Don't Panic

[The CDR-Ret]

Remind me again, when was the last time UConn beat ND? IOW, how many straight losses do we have to them?

12/4/21 was the last win; TWO straight losses; and here are the matchups from 12/4/14 (ten years of history from the UConn Women's Basketball page, schedule tab, bottom right hand corner of today's game...)

1/27/2024 2023-24	HomeStorrs, Conn.	L 67 - 82	Preview Recap Box Score
12/4/2022	2022-23	AwaySouth Bend, Ind.	L 60 - 74	Preview Recap Box Score
12/5/2021	2021-22	HomeStorrs, Conn.	W 73 - 54	Preview Recap Box Score
12/8/2019	2019-20	HomeStorrs, Conn.	W 81 - 57	Preview Recap Box Score
4/5/2019	2018-19	NeutralTampa, Fla. (Amalie Arena)	L 76 - 81	Preview Recap Box Score
12/2/2018	2018-19	AwaySouth Bend, Ind. (Purcell Pavilion)	W 89 - 71	Preview Recap Box Score
3/30/2018	2017-18	NeutralNationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio	L 89 - 91	Recap Box Score
12/3/2017	2017-18	HomeXL Center, Hartford, Conn.	W 80 - 71	Recap Box Score
12/7/2016	2016-17	AwayPurcell Pavilion, South Bend, Ind.	W 72 - 61	Recap Box Score
12/5/2015	2015-16	HomeGampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.	W 91 - 81	Recap Box Score
4/7/2015	2014-15	NeutralTampa, Fla.	W 63 - 53	Recap
12/6/2014	2014-15	AwaySouth Bend, Ind.	W 76 - 58	Recap

You can refresh your memory at this link: University of Connecticut Athletics Women's Basketball History vs University of Notre Dame

At the top of the web page, UConn women are ahead in this series: 38-15 in case you were wondering...., but you probably knew all this from the uNd fan pages....

Go Huskies!!! Win AND stay healthy (and those not healthy be returned to full strength and full health rapidly)!!!

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Remind me again, when was the last time UConn beat ND? IOW, how many straight losses do we have to them?

I sorry as I might have misread your post.

Upon further review, I could not find any games played between UConn and University of North Dakota in women's basketball....

Why do you ask?

 

[PacoSwede]

12/4/21 was the last win; TWO straight losses; and here are the matchups from 12/4/14 (ten years of history from the UConn Women's Basketball page, schedule tab, bottom right hand corner of today's game...)

1/27/2024 2023-24	HomeStorrs, Conn.	L 67 - 82	Preview Recap Box Score
12/4/2022	2022-23	AwaySouth Bend, Ind.	L 60 - 74	Preview Recap Box Score
12/5/2021	2021-22	HomeStorrs, Conn.	W 73 - 54	Preview Recap Box Score
12/8/2019	2019-20	HomeStorrs, Conn.	W 81 - 57	Preview Recap Box Score
4/5/2019	2018-19	NeutralTampa, Fla. (Amalie Arena)	L 76 - 81	Preview Recap Box Score
12/2/2018	2018-19	AwaySouth Bend, Ind. (Purcell Pavilion)	W 89 - 71	Preview Recap Box Score
3/30/2018	2017-18	NeutralNationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio	L 89 - 91	Recap Box Score
12/3/2017	2017-18	HomeXL Center, Hartford, Conn.	W 80 - 71	Recap Box Score
12/7/2016	2016-17	AwayPurcell Pavilion, South Bend, Ind.	W 72 - 61	Recap Box Score
12/5/2015	2015-16	HomeGampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn.	W 91 - 81	Recap Box Score
4/7/2015	2014-15	NeutralTampa, Fla.	W 63 - 53	Recap
12/6/2014	2014-15	AwaySouth Bend, Ind.	W 76 - 58	Recap

You can refresh your memory at this link: University of Connecticut Athletics Women's Basketball History vs University of Notre Dame

At the top of the web page, UConn women are ahead in this series: 38-15 in case you were wondering...., but you probably knew all this from the uNd fan pages....

Go Huskies!!! Win AND stay healthy (and those not healthy be returned to full strength and full health rapidly)!!!

observation: in this list the MOV in uconn's losses was much smaller than in its victories

 

[GoUconn7961]

They need four solid quarters of basketball, not three like they have been playing.
That will be key.

We also need someone else to score besides Paige and Sarah. Chen really needs to get going.

 

[HuskyNan]

No reason to panic at all. This out of conference game is essentially for bragging rights only. No one will win a championship tonight.

 

[PacoSwede]

i just want to point out, again, that speedy guards eat alive every team. ... uconn is not alone in that.

 

[ERWUC65]

No reason to panic at all. This out of conference game is essentially for bragging rights only. No one will win a championship tonight.

