Notre Dame Discussion

[JellyBean]

If I am Coach G in this matchup, I would press all night long! I would turn this into a track meet. Use the numbers advantage against ND. Sure, the game might get sloppy at times and things could look rough out there, but I would use our team depth, size, length, an athleticism against ND.

As soon as HH or Miles gets across halfcourt, I am trapping them. They throw the ball into the corners, I am trapping. They start throwing the ball into the air, hopefully our UConn players are paying attention, easy steal and score opportunities. Put pressure on ND and the refs. This is a winnable game for UConn if Coach uses all of the tools in the toolbox. I would pressure the hell out of ND. 40 minutes of Hell and use every available body on the bench.

 

[JellyBean]

I don’t like this matchup at all. You would think everyone on this board would have learned not to take ND lightly.
Paige needs to get out of her shooting funk. She and Strong will need a big game. Chen needs to prove she can defend. Do you put Ashlynn on Hidalgo? ND would not mind an up-tempo game. I wonder if Geno plays into this, and hopes their guards get tired?
If they can manage to get by this one, I think they can go undefeated the rest of the season

You never take anyone lightly but you also can't ignore a few things in matchups. ND does not have depth. Sure they would not mind an up-tempo game. The key will be how long can they sustain that pace? Not many teams can sustain that pace. You throw wave after wave after wave at a team, they will break. Just a matter of when and will power. UConn, if they got half court offense and let ND go half court, it becomes a game of who can sell the most foul calls and get the game to the free throw line. ND would win because they get those calls a lot. I am turning up the heat and pressuring the hell out of ND. Turn this into a track meet. My depth and talent vs ND's 6 or 7 talented players. I am betting on depth and talent.

 

[Tonyc]

Its pretty simple what we have to do. Get Koval in foul trouble which will force ND to their bench and with Koval out the middle is open. Hit our shots. We will need somebody besides Paige and Sarah to score.
Make Hannah and Oliva go to their left
Avoid tunrovers
Execute Genos game plan

 

[yhun89]

Its pretty simple what we have to do. Get Koval in foul trouble which will force ND to their bench and with Koval out the middle is open. Hit our shots. We will need somebody besides Paige and Sarah to score.
Make Hannah and Oliva go to their left
Avoid tunrovers
Execute Genos game plan

They were told to force HH left last year and it just did not work at all. Hopefully they can execute it this year.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Reading the comments. Are we underdogs?

 

[HuskyNan]

Reading the comments. Are we underdogs?

Massey says no. Don’t know what Las Vegas says

 

[yhun89]

Warming up for games? Not at all. They haven't even dressed.
Are they working out in practices? Of course, but trying to get up to speed.

Ah okay. I was hearing from someone that Karlen might be ready to go by Thursday.

 

[oldude]

They were told to force HH left last year and it just did not work at all. Hopefully they can execute it this year.

Last season Nika tried to play HH like a defensive back playing a receiver in press coverage, effectively not letting her get off the line of scrimmage. That resulted in 5 fouls for Nika and only 19 minutes of PT. With no real options off the bench, Hidalgo had a field day.

HH is just too quick to play tight on defense. You have to do your best to stay in front of her on defense, keep her from blowing by you to the basket and live with her making outside shots.

I am hopeful that the combination of Kaitlyn Chen and KK Arnold are up to the task of reasonably containing Hidalgo. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

 

[Skeets]

A big thing in my mind is how often we let ND get to the FT line. I saw a stat that showed how ND had MADE 40 more FTs so far this season than UConn had even been AWARDED. That's a huge stat discrepancy. Cannot allow them to get easy fouls and head to the line a lot.

On the flip side, ND has the shorter bench, so getting them into foul trouble early would be a benefit for us.

Not surprising. They play a lot of games in South Bend.

 

[BobbyJ]

Last season Nika tried to play HH like a defensive back playing a receiver in press coverage, effectively not letting her get off the line of scrimmage. That resulted in 5 fouls for Nika and only 19 minutes of PT. With no real options off the bench, Hidalgo had a field day.

HH is just too quick to play tight on defense. You have to do your best to stay in front of her on defense, keep her from blowing by you to the basket and live with her making outside shots.

