ND Postgame Thread

[Henry]

The poor rebounding was a killer. How many times did ND get 1, 2, or 3 offensive rebounds and then score, usually a 3. You can't give a good team that many chances to score.

 

[Just.A.Fan]

Cheli passes up open shots every game.

It's tough being a freshman and coming off the bench. If she has the "green light" to take her open shots and passes them up, that's one thing. But we, as fans, have no idea what, if anything, she has been told by the coaches. My best guess is that she has not been given the green light, but is expected to "play basketball" to the best of her abilities. So non-starting freshmen, who also are not considered the sixth man, are a bit too careful (especially in a big game like this one against ND) not to make a dumba** mistake. If she throws up an air-ball that leads to ND points, it will result in less minutes in the future. So you run the plays and don't look for the glory. It will come for Morgan, she is going to be a star for us. Hopefully it will come later this season, but if not then the next.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

The poor rebounding was a killer. How many times did ND get 1, 2, or 3 offensive rebounds and then score, usually a 3. You can't give a good team that many chances to score.

Not making excuses but playing and winning in South Bend is hard, maybe the hardest in all of women’s college basketball. I mean how many of Geno’s National Championship teams lost in South
Bend the year they won it all?

 

[freshler40]

OK, here goes. I know I will get a lot of dislikes for this post, but after the debacle last night something has to change. I am a huge fan of Geno, but at this point I believe he is mismanaging this team. First, Paige has to resume her spot as the point guard. She has to be the one to bring the ball up the court. Paige is a great passer, and her ability to scan the floor for opportunities for her teammates is second to none. This also will give her the opportunity to create her own shot as we know she can do very well. Second, Geno has said many times in the past how exceptional Jana is. Well, she has made a few good plays, but she has no impact because she hardly plays. We will need her in March, but if she doesn't get more playing time than she will be worthless for us at that time. Third, we need Azzi back. Every fall we talk about all the great shooters we have, but every year we stink at 3 point shooting. We have nobody, and I mean nobody that can consistently knock down 3's, even Paige. I thought that since nothing was falling that he would put in Allie, after all, she may be our best 3 point shooter. Fourth, defense. I am so sick of watching the other team consistently throw down 3 point shots, uncontested ones at that.
Fifth, consistentcy. Ash, OMG, how can she go from one game to another and have a complete change in her game. I love this girl, but I am highly disappointed in her performance of late, except for Louisville.
Bottom line, Paige cannot do it alone, and if Geno has to put Paige back as the floor general, then that's what he should do.
Before I end this, I have a question about something that I can't figure out, and this drives me crazy. In the flow of the half court offence, players are getting the ball at the 3 point line, but they all dribble towards the paint and kick it out. Thats fine, but that player, as well every player forward does the same thing. What is supposed to happen here, why doesn't somebody take the shot instead of dribbling to the middle where quite often they turn the ball over. I'm sorry, but even though this was a tough opponent, I was very upset about how the offence was running. Also, because the supporting cast did not do well, social media is blaming this on Paige. I just hope Geno and the staff can get it together and change something, as our offence is the same as it was 15 years ago. Going to stop now as I'm giving myself a headache, and have to chill somewhere right now.

Well put, we are an easy defensive read, need to be more creative on the floor and less looking at the coaches for direction as to what to do next.

 

[freshler40]

Not too concerned. If you gave me a bet on UConn missing this many 3's, I could make alot of money. I would probably do some side bets on Shade, Strong, and Fudd all personally making more 3's than the entire team did last night.

We seem to play tight in big games and very scripted in our offense. Is this the problem? Basketball used to be more creative. Our guards often look to the bench for direction, so the defense also knows were running a long clock and predetermined play. Our best games, IMO, were more free-lance but also had much better rebounding than we currently have. How many fast breaks did we have last evening? The Huskies had a hard time clearing rebounds and often bobbled the ball. Our interior defense did not switch well to the right dribble penetration of one ND guard who is well known for that type of drive. Perhaps our game plan planning needs a serious look!

 

[VAUConnFan]

Not making excuses but playing and winning in South Bend is hard, maybe the hardest in all of women’s college basketball. I mean how many of Geno’s National Championship teams lost in South
Bend the year they won it all?

Going out on a long limb, just one.
(Now for some research)

Upon further review, the correct answer is two - 2004 and 2013. Does anyone remember the game in 2004? UConn must have played poorly because I do not remember Notre Dame being very good or having very good ball players.

The Notre Dame resurgence transpired with the hiring of Niele Ivey as an assistant in 2007. Coach Ivey has been a part of all nine Notre Dame Final four appearances(I had no idea there were that many). Coach Ivey's coaching legacy is firmly cemented in the recruitment and development of backcourt players.

 

[boontonbomber]

It’s one thing if it’s Paige, but Sarah is a freshman. As good as she is, I can’t fathom leaving a freshman in her 10th college game in with two fouls halfway through the second quarter.

Far from the first time the coaches have left players in with 2 fouls , and it often seems to bite you-know-who in the butt. Happened twice to Aaliyah last year. It's just not on the radar of the UConn bench, for some reason. Every time it happens I mention it, and always,somehow, people here brush it off and defend the coaches. I think Sarah played a bit tentatively in the 2nd half.

