Turner only played 6 minutes in the first half because she picked up her second foul in the first quarter and Muffet sat her for the rest of the half. Turner only played 10 minutes in the second half because the game was in hand and Patterson was playing so well. Irirsh were pleased with Patterson and Prohaska. Abby actually led the team in assists and steals (true freshman in third college game).
I switched my fields of play yesterday and ventured up to Yankee Stadium to see the Irish rise to the occasion and beat Syracuse. On the subway ride from the Bronx to the Port Authority bus terminal, I picked up the box score (and only the box score) of the ND-DePaul game. Since I'm aware of DePaul's style of play (we did play them last year), it was fairly interesting to deduce what took place.
After reading some boards to round out the story, a few points come to mind:
- Thanks to the hoop gods for an extended bench (knock on wood). ND was able to mix and match correctly to get the right personnel on the floor. Last year, they relied on a 39-pt. performance from Shepard to hang on. Here the right mix got them right on both ends of the floor.
- As you said, DP (Danielle Patterson) was perfect for this assignment: 6'2", good athlete (quicker than Vaughn, so probably better on outside-the-paint defense).
- Prohaska's scoring does not stand out, but every other stat does: steals, assists, rebounds; and, what she does on defense. Until Mabrey is back, she'll get ample floor time.
- Speaking of Mabrey, it's not like she's the overwhelming scoring Irish threat, but she's thoroughly involved in all aspects of what they do, from setting up the half-court offense, making adepts passes and, yes, shooting the daggers from 3-point land. Plus, she's ultra-competitive, emotional and a proxy for McGraw.
- I expect UConn's starting five to do fine with DePaul. The skill sets and athletic abilities match up well.
- What made for interesting reading between the Vandy thread and this one was how ND went to the next level -- the bench -- to handle having no Mabrey and this particular team's skill sets. Good sign for MM. I'm sure Geno's trying to do the same.
