Jana and Ice appreciation thread | The Boneyard

Jana and Ice appreciation thread

Jana and Ice played EXCELLENT tonight!! So proud of them. They blocked out not allowing UCLA offensive rebounds. When they couldn’t get them, the guards came in to rebound as they should. Betts was going to get hers anyway, but they held the other players in check. EXCELLENT team defense by the Huskies.

Also, we have to give a “shout out” to the practice players as well according to Paige.
 
Jana is fierce. My brother calls her a bright lights player. Best games against the best competition. She’s going to be a great leader for this team over the next couple of years.

And I love ice. All year long she has done nothing but play selfless team ball- tipping rebounds to teammates while she keeps her opponent on her back- or setting brutal screens for our guards when they are being tightly guarded. She doesn’t need the stats for herself- it’s like Nika getting joy from helping her teammates score.

Way to come up Big!!
 
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And for Jana to have the game she did with her parents watching in person for the first time this season. That had me tearing up because it has to be so hard for them with their daughter half way across the world.
 
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Well, Geno had some plans to slow down Betts. It was simple to have Jana the Fierce come alive and battle her, and we know now that we can play any big out there and win. Our confidence just went thru the roof. It was beautiful basketball again. Geno certainly has them ready. Wooooooowww!!!!!!!
 
Jana was huge, can't say enough about her performance. There was a point in the second half when I questioned why Ice was on the bench, Jana was already on the bench, and Geno had Sarah guarding Betts. I was wondering why he would risk Sarah fouling Betts, but a minute later, Ice came in the game. I was thinking at the time that Geno was making a mistake by risking Sarah, but of course, he is the master, and my reservations were soon gone when Ice entered the game. Great defensive performance by Iced and Jana, and overall, a championship performance.
 
HuskyNan said:
swipe left to see pictures of mom and dad

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Awesome video clip in the second frame. You can really see the love in that family. And Jana is totally Daddy’s little girl. This reminded me of the video from last summer of the teams summer hijinx. You could see in that one how much Jana loves Paige and the rest of her teammates. The big girl has a huge heart.

If this game becomes the baseline Jana and Ice bring into next season, I’m much less concerned about any portal additions to the frontcourt.
 
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Betts had 9 points at halftime, which means that most of her 26 came after the game was all-but decided.

There’s a small but vocal contingent on the boneyard that bemoans UConn playing in the Big East, in part because it doesn’t prepare them to play against bigs. Well, Jana and Ice have gone up against two of the best in the nation the last two games. They didn’t score against Beers and didn’t shut down Betts, but they did what was asked of them in both games. They held Beers to 10 points and scored 11 against Betts. Most importantly, they played a big part in holding two high-octane offenses to under 60 points. Or if you’d prefer, they helped UConn to two 20+ point wins against those two teams.
 
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I love Jana’s fire and emotion but I have to say the only time I yelled at the TV last night was when Jana got called for a foul with 2:37 left in the game and she started arguing with the ref, I was yelling, “Let it go, Jana!”. No need to fire up a demoralized UCLA by getting a T late in the game
 
There are those who complain about the Big East and I get it.

There have been those critics of Jana and Ice who don't get it. They expected both Ice and Jana to be dominant in the post from day one. Bigs growth is an evolutionay process at UConn. The learning curve in UConn's offense is steeper. Look at the past history of bigs - Tina and Steph two primary examples of the evolution at UConn. They both became All-Americans.

Last night, right at the start, Jana showed that Betts was not going to push her around. She grabbed rebounds with authority. She made it clear there was a battle to be had in the paint and she was ready.

Ice comes in and makes it very clear that she was going to body up Betts and make her work her tail off. And she did.

And you now Jamalle has a big smile this morning.
 
Gabbyfan said:
As Jana played magnificently last night, the image of Chris dailey riding a camel during her recruiting visit to Egypt popped into my head. That 24 hour visit was well worth it.
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Yeah, it's not often you get to ride a camel in front of the pyramids and successfully recruit a diamond in the rough like Jana. Remember, the kid is just a redshirt freshman, she's going to get better. What will she be like 2 - 3 years from now?

A question. Jana enrolled early, but did not play. That would count as a "redshirt" year. Then last year she didn't play at all. If you don't play for Notre Dame can you get 2 redshirt years? This is Aubs 6th year. One was a covid year and one was a redshirt year (I believe). Not 2 redshirt years.
 
Great job by the UConn duo against UCLA............the last question to be asked is whether they can match that performance against a quicker and more aggressive South Carolina front line on Sunday........if they can play solid defense and do a decent job on the boards UConn stands a great chance of winning it all.....
 
This tournament the refs are letting the teams (especially the bigs)--play Physical!! Remember, Jana played for Egypt internationally. She loved the banging in the international style. The big and strong girls Jana came up against (Beers, etc.) could not handle a 6'5" fortress. Betts had to work harder than ever moving Jana. Ice is also a very physical player. This tournament ref style is more like the Men's and not the ticky-tack style some games are called during the season.
One more thought--if Jana comes out to the foul line or top of the key and the opposition big comes out to guard her---then Jana knows how to go by like she did in this game and one other earlier. Remember, Jana handled the ball for Egypt quite a bit. I like to see Geno use that play more often.
 
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