I am hopeful that the combination of Kaitlyn Chen and KK Arnold are up to the task of reasonably containing Hidalgo. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

I agree. Give her a 4 foot cushion to help cut off penetration and go under the high screens so as not to force the slower UConn bigs to help as much and avoid foul problems.

 

[cancontent]

Not surprising. They play a lot of games in South Bend.

That doesn't make sense when you look at their schedule to date. They've played 3 games at home this season so far.

 

[GoUconn7961]

I think we have an advantage in that, Ash (likely starting for Azzi) and KK have played against hostile crowds like SC last year as primary players. I think they could get used to ND. Rivalry and all, but SC was pretty hostile as well. Chen played against the Gampel crowd 2 years ago as well.

Granted, but SC is nothing compared to ND. That crowd is right on top of you in that arena.

 

[yhun89]

Granted, but SC is nothing compared to ND. That crowd is right on top of you in that arena.

True true but at least they've experienced SOME pressure haha.

 

[Jumper33]

Not surprising. They play a lot of games in South Bend.

So far they have played 3 home games, 4 true road games, and 2 games in the Cayman Islands.

Not sure, you may have been joking a bit but I think any premature worry about the refs isn’t necessary, even if it is in South Bend.

ND are the ones with 6 players and one foul-prone post player. UConn is talented enough to overcome a ticky tack foul or a few.

 

[browns]

With Azzi out it changes my thinking about this game.It was going to be tough with her but now i have to give the edge to N.D.
Watching how HH torched Uconn last year and the way she is playing this year Uconn doesn'thave an answer for her.If you double her than she finds a wide open Miles or Citron
Koval could also be a factor.She is bigger and stronger than Ice or Jana
I wouldn't be surprise if the Irish play zone especially with Azzi out and Paige not shooting well the last couple of games. On the other hand if they play man Citron has proved she can guard Paige one on one
Uconn's big 2 has to better than ND's big 3
Paige has to play at an AA level or they have no shot..Sara can't do it alone

 

[Zarathustra]

First of all I dont see Koval being a big scoring threat. That makes it 4 on 5. I believe ND has to play alot of zone due to their lack of depth. UConn has the shooters and their dribble drive pullup jumpers will be key. I dont see Hannah and Oliva sharing the ball much in this game unless they are forced to. They are each others options and will look to Citron when necessary. That makes me believe UConn will overplay them and force them to go to their left and when they do, double them up on their drives and force them to give up the ball or take a bad shot.

I dont think you will see ND overplaying Paige this year. Last year they could because of UConns lack of scorers. UConn has too many scorers for them to play like that this year. ND cant wear UConn down this year either because we are too deep and they arent. The last thing ND wants to do is go to their bench.

UConn moved the ball crisply their last few games. I expect that again which will eliminate turnovers. Jana and Ice will be key and I expect plays designed for them to take it at Koval. Im also looking for someone to step up like Ash did against LVille. I expect Ash to step up again and maybe Chen.

I dont think ND has anybody who can defend Sarah. NDs defense can not double up on Paige so I dont see NDs defense being as effective against UConn. The Cuse missed alot of open shots and alot of bunnies and it took ND a while to get their big lead. Against Texas ND really didnt put Texas away and Texas didnt shoot well. For those 2 reasons I expect UConn to win.

One fear is I hope the refs dont let the game get really physical. This is a game where the stars shine. UConn will execute their offense unselfishly and thats what makes them so good.

I recall watching the highlights of last year's PRINCETON vs UCLA game. If
memory serves me correctly, Kaitlyn Chen had a great game and Princeton
put a scare on ULCA. So, in addition to the possibilities of great efforts
by our star cast and critical role play by ICE, Sarah, and perhaps MORGAN,
I am hoping for some extra bonus (offensive) points from Kaitlyn. IMHO, every + piece of the puzzle will make this jigsaw puzzle a pretty picture for UCONN FANS.
GO TEAM... HOWEVER, while there is no "I" in team, I would not mind seeing
Paige be " Paige" and bring the Huskies over the "W" finishing line!!

