Bria Slighted?

[chip]

ESPNW has a story on the games top 10 clutch players. We have one obvious representative, but no BH....seems wrong to me.

 

[Henry]

No Big Game Bria??!!

 

[VAUConnFan]

It is difficult for UConn to even find themselves in need of clutch performances when they are beating even the best of teams by comfortable double digits.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Well how about then if we redefine it as clutch in the first 5 minutes of the game?

 

[pap49cba]

Another puff piece. Plus the stats on Stewie are wrong.... She scored 104 pts. in five games, not six. (But who's counting?)

LINK

 

[watanabe]

No author indicated. Surely an article that expected backlash. Stewie is really the top clutch player listed due to last years NC, the others not so much. Many other deserving players come to mind that are just as or more deserving.
I guess it's an ok article. something to promote the sport and recognize a couple of players that aren't Huskies.

 

[Fightin Choke]

No author indicated. Surely an article that expected backlash. Stewie is really the top clutch player listed due to last years NC, the others not so much. Many other deserving players come to mind that are just as or more deserving.
I guess it's an ok article. something to promote the sport and recognize a couple of players that aren't Huskies.

The author is Michelle Smith. Her name is provided on the link off the main WCBB page and it follows the caption of each slide.

 

[VAUConnFan]

No author indicated. Surely an article that expected backlash. Stewie is really the top clutch player listed due to last years NC, the others not so much. Many other deserving players come to mind that are just as or more deserving.
I guess it's an ok article. something to promote the sport and recognize a couple of players that aren't Huskies.

It would be unfair wrong to form an opinion of a clutch player due to one game. One can call it a clutch performance, but a clutch player does it time and time again. A clutch basketball player consistently comes through when everyone in the gym knows where the ball is going.

 

[01Neaggrad02]

ESPNW has a story on the games top 10 clutch players. We have one obvious representative, but no BH....seems wrong to me.

You say wrong. I SAY MOTIVATION!!! Bria will prove them all wrong!

 

[Zorro]

Great Husky clutch plays of the past. Just off the top of my head; (I am sure that Kibs and Tony and Nan and all can greatly expand the list).
1. D's back-in play against Stacey Dales to clinch the 2002 NC.
2. Bird at the Buzzer.
3. D's last second 3 against the LV.(2004?)
4. Maya's last second (almost) steal against DePaul.
5. Not a play, exactly, but Stef's entire game against ND in last year's semi, playing like a demon on two bad wheels.

 

[Icebear]

The Huskies need a "clutch" purse to hold all those, Z.

 

[calpedaler]

Great Husky clutch plays of the past. Just off the top of my head; (I am sure that Kibs and Tony and Nan and all can greatly expand the list).
1. D's back-in play against Stacey Dales to clinch the 2002 NC.
2. Bird at the Buzzer.
3. D's last second 3 against the LV.(2004?)
4. Maya's last second (almost) steal against DePaul.
5. Not a play, exactly, but Stef's entire game against ND in last year's semi, playing like a demon on two bad wheels.

How about Bria's shot from the top of the key against Baylor (her freshman year).

 

[snlMINAJ]

how about DT v. texas in FF maybe 03? or 04?

 

[DobbsRover2]

Although UConn has a lot of clutch shots in regulation, and perhaps the ultimate ever clutch shot with Bird at the buzzer in the 2001 BET, as VAUConnFan noted, UConn has a lot of blowouts, and of course not just this year but in their history from the time they came to the fore in 1991. Plus, when you think about clutch shots you think ultimately about NCAA tourney games and maybe NC games, and only 8 of UConn's 91 tourney victories were the nail-biters by 5 points or less, and the one NC win that fits in there was the 2003 win over UTenn that had UConn in guarded control and didn't really feature any one clutch shot from a player. The 2010 NC saw a lot of clutch shots mainly from Maya on the way back, but UConn roared to a 15 point lead with 5 minutes left. Jen's full-court drive in 1995 in the final minutes was also big-time clutch.

But for clutch shots in games of an NC-winning tourney you have to think of first DT's left-handed flip against Texas in the 2003 semi and then the deep 3 to finally give the Huskies the lead. I guess the late back down of Dales-Schuman in the 2002 NC was huge, but UConn was up by 6 at the time.

Among the clutch shots in non-NC winning tourneys, my favorite was Barb Turner's fade-away jumper against Georgia in the 2006 regional semi to win it 77-75. Tamika Williams' 2 late FTs against Xavier in 1999 were extremely clutch in the 86-84 win. And though I didn't see it, Kerry Bascom's 3-pt play at the end of the 81-80 win over Toledo in 1991 is legendary.

 

[blackbird]

How about Bria's shot from the top of the key against Baylor (her freshman year).

The entire 8 points she rattled off was pretty special.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Great Husky clutch plays of the past. Just off the top of my head; (I am sure that Kibs and Tony and Nan and all can greatly expand the list).
1. D's back-in play against Stacey Dales to clinch the 2002 NC. Your memory of the play and of the situation is flawed.
2. Bird at the Buzzer. Right on!
3. D's last second 3 against the LV.(2004?) Incredible shot, but I believe you are referring to the shot in 2003.
4. Maya's last second (almost) steal against DePaul. As mentioned before, this is the play that separates Maya from every other UConn Husky.
5. Not a play, exactly, but Stef's entire game against ND in last year's semi, playing like a demon on two bad wheels. It was a good game. I would not place it in the clutch category. Notre Dame was never in this game. there was no pressure on UConn.

 

[VAUConnFan]

. I guess the late back down of Dales-Schuman in the 2002 NC was huge, but UConn was up by 6 at the time..

