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Message: [QUOTE="PacoSwede, post: 4485513, member: 120"] just saw video of the scarolina v huskies regular season game during paige, nika and liya's frosh year. exciting game. it was the one that went into overtime after boston missed two point-blank putbacks at the end of regulation. paige took over in the extra stanza, which ended with her final three-pointer that bounced off the iron, rebounded directly up several feet, then fell delightfully through the net (swish). legendary! everybody remembers it. but rewatching the whole game was eye-opening. a struggle for both teams -- nothing was very good except the excitement; i suppose the defense ruled. what struck me was who made large impacts. no surpise that paige was dominant (solid but not spectatular until crunch time). however, i didn't recall that aubrey, nika and liya were on the floor for much of the game. nika played the point, with liya complementing liv and sometimes going solo inside. both were amazing as freshmen. AND, i didn't remember aubrey (then a soph) having such a significant impact, especially on the boards and with her defense. she, paige and nika caused real disruptions in the enemies' offensive plans. all four played more effectively than christyn and evina, the upperclassmen, who were absent for the bulks of the game. liv, OTOH, gave good minutes. christyn was particularly weak. (yeah, i know, i know, she allegedly was the crackerjack defender; i didn't glimpse it in this game ... and her offense sucked). liya wasn't today's liya (AA caliber) but she was solid. nika was, surprisingly, much like her present self -- no fouling issues and she managed the point very well. she was not as aggressive on defense as today, but was still effective. OTOH, she tried to score more than she does now, with some success, notably by driving to the hoop -- fearless, or stupid, facing the imposing foe. as a freshman, she displayed similar energy and enthusiam as she still does -- it just wasn't noticed at the time, at least by me. i think her reputation was devalued in comparison to that other freshman guard. in the end, paige's magic [I]was[/I] noticed. seeing it again makes her absence more heartbreaking. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach