Keys to our win

[oldude]

I really appreciated Holly Rowe's Post Game Interview of
Azzi. Of all the appropriate things that Azzi said the
one that STICKS in my mind is "my teammate's SELFLESSNESS".
The sharing the ball and the selflessness was apparent ALL GAME.
Maybe that's one of the things that Dawn meant when she
said that UCONN was playing "PRETTY BASKETBALL". (Ref:
the sideline reporter's statement of Dawn message to the
Gamecocks during that First period South Carolina time out.)
It was RAINING THREES!!!

UConn = Pretty Basketball. The Huskies are 3rd in the nation in assists per game (21.4). They lead the nation in A/TO ratio by a lot (1.98). They also lead the nation in shooting percentage (51.4%) which is a pretty amazing statistic for a team that takes as many 3-pt shots as the Huskies.

 

[Kat]

There was one play yesterday during the 2nd half when Paige secured a defensive rebound and did bring the ball up the court, racing up the court on the right side, she saw Azzi on the wing. Paige handed Azzi the ball on the run, stopping dead in her tracks to set a screen while Azzi drained one of her 6 x 3’s. As I watched that play, it occurred to me that we are finally seeing the magic that Paige & Azzi can create together on a basketball court.

They had played only 35 games together entering Sunday’s matchup at South Carolina.

 

[oldude]

They had played only 35 games together entering Sunday’s matchup at South Carolina.

Yes. I think we all feel a bit cheated by that fact. I’m hoping to see Azzi and Paige together for another 13 games this season, including a win in the last one….

 

[Bone Dog]

Paige shooting issues, IMO, is she passing on easy shots and taking harder ones. Pulling up and jump shooting, spinning in the lane, etc, are hard shots. Her weak left hand allows teams to overplay her right where she never really gets to the glass, as help knows where she is going.

I don’t entirely agree with this assessment. But you may be on to something when it comes to Paige’s shot selection. Last year Dawn praised her for not taking bad shots, and that may be something other teams can use against her — a strength made into a vulnerability.

She doesn’t get many easy shot opportunities, so when she passes the ball and someone else ends up taking a difficult shot, it is tempting to think Paige should have taken a shot instead of passing. Meg Culmo always points out such missed opportunities, but there don’t seem to be more than one or two a game. We are so eager to see her shoot that we may be exaggerating this in our memory of games.

What really strikes me is what you say about Paige’s “weak left hand.” You are right about this. She favors her right hand on jump shots and even prefers finishing layups with her right. It’s not as marked as her main rivals, Hannah and Juju. But it is still noticeable and teams definitely play her accordingly.

However unlike Juju, and Hannah less so, Paige is a supremely great ‘drive and dish’ player. She cheats the scout by passing to her left at a high rate. This is called taking what the defense gives her. If they overplay her right hand, she burns them by finding open teammates on her left. We’ve seen her do it hundreds of times. She dribbles right, takes the defender and the help that way, forces a defensive rotation and throws a skip pass or dish in the lane to her left. It’s practically a signature move and is virtually unstoppable as long as her teammates move in predictable ways. And they seem to be coordinating with Paige much better than early in the season.

 

[Tonyc]

Jana's moves against SC looked like a guard. Remember in Egypt she played outside and in the videos she moved like a guard. She needs to adjust playing inside and she did against SC. As continues to get better she could be the difference that puts UConn over the top. She looked like the big in the middle we were waiting for. She is becoming that. We will get a better idea over the next few games. I cant wait.

 

[Cornell Lt]

Paige did not bring the ball up court however when UConn got the ball over half court Paige ran the offense. This was key because it brought a calmness over the offense. UConn played relaxed because of it. Geno as was mentioned a few games ago backed off a little bit and allowed UConn to play more freely, and nothing was more obvious then watching Jana and Shade.

Paige got Azzi involved early and often and was very unselfish in that way. Another key is Azzi is back and looks to be very close to be being up to speed. We saw that in the 2nd half 2 games ago, we saw it in our last game and we saw it @ SC. Another key Griff is back and although not up to speed yet she makes an impact with her experience and aggressiveness. We did not have them or playing at this level in our 3 losses and we were in those games. If we had them playing at this level in those 3 losses the result imo wouldve been much different.

UConn has blossomed. We have a healthy Azzi and Griff is on her way. We still need Ice and Morgan back and then we will be even better. We have waited along time to see Paige and Azzi playing together. We knew what it could be like and we are fast approaching its impact. Ive been saying we have the shooters and scorers and its beginning to come together now. I know its one game but we did it yesterday, on the road against a top team and its something we can continue to build on.

Yesterday we did something that no other team in WCBB has done. Beat SC @ home. We are a very dangerous team and with Jana showing what she can do we are going to be much better come March. We have the Big 3. No other team has 3 players who can be go to players when we need it. Another key is SC is not the same team without the big in the middle. UConn was able to take the ball to the hoop and rebound. We are a different team now that Azzi and Griff are back.

Our defense is really good which is a continuation of last season. Our offense showed it is explosive. The scary thing is we are still getting better and growing as a team.

Just another point. I was reading this morning about where UConn will be ranked. IMO we are a top 3 team however the rankings should have us at 5. We are better then that now. We are not the same team we were earlier in the season and I believe this team can win it all now if we stay healthy. Yesterday we were a well oiled machine. We have seen positive signs of that over the past couple of games. This game made alot of doubters believers. This game has changed our season.

I agree with the words you wrote, however I would have included that SC did their part in helping the Huskies by playing probably their worst game in the past 5-7 years

 

[Tonyc]

I agree with the words you wrote, however I would have included that SC did their part in helping the Huskies by playing probably their worst game in the past 5-7 years

Officer saying that is against the law. LOL I just saw you were in Law Enforcement. Thank you for your service

 

[Next 12]

I posted for the So Carolina game the 3 things needed to win was ( 1 ) Score more 3's. ( 2 ) Out rebound them. ( 3 ) Don't foul. and that's exactly what they did. To win the Notre Dame game, do the same and we will win. They may have Westbeld back, but we have AZZI and AUBREY back also and an improved JANA. I have all the confidence in the world we can prevail. GO HUSKIES!!!!

 

[freshler40]

Azzi had a great game and deserves all the plaudits, but she was 2/10 in the first half and we still built a 22 point lead. Why?
Our non-big 3 players are contributing way more. Chen, Shade and KK are really playing well. KK and Shade were starters and played big time minutes on a Final 4 team last year.
Their great play is a future nightmare for our opponents.
Paige shooting issues, IMO, is she passing on easy shots and taking harder ones. Pulling up and jump shooting, spinning in the lane, etc, are hard shots. Her weak left hand allows teams to overplay her right where she never really gets to the glass, as help knows where she is going. She really needs to take the 3 pointers beyond the arc when her defender is 6 ft. from her.

We may be best in a two or three pass offense, well before the shot clock runs down. A guard like Paige is very much a pass first player and often get caught in the pressure of a late clock. She and the coaches have to figure this out. A quick early game pace of play is our sweet spot. Score before the defense set up. We have foot speed and great spot up players with fast releases.

 

[Oldschoolbb]

I thought one key that was overlooked was the impact Ash had coming in and hitting her first few shots. It makes a big difference when your players do the things they are capable of doing especially against the good teams.

The problem is that her shot mechanics (i.e. low release point and line drive shot) do not lend themselves to consistent results, especially for 3s. So I tend to be reluctant to over-celebrate games that have aberrational shooting percentages from beyond the 3 point line.