Great win by ND...

[uconn_nyc]

KML will learn. Her turnovers were costly but so were the missed free throws by the rest of the team. She lost the ball in the same spot a few times. I'm sure Geno will correct this.

 

[Icebear]

sorry but i just don't get the whining and complaining about the refs. it was a physical game. ND took the ball to the hoop much more than UCONN did and as a result were fouled. UCONN was basically a jump shooting team. our post players only took 10 shots, but our guards did not drive nearly as much as the ND guards did. when you drive and take a shot, chances are fouls will be called.

Hayes, Peters, and Achonwa went out in the first half with 2 fouls but UCONN did zero to build a lead with the 2 post players on the bench. ND was just the better team today. if you can't see that and admit it, then go ahead and piss and moan about the calls and talk about how UCONN was robbed.

UCONN was sloppy with the ball and got it stolen way too many times by ND. we lacked poise down the stretch and ND did what they needed to win the game. as i said, great win by ND and congrats to them.

Sorry, eric, my eyes tell me you are wrong about the officiating. It was lousy three of us who have officiated all agreed. Now that said, that game was lost because of our foul shooting. You must always overcome everything that comes at you. But the officiating was crap today.

 

[EricLA]

Sorry, eric, my eyes tell me you are wrong about the officiating. It was lousy three of us who have officiated all agreed. Now that said, that game was lost because of our foul shooting. You must always overcome everything that comes at you. But the officiating was crap today.

well ice, go ahead and continue to blame the refs and look like a really poor sport. i was not calling you out specifically, but go ahead and complain - it just look like a being a poor sport. of course that's anyone's right.

or one could take a different road and congratulate ND for the win and look at what UCONN needs to do to improve and beat them the next time. and by the way, what was i "wrong about the officiating"? i never said the refs called a perfect game. i never said there were fouls that were not called. i said it was a physical game. i said ND drove to the hoop more than we did and in those cases fouls are more likely to be called. so sorry ice, i'm not wrong about the officiating because i did not comment on it.

i get that you are upset about the loss, but seriously? ur really gonna try to call me out for something i didn't even do?

 

[Sonny44]

I think we lost because our half court offense was terrible. We were flat footed, couldn't get open looks. We've got to improve when we are five on five.
On the breaks we were great.

 

[Icebear]

well ice, go ahead and continue to blame the refs and look like a really poor sport. i was not calling you out specifically, but go ahead and piss and moan and whine and complain and just look like a really poor sport. of course that's your right.

or you could take a different road and congratulate ND for the win and look at what UCONN needs to do to improve and beat them the next time. and by the way, what was i "wrong about the officiating"? i never said the refs called a perfect game. i never said there were fouls that were not called. i said it was a physical game. i said ND drove to the hoop more than we did and in those cases fouls are more likely to be called. so sorry ice, i'm not wrong about the officiating because i did not comment on it.

Not a right, just being accurate. Complaints about the officiating were just as loud when we were up seven. blkkirk and jellybean who like me have been officials all saw the same thing. As I said though it is the job of a team to overcome every obstacle. The fact is we lost because of our foul shooting. If we took care of that nothing else would have mattered. You were wrong when you said this, "sorry but i just don't get the whining and complaining about the refs. it was a physical game. " Physical is one thing uneven calls is something else.

 

[EricLA]

I think we lost because our half court offense was terrible. We were flat footed, couldn't get open looks. We've got to improve when we are five on five.
On the breaks we were great.

cat made a great post in pointing out that against really good teams, our 4 guard offense is a liability in that leaving STef alone in the post turns us into a jump shooting team and makes it easier to double team Stef and work to deny our best 3 point shooters. i wouldn't say our half court offense was terrible. i think it just exposes the problems with a 4 guard offense. at least this game it did. i'm not a good enough analyst to break it down properly. perhaps one of the other BY'ers could do that...

 

[Jonathan Husky]

Wish I could agree more wholeheartedly, but this is a somewhat familiar refrain against very physical teams. Great teams can adjust to the reality of the game as called and still make plays. This game did not strike me as a "we wuz robbed" affair by a long shot. The non-travel that was called a travel on Doty was the one that hurt the worst

It looked like a travel to me. We lost the game at the foul line. We missed at least eight foul shots in regulation. If we made one of them we would have won.Bria Hartley was the best player in the game. Natalie Novosel the second best. KML was not up to the ND pressure. Kiah gave us some good minutes in the post. We will improve and be better next time around.

