SC Postgame Thread

[Urshurak]

Hopefully Dee Kanter gets fired. She failed in ensuring a SC win. She wins the ref badass award though. She fought hard.

 

[donalddoowop]

UCONN would be in a world of hurt without Bueckers. Some of her shots tonight were huge...but that last THREE-pointer. They'll be replaying that shot over and over the rest of her career at UCONN.

And where would SC be without Boston?

 

[LCConnFan]

Bob Seger couldn't have said it better: "Here I am, on the road again. There I am, up on the stage. Here I go, playin' the star again. There I go, turn the page Paige".

 

[oldude]

I thought Boston was getting annoyed with the way Edwards defended her. Boston is a beast but Edwards did not back down.

It was the battle of the BRAIDS.

 

[LCConnFan]

ESPN gushing over Paige during the men's game at halftime. Evidently ESPN named her the "Jeep Confidant Player of the Game." Does that mean she gets a new Jeep?

I literally 'Smell' NIKE in her future!

 

[npignatjr]

Nika is the main one setting moving picks. She did so many other things well, not a big deal in the total game effort.

At least one of ONO and AE fouls were bad calls moving picks. Nika wound up with 4 fouls 1 moving pick.

 

[King Kong]

I know it would be considered crazy by most, but I would not rule out starting both AE and AG, instead of EW and CW.

Agree very much, as long as Nika starts. I like Christyn to come in on slashing, penetrating drives, but not to start, & no 3s please. I like the effort of ONO very much, but she needs a physical presence like Aaliyah in tandem with her. Give the energizer bunnies Aubrey & Mir as much time as possible.

 

[Happydad745]

Neither team had a starting Senior.....

 

[ClifSpliffy]

(rumbles around in closet, push some junk around, ...hmmm, not there, ...mebbe over there?..nope,
empties box, no, behind the life size cardboard geno? yes! here it is!)

 

[oldude]

She is like a K Street lobbyist out there. She was working them over good.

I really did like Dawn's tribute to John Chaney, wearing the vest and loose black tie. It was a nice touch showing respect to her former mentor at Temple.

 

[npignatjr]

Glad we won. Wasn't it curious how one of Boston's fouls disappeared.

She fouled out a few times.

 

[fomalhaut]

So stat gurus, when was the last time UConn won an OT game? I can't remember, its been that long.

That game broke a 7-game OT losing streak which has lasted over 16 years. Connecticut last won in overtime 12/1/04 against South Florida, 76-65. Since then 7 losses, one in triple overtime to ND (one of four against them; the others were Duke, Stanford, and Mississippi State). Four of the seven were in the NCAA tournament, including 3 Final Fours.

It also runs Connecticut's record to 8-1 as a #2 playing #1 (lone loss to Baylor in 2011).

 

[Bigboote]

Exactly. Literally no one else on our team was in double figures!!! Don't think we've had a game this year where only one player was in double figures.

Paige literally put the team on her back and willed them to victory. What an incredible effort by her and our Freshmen.

I noticed that, too. I can't remember another UConn win with only one player in double figures scoring.

 

[Centerstream]

Thank you. I could not believe the nervous shots being taken by ONO and CW also. I thought we were past that as an offense. It was clearly the SC game plan. Pack the middle and make everyone shoot from the outside besides Paige. Our juniors were very disappointing. Bad shot selection, missed key free throws, defensive lapses. Our underclassmen were another story. Aubrey played solidly, so did AE and Nika. They were engaged and fearless. Paige's performance was iconic.

It's a two edged sword re: Liv. In recent games, she has been setting up around the elbow, maybe a couple of feet deeper and taking shots. Tonight she did the same, so I am curious about if that was the plan- to get Boston out of the middle of the lane. Of course for it to work, Liv needed to make about 3 in a row.

Or maybe I just think that I can think like Geno, et al.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Just popped in. I will never catch up to the thread. If this is a duplicate, sue me. It deserves a second look.

 

[oldude]

That game broke a 7-game OT losing streak which has lasted over 16 years. Connecticut last won in overtime 12/1/04 against South Florida, 76-65. Since then 7 losses, one in triple overtime to ND (one of four against them; the others were Duke, Stanford, and Mississippi State). Four of the seven were in the NCAA tournament, including 3 Final Fours.

It also runs Connecticut's record to 8-1 as a #2 playing #1 (lone loss to Baylor in 2011).

I am impressed. You are the STATMASTER!

 

[Bills Fan]

Christyn didn't give us scoring but her defense was fantastic.

When does she stop being called for walking a couple times every game?