 

[VAUConnFan]

We seem to play tight in big games and very scripted in our offense. Is this the problem? Basketball used to be more creative. Our guards often look to the bench for direction, so the defense also knows were running a long clock and predetermined play. Our best games, IMO, were more free-lance but also had much better rebounding than we currently have. How many fast breaks did we have last evening? The Huskies had a hard time clearing rebounds and often bobbled the ball. Our interior defense did not switch well to the right dribble penetration of one ND guard who is well known for that type of drive. Perhaps our game plan planning needs a serious look!

Playing better competition; better teams; better individual players; teams with ballplayers of comparable ability.

 

[Lynx23]

I'll stick to my guns on this, UConn still doesn't have a killer on the team. Someone who wants to punch and keep on punching. Someone who wants the other team to cry (metaphorically, of course). The only one I've seen like that since Stewie was Gabby and she didn't have the surrounding cast for it. All these kids are way too nice.

And I'm not talking poor sportsmanship. There's a difference between that and being a killer on the court.

Gabby had Kia Nurse who was arguably the toughest player on the team given her hockey pedigree.

 

[Majorthreat]

Some thoughts on the Notre Dame game;

• Two teams dealing with injuries to key players, but one of the biggest games of the regular season nonetheless.
• Both teams came out a little tight. Shots weren’t falling and turnovers were mounting. But then the Irish drained 3 straight shots from the arc to take a 6-pt lead at the end of the 1st qtr. From that point on, UConn was playing from behind and struggling to find their rhythm.
• The Huskies fought their way back into the game in the 3rd qtr, throwing the Irish off balance by playing zone defense and hitting their shots on offense. But ND took control again in the 4th qtr, as the Irish clearly outplayed the Huskies tonight.
• Teams are doing everything they can to stop Paige from taking over games including face guarding her with their best defender, doubling her to get the ball out of her hands and getting physical with her anytime she attempts to make a cut. So far it’s been working pretty well. Many of the shots Paige hit tonight had a really high degree of difficulty. She ended up with 25 points on 11/20 shooting, none of which was particularly easy.
• In the end, it was just too much Hidalgo. You can’t play off her because she’ll kill you from the arc. But if you play her tight, she’ll blow by you and either score or kick the ball out to open teammates. WBB will have its hands full trying to figure out how to defend her for the next 3 seasons.
• Well, Geno and his coaches have a bunch of things to work on.
• Next up is Georgetown at XL and then two more ranked teams, Iowa St and USC. This will be a critical 3-game stretch for the Huskies.
• Keep your chins up. Azzi and Aubrey will get healthy and better days are ahead.

I agree with everything you said. I think the game plan should have been to deny Hidalgo the ball instead of forcing her to go right. Even when she went left she still scored because there was no hedge there to stop her.
Geno needs to get playmakers and athletic players instead of just shooters or basketball players. We only had Paige, Sarah and at times Caitlyn. They played stifling defense while we played that matador defense. Too many times we went to help and we left that person open for at least 4-5 open 3's
Ice and Jana were outplayed by the rookie. Ice or Jana don't play defense and cant hit free throws which limits their ability to play down the stretch. Even rebounding is a chore at times. Without these two we have no size other than Sarah.
The 4th Qtr was our downfall. Too many turnovers at critical moments and no stops after the turnovers.

 

[Majorthreat]

Question: why doesn’t Geno utilize more of a 2 man game approach with Strong and Bueckers? They have the perfect skill set to execute it, and if defense collapses both are strong passers to find the open player. I feel like everything should be running through those 2 offensively rather than Chen/Arnold dribbling so much.

KK does dribble a lot and doesn't seem to get the offense in its sets to score. She also needs to develop an outside shot. I don't know what her 3-point shooting is this year, but it is probably in the 20% range. Develop a floater as well when you get into the lane.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I don’t think that we are shorter than most teams. We are just not a fast team and we don’t have any junk yard dawgs. You need positioning to rebound and in order to do that you need to move your feet and body, quickly.

Hidalgo had 10 rbs? It definitely doesn't start with height.

 

[Mandoo]

I know we lost, but ND aint shooting 55% from 3 again this year. KK and Chen were solid.

Never realized Paige was such a lousy shooter from 3.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Going out on a long limb, just one.
(Now for some research)

Upon further review, the correct answer is two - 2004 and 2013. Does anyone remember the game in 2004? UConn must have played poorly because I do not remember Notre Dame being very good or having very good ball players.

The Notre Dame resurgence transpired with the hiring of Niele Ivey as an assistant in 2007. Coach Ivey has been a part of all nine Notre Dame Final four appearances(I had no idea there were that many). Coach Ivey's coaching legacy is firmly cemented in the recruitment and development of backcourt players.

Good bit of research, I knew it was 2 or 3. It just is a hard place to play and win. Now watch Notre Dame go on the road against Kennesaw Mountain Community College and lose by 10.

 

[uconnfan68]

Well put, we are an easy defensive read, need to be more creative on the floor and less looking at the coaches for direction as to what to do next.

Ironically, that’s exactly how they practice. Figure it out.