring in a game like this. Our big 3 are really good and just think of our future with Westbrook and our incoming class. Yeah Westbrook just think if she couldve played in this game we wouldnt have been 0 for 14 ( 3 players stats )and maybe wouldve won the game. Again with 4 minutes left down 1 Westbrook wouldve made the difference. We arent far off from being really good. The thing is we need to get another scorer.

I agree with much of this but Liv just doesn’t have the physical frame to battle other bigs—just look at those skinny arms. UConn has tougher bigs coming in who will push her. Aubrey isn’t ready for prime time but will be a worthwhile project. Anna’s job has been to pass and play defense. The former she excels at, the latter she does effectively without fanfare, making up for her perhaps slower footwork with court awareness, which is why she should be starting. Right now the team isn’t looking for her to score. They need to work on that. She could be a secret weapon. After all, Oregon is loaded but they recruited her. I expect that with a little luck we can go 26-3, losing only to Oregon (too much of everything, Liv rendered powerless) and South Carolina (playing at home) before post season.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Understand Baylor up to this game does not make many treys. They did tonite. Still we were down only 1pt with 4 minutes left. Am I making my point. We lacked height, we lacked experience, we had only 3 players scoring, Baylor was making treys, and scoring underneath, and we were down 1 pt with 4 minutes left??????????

Baylor shot 31% from three against UConn while shooting 38% from three on the season.

Baylor has its own flaws; they'd likely be stronger had Morris and DeCosta not left. But they play hounding, physical defense that UConn never adjusted to. UConn made up for the missed shots with extra possessions and free throws, but when those things dried up it was over.

 

[FanHam]

We make most of the bunnies we missed, shoot halfway decent on the other shots, we win by ten. Baylor is a super team. Should be a good learning experience. Nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[BobbyJ]

Baylor shot 31% from three against UConn while shooting 38% from three on the season.

Baylor has its own flaws; they'd likely be stronger had Morris and DeCosta not left. But they play hounding, physical defense that UConn never adjusted to. UConn made up for the missed shots with extra possessions and free throws, but when those things dried up it was over.

You're right. Physical, in your face defense has been the way to beat UConn ever since Stewart's team left.

 

[pvdoggy]

So Geno responded to the question about Cox and Smith outscoring Liv and Kyla 36-0 and if that is fixable and he said NO. Really? What the heck does that even mean?

 

[meyers7]

So Geno responded to the question about Cox and Smith outscoring Liv and Kyla 36-0 and if that is fixable and he said NO. Really? What the heck does that even mean?

Well he pretty much explains it. (and if you've followed the team for years, you realize it's also a motivational tool)

 

[TheFarmFan]

So Geno responded to the question about Cox and Smith outscoring Liv and Kyla 36-0 and if that is fixable and he said NO. Really? What the heck does that even mean?

It means that Irwin is no Smith, and Cox minus her injuries would be neck and neck with Ionescu for POTY awards - and is a senior. Even Geno can only do so much coaching. Irwin was not a highly-ranked recruit and his coaching, and her effort, have made her markedly better - to be a starter at UConn, even in a down year, is a remarkable accomplishment. But Cox and Smith came to Baylor as stars in the making and are proving to be just that, and a senior year Cox is way more valuable than a senior year Irwin.

Now if someone had asked Mulkey, "Williams and Walker outscored Landrum and Richards 39-4, is that fixable?," I bet Mulkey would have said the same: NO. It's not! Difference was simply that fifth position - PG - Cooper was a little more effective than Dangerfield, and made almost all her free throws down the stretch. That, plus a fourth quarter burst from Smith, was enough while UConn was inexplicably bricking left, right, and center.

It's also notable that Baylor's bench barely played more minutes than UConn's, nor scored all that much more (7 points to 3). Difference was defense in the second half - Cox and Richards are incredible defenders, and there was no one to contain Smith once both teams started to look a little gassed.

 

[SCyankee]

This year UCONN looks bad when the offense goes stagnant and stops moving. A contributing factor is that MW almost never screens or passes to Kyla. Whether this is due to a lack of confidence in Kyla or an assumption that scoring is Megan's job I don't know,but it stifles movement and results in 3 on 5 scoring. Kyla is there to facilitate but almost no one facilitates for her,so opponents slack off. If she misses a couple of shots she stops shooting. Also the beautiful movement offense is most visible against smaller weaker teams.

 

[Bayloralum]

Was at the game last nite sitting in the second row at half court with Gov Lamont sitting infront of us. I was there with our own Charlie Ferraro who is a State Rep out of Milford W Haven. I took their picture and the camera didnt break. lol Gotta tell ya watching the game from there and then the replay when I got home. well its alot different. You cant see the banging and some of the touchy fouls Not Called. Reading the threads I gotta agree it seemed like it was UConns big 3 looking and creating to score and nobody else. I have never seen so many air balls and bricks thrown up in my life. Coming into the game Baylor was not a 3 pt shooting team last nite they were.

The turning point in the game was at the end of the third qtr and beginning of the 4th qtr. I think it was Megan who missed a wide open layup with a drive from the corner with seconds left in the 3rd and then the start of the 4th qtr we missed approx 3-4 layups and a bunch of wide open shots. I think from that point we were 1 of 9 and should have had the lead as Baylor was not scoring either. We looked tired and run down and imo we were tired exhausted and running out of energy. My guess is because we had only 3 players scoring and working for shots. Almost eveybody else was a passer. Still we were only down 1 point with about 4 minutes to play. We must've missed 8 shots making only one before the wheels came off. If we knock down a couple of those shots and we've got the lead and the game turns around. With that said we missed a ton of layups and way to many foul shots and we were down 1 pt with about 4 minutes left. It wasnt as bad as some make it out to be, up to the 4 minute mark left in the game. Understand Baylor up to this game does not make many treys. They did tonite. Still we were down only 1pt with 4 minutes left. Am I making my point. We lacked height, we lacked experience, we had only 3 players scoring, Baylor was making treys, and scoring underneath, and we were down 1 pt with 4 minutes left??????????