 

[cancontent]

I recall watching the highlights of last year's PRINCETON vs UCLA game. If
memory serves me correctly, Kaitlyn Chen had a great game and Princeton
put a scare on ULCA. So, in addition to the possibilities of great efforts
by our star cast and critical role play by ICE, Sarah, and perhaps MORGAN,
I am hoping for some extra bonus (offensive) points from Kaitlyn. IMHO, every + piece of the puzzle will make this jigsaw puzzle a pretty picture for UCONN FANS.
GO TEAM... HOWEVER, while there is no "I" in team, I would not mind seeing
Paige be " Paige" and bring the Huskies over the "W" finishing line!!

I see what you did there and appreciate the play on the phrase.

 

[Zarathustra]

With azzi out they player I’m expecting to see get more minutes is Morgan.

I'm not sure how many minutes... but with Morgan's 6' 2" frame and
energy and intensity, I can see her providing some quality playing
minutes and contributing to the Huskies putting this game in the "W" column.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Good ideas from yhun89 (thread #1).
I based some of my Prognostication on the scores of
the three most significant IRISH games; UTAH, a loss
78 - 67, TCU, a loss 76 -68, and a loss to TEXAS, which was
tied at 68 - 68 at the end of regulation. Notice a theme here??
67 ... 68 ... 68. The two big wild cards here for me are:
Will Azzi play and be at 100% and will Maddy Westbeld play
for N.D. and be at 100%. Westbeld is a 6' 4" "Graduate/senior"
and her presence or absence will be a major factor (like Azzi)
I totally agree that FOULS will be the other major issue. Kate
Koval's foul status (6'5", major rebounder and shot blocker) and the foul
status of Jana and Ice. I am just assuming that Hannah
Hildalgo and Oliva Miles will have BIG GAMES. But whether
their scoring, along with the always reliable Sonia Citron will
be the MAJOR factor is debatable point for all Boneyards.
No Aubrey Griffin is also in my reasoning. GO HUSKIES.
UCONN HUSKIE basketball with a long bench should
prevail!!

Westbeld was my biggest concern for this matchup, but she posted on social media in September that she would be missing the first part of the season as she underwent a surgical procedure on her foot. I do not think she would use UConn as her first game to "shake off the rust." However, uNd has been going with 6 - 7 players with more than 10 minutes of playing time with Hildago, Citron & Miles going more than 36 mins, so Westbeld will be the missing piece to "right the ship" to move back into the Top 5 of women's basketball this year for uNd.

I believe Sarah Strong will have a big game, and Ice/Jana will cause Koval to be in foul trouble all game long (which will be short on time <20 mins for Koval), and the lane will open up for drives ("Strong to the hoop" is my favorite saying of the announcers) and midrange "stop&pops" for all the Huskie guards + Strong.

uNd may "accidentally" be ahead by 5 pts from time to time through the first 3 qtrs, but the 4th will be owned by the Huskies (with or without Azzi).

Go Huskies!

 

[The CDR-Ret]

I recall watching the highlights of last year's PRINCETON vs UCLA game. If
memory serves me correctly, Kaitlyn Chen had a great game and Princeton
put a scare on ULCA. So, in addition to the possibilities of great efforts
by our star cast and critical role play by ICE, Sarah, and perhaps MORGAN,
I am hoping for some extra bonus (offensive) points from Kaitlyn. IMHO, every + piece of the puzzle will make this jigsaw puzzle a pretty picture for UCONN FANS.
GO TEAM... HOWEVER, while there is no "I" in team, I would not mind seeing
Paige be " Paige" and bring the Huskies over the "W" finishing line!!

To be literal here, there is an "I" in both Paige and WIN!

On an individual basis, TEAM defense starts with ME not getting beat, so I can rotate to be a "stopper" should anyone near me need backup...

If the Huskies focus on winning each play if front of them (whether offense or defense), the final score will take care of itself, and they come out of South Bend with a Win!

Go Huskies!!!

 

[Zarathustra]

To be literal here, there is an "I" in both Paige and WIN!

On an individual basis, TEAM defense starts with ME not getting beat, so I can rotate to be a "stopper" should anyone near me need backup...

