I noticed that comment by Kelly. Presumably, they run a "special" play like that in practice? Does that mean the kids "audibled" that one or Geno called it from the sidelines or they just said "Go Deep:?
I do not know whether the team practices the play. It looks like Tiffany called the play on the spot. The tape shows Tiffany assembling the team on the court with 2.1 seconds left on the clock, directly after KML fouled UK's Mathies in the act of shooting. [it's such a treat to have the tape available on the internet.] A couple of players on the bench react to the foul call. Tiff ignores the foul call, and starts talking as the UConn five get together for a quick moment before Mathies' first foul shot. There is a short conversation among the five -- with no involvement from the sidelines -- and Tiff appears to call a play, gesturing quickly toward the far end of the court with her hand, and (it appears) finishing with the words, "Kelly go." It's a one & one foul shot, and Mathies proceeds to make both shots. As she is shooting, the ESPN announcer suggests that UConn might have enough time left on the clock for "a chance for a 'heave' anyway for the Huskies -- assuming that they can get the ball in cleanly before halftime." There are no further conversations -- or even any 'knowing' looks -- among the UConn five as the foul shots are made, [I wouldn't play poker with those ladies], and on the sielines the coaches seem to be still regretting the foul. Then, as the inbounds play shapes up, check out how Kelly lines up. There's no indication that she's going to "go deep." When the whistle blows, Kelly first runs cross-court towards the sideline, as if she is simply trying to get open for an inbounds pass. Then suddenly she turns right and "lights out for the territory," [to use the expression of a former Hartford resident], and Tiffany's inbounds throw is beautifully timed. It passes over Kelly's shoulders, drops into Kelly's outstretched arms, and -- triply great -- no time has passed off the clock, which means that Kelly has the full 2.1 seconds to finish her run and make the lay-up. A moment of beauty.
On the tape, Doris Burke exclaims, " Tiffany Hayes! -- putting it on the money! A big end for a big moment for the Huskies! A pass on-point, and a lay-up delivered!" Moments later, as the teams go to the locker rooms, Kelly calmly gives a short, going-off-the-court interview in which she agrees, matter-of-factly, that, after a not-so great good first half, the team can do a better job of "keeping its poise" -- having just demonstrated that they know how to do that. [The interview itself is another good moment]
In the Pat Jordan articlelast week, Geno said,"Girls don't learn how to play basketball the way guys do. Guys learn in an empty gym in 3-on-3 games. There's 20 other guys waiting to play if you lose, so you've got to learn to read the floor, see things, and react or else you lose and sit down for an hour. That's hard to teach, and that's basically what I'm teaching my 'guys,' how to be instinctive players. From early on, girls learn basketball on organized teams, not in pick-up, three-man games. They want to be told by me what to do. I want them to know what to do on their own. I don't want to be too much the Padrone so they're always looking to the sidelines for me to tell them something. I tell them, ‘Yo, dude, Christ, you figure it out.'"
I'd say that Tiffany has figured it out, and that Kelly has that too -- because if you look at the tape, you'll see that that momentary post-foul conversation lasted no more than six seconds. No "looking to the sidelines." They knew what to do, they made a quick plan (Thanks, Tiff), and they did it. A moment of beauty.
