alexrgct
RIP, Alex
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 10,091
- Reaction Score
- 15,648
What a difference a few days make! This was an emotional game for me to watch in person, in part because of the emotion that flowed from those girls. After KML came in twice (each half) and gave UConn a lead, she was embraced by her teammates, and with a force you rarely see. Same with Bria after she extended the lead in the second half. The bench players ran out onto to the court during timeouts. These girls were there for one another. They weren’t content to be a #1 seed by default and hope things would work themselves out in the NCAAs; they were going to win for one another in their home state. I don’t know what will happen if UConn and ND square off again, but this victory was theirs and for all of us.
I have privately questioned whether Geno was being a bit heavy-handed with his kids recently. This is a young team that is talented but without the kinds of centerpieces the best UConn teams have had. KML is the only kid that was ranked higher than #10 (per HoopGurlz) coming out of high school, and she’s a freshman. It seemed like Geno’s tough love, public exasperation, and benching of players, was only making the situation worse. Well, you can’t argue with how his girls responded…and that’s why I typically question Geno privately.
What can be said about the girls tonight that hasn’t already been said? It was a terrific team effort. Caroline couldn’t hit her shots, but she did a great job running a lot of the offense against an intense Notre Dame defense. Kelly, God bless her, took the shots she absolutely had to take, and she nailed them! One of those threes came when Bria had to go to the bench with a bloody nose, so her willingness to shoot in that context was really critical. And she fought her ass off on D as usual. I still question whether we will see much of both Kelly and Caroline on the court together next season, but that’s a concern for next season. Tonight, they got the job done.
And you can’t say enough about Stef’s effort. She didn’t have anything close to the sparkling offensive game she had last night, but that girl battled…and battled…and battled. She rendered Peters basically ineffective on offense, and when you hold Notre Dame under 55 points, well, you don’t have to score as much.
We needed Tiff and Bria to step up and make themselves heard loudly in this game. They both seized the moments they needed to seize. Beating a top team like ND without a superstar takes everyone doing what they can. As two of the better players on this team, they did their part, especially as the second half wore on.
And KML- what a warrior she is becoming. ND looked to be surging to start the second half after UConn surrendered a lead she had a huge hand in establishing. Those five straight points, including a three-pointer in a game when UConn (again) struggled from behind the arc? Absolutely changed the game. The crowd came to life, her teammates rallied, and UConn played with an intensity I haven’t seen in quite some time.
This group of girls isn’t the best team UConn has fielded- not by a long shot. But over the past three days, they demonstrated that they know what it means to wear those jerseys and carry on the tradition of this program. And no matter what happens in the NCAA tournament, you can’t take that away from them.
I’ve said before that when Bria, KML, and Tiff all have a good game, this UConn team is the best in the country. Tonight, they proved that. A lot of teams are going to try to prove otherwise, and we’re not beating Baylor shooting 20% from the arc- not with Griner’s defensive range inside the perimeter. But this team has the heart of a champion and the hardware to prove it. That’s all anyone could have asked for from this tournament.
I have privately questioned whether Geno was being a bit heavy-handed with his kids recently. This is a young team that is talented but without the kinds of centerpieces the best UConn teams have had. KML is the only kid that was ranked higher than #10 (per HoopGurlz) coming out of high school, and she’s a freshman. It seemed like Geno’s tough love, public exasperation, and benching of players, was only making the situation worse. Well, you can’t argue with how his girls responded…and that’s why I typically question Geno privately.
What can be said about the girls tonight that hasn’t already been said? It was a terrific team effort. Caroline couldn’t hit her shots, but she did a great job running a lot of the offense against an intense Notre Dame defense. Kelly, God bless her, took the shots she absolutely had to take, and she nailed them! One of those threes came when Bria had to go to the bench with a bloody nose, so her willingness to shoot in that context was really critical. And she fought her ass off on D as usual. I still question whether we will see much of both Kelly and Caroline on the court together next season, but that’s a concern for next season. Tonight, they got the job done.
And you can’t say enough about Stef’s effort. She didn’t have anything close to the sparkling offensive game she had last night, but that girl battled…and battled…and battled. She rendered Peters basically ineffective on offense, and when you hold Notre Dame under 55 points, well, you don’t have to score as much.
We needed Tiff and Bria to step up and make themselves heard loudly in this game. They both seized the moments they needed to seize. Beating a top team like ND without a superstar takes everyone doing what they can. As two of the better players on this team, they did their part, especially as the second half wore on.
And KML- what a warrior she is becoming. ND looked to be surging to start the second half after UConn surrendered a lead she had a huge hand in establishing. Those five straight points, including a three-pointer in a game when UConn (again) struggled from behind the arc? Absolutely changed the game. The crowd came to life, her teammates rallied, and UConn played with an intensity I haven’t seen in quite some time.
This group of girls isn’t the best team UConn has fielded- not by a long shot. But over the past three days, they demonstrated that they know what it means to wear those jerseys and carry on the tradition of this program. And no matter what happens in the NCAA tournament, you can’t take that away from them.
I’ve said before that when Bria, KML, and Tiff all have a good game, this UConn team is the best in the country. Tonight, they proved that. A lot of teams are going to try to prove otherwise, and we’re not beating Baylor shooting 20% from the arc- not with Griner’s defensive range inside the perimeter. But this team has the heart of a champion and the hardware to prove it. That’s all anyone could have asked for from this tournament.
