Notre Dame Postgame Thread | Page 6 | The Boneyard

Notre Dame Postgame Thread

SVCBeercats said:
The Bench: 12 points and 6 rebounds
A 30 min. game is a "Starter" - Blanca: 20 points and 8 rebounds
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Blanca started 3 quarters, all except quarter 1. Does that make her a "starter"? I suppose it could, but don't know that the "30 minutes a game" qualifies for that distinction.
 
Last year, we blew out Ark St and SDSU in the first two rounds Then in the following weekend, we struggled in the first half with OU and trailed by 4, until Paige got mad in the second half and took the game away from them. And then we struggled even more against USC in the Elite Eight game. The USC game is particularly instructive. Without their superstar, they played us very close, keeping it within 5 points after 3 quarters.

On the basis of the games of the second weekend, I doubt anyone on the BY other than @Tonyc was expecting the explosion that was to come in the final weekend. In hindsight, there were some clues. In the moment, most of us looked on the prospects of a championship as something still very much in the balance. But now, it's easy to "remember" that tournament as a smooth glide past dazed opponents who were no more of an obstacle than a paperclip to a speeding Mercedes on the highway.

Well, here's the deal for this year. We blew out the teams we met in the first round, though UTSA was somewhat better than Ark St. And then we struggled a little bit in the second weekend against somewhat better teams. And next week we'll face either SC or TCU, either of whom poses even more challenges for us. And if we get past them, it's either UCLA or Texas or Michigan -- again, very challenging opponents.

What I'm getting at is that this tournament doesn't feel all that different from last season's, at least to me.
 
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maple said:
If they play this poorly offensively and still manage to win two more games, it’ll be all because of their defense. IMO.
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That's most likely how it was going to be all along whether people wanted to believe it or not. From the S16 on in most years, teams will be tough enough to actually play defense and challenge them. Last year with Bueckers, UConn had a smoother, more consistent offense to overcome tough D. This year's relatively soft schedule/big stats were a little deceiving.
 
SVCBeercats said:
No schießen! Note the italics, the bold emphasis, and lastly the quotes. 30 minutes is starter minutes. A person unfamiliar with UCONN would select which players from the list below as the starters. To this person Blanca is a "STARTER".

STARTERS
Sarah - 39 min.
Azzi - 38 min.
KK - 31 nim.
Ash - 22 min.
Serah - 9 min.
Blanca - 30 min.
K9 - 11 min.
Z - 11 min.
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I think you meant no “sheisse”. Schiessen means shooting. Example: Ashlynn war scheiße im Schießen.

Sorry to use you as an example Ashlynn, I still think you’re the engine that makes us go.
 
oldude said:
Some thoughts on the Notre Dame game:
  • Win and advance! Everyone can start breathing again.
  • Through the years UConn & ND have had some epic battles in the NCAA Tournament, fielding teams loaded with AA’s and future WNBA draft picks. But this year is different. Certainly, UConn is loaded. But ND depends on a mercurial, 5’6” wunderkind who’s playing the best basketball of her career.
  • Just like UNC, ND walked the ball up the court, slowing down the game, in an effort to avoid playing an up-tempo game with UConn at all costs.
  • For the 4th game in a row, Blanca came off the bench and supercharged UConn with 14 points and 5 rebounds in the 1st half and strong play throughout the game.
  • UConn seldom allows one star player to beat them singlehandedly. Today against HH, UConn alternately ran both KK and Kayleigh at her, while rotating a big anytime she penetrated the lane. It worked for one qtr. But HH went off for 9 in the 2nd while continuing to be ND’s best option on offense, finishing with 22 points on 7/19 shooting with just 3 steals and 5 turnovers.
  • One interesting set that UConn used to prevent HH from hunting steals was to run whoever she was guarding, typically KK, into the corner, having either Sarah or Azzi initiate the offense at the top of the key.
  • ND was doing everything possible to disrupt UConn’s offensive actions. In the first half, Sarah had only 4 shots and Azzi had just 5.
  • While Sarah didn’t get a lot of shots in the 1st half, she was a force on defense with 3 steals and 3 blocks.
  • In the 3rd qtr UConn did an awful job making shots and a tremendous job rebounding the basketball.
  • With Serah struggling, Geno went with Jana in the 3rd qtr, who came up HUGE on the boards while also scoring several very BIG baskets as UConn pushed the lead to 11 points
  • We’ve seen a lot of small lineups from UConn. But in the 3rd qtr, UConn rolled out a throwback with a true center (Jana), 2 forwards (Sarah & Blanca) and 2 guards (Azzi & Kayleigh)
  • In the 4th qtr, both Sarah and Azzi were able to take and make shots, while Blanca continued to be amazing, playing her best game as a UConn Husky!
  • Most importantly, I had UConn +18 in Sarge's pool!!!! 😁 😎 🙃😄🤩
  • It’s on to Phoenix for UConn and their 25th FF appearance, the 17th in the past 18 seasons. The Huskies will face either SC or TCU in the national semifinals for the opportunity to play for their 13th national championship. LET’S GO HUSKIES!!!
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Editors note; It will not be "either SC or TCU." There is zero chance it will be TCU, despite Olivia Miles. We all know that. And Michigan is not beating Texas, either.
 
