Creighton Postgame Thread

[Huskee11]

I was at the game, great atmosphere, they said it was a sellout but there were some empty seats up top. A little uncomfortable still standing at 8-0 but that changed quickly.

There was a young girl near us holding up a poster saying that she had come all the way from California, 3020 miles, to see UConn and Paige. I hope she got on television. Saw another one from Portugal. It was jersey night and there were hundreds of people wearing number 5 jerseys.

Some interesting lineups, went from small to super small. would have liked to see Aubrey get more than nine minutes.

Jana did not get charged with any turnovers but she caused a couple by not getting in a solid position to receive passes into the post. She gets small, seems off balance, and doesn't go to meet the ball. I am sure they are working with her on all of these things.

On a normal night UConn would have been well above 80 points but shots that normally fall for Azzi, Paige and Shade were not falling.

The defense was amazing, really swarming and intense. Held Maly and Jensen to a combined 18 points. I could swear that the public address announcer was calling Jensen "Benson", apparently confusing her with a popular 80's sitcom.

Creighton can shoot the ball when open, but they weren't open very much and when they were, it was often from way downtown.

 

[Jonathan14]

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.

I'm not nearly the gifted sideline reporter Chelsea is, but I can tell you because I was at the game to witness it that Aubrey was riding an exercise bike when she wasn't on the court, presumably to keep her lower body limber. In fact, when Sarah picked up her second foul in the first half, I said to my husband, "Where's Aubrey?" because I didn't see her on the bench. Sure enough, she was just past the end of the bench, pedaling away. I guess Geno had the same thought, because he called for her to sub in and she hopped off the bike and jogged over to the scorer's table. No sooner had Aubrey entered the game than she seemed to miss a defensive assignment. But she fooled me and the player she was guarding, leaping apparently out of nowhere to swat her shot out of bounds. Man, Aubrey's the best. Does she really have to leave after this year?

Edit: She's ridden the stationary bike at other games I've been to, so I didn't take it as a sign of new or worsening injury, perhaps just part of her recovery from her surgery.

 

[Skeets]

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.

Like piranha on a roast.

 

[oldude]

I was at the game, great atmosphere, they said it was a sellout but there were some empty seats up top. A little uncomfortable still standing at 8-0 but that changed quickly.

There was a young girl near us holding up a poster saying that she had come all the way from California, 3020 miles, to see UConn and Paige. I hope she got on television. Saw another one from Portugal. It was jersey night and there were hundreds of people wearing number 5 jerseys.

Some interesting lineups, went from small to super small. would have liked to see Aubrey get more than nine minutes.

Jana did not get charged with any turnovers but she caused a couple by not getting in a solid position to receive passes into the post. She gets small, seems off balance, and doesn't go to meet the ball. I am sure they are working with her on all of these things.

On a normal night UConn would have been well above 80 points but shots that normally fall for Azzi, Paige and Shade were not falling.

The defense was amazing, really swarming and intense. Held Maly and Jensen to a combined 18 points. I could swear that the public address announcer was calling Jensen "Benson", apparently confusing her with a popular 80's sitcom.

Creighton can shoot the ball when open, but they weren't open very much and when they were, it was often from way downtown.

The young girl with the sign was prominently shown on the CBS telecast.

 

[Skeets]

Huge crowd, but not quite a sellout. Plus, there's always a smattering of no-shows. Won a Geno bobblehead for my daughter, but what a disaster trying to get one after the game. 1,000 winners plus probably another couple thousand friends and family waiting for them packing the concourse. UConn should have distributed them in the lobby of the XL where they would have had all the room in the world to set up multiple lines.

Ash is a beast. Channeling her inner Nika every moment she's on the court. Actually, everyone on the court was Nika-like last night.

 

[Bone Dog]

The lack of replays was disappointing. Even plays the commentators called out were not replayed. I assume this means that the tech crew running the video side were not experienced, or maybe understaffed. I hope it’s just a CBS problem, because it was reminiscent of the bad old days when even tournament games on the women’s side had very few replays and uninformative graphics.

 

[freshler40]

I was at the game, great atmosphere, they said it was a sellout but there were some empty seats up top. A little uncomfortable still standing at 8-0 but that changed quickly.

