Lost the game...

[HoopsFan21]

Come Bags---Geno lost the game--terrible coaching---in the last play---geno grabbed the ball away from Chong threw it towards the basket and asked Napheesa why didn't it go in?? I f he listened to me --he could have lost the game in regulation and we'd all get some sleep. I wonder who was coaching in the 3rd period--must have been Christine--Uconn went ahead then--great coaching.
One thing is certain the WB world has a lot to talk about for the next 6 months

I think my only beef with the coaching is why not call a time out once the lead reached 9, or at the latest 11, knowing you have a young team that looked shell shocked? Why wait until they got down 16 and were on the verge of being run out of the gym in the first quarter? The coaching staff made adjustments at half time, so whatever those adjustments were, why wait until the game was half over to make them? Miss St playing us last year was probably the greatest lesson a coach could have given his team. Maybe after seeing this game other coaches will realize the value in scheduling UConn.

 

[HumblePie]

...We lost because only one of the stars showed up.

Yep only Gabby (our 2nd team AA) came to play.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

All good things must come to an end!
I thought I'd be more upset at UCONN's loss last night to Miss St than I am!
I am upset but UCONN had more than a dozen chances to pull the game out and just didn't get it done! Geno was right that there was no play at the end of the game that made UCONN lose, it was a vast amount of plays during the game that pulled out the defeat!
Power to and congrats to Coach Vic Shaeffer & Miss St they did everything possible to win the game and considering that they lost by a record 60 points last year they really dug deep to come up with a performance for the ages!
Every member of our Huskies had a hand in this defeat, even as usual Gabby tried to pull it out, her game was lacking from it's usual brilliance! Geno has been saying all year that this team had problems but during the season there was always another game to relax the players in time of stress! But the the glare of the FF lights made their mistakes multiplied and made a comeback to victory impossible!
I thought Geno and the players though heartbroken, sounded like the champions they really are, making no excuses and crediting Miss St for a performance that gave them the loss!
IMHO Miss St will beat SoCar tomorrow night as truly a team of destiny! You can tell more greatness awaits these Bulldogs as no matter what struck them they've been able to persevere and pull out the victories and with every underdog if you let them hang around long enough they'll find a way to win! I am rooting for Miss St to knock off SoCar, which isn't as far-fetched as it may sound. Morgan William has given her teammates all the confidence they'll need to pull off the next major upset!
And please some of you BYers don't diminish our Huskies season by passing blame onto certain players and or the coaches. They were revered by us all season for their heart and talent, now some of you sound bitter that our ladies somehow did you a disservice by doing the so-called impossible losing to a "better" team last night!
Please have more class than that!
By-the-way, the WBCA's 10 member All-American team will be announced today and our Gabby will be named an AA, putting her on the wall of honor with Katie Lou and Napheesa the first game of next season!

 

[BobbyJ]

All good things must come to an end!
I thought I'd be more upset at UCONN's loss last night to Miss St than I am!
I am upset but UCONN had more than a dozen chances to pull the game out and just didn't get it done! Geno was right that there was no play at the end of the game that made UCONN lose, it was a vast amount of plays during the game that pulled out the defeat!
Power to and congrats to Coach Vic Shaeffer & Miss St they did everything possible to win the game and considering that they lost by a record 60 points last year they really dug deep to come up with a performance for the ages!
Every member of our Huskies had a hand in this defeat, even as usual Gabby tried to pull it out, her game was lacking from it's usual brilliance! Geno has been saying all year that this team had problems but during the season there was always another game to relax the players in time of stress! But the the glare of the FF lights made their mistakes multiplied and made a comeback to victory impossible!
I thought Geno and the players though heartbroken, sounded like the champions they really are, making no excuses and crediting Miss St for a performance that gave them the loss!
IMHO Miss St will beat SoCar tomorrow night as truly a team of destiny! You can tell more greatness awaits these Bulldogs as no matter what struck them they've been able to persevere and pull out the victories and with every underdog if you let them hang around long enough they'll find a way to win! I am rooting for Miss St to knock off SoCar, which isn't as far-fetched as it may sound. Morgan William has given her teammates all the confidence they'll need to pull off the next major upset!
And please some of you BYers don't diminish our Huskies season by passing blame onto certain players and or the coaches. They were revered by us all season for their heart and talent, now some of you sound bitter that our ladies somehow did you a disservice by doing the so-called impossible losing to a "better" team last night!
Please have more class than that!
By-the-way, the WBCA's 10 member All-American team will be announced today and our Gabby will be named an AA, putting her on the wall of honor with Katie Lou and Napheesa the first game of next season!

Nice post, but I'm a little disappointed that you fell short of your record of 17 exclamation points in a post.

 

[wallman]

Vic is a good coach. He clearly wanted to face guard KLS and pressure your other guards. Williams had the ball in her hands as she had the BIG on her. Collier was a non factor as she seemed affected by not getting going with any open shots as she had in the AAC and it snowballed. The difference with this years team to last was the ball movement and passing. The ball should have been in both Williams and KLS hands IMO to increase better possession production. The foul problems hurt as Dangerfield on the floor stopped the ball movement. There were so many things that didn't go your way along with the missed free throws, hard to make up for missed free throws in a close game. And still it was as tight as a 2 point game as it could have been.

