Greetings from Atlantis! Sorry for the delay! I had to deal with balky and expensive WiFi and also check in with my peeps.
There was a minor glitch with my ticket, so they upgraded me to Row A. I was sitting practically next to Aubrey. The negative is that, when the bench players get excited and stand, it's really hard to see over 6'5" women when you are sitting on the same level where they are standing. But I was very close to the UConn players and the huddles. I made the video highlights of 2 of Christyn's 3-pointers.
The arena was in the oversized ballroom and looked pretty reasonable. The celling was lower than a normal arena but not a problem. Shooting percentages were good. I think there were about 1,000 people in the 3,500 or so seats.
Concerning the game, I thought it was good but not great. Another case of taking a lead of 12-15 points early and then giving up nearly all of it. I think we had a run of 11-0 to end the first half and one of 16-0 to start the second half (or close).
Clearly, Christyn was too quick, strong, and determined for Minnesota. Last week, she said attacking the basket is her bread and butter. Well, today was the whole loaf! And she made her FTs. CW was very focused. A+ for her today.
Evina looked solid again. Her notable weak moment was missing the first 2 of 3 free throws, but she had gotten knocked into or under the media table moments before. So it's understandable.
Paige was more of a facilitator today. At the start of the second half, she scored on our first 3 possessions, just to remind people that she was still there. And to stretch the lead from 12 to 17. Being so close to the floor, I could see a play where she got whacked in the face, but the ref didn't call anything. Paige looked at the ref as if to say, "Come on, Man!" News flash: Paige Bueckers has become a shot-blocking machine. I think she's averaging 2 bpg this season.
Liv and Liya looked pretty good today. I noticed in 2nd half warm-ups that Liv looked like Stef Curry. She nailed practically every shot from 15 to 20'. She made FTs with confidence today. Liv is playing stronger than last year.
Caroline made a couple of nice plays, including a good cut to the hoop, a block, and nailing 2 FTs.
Azzi's shot is still a little off, and she's still a little reluctant. But Katie Fudd says she'll be fine. (I knew that before Mom told me.) I think Monday would be a good time to splash several 3s.
Nika looked off at times and shot an airball. But she played better on defense. In the first half, she caused 2 successive airballs. In the second half, she got a strip steal and layup, followed by another breakaway. Occasionally, she's too emotional, but I love her energy.
I still miss Aubrey. She adds something that no other Husky does. I would have liked to see her defend Goforth and Scalia.
Game 2 is tomorrow at noon against USF. The forecast is for cloudy, mostly on the Bulls' end of the floor.