Have to agree with several posts that Crystal could have used a few more minutes on bench. She's a smart player and some rest and the opportunity to see the flow of the game and how it needed to change may have helped. Many assists but at times seemed lost.
Have to give ND credit with coaching both on the strategic and tactical level. Hate to say anything good about Muffet but the past two years she has filled holes similar to Belichick/Patriots. Not always perfect players but ALL holes got filled versus UConn who were left with thin roster at guard and bigs. Last night, even when down, ND attacked the middle and consistently scored on 10-12 footers. UConn settled for 3 pointers.
The one thing this team lacked that it often previously had was a strong inside presence. Ono changed the game defensively and with her rebounding, but the offense suffered with her in. ND had 3, 4 or even 5 shots on some possessions. UConn was out-rebounded 54-37, and 22-11 on offensive rebounding.
Geno should have had Azura this season. If she was still here, I think some games go very differently this season, including this one.
Great point. Sometimes the perfect role player is more valuable than a highly touted recruit. ND's players fill their roles on the court perfectly - they're very smart players, play within themselves and always as a team.
Muffet's a great coach. I don't like some of her off court antics, but give credit where it's due. They don't have the same level of talent as UConn, but year in year out find ways to win and end up being one of the three or five best teams in the country.
Z on this year's team would have totally transformed UConn's game. Rather than speculate on what that would have been, though, I wonder if Geno had any sense she was thinking about leaving. It would have been equally great if someone like Ono played last year under Z, and could have stepped into the lineup this season stronger and better prepared. Didn't seem to be a back-up plan for Z's departure.
I generally agree with your assessment but I think we have a partial test case tomorrow. ND has two skilled Bigs to Baylor’s one. At 6’7”, Brown can be dominating, but no one is going to mistake her for EDD. The most remarkable statistic from the first semifinal last night is that OR hit 12 x 3’s to Baylor’s 0 and lost. I’m anxious to watch the game tomorrow to see which set of Bigs prevail.
While many of us dislike the negative posts that pop up after a UConn loss, or even a close win, your criticism of the entire thread is unwarranted. As a reminder, this thread was started by a long time poster congratulating ND for their victory. Many subsequent posters joined in that congratulations. A number of other posters have discussed the game itself, highlighting why ND won. A couple of welcome, longtime ND posters have also joined the discussion.
Try to be a little more pointed with your indignation. I sense frustration in many of the post in the thread and some attempt to blame particular players or refs for the loss. There is also some great analysis and many sportsmanlike congrats to ND which was the intent of the thread. I don't see anything even remotely close to "disgraceful"-until I read your post.
Stewie also had Dolson for a couple seasons.
I’ve watched Marshall play twice in the Federation Tournament. At present, she demonstrates little inclination to play in the paint at either end of the court, preferring to float around the perimeter. I’m not saying she can’t be an effective post player, but in order for that to happen, she’s going to have to change the way she plays.
Thanks for your vivid description of the evening. I find, however, your game analysis faulty. You seem to imply that only Meg and Lou played in a manner worthy of recognition. Each one of our ladies had bright moments,and each had dark moments, which is normal. Despite poor shooting, Crystal had 9 assists to 1 trunover. Freshman Williams had 19 points and made 2 of 4 3's. Pheesa had an impressive 15 pts., 13 rebounds, and 4 blocks, and hit 1 of 2 3's. True, Meg and Samuelson also had impressive games. Meg's 8 rebounds was a big help. Samuelson did hit indeed some beautiful shots and showed hustle, as usual. Samuelson, however. had 4 trunovers, 2 late in the game were disastrous, and Samuelson did not hit those beautiful 3's late in the game when they were desperately needed. Samuelson is a very good basketball player. She, however, did not show in her college career that late-game heroics is her thing. This team far exceeded our expectations. They kept the 12 straight Final Fours streak alive. We thank each one of them for this fine season. I expect every one of this starting-five to have fine pro careers.
Lauren Cox is 6’4”, and very, very good.
I did not mean to disparage anyone with injuries; and if if anyone took what I said personally, I apologize.
Hi. Actually I was not analyzing the game; I said that I was agreeing with most of the previous posters, and relating what I observed in relation to that.