There was a young girl near us holding up a poster saying that she had come all the way from California, 3020 miles, to see UConn and Paige. I hope she got on television. Saw another one from Portugal. It was jersey night and there were hundreds of people wearing number 5 jerseys.

Some interesting lineups, went from small to super small. would have liked to see Aubrey get more than nine minutes.

Jana did not get charged with any turnovers but she caused a couple by not getting in a solid position to receive passes into the post. She gets small, seems off balance, and doesn't go to meet the ball. I am sure they are working with her on all of these things.

On a normal night UConn would have been well above 80 points but shots that normally fall for Azzi, Paige and Shade were not falling.

The defense was amazing, really swarming and intense. Held Maly and Jensen to a combined 18 points. I could swear that the public address announcer was calling Jensen "Benson", apparently confusing her with a popular 80's sitcom.

Creighton can shoot the ball when open, but they weren't open very much and when they were, it was often from way downtown.

Great first person recap. Thanks.

 

[yhun89]

Ash must’ve stolen or tipped 60% of Creighton’s inbounds. Defensive beast.

 

[gold2323]

another day at the office
Very business like
We are getting better at the right time as is our norm , while others are faltering or struggling

 

[yhun89]

My takes:

Horrid first quarter offensively, but at least our defense was good.

Sarah showing why she’s NFOY. Always in the right place, makes good decisions, and stuffs that stat sheet. On another note, she might be one of the most casual shot blockers I’ve ever seen. No celebration or “hype up” antics. I hope she’s happy she won the “college championship thingy” as per her postgame comments.

March Paige defrosting. Look out NCAA, not only can she score, but she can pass and grab some boards as well.

Ash and KK, insane defensive energy. Too quick KK and Ash made life hell on the inbound. Greta to see Aubrey getting more action. That block from the corner was wild.

Hopefully we have Ice back soon. She’s a March Merchant, not a regular season one, haha.

Make no mistake, this Creighton team is legit. No matter what the internet says, this is a big win for us. Full of veterans and elite shooters, we should be proud we held their two best to a combined 18 PTS.

 

[Geew1992]

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.

How do you know she doesn't?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Like piranha on a roast.

We may have a shot at the Piranha Man again this year. Vic's team is certainly peaking.

 

[Geew1992]

I was at the game, great atmosphere, they said it was a sellout but there were some empty seats up top. A little uncomfortable still standing at 8-0 but that changed quickly.

There was a young girl near us holding up a poster saying that she had come all the way from California, 3020 miles, to see UConn and Paige. I hope she got on television. Saw another one from Portugal. It was jersey night and there were hundreds of people wearing number 5 jerseys.

Some interesting lineups, went from small to super small. would have liked to see Aubrey get more than nine minutes.

Jana did not get charged with any turnovers but she caused a couple by not getting in a solid position to receive passes into the post. She gets small, seems off balance, and doesn't go to meet the ball. I am sure they are working with her on all of these things.

On a normal night UConn would have been well above 80 points but shots that normally fall for Azzi, Paige and Shade were not falling.

The defense was amazing, really swarming and intense. Held Maly and Jensen to a combined 18 points. I could swear that the public address announcer was calling Jensen "Benson", apparently confusing her with a popular 80's sitcom.

Creighton can shoot the ball when open, but they weren't open very much and when they were, it was often from way downtown.

She did. I saw the sign

 

[Geew1992]

We may have a shot at the Piranha Man again this year. Vic's team is certainly peaking.

They've beem "pulling" wins out ya mean>

 

[GoUconn7961]

I think the slow start was even confusing to the players. But, they got past it. I was waiting for Geno to take a time out, but he apparently has enough faith in them to right the ship. The defense was A+. I wish they'd stop passing the ball to Jana's knees or feet. At that point there's not time for her to post up before the defense collapses on her, and she's not yet skilled enough to fight through it. All in all a good game. I was really hoping that Caroline's 3 had gone in.

 

[yhun89]

At 6’5 compared to Sarah’s 6’2, Jana shouldn’t have as many difficulties as she does.

She's coming back from a major Achilles injury. There's obviously going to be a few lingering mobility issues since she had to sit out.

