Game thread

[hoophuskee]

Rebecca was wrong and as I said in another thread she owes Gabby an apology. Rebecca assumed she knew what was going on. She should have said "we'll have to wait until after the game to hear what happened with Gabby,"

No she doesn't.

 

[chrissaran]

Napheesa disappeared when Z came in. UConn has to fix that.

 

[Orangutan]

And yet the ND fans on McGraw's bench are of the opinion that the Irish got hosed.

If both sets of fans thought they got hosed, then they probably did a good job. I thought they were fine.

 

[Orangutan]

In fairness, UCONN fans could say the same thing. Z played the way she played at Duke (until the 4th quarter), Gabby was a no show due to migraines, Pheesa ebbed and flowed in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, etc etc.

Sure, just thought it was interesting that the ND players who had been struggling stepped up and the ones who had excelled struggled. Probably had to do with a good UConn gameplan.

 

[Charliebball]

Napheesa disappeared when Z came in. UConn has to fix that.

Geno mentioned that when Z found a good area to work in offensively the Napheesa just floated around..............the one great thing about last year and that short bench was that everybody had a defined role and rarely strayed from it out of necessity............

 

[UConnCat]

No she doesn't.

She does and she will. Rebecca had a national TV audience believing Geno benched one of his star players to send a message. She needed to show some restraint and not speculate. It was a minor mistake but one I bet she acknowledges.

 

[Dillon77]

Napheesa disappeared when Z came in. UConn has to fix that.

Well, she didn't disappear on defense when Z came in.
In fact, I thought their presence in the lane made it tough for Shepard to get the kind of layups she was getting in the first half. No chippies for ND there. Scoring isn't everything: you can help your teams in other ways and Napheesa did.

 

[hoophuskee]

She does and she will. Rebecca had a national TV audience believing Geno benched one of his star players to send a message. She needed to show some restraint and not speculate. It was a minor mistake but one I bet she acknowledges.

We can agree to disagree. Whether she does or not is irrelevant. She doesn't need to do it. How many times during a game do analysts say teams aren't playing with heart? All these kids play with heart. How many times are they critical of refs? Further, imo your mention of national tv is irrelevant. You mean it's okay for Rebecca to say what she said if the game was not on Nat'l TV? Otherwise why make it a point to mention it? If it's wrong "to speculate" then why should it matter if on Nat'l TV or not?

Further, I don't think Gabby gives more than 2 seconds of thought as to what Rebecca said. You really think Gabby "is hurt?" Further, imo Rebecca's job is to speculate. SHe is the expert that we rely on. The color commentator - imo is there sometimes to speculate. For example years back vs South Carolina, Rebecca claimed they had no shot to beat to UCONN. She said they can't score enough. Isn't that really speculation - predicting that South Carolina's style had no chance to win? After all- it's about a bunch of 20 year old's competing vs one another - one team ranked 1, and the other ranked 2,3,4 or 5. The color commentator also speculates for example while the game is going - a certain play- what a team needs to do on the next possession, or what they need to do as a team etc.

 

[bags27]

Does Pheesa "disappear" when Z comes in?

Maybe it is that Z takes up a lot of Pheesa's space.

But maybe it's that Pheesa depends on Lou or Gabby to get her the ball where she wants it, and with Z in together with Pheesa, that usually means that Gabby or Lou (or both) are out. I got a feeling that next year Pheesa and Megan are going to work together really well.

Just want to bring Megan into this. She has supernal basketball instincts. just flows to the right place. her rebounding tonight was terrific. at around 3;25 left, she really skied for one.

 

[Orangutan]

Just want to bring Megan into this. She has supernal basketball instincts. just flows to the right place. her rebounding tonight was terrific. at around 3;25 left, she really skied for one.

I've watched two UConn games this year (UCLA and ND) and every time Walker has been on court she's been doing good things. Geno surely knows best, but I think she needs more PT.

 

[Carnac]

My last post of the day: UConn won the game today...............dilly dilly!

 

[hoophuskee]

I've watched two UConn games this year (UCLA and ND) and every time Walker has been on court she's been doing good things. Geno surely knows best, but I think she needs more PT.

Whose minutes you drop? Not arguing. You see Z needs minutes, right? You see she needs minutes with the pg, right? Who is our backup pg? It's Nurse. She needs minutes as pg too, right? Plus she also needs to work with Z and Danger. You've seen Collier off a bit. SO you saw what she was capable of last year, you think it best not to play as much? And Lou hasn't played a lot of games. So where are the minuets coming from?

BTW - those have been her 2 best games. One game he had Andra come in first.

 

[bags27]

Whose minutes you drop? Not arguing. You see Z needs minutes, right? You see she needs minutes with the pg, right? Who is our backup pg? It's Nurse. She needs minutes as pg too, right? Plus she also needs to work with Z and Danger. You've seen Collier off a bit. SO you saw what she was capable of last year, you think it best not to play as much? And Lou hasn't played a lot of games. So where are the minuets coming from?.