If the Huskies focus on winning each play if front of them (whether offense or defense), the final score will take care of itself, and they come out of South Bend with a Win!

Go Huskies!!!

I'm with "THE CDR-RET"!! Literally, Figuratively, and
Boneyarderly!! As you make clear " on an individual
basis"... it all "D" pends on the "D"!! Yours, "Z"incerely

 

[Bone Dog]

I hope to see Jana get the majority of minutes at the 5 position, if she can stay on the floor. That should allow UConn to dominate the boards. This is an ideal game for Jana to demonstrate her potential mainly as a rebounder, but also as an inside scorer.

Excellent post as a whole. This point particularly struck me. Jana against Koval could be really interesting, both as a challenge for her and also as a problem for Koval. Jana doesn’t need to get the majority of the minutes to cause significant foul problems for ND just because she’s so active in the low post. If Paige & Co can get her low post opportunities, she can go to work. Unfortunately, she’s still in her free throw shooting funk. But this may be less important than simply causing fouls.

 

[Mandoo]

To me, the questions surrounding UCon are much greater than with ND. With ND we know exactly what we are going to get. Is UConn going to be a big 2 or is Paige going to continue her streak of mediority? Can Chen even begin to stay with either Miles or Hidalgo? That is a matchup that has disaster written all over it. Can we finally get some consistent play out of Ashlynn and KK? UConn's only clear cut advantage without Azzi is Sarah.

Shut down Paige and it's all over.

 

[DEpup]

Last season Nika tried to play HH like a defensive back playing a receiver in press coverage, effectively not letting her get off the line of scrimmage. That resulted in 5 fouls for Nika and only 19 minutes of PT. With no real options off the bench, Hidalgo had a field day.

HH is just too quick to play tight on defense. You have to do your best to stay in front of her on defense, keep her from blowing by you to the basket and live with her making outside shots.

I am hopeful that the combination of Kaitlyn Chen and KK Arnold are up to the task of reasonably containing Hidalgo. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

I'm also suspecting that the bigger bodies of Ice, Jana, and Sarah can take up more space and make those drives tougher on ND. Last year it was really only Edwards which put the guards in a more challenging position.

 

[yhun89]

I'm also suspecting that the bigger bodies of Ice, Jana, and Sarah can take up more space and make those drives tougher on ND. Last year it was really only Edwards which put the guards in a more challenging position.

Edwards also had to play less aggressive because if she fouled out, they had nobody good enough to take her spot. Ice was still young and incredibly foul prone back then.

Now she's controlled that habit, and we have Morgan, Jana, and Sarah to play down low if needed.

 

[oldude]

Edwards also had to play less aggressive because if she fouled out, they had nobody good enough to take her spot. Ice was still young and incredibly foul prone back then.

Now she's controlled that habit, and we have Morgan, Jana, and Sarah to play down low if needed.

The shoe is on the other foot this year. ND has but one true low post player. Koval is young, has gotten herself into foul trouble in each of ND’s 2 losses and until Westbeld is back healthy, there is no good secondary option.

 

[Dillon77]

The shoe is on the other foot this year. ND has but one true low post player. Koval is young, has gotten herself into foul trouble in each of ND’s 2 losses and until Westbeld is back healthy, there is no good secondary option.

More to the point, there is no option....Cass Prosper is a 6'2" wing and Liatu King a 6'0" smallish forward. While Prosper is rangy and King, athletic, they're still not imposing, height-wise.

That's the reason why Koval has to show the discipline she did against Syracuse in the 2nd half and throughout most of the USC and Texas games. She is good at going straight up on blocking shots, while getting into trouble reaching in on drivers and moving on screens (very frosh things).

Hence, it's why I think you'll see a mix and match of man-to-man and zone in attempts to keep Koval from getting into foul trouble and/or reset the defense when she's out of the game. It's really critical to keep her in the game for reasons that don't even appear in the boxscore: for instance, Koval does a very good job of keeping opposition players from areas where the missed shot may come down, allowing other Irish to grab the rebound. Like a zone-blocking offensive lineman.

Wish we had Westbeld or Karlen -- like UConn wishes it had Fudd and/or Griffin -- but this will be a good snapshot in time of the way these teams are now. Then, fans can hope to see full(er) rosters down the line.