 

[Gus Mahler]

One thing is certain the WB world has a lot to talk about for the next 6 months

Yup! Including here on the BY.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Yup! Including here on the BY.

Gus I hope the talk on the BY for the next 6 months is: How great this year was---WAY beyond expectations
Then we an get to : The Transfers and the New Kids on the BLOC--and what a great game Crystal play in the FF.
It's not fun to lose--but as Geno said it was not unexpected--they had to lose some time--so we move on.
Oddly enough--I don't feel bad about it.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Nice post, but I'm a little disappointed that you fell short of your record of 17 exclamation points in a post.

It

One player too tall one player too small.
NERVES---can you believe UConn was done in by nerves?? How many missed shots by both Gabby and Napheesa--How many missed free throws by everyone?? Missed shot they made all year---Collier had 6, 8 or 10 shots she made easily all year and missed them--Gabby's wide swinging driving shots---always go--but not tonight..
I have to ask whose decision was it to take that final shot with 12 seconds let and tied score?? Turns out it was not a great decision???
A technical was a blessing--and almost got Uconn into another ot--but it did not.
It was only a matter of time--when someone would see all the weaknesses of this team and take advantage of them-they were evident all year--
Uconn fans are spoiled---this team exceeded the expectations of all --until this tourney--then everyone expect number 5 and some
wrote no losses until number 200 wins--expectations ---reality--this is reality..

Enjoy what you had--few get it. Next year and beyond--more NC's ---We needed a big--next year in comes the big.

I was out at a club in Florida and watching the game, when I was able to and couldn't believe that Saniya took that shot with 12 seconds left. WHAT!!!! In my mind, she was fouled and I don't even think it was close but I still think the timing of her shot was poor. Why not in the final few seconds. You don't leave that kind of time on the clock!

 

[NEforceUConn]

At 70 years old, I've watched (and played) a lot of athletic contests. Watching this game, I got the distinct feeling that it was just not to be. ( A win for UConn, that is.) UConn players missed shots we are accustomed to them making. Collier picked a bad time to have an off game. (Not intentionally, of course.) That's why they play the games. Doesn't take away the fact that the girls had an awesome season. I agree with Geno, winning EVERY game you play is just not normal.

Great post.

The last possession is what it is and I'm happy people have not gone there.

The only second guessing I will do is why did Geno call Gabby over when she was going to the line to shoot 2 free throws and talk for soooo long. I mean I can see him saying just breath we got this, but it seemed he was discussing way too many things. I think too distracting for Gabby, who missed both. But then again he is an unbelievable coach and I'm just posting on a message board.

 

[Buzzyboy]

I enjoyed your post and agreed with almost every word but I don't think that Mississippi played a game for the ages. Mississippi State played very well and their defense was tenacious but "a game for the ages?" I don't deny they probably deserved to win but I did actually like the Huskies comeback in the third quarter. They showed some of the fortitude that they displayed in their victories over those formidable high ranked teams early in the year. I couldn't believe their loss of composure that had them down so very badly by the middle of the 2nd quarter but they showed their grit to come back, like they did. I was shocked, first of all, that Saniya took her shot with 12 seconds left in the game but I also thought that she was fouled. That was a bad "no call", in my estimation. I'm a bit shocked that I'm not horribly bummed and crushed by this loss but I think these kids gave us some wonderful moments and memories this year.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Oddly enough--I don't feel bad about it.

You know, that's the way I feel about it. I'm stunned but not hurt. I'm a little sad of course, but basically I'm basking in the glow of this constellation of extraordinary young women and the wonderful season they had.

My only "hurt" is the last play on offense--going for the basket with too much time left on the clock. I don't want Saniya's career to be defined by that. I hope she'll be able to put it behind her. So far, the majority of the posts I've read have been supportive of her and the job she did this year.

 

[Ouremblem]

One ramification of this game will be the future recruits MSU gets. There are a lot of great athletes in Mississippi that instead of staying instate go to Alabama, Tennessee, Auburn, etc.. MSU, Ole Miss and Southern Miss then compete for the recruits that want to stay home. Now that they have a coach at MSU who's shown he can beat Geno, athletes may decide to stay home and go to MSU. They may be very good for years to come.

 

[Monte]

You know, that's the way I feel about it. I'm stunned but not hurt. I'm a little sad of course, but basically I'm basking in the glow of this constellation of extraordinary young women and the wonderful season they had.

My only "hurt" is the last play on offense--going for the basket with too much time left on the clock. I don't want Saniya's career to be defined by that. I hope she'll be able to put it behind her. So far, the majority of the posts I've read have been supportive of her and the job she did this year.

Everyone, including Mississippi State "knew" they would not go for a shot right away. That is when you DO it. I give Chong a lot of credit for taking the initiative and going for a quick score....especially when there was a drop-off of Uconn players driving to the hoop throughout the game.

 

[Bliss]

I'm stunned and disappointed because I was certain that Geno, Inc. would win another NC with this group of extremely talented and determined players. Maybe next year.

Very proud of our girls but it's not the end of the world; just life. As is said, "You win some and you lose some." (Yeah, and sometimes it rains.)