Dorka Expected Back For Sunday's Game

[JoePgh]

I thought I heard Bob Joyce say this in the radio pregame show, but I now see that Alexa Phillipou has confirmed it in her article on the Creighton game in the Courant. Her specific statement was:

"SNY also reported that Juhász, who missed her second straight game Wednesday, will not play Friday versus Butler, and the program is planning on her returning Sunday against Tennessee."

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

I thought I heard Bob Joyce say this in the radio pregame show, but I now see that Alexa Phillipou has confirmed it in her article on the Creighton game in the Courant. Her specific statement was:

"SNY also reported that Juhász, who missed her second straight game Wednesday, will not play Friday versus Butler, and the program is planning on her returning Sunday against Tennessee."

in the SNY TV broadcast they passed the same info... WITH EMPHASIS on "planning on her playing" Sunday...but Plans sometimes change.

 

[TCC Kid]

I thought I heard Bob Joyce say this in the radio pregame show, but I now see that Alexa Phillipou has confirmed it in her article on the Creighton game in the Courant. Her specific statement was:

"SNY also reported that Juhász, who missed her second straight game Wednesday, will not play Friday versus Butler, and the program is planning on her returning Sunday against Tennessee."

That's a relief, her height and her scoring are needed. Now if Azzi will relax and start looking for her shot, she and Caroline, Shooter/basketball players need to shoot and play as they know how.

 

[Oracle9]

Yaaay!...cautiously.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I hope Dorka is feeling better! We'll need her size, strength, and skill vs. the large LVs.

 

[Zarathustra]

Dorka's presence raises my hopes fo Sunday. GO TEAM!

 

[Vowelguy]

Tenn is a very long team so any additional height is very helpful.

 

[Centerstream]

But as of right now, no official word on her game status for Sunday has been seen, correct????

 

[eebmg]

But as of right now, no official word on her game status for Sunday has been seen, correct????

They had a lot of luck sneaking Azzi and CW back (as full time players) into the Depaul game just before game time that they may never ever give advanced warning again.

 

[Centerstream]

They had a lot of luck sneaking Azzi and CW back (as full time players) into the Depaul game just before game time that they may never ever give advanced warning again.

Good point. (SWERVE) I envision that when Paige is back that she does the warm up in team sweats and her brace on. Then at the first game stoppage, she gets off the bench, rips off the brace and sweats, reports to the scorer and comes in for Nika!!!!! Of course it has to be a home game....

 

[Skeets]

They had a lot of luck sneaking Azzi and CW back (as full time players) into the Depaul game just before game time that they may never ever give advanced warning again.

Absolutely. Macy's doesn't tell Gimbles. (Is Gimbles still in business?)

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Good point. (SWERVE) I envision that when Paige is back that she does the warm up in team sweats and her brace on. Then at the first game stoppage, she gets off the bench, rips off the brace and sweats, reports to the scorer and comes in for Nika!!!!! Of course it has to be a home game....

Home game ON CAMPUS... and the ROAR of the crowd blows the roof off the place.... or at least brings chills to us old folks.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

They had a lot of luck sneaking Azzi and CW back (as full time players) into the Depaul game just before game time that they may never ever give advanced warning again.

Definitely cool with that!

Hopefully, Caroline's "Hurling" bucket was only needed for less than 24 hours, and no one else needed it or with need it going into Sunday, and she is at full strength. Her 3 pt shot, driving to the [correct] "bucket" and mid-range pull-ups should be falling at a efficient rate to compliment Azzi, and Momma E from beyond the arc. All that combined with ONO, Dorka, and EA [not all at the same time] with excellent passing - high post/low post, and aggressive defense from Muhl to keep the other four reminded to be aggressive on defense, should be a "lethal" combination [of any FIVE Geno & CD design] to combat the Evil ORANGE [<] Empire.

Can't wait for victory on Sunday... [Time since 12/13/21: 2/7/2022 is EIGHT weeks, for those who keep track of surgery dates.] ... not risking the curse....

 

[JoePgh]

Tenn is a very long team so any additional height is very helpful.

