Holy Cross Postgame Thread | The Boneyard

Holy Cross Postgame Thread

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oldude

oldude

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Some thoughts on the Holy Cross game:
  • For those of us who have been counting the days, it has been 387 days since Paige and Azzi started a game together for the Huskies. I fully expect that they will both start the next 33 games this season. ;)
  • Not sure what to make of UConn’s 1st half. At the start of the game the whole team was laying bricks. There was a stretch when the entire team got hot followed by more bricks. Holy Cross outshot UConn in the 1st half and Geno was not pleased. The 2nd half was considerably better.
  • While there were some head scratching moments for UConn, Sarah came up BIG the entire game, putting up 22 points on 9/12 shooting, along with 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
  • I know it didn't feel like it, But UConn shot a sizzling 47% from the arc on 14/30 shooting. Go figure. :oops:
  • I really liked Morgan's PT off the bench.
  • I also love the way KK attacks the basket off the dribble. Now if she can only knock down her 3's.
  • Once again, Geno ran out a lot of different lineups. That will change in the near future.
  • The next 18 days will be critical for UConn with 4 games vs ranked teams, including a visit to South Bend on December 12. At the end of the month, the Huskies will have a much better idea of who they are and what they can accomplish this season. GO HUSKIES!!!
 
-Holy Cross was bound and determined like many opponents so far, the away the transition game by sending no one to the offensive boards.

-I didn’t think they were bad shots in the first half, they were just weren’t going in.

-Geno should patent that half time speech. The increased ball pressure intensity broke the game open.

-Paige was being close guarded meaning her defender was not playing any help d. Even as good as she is, it is tough getting shots.

-teams are getting away with letting KK shoot from outside. It is the only advantage Chen has over her. Chen is a better outside shooter.

-speaking of KK, 3 TOs in 7 games. Yikes.

A fabulous second half on both ends.
 
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The second half was better. The first half was painful to watch.

Geno says "We're a very immature team." And he's right.

In the second half, Sarah was on fire, getting rebounds, steals, shooting 9-12, 4-5 from 3.
And Ice really came on, especially in the 4th quarter
Azzi only played 18 minutes, shooting 3-6 with 2 steals
And Kaitlyn scored a season high 14 pts on 5-9, with 3-5 from 3 and 7 assists.
Morgan looked good in her 18 minutes with 8 points on 3-5 shooting and 2-4 from 3

So, there were high points and low points. I'm going to focus on the high points until we play Louisville.

PS: Aubrey participated in the pre-game shoot-around
 
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I thought in the first half we missed a lot of very open shots. But we should have driven more to the basket, which is where our scoring was coming from in that stanza. In the second half we shot well so who cares where we took them from.

Defense was poor for all 4 quarters, though better in the second half. Too many uncontested .
 
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Definitelty a tale of two halfs. First half was ugly and UConn was ice cold. Second half was the opposite. Defensive pressure really took the game way from Holy Cross.

Geno playing a lot of combinations to see who works well together. I'm sure the combos will shrink during the next stretch of games.

Sarah Strong is a force to be reconded with.
 
Blakeon18 said:
I get the sense that Morgan is playing her way into the regular rotation...against
all teams including the elite ones.
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Maybe. It was noticeable that she was on the floor a lot with the starters and not just bench players.

One thing I like about her performance today is that she didn’t foul. Most young and inexperienced players are foul magnets.
 
What a great 2nd half, including coming out to start the 3rd quarter with a better "attitude" to make up for the Ole Miss debacle.
I know Azzi started the 3rd quarter but I don't think she played much into it, but then I would be wrong after seeing the highlights posted above. But she definitely looked like she had a bug between the 3rd and 4th. I glad she got to rest for much of the 2nd half.
I was impressed by everyone's effort and we almost had another "everyone eats" game.
 
Holy Cross came to play in this game for one half, Our defense was superb with 28 points in the first half and 24 points in the second half. Who ever was on the floor for UCONN, they did what they were supposed to do, score. I saw little deficiency in the players. SARAH was huge and Kaitlin was very good. SARAH shot the 3's we were looking for. UCONN out played Holy Cross in EVERY categories but free throws. I can live with that. Good team game and a look of what's coming. Louisville will give a better assessment of the team. I still marvel at the defense. GO FRESHMEN!!!! GO SOPHOMORES!!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!!
 