 

[EricLA]

Not a right, just being accurate. Complaints about the officiating were just as loud when we were up seven. blkkirk and jellybean who like me have been officials all saw the same thing. As I said though it is the job of a team to overcome every obstacle. The fact is we lost because of our foul shooting. If we took care of that nothing else would have mattered. You were wrong when you said this, "sorry but i just don't get the whining and complaining about the refs. it was a physical game. " Physical is one thing uneven calls is something else.

like i said ice, you can keep saying it all night long and i'll keep saying exactly the same thing as well. you can blame the refs for the loss or move on and figure out what the team can do better. totally your right to do that and to continue to argue with me about something i never said and continue to make no sense in arguing with me. your choice.

and by the way you can list all the people you want who were refs or whatever - all you have to do is look thru the thread to see many more people who are not blaming the refs for the loss.

 

[meyers7]

Very simple today, we lost because of TOs and poor FT shooting. The TOs were ricidulous.

 

[meyers7]

It looked like a travel to me. .

Nah, it was a jump stop and 1 step into lay-up. Not a travel. But we had already "thrown (as in TO)" the game away. Up 4 with the ball and 2 minutes to play, you need to put it away. We didn't.

 

[VAMike23]

Sorry, eric, my eyes tell me you are wrong about the officiating. It was lousy three of us who have officiated all agreed. Now that said, that game was lost because of our foul shooting. You must always overcome everything that comes at you. But the officiating was crap today.

I have officiated as well.

Which is why I identified the non-travel as the worst, and most damaging call: No obstructing players, play right in front of you, not a high-speed play. Yet still blown. Unforgivable, that one.

 

[meyers7]

Not a right, just being accurate. .

No ice, your off here. The officiating wasn't too bad at all.

 

[Kevin G]

Nah, it was a jump stop and 1 step into lay-up. Not a travel. But we had already "thrown (as in TO)" the game away. Up 4 with the ball and 2 minutes to play, you need to put it away. We didn't.

That play was NOT a travel. She kept her pivot foot on the ground and then jumped up to shoot the ball

 

[Kevin G]

Very simple today, we lost because of TOs and poor FT shooting. The TOs were ricidulous.

We DID lose because of our poor FT shooting and our TO"s during regulation. The home calls certainly kept it closer and kept ND in the game. In OVERTIME, we lost because we had no offense and ND's defense stepped up. We had no answer for their trap at the top of the key. We lost the ball there so many times.

 

[magical2]

i really thought we had it up 4 with a few minutes left, but too many mistakes down the stretch and ND's defense was just too much. great battle tho and what you'd expect between 2 of the top 3 teams in WCBB...

i really thought ND's defense was spectacular and we had no answer for it. of course, our FT shooting was hovering around 50% for much of the game and that didn't help either. still, congrats to ND in a great win.

We had control of the game with being up by 4 and having the ball,but ND I think Skylar knocked the ball away leading to a fast break the other way! Intense defense by ND<IMHO a # of them were very aggresive and fouls. I do agree too many mistakes down the stretch in a game we could have won! The first time KML looked like the young FR she is! It is often said and true in games like this FT shooting can come back to haunt you. 27 TO's,FT #s by ND which is part of their game impacted the result also. ND came back a # of times when we had taken control and props to them. The ND 3 SRsNovosol,Peters, Mallory, and JR AA Skylar came up big along with SO Mcbride when it counted. We did play with more of almost everything than the 2 prior games! There is much to be taken from this game which will make us a better team as the season goes on. We do not play ND again<home> until the last regular season game. I wish it was earlier,but do not bet against us. The comment at the end of the broadcast of where we will be ranked was really shocking! Drop 2,3,4 spots?

 

[Icebear]

like i said ice, you can keep saying it all night long and i'll keep saying exactly the same thing as well. you can blame the refs for the loss or move on and figure out what the team can do better. totally your right to do that and to continue to argue with me about something i never said and continue to make no sense in arguing with me. your choice.

