Creighton post game (merged thread)

[Huskie78]

You Can't Defeat CD!
Go Huskies!! Great win!

 

[AzzisBraids]

First half was a struggle shout out to Creighton and Flannery.

Nelson-Ododa: She was aggressive and dominating this team down low. Typical Big East Olivia who is assertive and probey.

Muhl: Strong ball handling but she needs to donate all her three point attempts to Fudd.

Fudd: Her defense is suprisingly good, some blocks, some good action. Popped a few threes but defenses are playing her so tight. She has to run until forever.

Williams: Really good game from her inside and out. She stayed aggressive, praying for her ankle.

Westbrook: Bringing her draft stock back up, she's really good when she wants to be on both sides of the ball

Aaliyah: no comment

Ducharme: Timely buckets, finding her groove again. Not concerned about her, she's adjusting to the Paige Bueckers defense treatment.

All in all, a good BE win. But this team needs to screen for Azzi as if she's Paige Bueckers to open up the floor, keep Nelson Ododa aggressive, tell Edwards that she can foul out in offensive fouls but to stay aggressive, more transition pushes to Williams so she can create in traffic, let Evina defend some of the Emily Engstlers of the world, the posts need to look for shooters, the in and out game just goes in.

 

[mrmojack]

Congratulations to the Uconn Huskies, 11 for 11 from the free throw line.

 

[Next 12]

I sort of feel this team is a bit like the movie Forrest Gump - they are like a box of chocolates - you never know what you are going to get. So we got a little bit of everything in this game.

Super frustrating Q1 - poor energy, little to no offense, standing around, lack of ball movement, and the opponent shooting 50% from 3. Then they started righting the ship in Q2, and continued with it in the 2nd half. It was the 2nd game with no Dorka. Geno made a comment about how hard it is for chemistry on the team to constantly have people entering and exiting the lineup. Just when you think we have turned the corner and we are going to have an extended period of consistent player availability, Dorka goes down (just for a few games, but the point is it's hard for continuity).

It really makes you realize that this team is not just a "plug and play". You can't just plug in a replacement and expect things to go smoothly. And Creighton is no slouch. I believe then are a NCAA tournament team.

• No UCONN player had more than 2 fouls until Azzi picked up #3 late.
• we shot over 41% from 3 in spite of Nika going 1-7.
• 5 players scored 10 points or more
• Olivia not only had great stats, but also had 6 assists and 2 steals. She is my POG
• Christyn had a nice all around game
• Caroline was judicious with her 3 point shooting!
• Nika had 5 assists and 5 boards
• Azzi continues to get acclimated to the team
• Evina shone again off the bench
• The mystery of Aaliyah continues

I'm sure there are some individual things to pick on from the coaches when they do the video review, but a very solid win against a good team. Thoughts and good energy for Geno.

Fantastic comparison. They are like a box of chocolate, you never know what you are going to get.

 

[oldude]

You Can't Defeat CD!
Go Huskies!! Great win!

Maybe Geno should take the rest of the season off?

 

[BostonBay]

Yup, I don't think she plays this weekend if I were a betting man. Was throwing up on the bench and looked completely out of it after the hit. Likely a concussion.

CW also had a foot/ankle injury at the end. Didnt look good. She might be out a while.

 

[Ouremblem]

Rixxx,
It almost looked like Caroline threw up behind the bench into a trash can and then went to the locker room. That no one is asking about it on the air is surprising. The nausea can be a bad sign. Hope she’s ok.

 

[Happydad745]

Azzi needs to create more shots for herself....not an easy thing to do considering how tight teams are playing her. Her shooting from anywhere is really smooth.

 

[oldude]

CW also had a foot/ankle injury at the end. Didnt look good. She might be out a while.

She came right back in the game after Caroline was hit in the face.

 

[pk1234]

CW also had a foot/ankle injury at the end. Didnt look good. She might be out a while.

Yeah, I'm not worried about CW. Looked like a minor tweak. She came right back into the game.

 

[huskeynut]

Creighton came out firing on all cylanders abd tried to knock UConn out. It didn't work.

It took until the second quarter for UConn to hit hard. And they kept hitting Creighton. Down by 12 and they closed the gap to 2 at the half.

UConn threw the knockout punch in the third quarter. You could see the faces of the Creighton players. They were in shock. It was the "what happened" look. Everyone contributed. 4 players in double figures. Held Creighton to about 20 points below their season average! Creighton's leading scorer held to 5 points for the game!

A very solid team win.

The rumors of UConn's decline are highly exaggerated!!

