1. This was the first showcase for WCBB that really did the sport justice this season.
2. There are no moral victories. That doesn’t mean you can’t build on a loss (and in UConn’s case, there is a lot to build on from tonight), but every loss stings. I can promise you, no one on UConn’s side of things is saying, “Yay, we hung with the #1 team better than anyone else has!”
3. Baylor is the first team UConn has faced that is as well-conditioned as they are. UConn got outhustled at the end of the game by kids who had played as many minutes as they had. Maybe the homecourt helped Baylor there, but still, I am not confident that conditioning will be an advantage for UConn in Round 2 if there is one.
4. The positives UConn can take from the game:
a. This team is tough as nails defensively. I thought Baylor would score 75 points. Holding them to 66 at home when you had to foul at the end is really impressive.
b. Heather Buck can be relied upon to play quality minutes. Period.
c. Tiff played some really good ball tonight. She’s settled into her role, and that’s as a high-energy, tough player who’s a pain in the butt to deal with, even if she’s not the team’s alpha.
d. Bria was up to the challenge.
e. Caroline was a complete no-show…and UConn still only lost by five. I have a hard time believing she will be so invisible in a second game.
f. KML didn’t look phased playing in a hostile environment.
g. Kelly continues to be the second-best defensive player in the country.
h. No other teams have Brittney Griner.
5. UConn will remain #2 in the polls, for what it’s worth. Which is not much at this juncture.
6. I feel pretty good about UConn’s matchups with Notre Dame. We seem destined for a three-game series at least, but I think we match up very well with them. Wouldn’t be shocked if we drop a game to them, especially in South Bend, but we seem to be stronger defensively and a little deeper in the post in the event of foul trouble.
7. Odyssey Sims was the second-best player on the floor by game’s end (in stretches in the middle, Bria and KML were better, but not by game’s end). UConn cannot beat Baylor if Baylor has the two best players at the business end of games.
8. UConn learned about itself tonight. What it learned was that it was not quite good enough to beat Baylor on the road. Usually, that’s the kind of lesson UConn teaches other teams. The Huskies responded well after the Stanford loss last year, and that was a worse loss than this one. Let’s hope for the same kind of result now.
9. Once again, 10 of 11 of these girls return next year, on top of an incredible recruiting class! But this year is not one to concede, either.