So what do we need to do from here? What have we learned from last nite? Well number 1 we need to get Liv up to speed with Tenn SC and Oregon coming up and we will. We need to get scoring from out Mak Griff and Kyla. With that said I would like to think we could find ways to get Mak and Kyla open shots. One way to do that is dribble penetration and passing it out to them. Mak and Kyla some how must be taught to create their own shots. Neither is quick but a simple screen or pump fake and side step will get them open. Griff is a force but was clobbered underneath to many times last nite. Shes only a freshman and this was a big game for her. Shes gonna be terrific but last nite she looked like so many freshman weve seen before in big games. Give her time she will be a star. Liv is only a soph with very little experience in big games. Shes still learning and feeling her way around. The coaching staff will have her ready for the next big game. She got tremendous potential and will get much better over the next few weeks.

So here we are the morning after. Everything that could go wrong did. This is a learning experience for a very young team. Many fans thought we would loose this game and we did. Again we hung in there down 1 pt with 4 minutes left. We can not depend on our big 3 to do all the scoring in a game like this. Our big 3 are really good and just think of our future with Westbrook and our incoming class. Yeah Westbrook just think if she couldve played in this game we wouldnt have been 0 for 14 ( 3 players stats )and maybe wouldve won the game. Again with 4 minutes left down 1 Westbrook wouldve made the difference. We arent far off from being really good. The thing is we need to get another scorer.

Weren’t you the one who said Baylor was going to lose by 17?

 

[TB12]

Just watched the game on TV ( was there last night) at 4 minutes upon was already behind by 7. At 6 minutes they were behind by 1 until the roof caved in again. I was there a week before that the first time....

 

[eebmg]

Just watched the game on TV ( was there last night) at 4 minutes upon was already behind by 7. At 6 minutes they were behind by 1 until the roof caved in again. I was there a week before that the first time....

I had a feeling 4' was off but no way, I was going to rewatch to satisfy my curiosity.

 

[veryolddog]

What Tony said. In a few words which I have said before, you have to make the ball go through the basket more than the other team.

 

[Tonyc]

Weren’t you the one who said Baylor was going to lose by 17?

Yes I did. I believe I said something like 74-59.

 

[PoppaBear]

Yes I did.

Missed it by that much..... Maxwell Smart

 

[hoopsfan22]

So Geno responded to the question about Cox and Smith outscoring Liv and Kyla 36-0 and if that is fixable and he said NO. Really? What the heck does that even mean?

Cox and Smith are substantially better than anyone on UConn's roster. The scary part is Smith is just a sophomore. The good news is Cox is gone after this season, and UConn's roster reloads next year.

 

[HopJim]

Baylor shot 31% from three against UConn while shooting 38% from three on the season.

Baylor has its own flaws; they'd likely be stronger had Morris and DeCosta not left. But they play hounding, physical defense that UConn never adjusted to. UConn made up for the missed shots with extra possessions and free throws, but when those things dried up it was over.

Totally agree about Baylor's physical defense but believe if they ever play again, Geno will vary his tactics. UConn's offense is methodical, typically wearing down the other team into letting 3 pointers and back door layups. Williams often forced out 30 feet when she could overpower who ever is guarding her. Early in season so understand the lack of a Baylor specific game plan but would be surprised to see this same offense in playoffs.

 

[Conndog]

Wish Liv would get ball off quicker when shooting and that her release on her shot was higher too, which she can work on to improve. Fake one way and then use a quick pivot and shoot; draw a foul on opposing center if possible. Her turn-around jumper is good start & will get better, but she was flustered by playing against such a solid and skilled center. Someone suggested a hook shot could be added to her arsenal; it's worth a try. I think she should see watch film of what Morgan Tuck and Napheesa would do when down low and try to imitate them as they were fantastic, and they weren't as tall as she.
Kyla has open shots and shooting just isn't in her thoughts, I guess, not as first option anyway, and she passes to other players instead. We've seen that she can shoot well; but if she won't shoot in a critical game, especially when open, then this is a liability. I was very impressed by her defense and rebounding against Baylor, but UConn needs more offense. Sorry, have to play someone else more if more offense is needed. But, maybe she can work on changing her mindset.
I like Aubrey a lot- wow is she athletic! She really battled for rebounds when in the game. She is so quick too, and if she can develop (maybe she already has it) a medium jump shot, she would be deadly coming off screens at the top of the key. She drives well to the basket too. If Kyla isn't going to shoot, I'd play Aubrey, and UConn would be better offensively and at least equal on defense (freshman inexperience notwithstanding).
Oh well, this was a good test, and except for end of game, it was close.

 

[willtalk]

We make most of the bunnies we missed, shoot halfway decent on the other shots, we win by ten. Baylor is a super team. Should be a good learning experience. Nothing to be ashamed of.

Not to pick on you, but that statement is probably the most used by fans after their team loses games. That could be said by every team for a lot of games. Players miss bunnies just like they miss uncontested free throws. It's part of every game. Players have good, average and sub-par games throughout the season. Not being robots their games will vary day to day on a sliding scale. I think fans tend to remember player's good games and expect that to happen all the time. It doesn't. Even Jordan had games where he didn't hit double figures.

There are a lot of variables that decide games all the time. I think because Uconn has been so dominant their fans are less used to a few factors being involved in losses. Those factors are what helps to create upsets and upsets happen all the time if you play enough teams that have the talent to carry them off with a bit of timing in their favor.