5 points, 7 assists, 10 rebounds, only 1 TO in 35 minutes
Nika rose to the occasion in front of Duffy, for sure. She's scored more points and had more assists in other games but, to me, from my perch just a few rows up from the Marquette bench, I thought Nika was at her very best today.Gotta love Nika. The Imp, our demon child, who lives so in the moment. Geno rightly says her energy is irreplaceable.
I suspect that Duffy played much like Nika, aggressive and a real team player."The Queen of the small things" - I like it
and she's vastly unappreciated by lots of folks.Nika is my favorite player. Tough as nails, all energy and heart. She does the grunt work for the team.
I suspect that Duffy played much like Nika, aggressive and a real team player.
The beauty of what appears to be developing is that we now have a cloud (did a quick google search to see if there was an official term for a swarm of gnats - and cloud it is) of gnats. I read as well that there are both biting and non biting gnats (freshman Nika was more the former, senior Nika more the later). The common trait is that they are all annoying as hell and you can just suddenly find yourself totally swarmed by them. Sounds like just the kind of defense Geno is looking for!It's been a while since anyone referred to her as the GNAT. On defense she still is the GNAT, and also a rebounding animal.
I'll add that, as one can see from that wiki article, Megan was on the high side of 'very solid,' Milford. She was a double-figure scorer for three seasons, peaking at 15.6 as a senior. That's pretty hefty stuff.Megan at 5'7" wasn't a star, but she was very solid. Decent 3-point shooter, excellent FT shooter, lots of assists. She helped ND beat UConn at least once.
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Megan Duffy - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
She has Marquette playing like Notre Dame of old. Despite a comfortable win, they are a challenging team to play.Megan at 5'7" wasn't a star, but she was very solid. Decent 3-point shooter, excellent FT shooter, lots of assists. She helped ND beat UConn at least once.
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Megan Duffy - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
She has become, surely in the eyes of UCONN opponents, a gnatorious rebounder..It's been a while since anyone referred to her as the GNAT. On defense she still is the GNAT, and also a rebounding animal.
Nika is amazing. Her toughness and her endurance. Not to mention her ball distribution, and three point shot when open. We are so fortunate to have found her.Duffy has always praised Nika for her play ever since she has coached against her. Nika is a great defensive player that disrupts the opposing teams point guard, plus gets you defensive rebounds.
Nika has really benefited from player injuries—she’s been pushed and challenged every year to be a different player based on what the team needs. Her attitude has served her well—she’s risen to the challenge and more. She’ll leave UConn with so much experience and versatility that will serve her well at the next level.Gifted article -
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Nika Muhl evolving into new role for UConn women, other takeaways from resounding win over Marquette
Nika Muhl has had to adjust to a new role with the UConn women’s basketball team, meshing her skill set with Paige Bueckers and KK Arnold … and it’s beginning to Huskies’ ad…www.courant.com
“It has been a really, really hard adjustment for her, no doubt about it,” coach Geno Auriemma said. “We took the ball out of her hands. Last year, she had the ball in her hands 99 percent of the time and now, all of a sudden, ‘we want you to throw it ahead as many times as you can, to attack the basket more.’ It’s not easy. But she’s become more aware of what my team needs me to be. That’s a hard lesson for a lot of kids.”
“Individually, in practice, it’s been a struggle for me, but as long as we’re winning games, I was just going to figure it out for myself and my teammates would help me. I’m just going to continue to help in any way I can. It doesn’t matter what I do, it’s just making sure the team wins and we play responsibly and we play with the pace. As a point guard, I feel that’s my job and I’m hoping to build on it.”
Somewhere, I thought I posted about Nika and Paige having to learn to play together again, especially after Nika running the whole show last year. Dammed if I can find it, however I think this article says it all.
Remember this video from their freshman year:Nika is once again so close to a double double. I see one on the horizon before the season is over. And, the Slime Sisters are starting to look like they are "sharing one brain" when they are on the floor together.
Love all these stats, but the key for Nika recently has been very few turnovers. I peg some of the TO problems she had earlier in the year to be due to the respiratory issues she appeared to have but in any case, when she is this solid, UConn is usually performing at full speed.5 points, 7 assists, 10 rebounds, only 1 TO in 35 minutes