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Message: [QUOTE="Bone Dog, post: 5321470, member: 12088"] I think this is not a substantial disagreement. Yes, they all ‘wanted’ to win. Every single kid on a D1 scholarship ‘wants’ to win. All the more the kids on a top 10 team. But when it came down to it, when they were faced with what Paige & Co were prepared to do, mostly they just faded. When I say “Will to win,” I mean a settled resolve to do whatever it takes. And no, not every team had such a will to win. In the courtside interview with Holly, Cori said her team was not ready for the pace of play UConn was forcing on them. “That’s on us,” she said, meaning the players needed to find the resolve to play at that pace in themselves. She didn’t say Kiki has to develop a step back jumper in the next few minutes, or Londynn has to grow a couple inches, or Gabriela has to become a better ball handler. She said they didn’t have it inside them. In the 4th quarter of the finals, Rebecca observed that lots of teams played defense against UConn with energy and intensity in the 1st quarter or half, but UConn was doing that in the 4th quarter. She thought that was remarkable. Some teams played UConn close for a quarter or a half and then faded in the second half. USC came the closest to challenging UConn in the second half, pulling to within 5 at the end of the third quarter, until that ‘elevator screen’ allowed Azzi to shut the door. At the beginning of the 3rd quarter, SCar cut the lead to 11 toward the end of the 3rd and then they folded like a house of cards. That’s not about a talent difference. It’s about a difference in will, or resolve, or grit. UConn was just tougher than everyone else. [/QUOTE]

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