Again, everyone seems to remember the play as DT backing down Stacey Dales. That is not what occurred. But, I do agree that it was a huge play, but not a clutch play. As noted UConn was up 6 with 1:30, witht he ball and Oklahaoma never got closer than that. What can be considered clutch is that DT came through despite having an awful game up to that point; that Coach Auriemma and the team trusted her and depended upon her despite her not having played AA caliber ball that night.

 

[VAUConnFan]

I suppose it has not been mentioned because it goes back too far, but how about Nykesha Sales' 3 pointer against Tennessee in the 1996 national semifinal to send it into overtime?

 

[choochoo]

Great Husky clutch plays of the past. Just off the top of my head; (I am sure that Kibs and Tony and Nan and all can greatly expand the list).
1. D's back-in play against Stacey Dales to clinch the 2002 NC.
2. Bird at the Buzzer.
3. D's last second 3 against the LV.(2004?)
4. Maya's last second (almost) steal against DePaul.
5. Not a play, exactly, but Stef's entire game against ND in last year's semi, playing like a demon on two bad wheels.

How about Freshmen Carla Berube 2 free throws against Tenn in 95 to seal the deal. Ice in her veins!

 

[Zorro]

Again, everyone seems to remember the play as DT backing down Stacey Dales. That is not what occurred. But, I do agree that it was a huge play, but not a clutch play. As noted UConn was up 6 with 1:30, witht he ball and Oklahaoma never got closer than that. What can be considered clutch is that DT came through despite having an awful game up to that point; that Coach Auriemma and the team trusted her and depended upon her despite her not having played AA caliber ball that night.

Not to be argumentative, but, from Jeff Goldberg's piece on the game;

``It was a play out of Villanova's book,'' Taurasi said after UConn had beaten Oklahoma 82-70 to take the title. ``Thank you, Villanova.''

Oklahoma had stayed within striking range of the Huskies most of the game, and trailed 73-67 with 2:19 remaining after Dales drove in for a layup.

With 1:45 left, UConn called timeout, and coach Geno Auriemma borrowed from his good friend from Philadelphia.

``My feeling was, let's put the ball in D's hands,'' Auriemma said. ``She's got a little bit of a mismatch, we're going to kill some clock, and she's going to get into the lane. And when D gets in the lane, you're either going to have to foul her or she's going to put the ball on the rim. Nobody came to help, so that's what she did. Stole that play from Harry Perretta.''

Taurasi backed Dales down on the left side of the lane, then turned and made the shot, while Dales committed her fifth foul.

 

[Kibitzer]

Not a bad piece to promote the wcbb game and introduce us to some good players.

But the blurb about McBride only serves to justify the question about Bria's exclusion.

Now, before I say anything else, let the record show that I consider Kayla to be a genuine AA, one of the very best players in wcbb.

Ms Smith justified Kayla's inclusion on this list by citing the fact that McBride has "been to a couple of Final Fours" and has amassed a record of 125-14 thus far at ND.

I believe Bria has been to more than "a couple" of Final Fours, has won an NC, and has contributed mightily to a better cumulative record than McBride's.

Case closed.

 

[Geno-ista]

Great Husky clutch plays of the past. Just off the top of my head; (I am sure that Kibs and Tony and Nan and all can greatly expand the list).
1. D's back-in play against Stacey Dales to clinch the 2002 NC.
2. Bird at the Buzzer.
3. D's last second 3 against the LV.(2004?)
4. Maya's last second (almost) steal against DePaul.
5. Not a play, exactly, but Stef's entire game against ND in last year's semi, playing like a demon on two bad wheels.

Bria Hartley hitting two three's down the stretch vs Baylor as a Frosh- preserving the game and the streak! It was Hartley that really started the engine big time draining back to back shots vs N Dame in semis last yr at about the 8 minute mark! Three and pull up jumper in transition!

 

[DobbsRover2]

Yes, technically it was Ukari Figgs (edit) Dionnah Jackson that DT backed down to get to Dales-Schuman with UConn up 6 with a little over a minute and a half to go. But Figgs Jackson was kind of a nonfactor on the play, being much shorter than DT and kind of like a squashed bug in the Husky's path, and the point of the play was to get to Dales-Schuman who had 4 fouls and was the help player in the paint. As soon as DT got down to D-S about 10 feet in front of the basket, she whirled toward the Sooner to nail the jumper and collect the FT and the DQ of the Sooner star.

So in the future when we refer to the play, we should describe it as the time that DT backed down to Dales-Schuman for the 3 point play in the 2002 NC game.

 

[UConnCat]

Yes, technically it was Ukari Figgs that DT backed down to get to Dales-Schuman with UConn up 6 with a little over a minute and a half to go. But Figgs was kind of a nonfactor on the play, being much shorter than DT and kind of like a squashed bug in the Husky's path, and the point of the play was to get to Dales-Schuman who had 4 fouls and was the help player in the paint. As soon as DT got down to D-S about 10 feet in front of the basket, she whirled toward the Sooner to nail the jumper and collect the FT and the DQ of the Sooner star.

So in the future when we refer to the play, we should describe it as the time that DT backed down to Dales-Schuman for the 3 point play in the 2002 NC game.

Ukari Figgs played for Purdue. Dionnah Jackson was the OK player defending DT on that play.

 

[UConnCat]

Maya's performance in the 2nd half of the 2010 championship game against Stanford has to fit in to the clutch category. Has there ever been more pressure on a UConn player to make shots than coming out of halftime in that game?

Diana's 3-pointer from the top of the key against Texas in the 03 semis was a huge shot. That shot gave UConn the lead after being down 9 points.