Creighton Postgame Thread

[oldude]

Some thoughts on the Creighton game:

• UConn’s win today secures the Huskies 12th straight, regular season, conference championship, and the 31st in the illustrious history of the program.
• Creighton is an experienced, well-coached team. They came out playing hard and they sped UConn up in the first qtr. I believe it was a good thing that the Huskies were challenged and had to dig down and grind it out, something they will undoubtedly have to do again during the Big Dance.
• While UConn’s offense was spotty at times, the Huskies defense was relentless. During the 1st half. UConn forced 14 Creighton turnovers, with 10 steals while holding the Blue Jays to 29% shooting.
• With Paige and Azzi both getting a lot of attention from Creighton, Sarah made it abundantly clear who the NFOY will be. Also, is it me or has Sarah found another 6 -10 inches on her vertical?
• It appears that Kaitlyn found her shooting stroke.
• Things got exciting in the 3rd qtr when UConn went with their 5-guard lineup: Paige, Azzi, Ash, KK & Kaitlyn. I guess that put Paige at center?
• Asking for someone on the BY to start the next 4? postgame threads. I’ll be out of pocket on Senior Day and at the Mohegan Sun for the conference tournament. I’ll be back at the keyboard for the Big Dance. GO HUSKIES!!!

 

[victor64]

Can’t remember the last time the Huskies full court pressure bothered a good team like it did Creighton. Typically, UConn doesn’t press much in the post season. That may change this year.

Not a great shooting night but with the defense smothering, it didn’t affect the outcome much.

Aubrey is getting more and more comfortable. With the team wanting to press, Aubrey’s minutes will increase.

For the last two minutes of the third quarter, Geno had five guards on the floor. They did ok but I doubt we see that combination much the rest of the year.

I don’t think teams can afford to let Kaitlyn shoot threes unguarded anymore. She played great again tonight.

The announcers made me already miss SNY. Aubrey was not on the bench for portions of the second half with no explanation why. Chelsea would have been all over the story.

The missed layup malady that plagued them against Tennessee resurfaced to a lesser extent to tonight. Azzi had some puzzling in close misses.

Maybe it was the matchups but I was surprised we did not see more of Jana.

Heading toward another undefeated conference record. Amazing.

 

[Bone Dog]

Defense was outstanding -- 15 steals, 7 blocks. I haven't seen a better defensive game this season by any team.

Offense was iffy. Sarah was 10-13 for 22 points, Kaitlyn was 3-5 from 3. The rest of the team had trouble finding the bottom of the net.

I'm so impressed that they could dominate even without having the smoothest shooting night. This probably speaks volumes for their tournament potential.

 

[maple]

Solid game for the Huskies. Sarah with another 20+ point game. Nice to see Chen also in the mix as a leading scorer. Once UConn went on a run in Q2 they completely shut Creighton down. Love to see such solid defense. And above all, how great is it to Caroline out there for her second game in a row?!

Admittedly I had to watch this game on my phone on mute, so I missed all the finer details that my fellow Yarders can expound upon. (I was rooting for the CCSU Blue Devils vs Le Moyne before I jumped across town to catch the second half of Syracuse/Pitt.)

I know we’ve got one more game to play but I am so excited for the BE tourney next weekend!

 

[Happydad745]

Great job on defense, scoring was up and down. Nice to see Chen in the action. Shade makes me think she could be an All American next year, she one really tough, hustling player.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[RoadMaster]

Swipe...

 

[HuskieDawg]

I googled ”suffocating defense” and a picture of the 2024-2025 Huskies popped up.

Defense travels, and travels well come tourney time. Offenses will have ups and downs over the course of a game, but a defense should never really face a let down. The tenacity the team showed tonight was off the charts.

I could tell Ash seemed to be getting frustrated with her shot, but she did (and does) so many other things to have a positive impact, that she should give herself some grace on tonight’s shooting performance.

Aubrey can truly be a difference maker if we can keep getting her minutes up. If she can get close to 20 minutes a game, I think she can be one of our X factors.

Loved watching Chen drain her shots, if she can keep the defense honest really opens the floor for everyone.

Senior night on deck, go Huskies!

 

[freshler40]

A solid defensive effort carried the day. Our offense was choppy. The many missed layups were a problem. Similar to the very poor cable reception. Seemed like the refs called a lot of action away from the ball. Hoping we can improve our quarterly consistency. Chen, Sarah and Paige had very good games.

 

[huskeynut]

Creighton always comes to play and they did tonight.

But tonight, with UConn not at their best on offense, they upped the defensive pressure on Creighton. The pressure took Creighton out of any offensive flow. UConn forced 19 turnovers and had 15 steals and 7 blocked shots.

Using the small lineup with Sarah at the post and Paige, Azzi, Kaitlyn, Ash, KK and Aubrey is a tough line up for the opposition. Creighton really struggled.

Sarah was a nightmare for Creighton. They had no one to handle her. Add Paige with her all around game and Kaitlyn's ever improving game, things are looking good.

I think we see Geno's strategy evolving for the tournaments. Lock down defense and an 8 player rotation.

One more to go.