Well said. Since we don't play UCLA in regular season, our serious competitors remain ND, SC and USC. Except for tonight we should be at full strength, including Aubrey going on (fingers crossed). This evening's game gives Geno a look at everyone under championship game conditions and I expect someone different than Paige or Sarah will stand out.

 

[packwrap]

In the various analysis' of game possibilities and outcomes,
one of our key players is most often overlooked...

The graduate transfer from Princeton...

She has the talent to effect the outcome on both ends of the floor.

Excellent point.

These type of games is why she is here, and specifically as injury insurance.
In this case Azzi.

All Ivy is one thing, but final 4 type games against ND, SC and U$C are what she did not get at Princeton.

I am very intriqued how she plays tonight, both against great guards and needing to be an impact scorer for the Huskies.

 

[Rowdy831]

Neither team must win this game. UConn must win if they want a perfect record this season but other than that it is an early game between two of the top teams. Why is it big? Well for me it will be the first matchup where the guards might be able to exploit the UConn defense and disrupt the offense intirely. I don't expect it to happen but I do think it is possible.

It will show how well KC can defend, it will test Paige and Ash defensively too. UConn should dominate the low post and I don't think ND has a player that can defend Sarah without help and that will open up the inside game. If ND doesn play zone I think UConn will pass a lot and get a lot of open looks. Will they be able to make them? Hopefully.

 

[MSGRET]

I don't favor them. I've predicted that they will win this particular game, but I certainly do NOT favor them!

favor - noun - "approval, support, or liking for someone or something."

favor - verb - "feel or show approval or preference for."

Which one is it, a noun or a verb?

 

[Bigboote]

A few remarks on what’s already been said.

I said after the UNC game that it was a good thing UConn saw a zone in game 3, so that they’d work on playing against it. OTOH, UNC’s execution could give teams a roadmap on how to execute it. I’ll be shocked if Notre Dame doesn’t play quite a bit of zone, at least until UConn starts sinking threes.

Notre Dame grabs 8 more rebounds per game, but there are 14 more shots per game when they play. So ND’s rebounding edge is small to non-existent.

When ND is in man defense, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ice hanging around the perimeter to draw Koval outside. That would keep her from protecting the rim and also from boxing out.

I’d like to see Ash, Kaitlyn, and Paige each sink multiple midrange shots early.

 

[Steelerone]

I have absolutely no idea of who is going to win this game, the two teams are so evenly matched. What I do know is that this is a game that will define just how much we have improved over the first few games of the season and what some of our players are going to do when the bright lights are shined on them and the crowd is against them. I believe Sarah and Paige will be able to handle the pressure. The rest, well, this is the test.

 

[BobbyJ]

A few remarks on what’s already been said.

I said after the UNC game that it was a good thing UConn saw a zone in game 3, so that they’d work on playing against it. OTOH, UNC’s execution could give teams a roadmap on how to execute it. I’ll be shocked if Notre Dame doesn’t play quite a bit of zone, at least until UConn starts sinking threes.

Notre Dame grabs 8 more rebounds per game, but there are 14 more shots per game when they play. So ND’s rebounding edge is small to non-existent.

When ND is in man defense, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ice hanging around the perimeter to draw Koval outside. That would keep her from protecting the rim and also from boxing out.

I’d like to see Ash, Kaitlyn, and Paige each sink multiple midrange shots early.

Good point about the zone. UConn’s offense has bogged down in the past when teams went zone, mostly because they didn’t have the best personnel to handle it and partly because they didn’t have enough shooters. They now are better equipped and briefly showed why against NC. The sweet spot to dissect it from is at and just inside the foul line. Including Brady, they can now put 4-5 good passers on the floor together and Bueckers and Strong are elite at shooting, passing, and creating out of that spot. If Fudd were available I’d welcome that zone because of her ability to stretch it for Bueckers and Strong to operate when flashing through there. If Shade can hit a few perimeter shots early, ND may have to come out of it.

 

[MooseJaw]

Different no, many here on the BY, cry out for bigs. Now we have a game where people are cringing about what a small may do to put our Huskies down. Don't know that without Nika we will be able to control H.H., the question is, do we have to? If she goes off so be it, we should be able to more than contain the other little Irish dudettes. OK Koval is not little however I would take Ice and Jana over ND's bigs any day.

 

[Dugway]

I am guessing that the Irish will score 74, in line with where they were at in those games mentioned in Post #1. They flew down to the Cayman Islands or wherever the heck it was for a tournament and did not play well. Everyone in the tournament had to travel, I'm certainly not making excuses for that bunch, but that ND team did not handle their circumstances well. They lost to TCU and then backed that one up with another lost to the Utes. In those games, scoring was not their issue; they still got 67 & 68. I see those guys scoring six more then their losses down in the Caribbean at home tomorrow evening.

