Frankly speaking.....

[msf22b]

One has to remember that the other team(s) are trying to win also
In Stanford's case they have also had some real good players, a remarkable coach
and its possible that they're even more dangerous w/o the sisters.
The Samuelson girls were really were effective; where've they been?

Then there is the question of whether Mo is really 100%, I think not.
This loss helps us all with perspective.
It was a bad loss. At times, they played like what we usually do to our opponents.
It was unexpected and was a real shame.
The question is
What does the staff and the team do about it, how do they respond?
What are the takeaways?

We'll find out soon enough.

I really adore this group and wish them the very best.

 

[tomcat]

I can understand the OP's point of view, but don't much agree with it. Doesn't matter how important the game was, the fact is that UConn did not perform, in a variety of ways. At least some of that was due to a Stanford team that, encouraged by a great crowd, played out of its mind for most of the night. I don't think UConn is that bad, nor do I think that , on most nights, Stanford will be that good. But on this particular night, Stanford was the better team for much of the night.

They tied many of UConn's players in knots. They neutralized MoJeff, and who do you know that's fast enough to do that? Their offense scored 88 points on the vaunted UConn defense. They made KML look like she had the speed of a land slug, and that is not because she suddenly got slower. It's because they had a defense to take care of her. They decided to make a punching bag out of Breanna, and UConn did not have a counterpunch. They slacked off Kiah, and it turned out to be the right thing to do. They deserve a great deal of credit for a great game plan and the ability to get players, including some young ones, to execute it. UConn, it seems, had young ones who, in the coach's judgment, were not even ready to try.

Point is, is was not just that UConn's players did not show up -- which is true. It's also that they played a team that was ready to take the win away from them.

 

[Bestiarius]

It's okay to be a loser, unless you're really, really good at it.

 

[meyers7]

Our standards are higher than 'just' winning the national championship

I agree completely. If you can't win the NC going undefeated, what's the point?

 

[RadyLady]

Sorry, if we are playing a top ten ranked team, it's not an automatic win. They were misfiring. Who was he going to put in anyways? The other three Freshmen? The walk-on? The transfer (she can't)? I'm sure if they should promise during practice then maybe but when you aren't opening a lead you leave your "old timers" in and hope they get hot.

Nice to see you Luigi you add a voice of reason

 

[Replicant]

As someone said, Show me a gracious loser and I'll show you a loser.

It's one thing to be 'gracious loser' when you get beat by a clearly superior team. When you just give it away it is something totally different. JMO.

"Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser" - Vince Lombardi

We grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory...always a bitter pill to swallow.

Silver lining; the stellar play of key supporting members Saniya, Kia and Morgan that will become essential to reaching the promised land at seasons end, and as incohesively as we played as a team at the end of the game, we lost by 1 point in overtime to the #6 team at their place.

We will be just fine!

 

[huskeynut]

We got beat by a better team on one particular night. Stanford had a great game plan and executed it well. And Stanford has done this to us before. I'm sure that's one of the reasons Geno loves playing Stanford. And Tara loves paying UCONN.

We had an off night on several fronts. It happens. Not very often but it happens.

Geno and his staff have seen this before and know what to do. The players are not happy and know what needs to be done. We are still a team in transition from last year's run. This should not be a surprise to anyone.

To acknowledge a team for a well played game is not being a loser. It's called sportsmanship. Give credit were credit is due.

Are we still the favorite to win it all - YES!!!!!!!!