Hats off to ND

[VAUConnFan]

ND is the only team that really competes with us on a certain BB IQ level. They are well coached & get it. Dayton, Gonzaga, Green Bay, etc are high IQ great teams that don't Hebrew the talent to compete in the end. Hats off to Muppet & ND. Turner improved like Stewie did I her frosh year!

I take it you do not feel as if other top teams like Baylor, Maryland, South Carolina, etc. play the game intelligently? What do teams like Dayton, Gonzaga, and Green Bay do to lead you to your high BB IQ assessment? What did Notre Dame do in last night's game that have you so enamored of their high intelligence quotient? and what does "Hebrew the talent" mean? It is a term with which I am totally unfamiliar. Never heard it before, ever.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I take it you do not feel as if other top teams like Baylor, Maryland, South Carolina, etc. play the game intelligently? What do teams like Dayton, Gonzaga, and Green Bay do to lead you to your high BB IQ assessment? What did Notre Dame do in last night's game that have you so enamored of their high intelligence quotient? and what does "Hebrew the talent" mean? It is a term with which I am totally unfamiliar. Never heard it before, ever.

If you were from NYC you would certainly have heard it, though not in it's edited form, and only used in more intimate settings. Not sure it belongs on a board.

 

[Rocket009]

Any clue why Muffet shut it down with almost a minute to go? Sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere.

It was a very low foul count game. Could be that they had so many fouls to give and so not near 1 and 1 that there was not enough time left.

 

[bballnut90]

Notre Dame will be REALLY good next year if their players continue to improve in the offseason. What impresses me about Muffett as a coach is that her players always seem to improve each season. Diggins, McBride, Peters, Loyd, Allen, Reimer, etc. have all steadily improved each year at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame's supporting cast is the key to their success next year. Loyd has been consistently shut down by Connecticut in big games. She has been blanketed on the offensive end and simply doesn't get clean looks at the basket. Her ineffectiveness means others have to step up if they have a shot to beat UCONN.

Turner has so much untapped potential, I think of her as being incredibly raw, yet she put up 14 points in the 2nd half against UCONN and defensively she shut down the 2x NPOY. She is the only player who can match up If she can develop a mid range jumper and back to the basket post move, she will be unbelievably difficult to stop. She also needs to put on some muscle to help handle the physical nature of the post. That said, she runs the floor as well as any post I've ever seen and is a great finisher around the basket.

Taya Reimer improved immensely over the course of the season, but will need to continue to improve for Notre Dame. Her decision making is still a work in progress, and she missed 6-7 open face up jumpers from 8-15 feet. She has been consistent with those until last night's game, but if she knocks down a few more, it's a different ball game.

Lindsey Allen has great potential as a point guard. She is good defensively and has shown she can be a dangerous scorer from the perimeter and from taking the ball in the lane. They'll need improved offensive output from Allen next year to compete with Connecticut.

I think Mabrey's minutes will disappear next year, as three top notch guards enter South Bend and should be better on both sides of the ball than Mabrey is. That said, when Michaela is "on", she is as dangerous as anyone in the nation. She can simply light teams up. I was surprised she didn't get more playing time last night since she was shooting so well.


I think the gap between Notre Dame and Connecticut is smaller next year which should be more entertaining from a non-UCONN fan standpoint, but UCONN is still clearly the favorite and front runner to win their 4th straight.

 

[Sonny44]

Any clue why Muffet shut it down with almost a minute to go? Sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere.

She chose to go out with dignity and she did.

 

[GoUconn7961]

Notre Dame will be REALLY good next year if their players continue to improve in the offseason. What impresses me about Muffett as a coach is that her players always seem to improve each season. Diggins, McBride, Peters, Loyd, Allen, Reimer, etc. have all steadily improved each year at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame's supporting cast is the key to their success next year. Loyd has been consistently shut down by Connecticut in big games. She has been blanketed on the offensive end and simply doesn't get clean looks at the basket. Her ineffectiveness means others have to step up if they have a shot to beat UCONN.

Turner has so much untapped potential, I think of her as being incredibly raw, yet she put up 14 points in the 2nd half against UCONN and defensively she shut down the 2x NPOY. She is the only player who can match up If she can develop a mid range jumper and back to the basket post move, she will be unbelievably difficult to stop. She also needs to put on some muscle to help handle the physical nature of the post. That said, she runs the floor as well as any post I've ever seen and is a great finisher around the basket.

Taya Reimer improved immensely over the course of the season, but will need to continue to improve for Notre Dame. Her decision making is still a work in progress, and she missed 6-7 open face up jumpers from 8-15 feet. She has been consistent with those until last night's game, but if she knocks down a few more, it's a different ball game.

Lindsey Allen has great potential as a point guard. She is good defensively and has shown she can be a dangerous scorer from the perimeter and from taking the ball in the lane. They'll need improved offensive output from Allen next year to compete with Connecticut.

