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Message: [QUOTE="BlueSkyGLW, post: 4246651, member: 11281"] Don't work too hard on using statistics for the season or its segments to assess the quality of play this will bring to its opponents henceforth. The question won't be properly answered because of the frequent variations of team composition and quality of opposition as those changes occurred. Instead, there are some reliable indicators of what is possible: [LIST] [*]Each one, except Paige post-injury, has had to deliver a strong performance to help the team win. None were consistent as they navigated the changes in roles and pressure to perform. [*]All of them except Paige again has had to learn to play well together as a team - painful to watch at times but they learned and became a well-coordinated team as they became healthy, if untested in extreme crucial moments because of overmatched opponents. [*]Those were on the bench at various watched and learned about their teammates: each one's tendencies, their movements, speed, etc. Even though they were not on the floor with them, this helps them nonetheless in their read-and-react conditioning. This likely contributed to how their defensive performance improved regardless of the combination the Coach put on the floor. [*]Each one on the team have had to dig deep under the crucible, testing their resolve. Indications are that this too has improved although we don't know the depth of the challenge they can overcome when the face much better teams. [*]The performances the returners are capable of under fire was revealed after the Arkansas game last year until the reached the FF. As they became whole as a team late this season, all have shown they have improved - except the just recovered Paige. Olivia, Aaliyah, Christyn and Evina, especially Evina have certainly improved - the measure is not the quality of the opposition but in how they carry themselves and energetically deliver both defensively and offensively. [*]The three newcomers have shown their qualities when they have had to deliver, turning UConn into a deep team. [*]And, in her uneven return, Paige showed glimpse of Paige as we know her. The 10 or so days before they play the next game shall have helped her get to know everyone and hone their timing, in various player combinations. [*]I would wager that the team have constantly talked to each other and probably have done some visualization exercises among themselves. [*]When each one of them is playing well, they are either better than their counterparts in the other teams or not too far off the opponents level, so the strength of the collective in their depth should be superior. [*]There is little danger that the team will have exhausted players by the FF so, unlike in the past few years, their physical resources should be undiminished playing through six more games, especially since there are longer breaks every set of two games. [*]Finally, Paige's recovery close to being herself does not put too much pressure on her because the where the team's performance is. She doesn't have to carry much of the scoring load so she can prioritize playmaking, which is her natural inclination. [/LIST] Now then, they only have the first game where the opponent is thoroughly overmatched. It gets harder by the 2nd game but if each one in this team plays only at the level they have shown before in crucial moments during their survival run, they should pass the test of the regionals. Stanford will be a steep challenge but the team shall have gone through a gauntlet of three fairly difficult games, especially NC State. They will be ready. I consider Stanford the greater challenge than South Carolina. As for whether they can rebound with the opposition, it is not the sole determinant in winning: rebounding, defense, offense. If the offense is effective, the chances of being outrebounded is less. If the defense is effective, the chances of winning dramatically increases. The season statistics of each of their opponents mean less if the true quality of this team shows up in each of the six games. Opponents: be afraid, be very afraid........ [/QUOTE]

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