No Charge on DIggins to end the regulation

[Tonyc]

Screwed again. ND dosnt foul. What a shame with seconds left Diggins drives and charges and no foul. They won it at the line again. Terrible Terrible

 

[4UConn]

That was clearly a charge and the ref clearly saw it.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Definitely a charge, but it was hard to tell what was being called and what wasn't.

 

[Tenspro2002]

They were letting a lot go, I don't have a huge problem with the no-call in that situation.

 

[Goodies07]

More like the rebound Uconn didn't secure to ice the game away. IMO you can't bet on that call. You have to get in position for that rebound.

 

[WillB4]

Along with the 'time out'/'jump ball' horrendous call the no charge give ND the win. What wasn't called int he first half was being called in the second, except on ND, nice consistency.

 

[VAMike23]

Guys, focusing on this or that call that we got or didn't get, in THIS GAME, is like focusing on one bullet that did or didn't hit its mark in the middle of Pearl Harbor

This was a war.

Calls were missed. [Shocker!!!!]

They hit a couple of big shots at crunch time. Kudos to them.

ND survived. We gave it all. Not 'terrible terrible'. We gave it all we could, and came up just short. That's it!

 

[Wbbfan1]

Offensive Rebounding was the key stat of the game, maybe more so then the advantage that ND had at the Free Throw Line. If UConn grabs that last offensive rebound in regular time, UConn steals the game. ND had more scoring options and they made the shots when it counted Diggins stopping Bria from scoring when the play began it looked like an easy basket. Subsequent to that play, ND hits a dagger 3 point shot.

Great effort by the team to almost steal the win and keeping the game close. I thought ND looked like the better team.

 

[Tonyc]

The charge on Diggins and our player is on her back on the floor and Novesel gets the rebound. If a charge is called Novesel dosnt get the basket and we win. If our player isnt on her back she might get the rebound or Novesel dosnt get a shot off. Either way the call shouldve been called with 8,4 seconds left. Hey we can look forward to next year now and wait to see who verbals over the next couple of months. Im very disappointed that we didnt win because of a bad call, but we did have a season better then most thought. Next year is going to be fantastic.

 

[JellyBean]

Close call but the right no-call in this situation. The refs let a lot of things go in this game. We can't fault the refs at all, at least I won't. There were some plays where we rushed things a bit, when we should have pulled back a bit. But I am proud of the ladies, especially Steph. She battled hard the 2nd half of the season. She is becoming tough. A bit of a leader. She is growing up right before our very eyes. But again, I am proud of the team. To make it to the Final Four without any really big scoring threat or threat period, is huge. I think that this team, imo, is right up there with our 1991 team that made it to the Final Four. Classic group and this group that finished tonight is right there with them. Great run, ladies.


Go, Huskies!!!

 

[UConn990411]

The free throw discrepancy in the games against Notre Dame has been so far out of whack all year...but considering the refs have decided to give Novosel and Diggins the Michael Jordan-treatment, it was to be expected tonight. Ultimately, though, UConn has to blame itself - and the dumb turnovers and lack of rebounding - for this loss.

I hope Notre Dame enjoyed these last two years because they won't have a prayer at beating UConn going forward.

 

[semper]

Wait til Next Year....It's gonna be a whole new ball game. Don't begrudge them...it's the last hurrah for some time.

 

[bschwartz]

Thought the refs more or less were consistent...mostly ok but had bad calls for both sides. Don't think a charge would have been called in the last few seconds of regulation had the ball been taken to the hoop instead of a pass.

 

[Icebear]

More like the rebound Uconn didn't secure to ice the game away. IMO you can't bet on that call. You have to get in position for that rebound.

Tough to do when the charge takes two players.

 

[cohenzone]

Well, given how the refs allowed a lot of things to go both ways, it's hard to say exactly that the refs were the deciding factor. But I think the "held ball" when Tiff was (wo)manhandled and the ball went to ND, and then the premature grant of a time-out to Diggins when the held ball would have been UConn's gave ND 2 extra possessions and UConn 2 less and ND one less foul. Of course UConn would have had to score to make those meaningful possessions and I don't recall if ND scored on those extra possessions. But if not a deciding factor those kinds of calls certainly show how the refs can impact a very close game. However, Bria's full court drive with 25 seconds to go and the game tied potentially had as much impact as any other play in the game. Maybe it still goes to OT if UConn holds for the last shot, but that play totally jeopardized getting to OT in the first place and UConn was fortunate to get a tie at the end.

 

[Goodies07]

Tough to do when the charge takes two players.

What two players? Watching replay, Novosel ran right past KML to get in position for the rebound.

 

[Huskymaniac]

Rushing things? Bad turnovers? Don't you think the refs allowing them to hack our players at will with no fouls called might have an impact on how our players play the game? It made them hesitant to take the ball to the basket and it caused them to push situations when they thought they had a slight advantage in position or numbers. Notre dame is the Duke of the women's game and has been for a VERY LONG time. Add to that the appearance that some refs have an issue with male coaches and you can have a very unfairly officiated game. The woman with dark hair and ponytail seemed to be quite anti-UConn/Geno in this game.

 

[Tonyc]

The bottom line is UConn fought their way back and put themselves in position to win the game and the refs didnt make the call. I dont care what happened up to that point. UConn turned it up a notch and ND didnt. The refs didnt make the call after UConn made the plays to take the lead. Terrible way to lose.