I think Mabrey's minutes will disappear next year, as three top notch guards enter South Bend and should be better on both sides of the ball than Mabrey is. That said, when Michaela is "on", she is as dangerous as anyone in the nation. She can simply light teams up. I was surprised she didn't get more playing time last night since she was shooting so well.


I think the gap between Notre Dame and Connecticut is smaller next year which should be more entertaining from a non-UCONN fan standpoint, but UCONN is still clearly the favorite and front runner to win their 4th straight.

I'm hoping we improve in the off-season too!

 

[jimazee]

Yeah she kept saying that they didn't expect to be there? Was that just to take pressure off her players? But it did seem as if she was content just to be there. In post game comments (see link to local TV report in another thread) all the players were really pissed off and tired of seeing UCONN with the NC. One of the players said they wouldn't be satisfied until they were cutting down the nets and UCONN was in the locker room.

...and maybe just a slight bit of "sandbagging" the Huskies and Geno, even though she knew it wouldn't have much effect. Nevertheless, she and her team deserve kudos for a real effort and a good performance.

No one lit the UConn victory cigar until the last minute.

 

[CL82]

She chose to go out with dignity and she did.

There's no lack of dignity in competing. I suspect that she correctly assumed that the only thing that a fouling parade would do is run up the score.

I do have a sense that Muffet believes, correctly apparently, that she has a team that can compete with UConn. ND is going to make a big jump next year. They will be a very tough team to play. KLS and Butler are going to be key additions next year.

 

[VAUConnFan]

If you were from NYC you would certainly have heard it, though not in it's edited form, and only used in more intimate settings. Not sure it belongs on a board.

Grew up in Westbury, lived in the Bronx for 17 years. Never heard it any form.

 

[ctdad]

...and maybe just a slight bit of "sandbagging" the Huskies and Geno, even though she knew it wouldn't have much effect. Nevertheless, she and her team deserve kudos for a real effort and a good performance.

No one lit the UConn victory cigar until the last minute.

No sandbagging. Off of last year's team, ND lost the #5 and #12 all-time scorers (now #6 and #13 as Loyd has passed them) in McBride and Achonwa (also one of the top rebounders in program history), plus a very steady defensive specialist in Braker. They were not replaced by juniors or seniors, but by very young players still finding their way in the college basketball world. A sweet 16 season was expected, possibly an elite 8. The finals was not.

 

[Buzzyboy]

The two teams played to a 1 point game in the final 4. There were 2 lead changes in the last minute of the game. I would not call that a "massive difference".

I personally think that there was an aberration in the final six minutes of the ND-SC game in that a comfortable lead was given up by the Irish that had little to do with anything on the part of SC. I'm not sure what was the cause but I'm very comfortable it wasn't anything to do with coaching. If they played ten times, Notre Dame would win ten times in my mind. Those other nine games would not be as close as this game was. Its pretty apparent that I'm not on the Dawn Staley bandwagon. I think she's a good coach but not a premier coach and maybe history will bear me out or make me look like a jerk.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Notre Dame will be REALLY good next year if their players continue to improve in the offseason. What impresses me about Muffett as a coach is that her players always seem to improve each season. Diggins, McBride, Peters, Loyd, Allen, Reimer, etc. have all steadily improved each year at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame's supporting cast is the key to their success next year. Loyd has been consistently shut down by Connecticut in big games. She has been blanketed on the offensive end and simply doesn't get clean looks at the basket. Her ineffectiveness means others have to step up if they have a shot to beat UCONN.

Turner has so much untapped potential, I think of her as being incredibly raw, yet she put up 14 points in the 2nd half against UCONN and defensively she shut down the 2x NPOY. She is the only player who can match up If she can develop a mid range jumper and back to the basket post move, she will be unbelievably difficult to stop. She also needs to put on some muscle to help handle the physical nature of the post. That said, she runs the floor as well as any post I've ever seen and is a great finisher around the basket.

Taya Reimer improved immensely over the course of the season, but will need to continue to improve for Notre Dame. Her decision making is still a work in progress, and she missed 6-7 open face up jumpers from 8-15 feet. She has been consistent with those until last night's game, but if she knocks down a few more, it's a different ball game.

Lindsey Allen has great potential as a point guard. She is good defensively and has shown she can be a dangerous scorer from the perimeter and from taking the ball in the lane. They'll need improved offensive output from Allen next year to compete with Connecticut.

I think Mabrey's minutes will disappear next year, as three top notch guards enter South Bend and should be better on both sides of the ball than Mabrey is. That said, when Michaela is "on", she is as dangerous as anyone in the nation. She can simply light teams up. I was surprised she didn't get more playing time last night since she was shooting so well.


I think the gap between Notre Dame and Connecticut is smaller next year which should be more entertaining from a non-UCONN fan standpoint, but UCONN is still clearly the favorite and front runner to win their 4th straight.

I don't know if I'd say that Turner shut down Breanna in the second half or maybe it had to do with her having turned her ankle and being somewhat gimpy. I agree that she's a very talented lady but I think the compliments may have been a little bit too generous.

 

[willingtonfan]

It was a very low foul count game. Could be that they had so many fouls to give and so not near 1 and 1 that there was not enough time left.

