It's an extra season of eligibility so there is advantage there, but notably TCU had the better season and was probably the better team.
Yeah, she didn't have much help.
I really like Dugalic game. She is an Olympian, and 24 turning 25 this calendar year, so I feel she's kind of a pro already. In fairness to her she missed a full year and played injured another, on top of the COVID year. So I'm empathetic. I think she'll get drafted and make a roster. She's a legit 6'4, and can do all the things. It would've been cool to see her healthy on a team where she was the featured post but credit to her for playing the 6th women role.
It's a shame that we already have two stretch-fours we're likely to protect in Janelle Salaun and Iliana Rupert, because otherwise I think Dugalic would be a great fit for the Valkyries - 3 pt shooting and relentless defense, boxing out, and rebounding. She was my personal MVP yesterday because when she came in in the second half, that's when things turned around for UCLA. They had a couple of neat high-low passes from Laurent to Sienna that were quite effective, but in general I think Dugalic should have played starter minutes against a long, rangy Duke team. She was absolutely the difference maker, and she got a great write-up in the Athletic for it. Gift article link:
www.nytimes.com
Same could have been said during the UCLA-Duke game when Fournier took that shot to the face. I genuinely don't know how refs are missing these.
Very rough game indeed.
Add a certain folksy, cornpone coach to that sec business and you might as well be playing on an octagonal court.
I like her too. In lots of games (not just this season) UCLA lost nothing when she played the 5 and Lauren sat out. I don’t mean to take anything away from Lauren, but I could easily imagine UCLA without her and starting Angela. Similarly, I can imagine Angela starting almost anywhere else in the country and challenging for 1st team AA. That she stayed at UCLA is… interesting.
I wouldn’t worry. TCU’s bigs are skinny. They will crumple against Madina Adhel etc. And Suarez will not be quick enough or strong enough to manage Joyce. The result won’t rest on Raven alone.
Hidalgo also got away with a couple of blatant fouls against Vandy late. No surprise the stars (who all happen to be aggressively handsy defenders) are getting calls to go their way
Really, which one? I am anticipating a UCONN/TEXAS final, and I think those 2 would win out if the teams were flip-flopped. I guess we'll see what happens!
Had some good ones in the first couple rounds too including some OT drama.
That has a way of not working out that way when people think that.
Not following you here. This is a Final Four semi-final match up this Friday.
Whoa, I misread that one! UCLA seems to be the team picked as most vulnerable among the #1 seeds according to most on this board.