 

[stamfordhusky]

I think the "held ball" when Tiff was (wo)manhandled and the ball went to ND, and then the premature grant of a time-out to Diggins when the held ball would have been UConn's gave ND 2 extra possessions and UConn 2 less and ND one less foul.

The "held ball" on Tiff was indeed a very big play. The Diggins timeout, however, was a non-event. Right after the timeout - which was taken near midcourt with only three seconds on the shot clock - ND had to force a bad shot that UConn rebounded. The result was that (1) ND wasted a timeout and (2) the possession arrow wasn't flipped. Both of these benefited UConn.

 

[Gurleyman]

The Tiffany no-call was right after Dolson should have fouled out (after the 2 blocks, she hacked a rebounder pretty badly). Then what those no-calls did was give the defender carte blanche to reach in, which resulted in the KML elbow, which they had to call a flagrant. But if you're KML, and you just watched Tiff get wrestled to the ground with no call, you become extra-protective of the ball - she went too far with the elbow instead of hips/shoulder contact, which she would have gotten away with.

They had that really terrible charge call that Diggins "drew" on Bria to take away a lay-up for us, and then next play, Hayes was ridiculously late sliding in to take a charge on Novosel in a make-up call (which frankly might have been the worst call of the night).

In fairness to the officials, it was a really hard game to officiate. They tried to "let them play" but the end result was the game got very physical with hand checks, reach-in fouls, over-the-backs etc. and then it was hard to decide where the line of too much contact was.

 

[cferraro04]

I'm 100 percent in the defensive rebound would have iced the game camp. The referee wasn't going to call that charge at that point in the game...but why? Why? Why? does Novosel get that rebound. Something else that was a killer...Mallory has 4 points going into the overtime and she gets two wide open threes and a foul shot...just a killer...those threes were daggers. We had our chance to win it in regulation, in fact, I thought we were going to...

 

[Gurleyman]

Didn't like our defense at the end - we extended full court and gave Diggins a chance to get into the lane with Hartley trailing the play accomplishing nothing. At that point, the defense breaks down as people give help and blockout responsibilities are lost. However, you definitely do not want to give up a 3 there, so you don't want to just sit back and let them shoot either, and you don't want to help in the paint off of their shooters when Diggins starts to drive because then you can lose on the kickout.

It's hard to design things to go exactly the way you want - we kept them from getting an open three which is a must, we did a good job bringing help (the charge they didn't call), but the last part of the equation is the rebound.

 

[Olde Coach]

Screwed again. ND dosnt foul. What a shame with seconds left Diggins drives and charges and no foul. They won it at the line again. Terrible Terrible

Geno blew it, not the refs.

I haven't read the game thread so I don't know what others have been posting --
BUT, I put the loss on Geno. ND inbounded the ball under the UConn basket with 11 seconds remaining. Geno put five guards (AND NO REBOUNDERS) on the floor to play defense against the ball. If ND shoots, one of two things happen.
Either the ball goes in the basket ---- or there will be a rebound that the defensive team MUST GET. But UConn had no rebounders. If Kiah Stokes was in the game, there was no way Novosel gets that easy rebound just 3 feet out from the rim.

And Kiah can defend against guards, too. That was a serious coaching error by Geno. When Novosel got the rebound, I froze my TV to find out where the rebounders were. Answer, both our tall girls were on bench.

If there are four or five seconds left at the inbound play by ND, a case can be made for five guards on the floor. But if there is time for a shot and a rebound, UConn's best rebounder has to be on the floor. That's Kiah Stokes.

SAD! Great last 2 minutes by Kelly. Her steals should have won the game.

I just hope Geno holds his hand up and takes responsibility for the 5 guard decision.

 

[VAMike23]

Geno blew it, not the refs.

I haven't read the game thread so I don't know what others have been posting --
BUT, I put the loss on Geno. ND inbounded the ball under the UConn basket with 11 seconds remaining. Geno put five guards (AND NO REBOUNDERS) on the floor to play defense against the ball. If ND shoots, one of two things happen.
Either the ball goes in the basket ---- or there will be a rebound that the defensive team MUST GET. But UConn had no rebounders. If Kiah Stokes was in the game, there was no way Novosel gets that easy rebound just 3 feet out from the rim.

And Kiah can defend against guards, too. That was a serious coaching error by Geno. When Novosel got the rebound, I froze my TV to find out where the rebounders were. Answer, both our tall girls were on bench.

If there are four or five seconds left at the inbound play by ND, a case can be made for five guards on the floor. But if there is time for a shot and a rebound, UConn's best rebounder has to be on the floor. That's Kiah Stokes.

SAD! Great last 2 minutes by Kelly. Her steals should have won the game.

I just hope Geno holds his hand up and takes responsibility for the 5 guard decision.

He did, in the presser. His intent was to be able to switch more easily on the shooters, but acknowledged it was a mistake to have 5 guards and no Kiah. Several 'Yarders have commented --

 

[Zorro]

It was one helluve game, lots of physical stuff, lots of no-calls, lots of guts by the Huskies at the end of regulation, the threes by ND in the overtime were the difference. I am extremely proud of this team and especially of Stef and Kelly. Next year we are going to kick some serious butt. If we get a steal on the inbounds play, or if that idiotic shot does not go in, Geno is a genius. Hey, he is a genius anyway. Thanks Huskies for a great season. Heads up.