Excellent point! I just checked the box score play-by-play, which lists Notre Dame's last foul at 7:57 to play on Hannah Huffman, listed as P2T5. This means 2nd personal, 5th team foul. They were not called for another foul the rest of the game, so UConn was not in the bonus and therefore they still had a foul to give, such that fouling would have no effect other than to give us a new shot clock. That said, after the first foul, subsequent fouls would have put us at the line. (For the real old fashioned guys out there, remember when at pro games there would be a person sitting at the scorers table who would hold up little paddles that literally would say P2 and T5 showing the number of the personal and team fouls? I remember seeing that watching Celtic games as a kid.)

Also hats off to Notre Dame for not playing a foulfest type of game. A lot of teams in recent years seem to have adopted the philosophy when defending us to simply foul every possession on the theory that the refs can't or won't call all of them. Notre Dame clearly did not do this, which is further to their credit.

 

[hoophuskee]

There's no lack of dignity in competing. I suspect that she correctly assumed that the only thing that a fouling parade would do is run up the score.

I do have a sense that Muffet believes, correctly apparently, that she has a team that can compete with UConn. ND is going to make a big jump next year. They will be a very tough team to play. KLS and Butler are going to be key additions next year.

Did you post this before Loyd left?

 

[msf22b]

I believe that Natalie Butler is the key to next year. If she plays anything like Dolson, freeing up Stewart and Tuck, it will be an incredible year. Can Butler stay with Turner from ND and Wilson from SC? Tune in next year, folks.

Butler will play Reimer and be just fine.

 

[Sonny44]

Excellent point! I just checked the box score play-by-play, which lists Notre Dame's last foul at 7:57 to play on Hannah Huffman, listed as P2T5. This means 2nd personal, 5th team foul. They were not called for another foul the rest of the game, so UConn was not in the bonus and therefore they still had a foul to give, such that fouling would have no effect other than to give us a new shot clock. That said, after the first foul, subsequent fouls would have put us at the line. (For the real old fashioned guys out there, remember when at pro games there would be a person sitting at the scorers table who would hold up little paddles that literally would say P2 and T5 showing the number of the personal and team fouls? I remember seeing that watching Celtic games as a kid.)

Also hats off to Notre Dame for not playing a foulfest type of game. A lot of teams in recent years seem to have adopted the philosophy when defending us to simply foul every possession on the theory that the refs can't or won't call all of them. Notre Dame clearly did not do this, which is further to their credit.

Also one other thing that I haven't seen mentioned...........No Flops!

 

[Wally East]

Loyd has been consistently shut down by Connecticut in big games.

Well, she did have 17 in the 1st half of the game in December and 31 overall. I suppose you could say a game in December is not a big game

 

[Wally East]

Any clue why Muffet shut it down with almost a minute to go? Sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere.

I was surprised the announcers even mentioned this. It was 10 points, which is a huge amount to make up in a minute. The announcers might have pointed out that's a four-possession lead.

 

[CL82]

Did you post this before Loyd left?

Yep, I think they'll still be fine though.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Grew up in Westbury, lived in the Bronx for 17 years. Never heard it any form.

Let's just say some of us ran in different crowds, but if you didn't hear it out in Westbury, I'm surprised. Certainly in a lot of neighborhoods to the east and north of there it was well known, and of course on the Lower East Side.

 

[Wally East]

If you were from NYC you would certainly have heard it, though not in it's edited form, and only used in more intimate settings. Not sure it belongs on a board.

I was assuming it was an autocorrect mistake. If it's not, no, it's not at all an appropriate thing for civil conversation.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Any clue why Muffet shut it down with almost a minute to go? Sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere.

1. She is a realist. 2. What to do: foul and turn a 10 point loss into an 18 point loss? 3. She is aware how lame pressing down 10 with 1 minute remaining looks. D. She had to pee.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

1. She is a realist. 2. What to do: foul and turn a 10 point loss into an 18 point loss? 3. She is aware how lame pressing down 10 with 1 minute remaining looks. D. She had to pee.

I have to admit I'm surprised Muffet is getting a pass on this from the-BY. She did nothing late in that game to show any fight. I recall the announcers saying she got on her team during a timeout in the 1st half that they needed to fight more, yet she completely mails it in late in the game. Would it really matter if you lost by 18? The flip side is, what if UCONN started missing the front end of the 1-and-1's. Foul Nurse and maybe the freshman tightens up.
Ultimately I don't care since I wanted UCONN to win, but I'm surprised at the lack of critiquing.

 

[Dougie]

I believe that Natalie Butler is the key to next year. If she plays anything like Dolson, freeing up Stewart and Tuck, it will be an incredible year. Can Butler stay with Turner from ND and Wilson from SC? Tune in next year, folks.

Even if Butler starts, it might be Stewie matched up with Turner and Wilson.

 

[uconnfan68]

Butler will play Reimer and be just fine.

I thought Reimer played much better this game than the last 2. She doesn't seem to mind the dirty work.