husky98 said:
I think you meant no “sheisse”. Schiessen means shooting. Example: Ashlynn war scheiße im Schießen.

Sorry to use you as an example Ashlynn, I still think you’re the engine that makes us go.
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ASH is great. But we need her p a level....that is to say; "make your shots. " Please. I know you can do that.
 
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Happydad745 said:
I might have to up my BP meds for the Final Four, I don't see this getting easier...Our defense is always tough, hopefully we get some more help from Blanca, Shade finds her shot and Azzi gets open a little more. Sarah Strong is amazing.
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Funny, I do.
 
This game, for some reason, had me nervous the whole game. H Hidalgo is a fantastic player and competitor. It is good for us to be challenged each game and for us to rise to the occasion. That's what championship teams do. Our third wheel has shown up at the right time.
 
Probably an unpopular post and this comes from someone who had all types around me when I played in college, and not denying how she’s able to make those around her better, but take the bravado elsewhere. Good defense is humbling.
 
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donalddoowop said:
What did she put up against the last two teams? No matter how you look at it, she is struggling scoring at the most critical time of the season.
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I have absolutely no worries about Azzi’s scoring. The exact same thing happened last year and she went off in the FF, earning MOP.

Beyond that, ND did everything they could to take her out of the game today: face guarding, denying her the ball and double-teaming her whenever possible. So what was the result? Blanca was left wide open at the arc and she knocked down 4 x 3-pt shots.
 
I am really surprised no one mentioned this. The game started with Shade guarding HH. I was expecting KK to be guarding her. Throughout the quarter guarding HH was by committee, but it was mostly Shade. How did that work? HH 0 points in 1Q.

Sorry, OT. UConn just beat Duke on a 3-point buzzer beater. A most miraculous comeback. Things are beginning to look UConn!
 
Skeets said:
I am really surprised no one mentioned this. The game started with Shade guarding HH. I was expecting KK to be guarding her. Throughout the quarter guarding HH was by committee, but it was mostly Shade. How did that work? HH 0 points in 1Q.

Sorry, OT. UConn just beat Duke on a 3-point buzzer beater. A most miraculous comeback. Things are beginning to look UConn!
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Yes, quite a shot.
 
Another poster said that Uconn plays better with KK,Shade and Williams off the court..I have to agree but Geno is not about to change his lineup at this stage of the season
KK played HH tough along with Heckel but you have to score more than 2 points including missing 2 layups
I've been critical of Jana all year but those 4 offensive rebounds and 4 points in 7 minutes were terrific
Shade another no show with no points
I wonder if the Dallas Wings may be thinking of drafting Fam with the first pick after Azzi's performance the last 2 games
Sara was Sara when her teammates finally started passing her the ball
We all knew how well Blanka can play but to come in and change the game the way she did was tremendous..I don't think anyone thought she would come in and play that well
Great move by Geno having Sarah and Blanka bring the ball up to stay away from HH
Defense like it has been all year.. was terrific
 
I predict you're going to see last year's FF Azzi in Phoenix (not saying she'll win MOP, but I think she'll have two big games).
 