We are relatively young and inexperienced, this is the first true test of the season, it's an away game, against our historically archrival, up against a very hostile crowd, very fast aggressive guards, and I just don't see us getting to 75. I hope I am wrong, and I absolutely eat crow!

Well crud! I would have rather had crow…

The thing is, UConn is a relatively young and inexperienced team. This was the first real true test of the season. It was an away game, against historically our arch rival. The crowd was hostile towards us which made for a harsh environment to try to perform. The Irish’s All American guards were ridiculous tonight. It was like they had it out for us! You could just feel that they were going to get there points. And yet, we were still right in it; we just couldn’t get enough offense together.

Here is another thing, what doesn’t kill ya makes you stronger! This will be a blessing in disguise, as it hardens our hearts!

Really so what about a perfect season. Those are so extremely rare, there will not be a single team who is close to that. The UConn players need to let this upset settle in their guts; let the pain turn, and focus on the real prize!

 

[uconnfan68]

Different no, many here on the BY, cry out for bigs. Now we have a game where people are cringing about what a small may do to put our Huskies down. Don't know that without Nika we will be able to control H.H., the question is, do we have to? If she goes off so be it, we should be able to more than contain the other little Irish dudettes. OK Koval is not little however I would take Ice and Jana over ND's bigs any day.

Nika couldn’t stop Hidalgo any better than Chen or Arnold. And our bigs feet never left the floor tonight. Definitely need more from them. Strong was handcuffed by fouls, oddly enough in a game where almost nothing was called. I thought Paige needed to force things much sooner than she did. Basically, I was shocked at how lethargic we seemed. Lots of standing and waiting for someone to make a play.

 

[Zonepress]

Well crud! I would have rather had crow…

The thing is, UConn is a relatively young and inexperienced team. This was the first real true test of the season. It was an away game, against historically our arch rival. The crowd was hostile towards us which made for a harsh environment to try to perform. The Irish’s All American guards were ridiculous tonight. It was like they had it out for us! You could just feel that they were going to get there points. And yet, we were still right in it; we just couldn’t get enough offense together.

Here is another thing, what doesn’t kill ya makes you stronger! This will be a blessing in disguise, as it hardens our hearts!

Really so what about a perfect season. Those are so extremely rare, there will not be a single team who is close to that. The UConn players need to let this upset settle in their guts; let the pain turn, and focus on the real prize!

Young and inexperienced?
Two 5th year players starting with 2 other players
Who started 35 games and played in a final four
Whatever caused a poor performance it easnt
Being inexperienced

 

[maple]

I’m not panicking but if this team can’t get it together when playing in big games then I have some concerns.

I personally don’t want to hear excuses anymore. Especially when ND also has inexperience and injuries. Hopefully the coaches and the players don’t make excuses. They were just outplayed, simple as. There is time to practice and get better. But it’s not going to fall in our laps and nothing will be easy.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

Watched the game and was a little surprised UConn came out flat and seemed lethargic. The difference was the 3 point shooting, which I think Azzi could almost certainly have helped with.

Paige is the best player and guard in the country but mercy, Hidalgo and Miles are fantastic. If they play like that ND is a tough out.

It was a good test for the Huskies and the ND crowd was terrific. It was a good test for the team and they will learn from this.

 

[ochoopsfan]

No Panic Here.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

I’m not panicking but if this team can’t get it together when playing in big games then I have some concerns.

I personally don’t want to hear excuses anymore. Especially when ND also has inexperience and injuries. Hopefully the coaches and the players don’t make excuses. They were just outplayed, simple as. There is time to practice and get better. But it’s not going to fall in our laps and nothing will be easy.

Many on this board understand the days of UConn just getting in the FF or NC are over. It was never as easy as it looked of course but Geno and company were just heads above everyone else for so many years that it seemed that way.

UConn could easily win it all, especially if their health improves and some of the reinforcements are able to contribute.

 

[HuskyNan]

Young and inexperienced?
Two 5th year players starting with 2 other players
Who started 35 games and played in a final four
Whatever caused a poor performance it easnt
Being inexperienced

We have a grad student that's played in only 47 games, same as Ashlynn. Even Kaitlyn, who was healthy her entire career at Princeton, has played in as many games as a someone that would be a senior now due to the cancellation of the Covid year.

When Geno says the team is immature, I believe he means it is lacking in poise and a consistent mindset to dominate every game but I also believe he's talking about the relative youth of the players. Eight of the eleven players are freshmen and sophomores. Yes, Notre Dame is also young and relatively experienced but I'm talking about the team overall and not making a comment about last night's game. The Huskies need to get themselves together, mentally. They have the skills they need to succeed but their approach to the game needs to be more, well, mature.

 

[Blakeon18]

High profile [and ranked] opponents coming up:

As listed above: Iowa State/Southern Cal/South Carolina....but add LadyVol to that list...in Tenn.