 

[dtbtbtb]

The defense by the Huskies was amazing all game but the defense in the 2nd quarter was one of the very best I've seen in years. The poor kids (a very experienced team) of Crieghton didn't know what to do. It looked like there were 7 hungry Huskies on the floor.

 

[Basingstoke]

Some really great defense (after some initial Creighton 1st quarter scoring) from mid-way through the 1st quarter up to the half. The energy, cohesiveness and relentless focus during that stretch of defensive basketball was stunning.
On the other hand, aside from Sarah (being a perfectionist, she'll probably be irked at two of the layups she missed) and Kaitlyn, the first half shooting felt like a nightmare.
Paige had another great floor game (7 rebounds and assists with only 1 strange turnover) and recovered from a very cold 1st half to shoot well in the second. By the way, I term the turnover "strange" because, for the second game in a row, she was whistled for an illegal screen - though there was no tv replay, I can't remember her ever being called for an illegal screen before these last 2 games... And on the subject of the refs (sorry to fixate on this after an important win), there were at least 3 occasions when tonight's announcers mentioned that Paige drew contact on shots when there was no foul called (again, no replays, but it does seem like a recurring theme with regard to Paige not getting calls...). End of venting. Sorry...
So, it was a great win over a veteran team with numerous talented shooters, featuring highlight moments from each of the 8 rotational players (& a brief, wonderful appearance by Ms Duchame)!

 

[Tonyc]

There are alot of good teams out there without a facilitator. UConn has Kaitlyn KK and Paige plus UConn is a really great passing team. UConn defense is off the charts. They double team and still get back to cover their player is really great. Creighton is a really good team. They have 2 losses to UConn. They will be ranked higher then their ranking.

This UConn team is a very tuff out because of their defense and so many scorers who are consistent and who dont hesitate. These little things make a huge difference. When UConn is firing on all cylinders there is no competition. We will see it in the tournament. UConn is playing with confidence right now. UConn has Azzi and Griff back. That makes them a different team. IMO a top 3 team and I really believe they are the top ream in WCBB.

 

[Centerstream]

Cr*p we lost the 4th quarter and didn't even get to double digits!!!! WTH. BTW I am being sarcastic.
I believe by the 4th quarter most every player on the court was pretty much spent.
Aubrey’s flying block...no words can describe what she did especially coming off her ACL injury and rehab!!!! Gotta love that player.
Ashlynn had a tough shooting night but that stolen inbounds play was magnificent and was later followed by the dribble behind the back layup.
Caroline on the court brought tears to my eyes again!!!!
A great win for the Huskies!!!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

My feed was so poor I quit, but even checking the score I could feel a sluggish offense. Was Creighton defense special or was something else going on?

 

[Centerstream]

My feed was so poor I quit, but even checking the score I could feel a sluggish offense. Was Creighton defense special or was something else going on?

In the first quarter, at least, as the announcers said "there seemed to be a lid on the basket." I believe we started the game 0 for 8 and most of the shots normally would be made. Layup, mid range, point blank and outside shot, it didn’t matter...they just didn't fall.

 

[Conndog]

Sure wish Jana would watch game film over and over to see what Sarah does to get open for pass down low, and she should pay attention to how simply and efficiently Sarah puts the ball in the basket. At 6’5 compared to Sarah’s 6’2, Jana shouldn’t have as many difficulties as she does. One thing she also should work on is using her pivot foot better- keep the ball high and just keep pivoting to get into position to score. She will become a great player, and I hope she increases her scoring too.

 

[TUCBTUD]

Geno Auriemma

 

[TUCBTUD]

Kaitlyn Chen, Sarah Strong, Paige Bueckers

 

[packwrap]

Right on Tony C!

Coach Paige and Point Geno seem to have found a mix that works well, Paige as facilitator with Sarah and Azzi as scorers. Chen and KK both have tons of experience at #2 guard.

With ball in her hands more, Paige can pass over defense to Sarah in post, or find Azzi on perimeter. This leads to her piling up assists and rebounds too in the stat sheet

If some team decides to triple Paige. We can just run offense thru Chen/KK, Sarah or even Azzi.

Versatility and options "to the roof".(N Muhl)

I noticed at 8:00 of Q3 tonight, 22 min into game, all 8 players had scored and rebounded. Starting 5 all ended up with pts, reb and assists!

Versatile team starting to jell.

 

[pacific 44]

A prime example of great players coming together to become an outstanding team this year. This game was another brilliant chapter in hopefully a remarkable achievement as they win their final game of the season.

 

[and one]

My thoughts are much the same as most of you - terrific defense, Sarah doing it all, some Huskies having difficulties with shots short and long, the lovely sight of Carolyn on the court, albeit for only a minute or two. Play of the game - Griff's big time block of the corner 3. Beyond that, it seems like Paige increasingly is forgoing the 3. I know she gets a lot of defensive attention but she has a quick trigger but passes up doable 3s to penetrate and shoot a 2. Nothing wrong with that other than she needs to exert her 3 point skills and she has a tendency to end up with too many very high degree of difficulty 2 point shots.

On the whole a good way to end the regular season with an easy win over a good team.