Mo-aholic Regular season wrap

[UcMiami]

Update for game 31:
Rebounds 2, Steals 3, Assist 4, Points 11

Totals:
98 (3.2), 81 (2.6), 160 (5.2), 313 (10.1)
Projections:
Rebounds 127, Steals 104, Assists 207, and Points 404

The end of a really great break out regular season for Moriah. She has become:
1. An really good shut down defender with great anticipation in passing lanes and a non-stop motor. And she doesn't foul.
2. A very efficient leader and distributor of the ball with an A/TO ration above 3 and on track to become only the fourth PG with 200+ assist in a season.
3. A very efficient scorer when needed shooting at over 55% and close to 40% on threes.
4. A game changer - her defensive pressure and steals combined with her speed in transition and on the drive can change momentum in a game.
5. The spark plug for the Uconn engine - the player who has taken over for Kelly in setting the tone for effort and energy at all times.

Big game in a playoff atmosphere for Uconn. People wondered about the rotation and Banks and Chong only seeing minutes at the end of the game. I think this was Geno giving the starters a dose of tournament conditioning and not a 'no confidence' vote for the bench. This might well be the largest crowd and the most hostile environment they will experience all year - make sure they can handle it for 40 minutes straight. And they did.
Two negatives for Moriah - 3 TOs again and 5 fouls - second straight game that a player fouls out (Banks) and truly surprising as Moriah hasn't had three fouls in a game in 2014 and has more games with zero fouls or one foul than two or more for the year. I guess she was saving them up! And they were generally pretty interesting fouls!
For a team that struggled mightily in this game offensively, it was an easy win because of the defense and rebounding. Stewart and KML with 10+ and Stokes and Dolson showing strongly.

 

[DobbsRover2]

And last night in Jeff's post game presser she was cited as one of UConn's "big" guards, so she is growing in stature many ways.

 

[meyers7]

Two negatives for Moriah - 3 TOs again and 5 fouls - second straight game that a player fouls out (Banks) and truly surprising as Moriah hasn't had three fouls in a game in 2014 and has more games with zero fouls or one foul than two or more for the year. I guess she was saving them up! And they were generally pretty interesting fouls!

Iirc, two of the fouls were offensive (charges).

 

[UcMiami]

Iirc, two of the fouls were offensive (charges).

One charge - that was a little dubious because I think she was sandwiched and the player who went down looked like she was on the restricted line - the other was her last where the ball was poked away and then the collision with the Louisville player who picked it up which would be classed either a loose ball or defensive foul.

 

[watanabe]

The ref.s last night were not kind to her.
UcMiami, were your totals for just the year? or for two years? I don't follow the numbers too much, just the emo.

 

[watanabe]

Oh yeah, She was a CATALYST last night. Her threes were awesome and just when we needed them. I watched LV's stunned reactiion each time she hit one. They apparently never saw any of them coming. As far as key baskets go, hers were several among many, but the effects of hers were MAXIMUM. How do you put that in your stats?

 

[UcMiami]

The ref.s last night were not kind to her.
UcMiami, were your totals for just the year? or for two years? I don't follow the numbers too much, just the emo.

The totals are for this season only. And the reason I chose those stats and refer to the 100, 100, 200, 400 goal is because only one player in Uconn history has hit those numbers for a season - Jen her senior year. The tough ones are assist - three players Sue with the record at 231 (2002), Jen (1996), and DT (2002) are the only ones to have 200. Steals is next with again only three players recording more than 100, but Nykesha did it three years (and her fourth year she had 98) and Rita twice, to go with Jen's once. Sales has the record at 143.

I am continuing this series of posts because I think it is important to realize that Moriah, whether she hits all these numbers or not, is 'quietly' putting together one of the best all-around statistical games by a PG in Uconn history. With Bria, and Stefanie, and Breanna deservedly getting a lot of attention, I want to make sure people are aware of how Moriah ranks within the pantheon of great Uconn PGs this year. There is a tendency to remember and immortalize the exploits of history and to discount what is our glorious present. Jen and Sue and DT and Rita are legends and Moriah is putting up stats that deserve to be compared to those players. And the one area that is truly remarkable in Moriah's game is if she hits 200 assists and continues to take care of the ball, her 3.0+ A/TO ration will be much superior to the next best of the 200+ assist players - Sue at 2.5. And while Moriah's 10.1 scoring average is 0.9-3.5 points per game lower than those other three in their 200 assist years, her current shooting percentage is 6-12% better.
(Stats are not everything and I am not saying Moriah is as good as or better than Jen or Sue or DT, just that the year she is putting together stands up nicely to those other players.)

 

[Zorro]

Many, many impressive things about MoJet, but the one that struck me last night was the sheer joy she seems to have in playing. That million-candlepower grin is always lurking, ready to pop out. She never seems anxious, nervous, bothered, stressed, whatever; just having a wonderful time.

 

[watanabe]

That she fouled out seemed to be only because that LV could only get rid of her via bogus fouls. Watching the action over and over led me to the conclusion that the ref.s were blind to not see that the screen players were throwing hit checks at her. Subtle sure, but obvious with careful rewind watching.
I like this player (and all the others too) Character and determination are the sixth and seventh players on the court every game for the Huskies.