When Sarah figures out how to knock down the 3 ball against the tougher competition, this team will be an offensive juggernaut. I really believe Paige, Azzi, and Sarah are players capable of shooting 40% for a season. When you have three of those types of players on the floor, post ups and driving lanes open. Happy to see her regain her shooting groove this evening.
 
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I am sure you guys heard about Chen losing her contact?

One thing I think I noticed was that Caroline was heavily involved in the contact adventure. Maybe trying to collect the discarded contact and maybe preparing a replacement contact for Chen; so she could run to the locker room real quick and insert it.
 
One last observation about Sarah. She created her own shot more tonight, and a few of them have just been when she brings the ball up the court after a steal or a rebound and then simply shoots a 2 or a 3. She tends to make those, and I think we'll see her do that a lot more. If the defense doesn't come all the way out to challenge her, there's no reason for her to pass up that shot or to initiate a halfcourt offensive set. Sarah shooting unchallenged from the top of the key or even the elbow is a high percentage shot. This is what she was great at in high school. It's what she does.
 
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Special mention on the 2 dimes Paige dropped in the 2nd half. The fast break left-handed pass to KK streaking down the lane was a thing of beauty. Also a thing of beauty, was the over-the-head, no-look, hook pass to Sarah at the arc. Credit to Sarah for burying the shot.
 
We had 2 offensive rebounds in 1st half. And one was Strong rebounding her own miss. Team effort was lame.

By February, we need to see Azzi to build up to 30 minutes.

And one of our bigs has to step up. they shouldve dominated HC. We had ZERO blocks!!!
 
As what many have mentioned - love the formula we will see evolving. Holy Cross wasn't trying to win but intent on limiting the margin of loss which is very understandable. They blitzed Paige. I'll relook at the game but don't believe Sarah was blitzed at all. And when Azzi is "ready" not sure a quality team that goes into the game with intent to win will do that. The point is by how Holy Cross played defense on Paige that makes Sarah even better. Then when Sarah started hitting shots she made everyone better. Less pressure on others to score and they are being left open challenged to make shots. And a player like Chen wants to be open. She wants to prove she is a pro. And this follows that another player like Jana she won't have to feel double-teams players collapsing on her due to the primer threats so she won't feel as much defense. And a player like KK whose strength is taking the ball to the hole, if there are 3/4 outside shooters then she has more room to penetrate.

Looking forward to the evaluation of this team and at their peak how they can handle the defensive juggernaut teams along with if a team is going off offensively because they are so hot from the floor.
 
oldude said:
Special mention on the 2 dimes Paige dropped in the 2nd half. The fast break left-handed pass to KK streaking down the lane was a thing of beauty. Also a thing of beauty, was the over-the-head, no-look, hook pass to Sarah at the arc. Credit to Sarah for burying the shot.
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I was really pleased with the passing this evening. Kaitlyn and Ice also had some really nice dimes.

This is rounding into a real UConn-style team. KK, Sarah, Ashlynn, and Morgan are also excellent passers. Once everyone is more comfortable with their roles, the assists will continue to be high, and the turnovers will go down. I’m hoping the 6 tonight are a harbinger.
 
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If you have to have a half anemia, the first half is what you "want", but I was hoping we had put this phenomenon behind us. Cannot play the big kids on the playground like this and expect to go home winners.
 
A side note I forgot to add to my previous post. Uconn shot 14 for 31 in 3 pointers. I will take that every game from now on. The players have the capacity to score 20-21 three pointer each game. WILL BE LOOKING FOR THAT IN THE FUTURE.GO HUSKIES!!!!
 
RockyMTblue2 said:
If you have to have a half anemia, the first half is what you "want", but I was hoping we had put this phenomenon behind us. Cannot play the big kids on the playground like this and expect to go home winners.
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Your expectation of this type of hope is not possible for 19-20 year olds. You'll see more of these;-- could be 1.2 or 10. They are 19-20 year olds, not pros.
 
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