 

[yhun89]

More to the point, there is no option....Cass Prosper is a 6'2" wing and Liatu King a 6'0" smallish forward. While Prosper is rangy and King, athletic, they're still not imposing, height-wise.

That's the reason why Koval has to show the discipline she did against Syracuse in the 2nd half and throughout most of the USC and Texas games. She is good at going straight up on blocking shots, while getting into trouble reaching in on drivers and moving on screens (very frosh things).

Hence, it's why I think you'll see a mix and match of man-to-man and zone in attempts to keep Koval from getting into foul trouble and/or reset the defense when she's out of the game. It's really critical to keep her in the game for reasons that don't even appear in the boxscore: for instance, Koval does a very good job of keeping opposition players from areas where the missed shot may come down, allowing other Irish to grab the rebound. Like a zone-blocking offensive lineman.

Wish we had Westbeld or Karlen -- like UConn wishes it had Fudd and/or Griffin -- but this will be a good snapshot in time of the way these teams are now. Then, fans can hope to see full(er) rosters down the line.

Chen and KK both love driving to the hoop, in quick bursts. Chen has blown past the Iikes of Lauren Betts in the past and knows how to draw contact even if the player is trying to back off. Interested to see whether she'll be able to avoid getting denied at the rim, or she'll pass the ball out to the perimeter like she's been doing lately.

When ND uses zone, that may be UCONN's chance for a mini-run, because the zone was used to force perimeter shots vs Texas and keep out of the paint. And our main forwards (Ice, Sarah) are great passers.

This is literally anybody's game. If we can get used to the intensity and hostility, we should be in for a great matchup.

I wonder how Koval will do on the glass vs Jana. Jana is also very good at fighting for the rebound and getting in front and boxing out.

 

[HopJim]

I've watched a lot of minutes on Hidalgo. She is quick -- maybe as quick as anyone in D1 -- and resourceful, and fearless in driving against taller players. She appears to have the OK to go free-range on defense from Niele, and this has served ND very well. My two takeaways from all these videos:

1. The scout -- she is a dominant righty and needs to be guarded this way at both levels. She can still get past a perimeter defender by going left and then often goes right against a big in the paint who doesn't know the scout as well. She does this so often it's almost laughable. Everyone on the floor has to play her according to the scout, not just the guards.
2. She is a poacher and preys on guards who dribble too much, and bigs who bring the ball down or dribble unnecessarily. It doesn't even matter if a guard gets past her, if they don't make a play right away, because she will come around the other side and steal the ball. She gets a lot of steals in just this way. It's not enough to get past Hannah, if you don't immediately take a shot or pass the ball. She almost prefers to let guards get past her in order to do just this.

Geno teaches a quick passing offense. We can't afford to waste time dribbling on the perimeter -- I'm looking at you, Kaitlyn. As Geno says, there's three things you can do with the ball when you get it: shoot, pass, drive. What you can't do is waste time with fakes and indecision. Against ND, we need to live this philosophy. Play crisply and pass quickly.

I was going to post a similar assessment. In past years, ND guards have made driving by their UConn defenders into a superhighway. Even Nika at times appeared helpless. They continue to be very skilled at pushing into their defender, either drawing a foul or scooping the ball for a layup similar to Strong's top move. Just as they appear to be well coached on this tactic, suspect that Geno and the coaching staff will find a way to cut off the drives at the key, perhaps by overplaying to the right. Let's hope so.

 

[packwrap]

Pretty amazing thread here. Worthy of final four game.

This game is really a classic rematch. This time even without Azzi, UConn is healthy and ND is going with 6 players.

It's also a clear battle of 3-woman backcourts, and 2-woman front courts.

Hidalgo, Miles Citron vs Paige and friends.

K & K vs Sarah, Ice and Jana.

Tremendous opportunity for Ice and Jana to step up in a BIG game!

Similarly Chen, Ash, KK and Morgan have a chance to shine. Games like this are why Chen is at UConn.

If these 'second tier' UConn players step up, Huskies should win.

Looking forward to a great game. The ND guard group is special.