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Message: [QUOTE="JoePgh, post: 5284444, member: 1131"] Yesterday I decided to re-watch both of the games last season between Southern Cal and UConn, for the purpose of giving Kayleigh's game a more focused look. Indeed, she played in both games, and did well as a backup combo guard. She showed some real speed, defensive tenacity, and basketball IQ. She was unafraid, but her game was not particularly physical, and I'm not sure how well she would do against a stronger or more physical opposing guard. In the first game (on December 21, 2024 at the Hartford XL Center), she was the second guard off the bench. The Trojans' starting guards were JuJu and Kennedy Smith, and Avery Howell was the first guard off the bench, followed by K9. She ended up playing 12 minutes and making her only 3-point attempt in that game. BUT ... that wasn't my most significant discovery while watching this game. The real discovery was an opportunity to watch Morgan Cheli in top form before her injury. Morgan played 22 minutes in this December game, after Geno gave Jana (the starter) and Ice a chance at the start of the game, and when neither of them really covered themselves in frontcourt glory, he turned to Morgan. Morgan was on the court for most of the rest of the game, including all of the time in the final minutes when UConn closed an 18-point deficit and actually took the lead briefly. In that game, Morgan was Sarah's front-court partner. Her stats were not great -- she scored 5 points and was only credited with one rebound, and she seemed somewhat foul-prone. She would have had another 2 points if a very difficult shot that she made was not nullified by a dubious traveling call. Her best play was a surprise back cut from the weak side when the defense was totally focused on Paige and Sarah on the other side of the court. She got to the basket with no defender in the same zip code, took a well-timed pass, and made a layup. I was impressed by how aggressively she played, and the degree of basketball intelligence that she showed while doing that. The only comparison that I can make is to another 6-1 player that got hurt in her freshman year: Caroline Ducharme. In the upcoming season, Morgan and Caroline may well be competing for minutes (along with Blanca) at the 3 position. It will be a tough competition, but I expect that Morgan will get her share of those minutes when it all shakes out. [/QUOTE]

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