Some tidbits from the box score that (at least to me) weren't evident while watching the game:
  • Serah played only 9 minutes, and Jana played just 7. That means that Sarah Strong was UConn's de facto center for 23 of the 39 minutes that she played in the game. In essence, UConn's default lineup is the so-called "small" lineup with Sarah and Blanca as their two "bigs" (at least on defense). Those two are doing their jobs in that role, with 15 rebounds between them (13 of which were defensive).
  • Blanca's contribution went way beyond her scoring, although that was exceptional (7-for-12 and 4-for-8 from 3). She had 8 rebounds including 2 at the offensive end, even though she was functionally a guard on offense. She also had 3 assists and 1 steal.
  • UConn as a team had 8 more shot attempts than Notre Dame (54 vs. 46) and also shot a higher percentage (44% vs. 39%). That is probably because UConn had 4 more offensive rebounds than the Irish (not something I would have guessed from watching the game) and 4 fewer turnovers.
  • Although KK was held scoreless on 6 shot attempts, she had 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and ZERO turnovers. Her counterpart Hidalgo had 3 assists and FIVE turnovers, although she did remarkably have 11 rebounds. But KK definitely "earned her minutes" in today's game. Geno recognized this by giving her 31 minutes of playing time.
  • Ashlynn did not score in 22 minutes, but she grabbed 5 rebounds (2 offensive), some of which were in the highlight reel category. And she had 2 steals, 1 assist, and only 1 turnover.
  • Surprisingly given UConn's advantage in offensive rebounds, second-chance points favored ND by 9-0. That's right, UConn did not get a single second-chance point in this game!
Let me add some comments about the Final Four. Among the remaining teams other than UConn, the only guard that I see who is really comparable in skill to Hidalgo is her former running buddy, Olivia Miles of TCU. Honestly, I don't expect that Olivia will be traveling to Phoenix. That means that UConn is not going to face another uber-talented guard in either Final Four game comparable to what they faced today.

South Carollina (UConn's probable opponent on Friday) has a talented stable of guards: Raven and Tessa Johnson plus Taniiya Latson. As a group, they are better than Notre Dame's backcourt, but none of them resemble Hidalgo. I would give UConn's backcourt of Azzi, KK, Ash, and Blanca an overall advantage in talent and organization over the Gamecocks' group. The SC frontcourt will be Joyce Edwards and Medina Okot vs. Sarah and Serah/Jana/Blanca. The UConn advantage here is not clear-cut, but I think it is real. I would expect that Serah and especially Jana can play Okot well enough to neutralize her. And I don't expect SC's team offense or defense will be at the level that Notre Dame brought in today's game.
 
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HuskyNan said:
  1. Jana is a great rebounder but not great at moving her feet on defense
  2. It’s not like they aren’t trying
  3. Geno isn’t going to change his lineup in the 39th game of the season
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She makes up for slowness with size.
 
So proud of Sarah Strong. She rallied this team to this win and what a leader she has become. Blanca looks like a WNBA pro already and was the difference maker. Azzi made me and everyone else yell "shoot the ball" multiple times but did just enough against a defense focused on taking her away. Jana El Alfy came in a showed some AMAZING minutes. She had a flawless game off the bench. Ziebell, Heckel and others had great flashes.

Hannah Hidalgo was the boogeywoman this whole tournament, I never seen a more disruptive guard. She creeps, she lurks and if the ball is in her radius she pounces. UConn kept the ball away from her late and I am so glad because she nervoused me this game.

Back to the Penthouse Suite for UConn
 
Keys to the game
Not letting who ever HH was guarding bring up the ball
Playing Blanca she was the difference
Playing Jana
ND having Cowley and Prosper in foul trouble
Kept our composure
Of course, our Defense
 
Serah and Jana will have their days in the FF if SC and UCLA are the opponents and Uconn advances. Those teams have real post players and having that combo of centers gives us 10 fouls and good post defense. I am sure we see the small line-up in those games, but having size will be important.

And next weekend is exactly why Geno wanted Serah from the portal.
 
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