Georgetown Postgame Thread

[HuskyNan]

The team didn’t come out smoking at all. They went down 4-0 and had a two point lead with Azzi came in. They looked much better with her on the court.

UConn was up 8-6 when Azzi came in. The Huskies looked like piranha at feeding time in the first quarter

Women's Basketball vs Georgetown on 3/4/2023 - Box Score - University of Connecticut Athletics

The official box score of Women's Basketball vs Georgetown on 3/4/2023

uconnhuskies.com

 

[RoadMaster]

Now, I really hope Caroline isn’t seriously hurt

Hoping the same. Without, "further review ", I'm hoping that my initial perspective of an elbow into trapezius area (as opposed to direct head blow) is the case.
Naturally, neither is optimal.

 

[freshler40]

A good first half, lock-down defense made the game look easy though it wasn't. We played 20 minutes of final four basketball. I don't know who we were for the last 20. Geno was able to play different combinations and rest the starters when needed. Would like to see some growth in our bench but it still is some distance from providing good minutes. Hope that changes but it may have to wait until next year. Why can't one of these bench players have a breakout game???? They have played the minutes, not mop-up but seem tentative in nearly all aspects. Can our coaches coach them up?????

 

[RedStickHusky]

Geno said she wasn't capped but I think he was smart leaving Azzi on the bench down the stretch, even though it led to some offensively challenged lineups. Can't overstate the importance of Caroline, as her and Azzi splitting 40 minutes gives us a great floor spacing rotation. Caroline didn't look too upset on the bench so I'm hoping they didn't put her back in protocol. If I'm her, at this point, any knock on the head is gonna scare the bejeezus out of me.

 

[veryolddog]

Good job for a Team win! This looked familiar to me. I liked the defense which stifled the inside game for Georgetown and made them shoot from the outside today. Sorry about Caroline. Wonderful to see Azzi in limited minutes. I am patiently waiting for Ines to drop 3's and score on the driving to the basket. She has it within her and it's just a matter of time.

Dorka and Edwards. Really had the feeling today. Nice job for the ladies.

What I did not like was the pushing and shoving by the Georgetown players which caused many UConn players to go to the floor. And, all of the fouls that were not called on the G town players.

I am hopeful that this excitement will be carried by the UConn team into tomorrow's game for another victory. OOrah!

 

[darrell]

 

[hipressure]

Some Thoughts on the Georgetown game:

• Unfortunately it wouldn't be a UConn game without another injury. It’s hard to know what to think and feel about Caroline’s repeated head injuries. Obviously she wants to play in the worst way, and we all certainly want to see her play. But I must confess that I am concerned about Caroline’s long-term health and well-being.

I will say it. Caroline may need to be shut down for the remainder of the season. The blow today wasn't flush but more of a glancing blow. Yet her reaction to it was scary. As serious as concussions are, I wouldn't take any more chances with Caroline this season. To me, she is too important of a piece going forward next season to jeopardize.

Great win today regardless. I hope we can see more continuity from our bench as the postseason progresses. Welcome back, Azzi!

 

[maple]

I had a great time today and it looked like the team did too. ❤ Seems like they heard Geno’s comments loud and clear.

Good hustle, spacing, passing. Lots of good looks even though the ball didn’t always get a nice bounce. Credit to Georgetown they hustled and played hard the whole game and weren’t gonna let us win the game sleepwalking!

Azzi being able to play made all the difference. The team energy was great and looked like the UConn team we all know and love. I hope CD is okay and we won’t need her to play until Monday or maybe even until the Big Dance.

Thankfully we were up big and could put the end of the bench in for some long minutes in the 4Q. It wasn’t necessarily productive with points but I liked their energy and they seemed more confident while playing.

ND only scoring 38 points in a loss to L’Ville shows me that reports of UConn’s demise were greatly exaggerated. We have played sloppy and listless at times it’s true, but despite all of our setbacks both physical and mental, we have done what most teams could not with the same challenges.