If one doesn't understand that there are issues with officiating then one may make the wrong corrections. Also, Geno needs to start to defend his players against the hacking/grabbing type of D we saw tonight by getting into the ear of the officials, doing it even before the game. Everytime we play ND we end up with players getting scratched up, today it was Bria.

Many of the TOs were the result of non calls. That is important to understand. We had 24 TOs but 8-10 or more may have been the result of non calls. Three times Diggins went back door twice all she hit was forearm which is an automatic whistle, especially when it results in a knock away. Generally, officials favor making the call on that if there is any question at all. I could not see the third one because of the angle. If we get the calls on those 8-10 then we have a very normal 14 TOs even getting half reduces it to 19. It affects the game. Plus solving the problem of protecting the ball against uneven officiating is a different problem than solving how protect the ball in normal play. Trying to protect the ball against atypical officiating can make one overly conservative.

Late in the game, especially, in the overtime we played brain dead. We lost focus like the play when Peters stole the ball from KML. A physical game often wears harder on the mind than it does on the body.

Stef established position in the low post numerous times during the second half (which is all I saw) but the pressure on our guards prevented any quality timing on the entry passes. One can only do that so long before you are exhausted because no reward for the battle is coming. Peters was much more willing to follow Stef up high than WVU. This should have opened up many more opportunities on the back cut but ND was excellent is controlling the guards. Plus if Stef is going to take the shot from the foul line then others MUST get to the boards. That is something that we are not doing at all.

I see the game as lost in the hands of the guards rather than the post players. They neither made good entry passes nor made good use of back cuts on the high post possessions. In overtime we started standing around on several ends just as we did in the end against Baylor. The team still does not have an emotional leader willing or able to take charge in late games situation.

As I said the issues with the officiating were the same when we were up 7 as when we were down four. It was not a function of the situation of angst about losing but simply the deference the officials were giving to ND. All games will have calls that are missed but there was consistent inconsistent officiating in this game.

 

[blaqtech]

UCONN needs to make their free throws! I find it hard to believe that this team shoots that poorly at the line.
But after seeing this I now understand why no one can make an open shoot from the elbow or short pull up jumper(something UCONN passes up way too much).
UCONN ballhandling is shaky. They pick up the dribble and hold the ball. This leads to the bad passes and turnovers we saw today.

The officials didn't cost the game, but certainly calls were not the same for both teams.

 

[blkkirk]

Ice not to pick on you but I didn't agree about the officiating (blkkirk). We lost because we turned the ball over way to much one. And Two, ND executed down the stretch and we didn't.

We need to be more committed and trust that running our offense will get us a good shot. Mental toughness and everyone stepping up at crunch time is needed.

Congratulations to ND. A tough well fought win.

 

[dtbtbtb]

Few conclusions from this game:
1. UConn is young and very flawed team (small team, no inside game) and the fact that it can hold it self and almost win against the number 3 team in the country in their home with suspicious officiating (it’s so much harder to shoot the ball when people are draping themselves on you and knocking you with no calls from the officials) is pretty amazing.
2. It’s clear to me that Baylor is by far the best team in the country and if they don’t win it all this year KM should resign
3. ND and UConn are the 2nd and 3rd teams in the country as no one else plays defense, which is even close to those 2 teams.
4. It looks like a down year in WBB if a game between the 2nd and 3rd team in the country is so sloppy.
5. KML played like a freshmen and there should be a better effort done to screen for her to get clean shots.
6. Kia had a good game. She’s got the best rebounding instincts on UConn and should get more minutes. As others here, I don’t believe that the 4-guard offense can bring a championship to UConn and the key is to play with 2 bigs.
7. Bria is a big time player and should be at least a 2nd team AA this season.
8. I don’t get why Novosal gets all those calls for basically throwing her self forward as a human missile and always gets the calls for this BS…
9. Can we please get competent refs for WBB who just whistle consistently and with no favor to home team?