 

[GoUconn7961]

A couple of other things missed while I watched the highlights
1. Sarah playing so smart w/3 fouls
2. Paige has really perfected her mid-range jumper

 

[Basingstoke]

The lack of replays was disappointing. Even plays the commentators called out were not replayed. I assume this means that the tech crew running the video side were not experienced, or maybe understaffed. I hope it’s just a CBS problem, because it was reminiscent of the bad old days when even tournament games on the women’s side had very few replays and uninformative graphics.

You'd probably have to go back and closely watch an SNY broadcast of a UCONN game from XL to check on whether the number of cameras and their placement placement were the same.
As to the lack of replays (especially reflecting anything the announcers commented on), IMHO that's probably entirely on an inexperienced, disengaged or incompetent director...

 

[Rowdy831]

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.

I think the guards need to learn how to pass to tall player in the post. Jana should almost never get a bounce pass as an entry pass and that is all she gets. When she catches the ball down low it gives the back side defender a chance at the ball in a low position which at the least is bothering Jana.

 

[jeff30189]

Not a revelation, but if you look at the +/- stat as a percentage of minutes played, you get a pretty good idea of who should (and should not) be playing heavy minutes in the next few weeks. Sure in the opening game(s) of a tournament we can still rotate 10-12 players so that Caroline, Allie, Ice, Morgan and Q can get in the box score. Otherwise I'm 100% OK with starting AuBrey at center if that's the best lineup on that given night.

 

[Rowdy831]

The offense in the first quarter was not good at all but the defense was tough all night. I don't think KC brings the energy like KK who really sparked the offense when she came into the game. She was also very disruptive on defense and caused several bad passes on the full court.

This game reminded me a little of the USC game where they got way behind because of miserable offense early but came back on the shoulders of a tough defense. The big question is how will they respond when they are in a close game and need the stars to lead them? They will roll though the next couple weeks and most likely won't be challenged until three games into the tournament.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

My takes:

Horrid first quarter offensively, but at least our defense was good.

Sarah showing why she’s NFOY. Always in the right place, makes good decisions, and stuffs that stat sheet. On another note, she might be one of the most casual shot blockers I’ve ever seen. No celebration or “hype up” antics. I hope she’s happy she won the “college championship thingy” as per her postgame comments.

March Paige defrosting. Look out NCAA, not only can she score, but she can pass and grab some boards as well.

Ash and KK, insane defensive energy. Too quick KK and Ash made life hell on the inbound. Greta to see Aubrey getting more action. That block from the corner was wild.

Hopefully we have Ice back soon. She’s a March Merchant, not a regular season one, haha.

Make no mistake, this Creighton team is legit. No matter what the internet says, this is a big win for us. Full of veterans and elite shooters, we should be proud we held their two best to a combined 18 PTS.

Sarah plays like I always encouraged my Baseball Players to play. Make a good play, OK...act like you've done it before... Hit a Homerun, OK...be happy and proud...but on the outside act like you've been there before. I trained my son that way too... in his Senior year of High School his team was in the District Championship game against a Team that had David Wright, BJ Upton, and Justin Upton...(if you don't know, they all went on to play in the MLB). Score was 1 to 1...extra innings (High School games are 7 innings). My son led off the bottom of the 9th... 3 ball 2 strike count...pitcher did not want to walk him...threw toooooo good of a pitch... My son drove it over the left field fence...walk off HR. His first and ONLY homerun in High School. He did not dance around the bases...he just ran...and got mugged by his teammates as he crossed the plate...ended up with a bloody nose...but He acted like he had been there before.

That is what Sarah's play reminds me of. Not too high...not too low... She makes a great shot, gets a contested rebound, makes an incredible pass... she remains calm...low key...NOT too High...Not too Low... Like she has done it before...many many many times.

 

[browns]

Sara is so cool..bad play great play her expresson remains the same..I'm sure her parents influence has a lot to do with that

 

[Dogdude]

Ash must’ve stolen or tipped 60% of Creighton’s inbounds. Defensive beast.

As someone else mentioned earlier, the more shots she missed, the more angry she got and took it out on Creighton. It was actually getting pretty funny.

 

[Big Fan]

I could not watch the game only saw the 4th quarter. Why did El Alfy only play 11 minutes? Hurt, poor performance, foul trouble? I know Geno is using the smaller lineup but at some point they will need a big. I don't believe she played at all in the 4th. I hope Griffin improves. Not a great 4th . I know a lot of people here were counting on her. She also only played 9 minutes.