 

[jabstep]

Wow What a turnaround.
1. They had to dig deep and they did.
2. Foul shooting OMG 11-11
3. Evina changed the game in the 2nd. Came in and hit some three's.
4. 5 players in double figures
5. CW looked the quickest I have seen her and that Eurostep and then the the spiner with the left hand was a wow.
6. Defense and switching was really good from the 2nd quafter on.
7. They are getting Azzi into the flow. Very important
8. Chris Dailey is cooler under pressure that Geno

 

[phil sampieri]

Nika shot the ball when Azzi was open I was yelling at the TV again

I know a few Nika fans will kill me but how can she be on the floor more than 5 or so minutes per game And you have either have Evina or CD or Azzi on the bench. She even didn’t even play good defense.

 

[Tonyc]

Is UConn learnin to play without Paige and Dorka and Geno. This was a great performance. We saw it against Depaul. If we continue to play with this energy intensity and hustle we can go a long way and Dorka will be back Sunday and Im hopin Paige is healthy enough to play but I dont think so. Hopefully Paige is back 100% healthy soon. We shot over 60 percent in the second half. Depaul we shot over 60% in the second half. Man if we can keep it up and stomp on Tenn I will LUV It.

 

[CocoHusky]

This game was a microcosm of the season. The first 16 minutes of this game was some of the ugliest basketball I've ever seen a UCONN team play and the last 24 minutes was some of the grittiest & most beautiful.

 

[hoopsfan22]

I know a few Nika fans will kill me but how can she be on the floor more than 5 or so minutes per game And you have either have Evina or CD or Azzi on the bench. She even didn’t even play good defense.

She won't be when Paige comes back. It'll be Paige, CW, Caroline, Dorka, and ONO I think.

 

[topogigio]

The first Q was a listless disaster; however, the last 30 minutes might have been the best consecutive quarters UConn has played. Hope Geno, Caroline, and Christyn are OK. I thought Evina and Azzi were huge coming off the bench. Need to get some serious footwork work with the bigs!

 

[FairView]

This is one of the most fulfilling games I've seen in a while. Sure, the first quarter and a half was frustrating. Very frustrating. But the comeback and jelling (gelling, if you prefer) of this team was a pleasure to watch. This team took a major step forward today. We know we are blessed with a team of superior basketball players, but so much of the game is mental. They took a huge mental leap forward and that will serve the team well moving forward. I am so proud of this team. Way to go!!!

 

[JoePgh]

(Since the Dorka injury thread is now locked, I will put this here ...)

I was listening to Bob Joyce and Debbie Fiske on the radio while watching on SNY, and I thought I heard Bob Joyce say before the game started that the team hopes to get Dorka back for Sunday's game. Did anyone else hear that, or hear anyone else confirm it?

 

[Husky fanatic]

Started with some adversity and pushed through it. Thought Caroline played within herself for the most part and showed she can hit open 3’s. Olivia was extra good tonight. Christyn keeps on trucki. Azzi still getting her feet wet.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Yeah, I thought Caroline was throwing up at the end also. That happens with concussions sometimes but hopefully it's the same thing Geno has. If that is what happened. I couldn't understand why Nika was getting a lot more PT than Caroline or CW but maybe there was some sickness.

Terrific game by ONO yet again and overall, I like the man to man better than the zone we have been playing. Another solid game by CW and Evina both offensively and defensively. Caroline was solid overall but you could see that defenses are keying on her down low especially.

Someday hopefully someone can explain this to me. Nika gets 7 wide open 3 point shot opportunities and that is like twice as many as anyone else on the team. If she can't knock those down the other team will just continue to sag off of her and clog the middle or key on our scorers. That hurts the team so much. My guess is that Caroline was sick but why does Nika get more PT than ANYONE else on this team today? Was it the defense as I didn't see it overall. Not better than CW or Caroline or Evina. If Paige comes back strong this entire team will be firing on all cylinders again but as long as Nika is playing 38 minutes it's like we are playing 4 on 5. I grant that she had zero turnovers but if you aren't doing anything besides throwing up open 3 pointers it's not going to result in a lot of turnovers. They literally could hide their worst defensive player by putting her on Nika. It's most bad against top teams and I don't get why this isn't obvious to everyone. Hopefully this corrects itself when people are healthy again.

Azzi scored 10 on 5 shots with 1 turnover and her defense was overall pretty good. She's efficient with the ball and doesn't make a lot of mistakes. She complements the others well and opens up the middle with her outside shooting. She needs to play more. Nothing is wrong with this team that getting Paige and Dorka back strong can't fix.

Overall, a solid win on the road mainly with great defense.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

They finally figured out how to deal with these teams that play them physical. Return the favor. Balanced scoring is a very good sign. Signifies improved chemistry and more importantly...trust.