Can’t wait for tomorrows game! I am spending the rest of the day at Mohegan Sun to watch the other games this afternoon/tonight.

On a personal note, I turn 35 tomorrow. Geno has been coaching for 38! He’s been the coach of UConn WBB for literally my entire life. It’ll be crazy the day he finally retires … but this is not that day!

 

[The deacon]

I will say it. Caroline may need to be shut down for the remainder of the season. The blow today wasn't flush but more of a glancing blow. Yet her reaction to it was scary. As serious as concussions are, I wouldn't take any more chances with Caroline this season. To me, she is too important of a piece going forward next season to jeopardize.

Great win today regardless. I hope we can see more continuity from our bench as the postseason progresses. Welcome back, Azzi!

Agreed, hipressure, and I know you didn't mean it that Caroline's just a 'piece going forward'... her health, short-term and long-term, must be the foremost motivation.

 

[jaydee602]

In the ongoing saga of "So you want to be a gambler":
For some insane reason, this hopeless loser placed a wager on UCONN (-27). I was optimistic after 3 periods with the Huskies up by over 30 points. But then they decided not score for over 6 minutes & the lead dwindled to 24.
It stayed at 27 for almost 3 minutes until there were 30 seconds left when Nika hit a "meaningless" 3 pointer to give the Huskies a 30 point victory. Winner, winner...chicken dinner! (Phew!)

 

[darrell]

 

[Henry]

Not only was Caroline hit on the right side of her head under the basket, but then when she fell the left side of her head contacted the floor. It wasn't a hard blow to that side of her head, but given her history any blow to the head is worrisome. I hope she's OK.

 

[RedStickHusky]

Just a note inre the "bench" discussions: a bench that includes Azzi, Caroline, and Ayanna is a great bench that will contribute to winning games. A bench of Ayanna, Ines, and Amari will give you spot minutes for foul trouble or hang on to a big lead. None of that is likely to change in what's left of this season.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

UConn was up 8-6 when Azzi came in. The Huskies looked like piranha at feeding time in the first quarter

Women's Basketball vs Georgetown on 3/4/2023 - Box Score - University of Connecticut Athletics

The official box score of Women's Basketball vs Georgetown on 3/4/2023

uconnhuskies.com

Which is what I said. We were only up two when Azzi came in and extended the lead and never looked back once she came in. They did look like they needed to get used to her being out there at all.

 

[Centerstream]

The team has to reaquiaint itself to Azzi’s presence on the floor. The starters came out smokin‘ but the team hesitated and readjusted when she came out on the court, probably waiting to see if she was going to score in bunches. When she didn’t they had to find another way to score, especially when Nika went out with two fouls. It‘s a process.

Not sure about having 2 of Ines, Ayanna, and Amari in at the same time. It killed the offense for a while when that happened.

Today was a great first step. Those who are disappointed with the game are expecting too much from a team trying to find itself again. And besides, Georgetown was literally playing for its postseason life. They did have an effect on the game defensively too

Kinda glad that you posted this, because I felt the same way but didn't want to post it after a nice win. (I am not suggesting anything negative about your post.)

 

[Fore!]

The team has to reaquiaint itself to Azzi’s presence on the floor. The starters came out smokin‘ but the team hesitated and readjusted when she came out on the court, probably waiting to see if she was going to score in bunches. When she didn’t they had to find another way to score, especially when Nika went out with two fouls. It‘s a process.

Not sure about having 2 of Ines, Ayanna, and Amari in at the same time. It killed the offense for a while when that happened.

Today was a great first step. Those who are disappointed with the game are expecting too much from a team trying to find itself again. And besides, Georgetown was literally playing for its postseason life. They did have an effect on the game defensively too

I thought they looked great with Azzi and CD on the court together; best movement, spacing and pace on the offensive end in quite a while.

