Couple of thoughts on the game...

[EricLA]

Taped the game and watched it late last night. Was NOT impressed at all with the lat 4 minutes when UCONN had a 23 point lead trimmed to 14 to make the score look more respectable...

Hartley couldn't hit the broadside of the barn (3-11) on long range attempts, but boy was she terrific in every other aspect. I do love how after she was 1-7, she started driving, knifing, etc in going to the basket instead of continuing to settle. Is she 100% back? Not quite given her off-shooting, but she showed great form everywhere else...

I'm surprised Kiah isn't earning more PT. Tuck was a disaster out there in the 1st half (missed shots, turnovers, etc) and Stokes was much better. Not sure why Tuck gets in before Stokes, but the coaches must see something in practice that we don't. Maybe Tuck looks for her offense more than Stokes? I sure hope Kiah doesn't settle for the offensive role Buck has taken in her 5 years. Kiah is just so athletic and smooth. LOVE seeing her defend on the court.

Really liked Banks and Jefferson on the court. Sure they still have things to learn, but both are playing within themselves more, and Banks is just really having a solid year. It's become quite clear why Jefferson was rated so highly coming out of HS.

Stef was awesome - esp in the first half. Not looking to debate the high post - low post thing, but she scored all her points in the 1st half around the basket and owned the paint. That should tell people something, no matter how good a passer she is in the high post. And what's up with her FT's? 0-2 again and on the year somewhere in the 60% range after being one of the best on the team last year...

KML's shot was off and it seemed for the first time I noticed a fair amount of standing around by her. Not sure why. She was better in the 2nd half. off shooting night for her - 3 for 11? won't see that again any time soon i bet...

What's eating Kelly Faris? A week ago she led the nation in assist/turnover ratio. She had 7 TO's last night. Still, look at the rest of her stats - aside from the crazy TO's, ridiculous stats. 13 points, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 7 assists, 4 rebounds. There's a reason she played 36 minutes and she deserved every second of it. Love that kid.

Lastly, I CAN'T WAIT for this team to be healthy. I think it was pointed out at least 6 or 7 players on the team have missed games or practices due to sickness or injuries. Aside from the Stanford game, I'm not sure we've seen a complete game by this team, and certainly not one where everyone was 100%. Going to be an interesting rest of the season for sure. Really looking forward to Duke, Baylor and ND probably twice more. Let's hope they put ND on the opposite side of UCONN's bracket in the NCAA's so we'd see them in the finals if both teams made it there.

 

[JoePgh]

I'm surprised Kiah isn't earning more PT. Tuck was a disaster out there in the 1st half (missed shots, turnovers, etc) and Stokes was much better. Not sure why Tuck gets in before Stokes, but the coaches must see something in practice that we don't. Maybe Tuck looks for her offense more than Stokes? I sure hope Kiah doesn't settle for the offensive role Buck has taken in her 5 years. Kiah is just so athletic and smooth. LOVE seeing her defend on the court.

Morgan is much more aggressive on offense, looking to weave through the lane for layups and putbacks. She had very strong minutes against Marquette. I agree that something was not quite right last night, which is why Kiah replaced her. Kiah's talent and potential contribution are evident, as they always have been, but on offense that potential has to become actual, and she has to watch her tendency to foul.

Stef was awesome - esp in the first half. Not looking to debate the high post - low post thing, but she scored all her points in the 1st half around the basket and owned the paint. That should tell people something, no matter how good a passer she is in the high post. And what's up with her FT's? 0-2 again and on the year somewhere in the 60% range after being one of the best on the team last year...

Her scores were mostly layups, but that doesn't mean she was working predominantly in the low post. There was a lot of pick-and-roll from the high post, which resulted in a layup when the defenders focused on perimeter threats.

...

What's eating Kelly Faris? A week ago she led the nation in assist/turnover ratio. She had 7 TO's last night. Still, look at the rest of her stats - aside from the crazy TO's, ridiculous stats. 13 points, 2 blocks, 2 steals, 7 assists, 4 rebounds. There's a reason she played 36 minutes and she deserved every second of it. Love that kid.

As I said in another thread, Kelly is (I believe consciously) making riskier passes to heat up the offensive flow, and as a result is turning the ball over. Who knows -- Geno may have told her to be more aggressive in her passing even if it means more turnovers. What's apparent is that the last thing she cares about is protecting the personal A/TO ratio statistic for which she has become justly famous. If it helped the team win, she would proudly accept a 1-to-4 A/TO ratio. Which, for knowledgeable coaches such as WNBA head coaches, is a trait that makes her more valuable than someone with a gaudy ratio who never takes any risks.

Meanwhile, her 3-point shooting continues to be the most consistent on the team, perhaps even more than KML's.

 

[MilfordHusky]

KML is shooting .494 on treys, Kelly is at .481. Both are stellar.

Stef dropped from .700 to .656 on FTs. As a frosh, she shot .900 or so until late in the season. She seeks like an .800 shooter.

 

[meyers7]

Her scores were mostly layups, but that doesn't mean she was working predominantly in the low post. There was a lot of pick-and-roll from the high post, which resulted in a layup when the defenders focused on perimeter threats.

Although last night, Dolson was working more in the low post, particularly in the first half.

As I said in another thread, Kelly is (I believe consciously) making riskier passes to heat up the offensive flow, and as a result is turning the ball over. Who knows -- Geno may have told her to be more aggressive in her passing even if it means more turnovers.

I highly doubt that. Pretty sure Geno is not a fan of turnovers.

Here's a couple of Geno's comments from Adamec's article on Kelly's passing:


You know, it’s good to be tough and it’s good to be determined,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. “But it’s not good to be stubborn and hard-headed. Like if that pass ain’t going to work, it ain’t going to work the first time, the second time or the third time.


“I’ve been doing this for 30 years and nothing surprises me anymore. I see things that I don’t think I’ll ever see anything like it. Then you see it. I used to get real upset about it. But you know what? They don’t get upset about it. You should see the kids on the bench. You just threw two bounce passes to a 6-foot-5 kid that you make her get on her hands and knees to catch it … ‘You got it Kel.’ Got what? What? I don’t get it. I can’t even understand it. So I just sit down."

 

[meyers7]

KML is shooting .494 on treys, Kelly is at .481. Both are stellar.

Stef dropped from .700 to .656 on FTs. As a frosh, she shot .900 or so until late in the season. She seeks like an .800 shooter.

As the weight dropped, so did her FT %. I'll take the newer Dolson with the lower FT % though.