You're making an excellent argument for returning women's basketball to 6 players at a time; 3 on the forecourt and 3 on the backcourt.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I went to the game and the crowd was large and loud!
I read this whole 23 page post starting at 12:15am and UCONN fans on the BONEYARD should be ashamed of themselves!
Why didn't you just slit your wrists and bleed out and avoid the pity party! What a bunch of front-runners a lot of you are!
It's great when our girls are winning by 40 but if they play lousy or the other team is kicking their butts we're jumping ship!
Boy are we terrible, Geno sucks, It's Geno's fault KLS got hurt again, No guts on this team, so & so stinks, It's over, we can't make a comeback............................
A game is 40 minutes long at least watch the WHOLE freaking game before you say things you'll regret later!
It was a great game and both teams went at it tooth and nail, giving no quarter until UCONN finally dug deep and reverted to their usual style of play to pull out a 9 point win!
I wasn't thrilled at the way UCONN played and remember I predicted a 26 point win, in my mind I gave them the benefit of the doubt and waited and see how it turns out!
I'm proud of our girls for reaching deep and pulling out a tough W! It'll really help down the road!

 

[augustaTC]

Napheesa disappeared when Z came in. UConn has to fix that.

And Geno said as much the other day. It's a tough process getting the new mix to gell. Pheesa will be fine.

 

[Dillon77]

You're making an excellent argument for returning women's basketball to 6 players at a time; 3 on the forecourt and 3 on the backcourt.

My mother played 3 and 3 just prior to the World War Two. On the defensive end...something she passed onto her son.

 

[chrissaran]

UConn only played 7 players. They have a lot more than that that just sat on the bench. It wasn't like they played 9 or 10 players. Notre Dame played 7 players, also. Patterson played only one minute.

 

[Teacherdeb]

Well, having Ms. Turner or Vaughn might've helped...Z and Collier are just too quick for Shep, Koko Nelson and Kat Westbeld. But, that's not happening this year. My thought might be to give frosh Danielle Patterson some time in upcoming games so she can at least give those two some rest during the ACC battles.

A couple of hundred posts ago this afternoon, I wrote to an anguished UConn fan that it was a game of runs and, of course, UConn was going to make one. I was hoping it wouldn't last the whole fourth quarter though.

Overall, liked what I saw from the Irish for three quarters. Mabrey and Arike simply will not back down....proud of their efforts. Great game. Look forward to the next one.

I thought the same about Turner- but that's life in Basketball land. Considering how easily Z and Phee got by Westbeld in particular, why that wasn't exploited earlier- oh well, it was when important. I look forward to watching ND this year- talented, entertaining group of players

 

[Teacherdeb]

I really enjoyed NC mixing it up with MM just as uconn is making there run. That was awesome. MM was so frustrated.

yes! MM has killed us at times, so I hated her in a respectful way. But that hissy fit with Phee was immature and unacceptable- that behavior wouldn't be tolerated by Geno/CD- what am I saying? Geno/CD wouldn't recruit a player who acts like that in public. MM, let your play speak for you, not a tantrum.

 

[Teacherdeb]

Rebecca was wrong and as I said in another thread she owes Gabby an apology. Rebecca assumed she knew what was going on. She should have said "we'll have to wait until after the game to hear what happened with Gabby,"

I totally agree! Shame on anyone who has watched Gabby for 4 years and not known that there was something going on, and not the usual Geno teaching a lesson. You could see the pain in her eyes.

 

[Paul1969]

I have to say that I'm really impressed with the development of Mabrey & Shepard. Along with Ogunbowle, Young & Thompson, they make ND a very dangerous team.

Yes, I see that Mabrey has progressed her whining and complaining to officials to a whole new level....

 

[oldude]

Yes, I see that Mabrey has progressed her whining and complaining to officials to a whole new level....

Whining aside, Mabrey played very well last night, particularly running the point when Thompson was not on the court.

 

[Dillon77]

I thought the same about Turner- but that's life in Basketball land. Considering how easily Z and Phee got by Westbeld in particular, why that wasn't exploited earlier- oh well, it was when important. I look forward to watching ND this year- talented, entertaining group of players

I don't think Z was in for as prolonged a stay until Gabby was taken out and KLS was injured.
Kat was giving up a lot of height to Z but -- more importantly -- the quickness. (Kat is still coming back from the ankle surgery...it's been a tough haul.)

ND can play a fun brand of ball to watch when it's clicking. Mabrey was bombing away (as Mabreys do) and was directing the half-court well and their bigs can and will pass to each other.
And Arike, when she's driving to the basket, is almost like the Tasmanian Devil from cartoons with her intensity. (Yes, she does spin out of control on occasion, but hey, it balances out )

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I've watched two UConn games this year (UCLA and ND) and every time Walker has been on court she's been doing good things. Geno surely knows best, but I think she needs more PT.

The AAC conference schedule approacheth. But, seriously, while it unfortunate that Gabby's head ache and Lou's ankle provided the opportunity, as Kia said post-game, Meghan's rebounds down the stretch "were huge" and it's not like Geno wasn't watching.