 

[Icebear]

Few conclusions from this game:
1. UConn is young and very flawed team (small team, no inside game) and the fact that it can hold it self and almost win against the number 3 team in the country in their home with suspicious officiating (it’s so much harder to shoot the ball when people are draping themselves on you and knocking you with no calls from the officials) is pretty amazing.
2. It’s clear to me that Baylor is by far the best team in the country and if they don’t win it all this year KM should resign
3. ND and UConn are the 2nd and 3rd teams in the country as no one else plays defense, which is even close to those 2 teams.
4. It looks like a down year in WBB if a game between the 2nd and 3rd team in the country is so sloppy.
5. KML played like a freshmen and there should be a better effort done to screen for her to get clean shots.
6. Kiah had a good game. She’s got the best rebounding instincts on UConn and should get more minutes. As others here, I don’t believe that the 4-guard offense can bring a championship to UConn and the key is to play with 2 bigs.
7. Bria is a big time player and should be at least a 2nd team AA this season.
8. I don’t get why Novosal gets all those calls for basically throwing her self forward as a human missile and always gets the calls for this BS…
9. Can we please get competent refs for WBB who just whistle consistently and with no favor to home team?

All excellent observations. I am all for paying for better training of officials and demanding standards of review.

 

[Icebear]

Ice not to pick on you but I didn't agree about the officiating (blkkirk). We lost because we turned the ball over way to much one. And Two, ND executed down the stretch and we didn't.

We need to be more committed and trust that running our offense will get us a good shot. Mental toughness and everyone stepping up at crunch time is needed.

Congratulations to ND. A tough well fought win.

Sorry, I was going by your comment in the game thread or was it our other blktech. Did either of you officiate because Jellybean responded to a comment by one of you agreeing about the officiating being uneven.

 

[tomcat]

Takeaways from this game. Based on this game, right now NB is better than UConn. Period. Not by much. Every game will be a war, but they have Skylar and UConn doesn't. They have more experience and panic less. At crunch time, they make better, team-oriented decisions while UConn's players don't seem to. UConn may win on its home turf, but maybe not. I believe it's far from a sure thing.

Next, Bria. Most of the time, world class. Uconn would not have been in the game without her. But some of the time, unfortunately, not world class. Her dribble got picked a time or two and the trouble with a gunner like her is that she sometimes chooses the wrong time to try to put the team on her shoulders.
Stef. No one could accuse her of not working. I wish she could knock down the 15 footer, but she does not seem able to. Some of her moves to the basket were wonderful. And her teammates just don't get her the ball down low anywhere near enough. I agree with Ice's observation that when Peters moved outside to guard Stef there should have been opportunities there that UConn did not exploit.
Caroline: Fabulous game. Never expected to see her in there for as long as she was.
Kelly: Gave UConn an awful lot on several levels. If UConn had another one of her, they would have won.
Kiah: Made some mistakes, but made some very good plays as well. Hung in there against a very tough team and held her own. I admit I was surprised at how good he was.
KML. Played like a very talented freshman, but a freshman nonetheless.
Tiff. Not a good game. She just did not play well.

 

[boontonbomber]

tiff's lack of minutes hurt. bria never sat, and kelly played all but 2 minutes. they were worn down at the end, and it showed in the overtime. tiff has got to keep herself in these games. experience, home court, and momentum were all in nd's favor in the overtime. it should never have gotten to overtime. a young uconn team, playing in a hostile environment, outplayed a very good nd team for 40 minutes, and should have won. it was a tremendous game, and all should be proud of the effort by uconn. as leo durocher used to say," oh, those missed foul shots!"

 

[magical2]

lol given that Stanford is struggling to beat Oregon St

We won't drop below #3 in the AP. But the coaches poll is terrible, and they tend to subscribe to the lose=move down philosophy. But I dont think even they would drop a team for losing to the #3 team. On the road. In OT.

Inspite of comments made on TV which were rediculous. We lost to #1@ Baylor by 5,now lost to what will be #2 @ND in OT,beat#4 ST,#5 Md although undefeated 1 schedule does not compare,play @ NC Sun should be interesting.

 

[meyers7]

The officiating was not uneven (some of you are whining.....again). There were many fouls committed by us they let go. Numerous times I thought "crap, oh, ok I guess they aren't gonna call that one, good." Kelly crashed into people 2-3 times without getting called.