Well, they were injury plagued most of the season and didn't look at all like a Championship contender until late in the year, so the pressure just was not there. "IF" is really fairly meaningless in this context.
idk if you watch games but they usually are 4 quarters long. Uconn in both 4th quarters vs SC were dominated, including 7 pts 1st meeting. Even Geno after the game Sunday said even if his team was 100% they weren't stopping SC, they were the best team all year.
UConn was dominated all game, in the NCAA final, but if Dorka doesn’t break her wrist and plays it would have been a much different game. Look at the NC State game, early on before Dorka breaks her wrist, NC State is on the verge of getting blown out. Cunane was very ineffective, but as soon as Dorka leaves the game, it becomes a dogfight and UConn was incredibly lucky to win it. In the first game they lost last Fall, they were in it and then some through the first three quarters, and when UConn’s shots stopped falling in the 4th quarter SC pulled away and then some. Fudd and Ducharme were seasoned veterans in the NCAA final, but in the game last Fall they were pretty green. I don’t recall Geno saying if Dorka doesn’t break her wrist and plays, SC would have won anyway. He was being a gentleman in the postgame which means he was not going to make obvious excuses for his teams loss, either referring to Dorka or Azzi’s illness.
What “context” are you referring to? The context of that UConn was injury plagued all season long??? Lol. Geno even said that it was the worst season in all his years at UConn in terms of injuries. How about the “context” of holding practices with only 5 players for a portion of the year. “If” means everything in this context. How about “if” Boston breaks her wrist against Louisville and Dorka doesn’t? What happens then? Lol
If they were healthy all year, but they weren't, so it's a moot point to ponder.
doesn't matter the game was won by Henderson, I said all season defense will be why Uconn wins or loses. The guards need to improve defensively. Dawn made it a point to go at Paige when they were on offense. Ducharme over Fudd to me I said it before the tournament started brought more this season to the table. Her length made other teams question going at her because of her length. Also pretty sure Dorka played the 1st meeting vs SC, so you can't use that excuse either.
Guard play didn’t determine this games outcome, it was post play and rebounding. That being said, I agree with you 100% about using Ducharme over Fudd.
I think it’s quite apparent that it’s the other way around, your perimeter defenders are only as good as your bigs. Take away Zia Cooke or Destiny Henderson and put in someone else and South Carolina doesn’t miss a beat, but take away Boston and put in someone else, and South Carolina’s game has big problems. Same thing with Dorka, when she broke her wrist, that killed UConn, but if either of Westbrook, Fudd, Muhl, or CW had been the one to break their wrist, UConn doesn’t lose nearly as much. If you want to look at why UConn hasn’t won a NC since 2016 ask yourself who was the last UConn big to make first team All American?
How the heck can the guards improve defensively when Boston is being double teamed all game, which means someone on the perimeter will get open shots.
Certainly SC presently & likely moving forward. But my Tennessee deference was made in historical & aggregate context, with 8 NC’s & a litany of decorated players.