 

[ME Husky Fan]

We needed this, from any number of respects, keeping minutes down for some, giving subs a chance although each looked out of sorts. Yes Nika played great D, but more turnovers than assists? Need to clean it up if we’re intend to make our way through the tournament.

 

[Stinger92860]

I will say it. Caroline may need to be shut down for the remainder of the season. The blow today wasn't flush but more of a glancing blow. Yet her reaction to it was scary. As serious as concussions are, I wouldn't take any more chances with Caroline this season. To me, she is too important of a piece going forward next season to jeopardize.

If it is another concussion, as you suggest, her career may be in jeopardy. I hope it was something else today.

 

[RedStickHusky]

I will say it. Caroline may need to be shut down for the remainder of the season. The blow today wasn't flush but more of a glancing blow. Yet her reaction to it was scary. As serious as concussions are, I wouldn't take any more chances with Caroline this season. To me, she is too important of a piece going forward next season to jeopardize.

Great win today regardless. I hope we can see more continuity from our bench as the postseason progresses. Welcome back, Azzi!

Caroline is a young adult surrounded by older professional adults who have accepted some degree of responsibility for her well being. She's also a basketball player and I would expect that if her support system tells her she CAN play, then she WILL play. I myself have absolutely zero information that would me make think I should have an opinion on what she SHOULD do.

 

[fomalhaut]

Except for the injury to Ducharme, not too much to complain about. The shooting could have been better, but improved a bit in the second half. Turnovers were under control and after giving up 10 offensive rebounds early, they picked it up considerably, holding GT to only 12 for the whole game.

Random thoughts:
Didn't Juhasz have a toe on the line when she got credit for a 3-pointer?
Fudd looks like she could hit free throws with her eyes closed. And she started to get hot from three in the second half.

 

[Ozimoto]

Good win. Hopefully some of the pressure is off now and they can relax. Would like to see a higher shooting percentage next game. Kind of picky after a 30 point win, I know.

 

[Valleyfan]

Agree with the general commments - very good win that had us looking more like our typical selves (first half of the season). Azzi is a calming presence and the court spacing when she is on the improves and allows a lot of offensive options. Geno was trying so hard not to smile when she hit that first three. The rotation gets scary for other teams when you can bring out “subs” like Azzi and Caroline.

Speaking of Caroline, it’s just so unfortunate! She just can’t shake getting hit in the head every game. While we all hope not, it would not be surprising to see her get shut down for the year.

The core players including the bench were excellent or very good, the non-core (players 7+) were mediocre but not really needed today.

A very good start to the post season!

 

[cgshuskie]

A great win for Uconn. Offense came back which is a good thing. Defense was awesome, as it should be. Huskies will be
ready for Marquette or St. Johns tomorrow!

 

[CTinLA]

Most importantly, thoughts and prayers go to Caroline. I really hope that her return to the bench means that it wasn’t as bad as it looked.

Next, it was a relief to watch a 30 point win after that stretch of 8 games decided by single digits. The defense looked so much better than in recent games, and that made everything else flow much more smoothly. Also, welcome back Aaliyah Edwards! This was her best game since SC, and I really hope to see this version of Aaliyah moving forward. She has been in a slump since the first Nova game (with the exception of SC), so it was great to see her play with the same intensity that she did in the first 20 games of the season. It was also wonderful to see Azzi out there today. Even when her first few shots didn’t fall, her presence opened up the perimeter and made everyone else relax a bit (including all of the fans!). I admit to a happy yell when each of those triples swished. It would have been better if the 4th quarter wasn’t so ugly offensively, but the game was obviously not in doubt so I’ll take it.

I’m glad that the Huskies came out with some fire today. We need to keep it up, as tomorrow will be a tougher challenge.

 

[RedStickHusky]

... Would like to see a higher shooting percentage next game...

10/24 instead of 6/24 is a 30 something % and pushes us into the 80s.