This is overblown. They have ONE (count 'em) very "long" player, Tamari Key, who is maybe half an inch taller than Liv and can't jump as well (but can probably outmuscle Liv). Their "4", Alexis Dye, is 6-0 in height, and will be dwarfed by Dorka if that becomes a 1-on-1 matchup. Their "2" and "3" (Jordan Horston and Rae Burrell) are both in the 6-0 to 6-1 range, compared to Caroline at 6-2 and Christyn at 5-11 -- although it must be acknowledged that Caroline is a lot less experienced and probably less athletic than either of her TN counterparts. If Caroline falters, Evina can come in and match up with either of them very well, in height as well as in skill and experience. UConn will have a size advantage at point guard even with Nika (never mind Evina).

I think the game-deciding matchup will be between the two centers. Recently, Liv's star has been rising and Tamari's has been fading. Liv is fouling less and Tamari seems to be fouling more. Tamari doesn't have any more post moves than Liv does, and doesn't seem to defend the post any better or worse than Liv. Neither of them has a midrange jump shot that is particularly reliable, although I think Liv's is probably better at this point. Tamari's biggest strength is her ability to get offensive rebounds and to put them back up with greater accuracy than Liv. I expect Tamari to get nearly all her points either by offensive rebounds or at the free throw line (where she hasn't been that good). If Liv can successfully box her out and limit her offensive rebounds without fouling, UConn should win by double digits.

Speaking of fouls, I think UConn wins the comparison of depth in the front court. UConn's second and third best front court players (Dorka and Aaliyah) are better than their present counterparts on the TN roster, now that their backup center is out for the season. Evina can also play the "4" if she is needed.

The only ways that I can see UConn losing this game are: (a) shooting very poorly, which I don't foresee, especially now that Azzi is available for regular minutes; or (b) giving up a big number of TN offensive rebounds. That is TN's strength, but I don't see why UConn shouldn't be able to limit it with normal box-out performance -- if they can avoid fouling too much.

 

[hookshot]

Absolutely. Macy's doesn't tell Gimbles. (Is Gimbles still in business?)

Not for the past 35 years but whose counting

 

[MilfordHusky]

Absolutely. Macy's doesn't tell Gimbles. (Is Gimbles still in business?)

Hookshot is spot-on regarding the timing. It's spelled Gimbel's.

Gimbels

 

[Vowelguy]

This is overblown.

Geno specifically cited their length as a problem after last year's matchup. The only player they don't have from last year is Rennia Davis.

And they definitely are a very good rebounding team.
Allowing us to play two bigs would be very helpful.

 

[Zarathustra]

Dorka and ONO make the defensive difference on the Boards;
and Christyn, Carolina, and Azzi work some combined magic from
the outside. Nika provides the Spark and Evina the composure and "E"
comes through with
some critical three pointers. Aaliyah continues to contribute and
makes a big difference at some criticial junctures. Go Huskies!

 

[Vowelguy]

 

[eebmg]

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Might be a thing....

Hopefully, not a problem at an Omaha Steakhouse. Steak should be fresh with the stockyards just south of town...

However, I'm not experienced the Italian restaurants in Omaha as of late....

 

[TeamFirst!]

Horston is 6'2" according to ESPN and leading her team in rebounding as a guard. It's interesting that Caitlan Clark is putting up big rebounding numbers also. We try to get out on the break and don't have the guards hit the boards as much maybe? Guards can be a big part of team rebounding, especially on those long misses from outside. Nika picks up a lot of those but it seems no one else does at a very high rate. Horston is an enigma to a degree. She has a ton of talent.

So much of excellence at this level is effort. Annessa Morrow is a perfect example of that. She plays like her life depends upon it and she's absolutely going to be a survivor. It she were on the Titantic bodies would be flying out of that lifeboat.

If we can play with intensity we win this game. It's really a shame that Nika is apparently required to get that across. We have the personnel to dominate if we can motivate them and use them appropriately. That lineup with Azzi in place of Nika is so strong if they use it.

 

[Rixxx]

I think Burrell or Horston neutralize Caroline. I also think ONO and Key offset one another. The key players from my POV are the guards and whoever is playing the "4", Dorka or Edwards. The defense is aggressive enough that no TN payer should have a career game. If points can be generated from TN turnovers, Uconn should win.

 

[ucbart]

I really want to see if our guards can get Azzi shots. How is Tennessee's perimeter defense? If we can go 8 deep tomorrow, I would love to see us press Tennessee as they have a tendency to turn the ball over.

We have to get off to a strong start tomorrow.