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Message: [QUOTE="cferraro04, post: 4176342, member: 267"] Playing DePaul in Chicago is a tough order in any given season...their style of basketball...run and gun...taking lots of 3s and hitting enough of them to keep the score in the 80s and 90s makes them a tough opponent. Throw in Nazlah Morrow who was the closest thing to unstoppable that I have seen in a long time. I will not address the officiating as I don't think on a neutral court that this will be an issue. UConn's flaws during this stretch were exposed but realistically it isn't like we had the pieces to cover them up. In the past when UConn would lose a major player they had enough players to cover up the loss however, during this stretch the losses came in bunches. At one time we lost two players to transfer portal and say what you will but that was two bodies one of which Mir MacLean I believe could have helped us especially with Aubrey Griffin being lost for the season. Then having Paige, Azzi, NIka and Aubrey out of the line-up that left UConn in an extremely depleted position and hiding flaws became impossible. Then just when you think you are getting back on track you lose Christyn Williams for three games. I think UConn dodged a bullet last night because without the return of Williams and Azzi Fudd and without them playing surprisingly well given their extended absence from the team and its practices we would not have won that game. This brings us to what to expect from the future...quite simply UConn at full strength is going to be a tough out for any team including South Carolina, Stamford. Louisville, Oregon...whatever. Players Olivia, Williams, Dorka, Ducharme and Muhl have had to bite the bullet and have had to channel their inner "if it is meant to be...it is up to me" persona. The net effect is a much better team where everyone is contributing. Some players like Evina and Edwards seem to be out of rhythm and some of our bigs on the bench haven't developed enough yet (DeBerry and Gabriel). Just imagine what other teams will face if Evina, Edwards, DeBerry and Gabriel round into shape and can contribute nightly to the outcome of the game. Just think.... They will be scary good! I think having a starting five of Olivia, Williams, Paige, Azzi and Caroline is a nightmare for any team. And, with a potent Dorka, Muhl, Westbrook and Edwards coming off the bench and DeBerry and Gabriele giving meaningful minutes in the 4th quarter there will just be no reprieve for opposing teams...they will not be able to match UConn's deep bench. Of course, I may be asking too much of the second squad (Evina, Edwards, Muhl, Dorka and DeBerry) but just think about what would happen if they did step up. It could mean number 12. I could mean that this group of kids could do something special. Coming from a 4 seed and winning a national championship in Women's college basketball that has lacked the parity in the past for this to happen would be something special, [/QUOTE]

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