 

[VivaLsVgs]

I’m not sure why so many people are happy here. Yes Paige is the best ever as a freshman we’ve ever had.... easy to see. But we are in serious trouble if the upper class players don’t take a long look in the mirror. I’m embarrassed as a UConn fan for the way they played tonight. It takes away from the excitement of the future titles that Paige and her crew will bring us. The freshman, those are UConn championship players like we’ve had in the past. The three ALL THREE I don’t expect them to be starts at this point, but dont be scared and at least contribute. We are not significantly, but I think at least 10-15 points better than SC. The juniors need to at least do something positive because Paige is gonna need help to keep this thing going. At least DT3 had role players that did their part. These women aren’t as far as I’m concerned and it’s kinda upsetting to me. I believe these three juniors have what it takes. I’m not just saying that, I really think that. Maybe Westbrook was off because she usually does a little of everything, so I give her a pass, but the other two need to figure out what they can do besides shoot from the outside because they both aren’t the best shooters. Liv needs to focus on being a defensive force and just rebound like crazy and maybe get some easy putbacks. Williams needs to drive more and just maybe focus on defens. I’m not sure but don’t be a liability, she is too talented for that. I only watched her a couple of times and she was lost or out of sorts out there. Unacceptable at this point in her career. I love and want them both to succeed more than anything, but man it’s frustrating. We won’t win a title like this.

What a pathetic post. Our team won a tight game against a highly ranked opponent and fans aren’t allowed to be happy? Paige’s shot was one for the ages and all you can do is take the time to write about all their perceived deficiencies. I’m at a loss for words. SMH

 

[bballnut90]

most of the big games her junior and senior year. Have people really forgotten how bad that team was when she left?

Can you name one specific game that comes close to what Paige did tonight?

-Paige scored half of the team's points on 54% shooting. The rest of the team shot a combined 31.9%.

-Paige scored the team's final 13 points, including two jumpers to send it to OT and all 9 points in OT. 5-5 shooting and 2-2 from the FT line.

-She did this against the #1 team in the country.

 

[jaundicedeye]

I’m not sure why so many people are happy here. Yes Paige is the best ever as a freshman we’ve ever had.... easy to see. But we are in serious trouble if the upper class players don’t take a long look in the mirror. I’m embarrassed as a UConn fan for the way they played tonight. It takes away from the excitement of the future titles that Paige and her crew will bring us.

If you are not sure why so many people are happy tonight and the play of CW and ONO causes you embarrassment then you must not be a fan. You may try finding yourself a hobby you can be proud of.

 

[npignatjr]

It’s not much of a consolation prize, but I do hope this puts the conversation of ONO v. Boston to rest. It was almost immediately clear who was getting the better of that battle. Boston was the second-best player on the floor...unfortunately, there was a hell of a lot of ground between her and the best.

She got away with a lot of fouls, did she have any assists? 1

 

[jaundicedeye]

What a pathetic post. Our team won a tight game against a highly ranked opponent and fans aren’t allowed to be happy? Paige’s shot was one for the ages and all you can do is take the time to right about all their perceived deficiencies. I’m at a loss for words.

I am right there with you. SMH at that post.

 

[uconnever]

i guess EW are hurting, when she defense looked not smooth and really slow

I don’t think she was hurting, she was not productive is my guess. She was out of sorts today, it was easy to see. No contribution so he sat her. She always contributes some way but not today.

 

[Centerstream]

That game broke a 7-game OT losing streak which has lasted over 16 years. Connecticut last won in overtime 12/1/04 against South Florida, 76-65. Since then 7 losses, one in triple overtime to ND (one of four against them; the others were Duke, Stanford, and Mississippi State). Four of the seven were in the NCAA tournament, including 3 Final Fours.

It also runs Connecticut's record to 8-1 as a #2 playing #1 (lone loss to Baylor in 2011).

I wonder what team has the record for defeating the #1 team, all time.

 

[Viet Vet]

Paige Bueckers...............and....................Don Nelson.

 

[oldude]

When does she stop being called for walking a couple times every game?

Hey, I'm enjoying a great win. Don't be a Debby Downer.

 

[Bigpetunia]

Excellent defensive game plan by Dawn. SC shut down UConn’s game down low, and cut off the slash and drive game, usually Christyn’s bread and butter. As a result, she dared Liv and Aaliyah to hit from the outside, which neither could do. Folks are upset that Liv kept shooting from out there, but she was the only one being given open shots and she has to fire ‘em to keep the defense honest. Just gotta learn to make ‘em with some reasonable percentage!

 

[jaundicedeye]

I don’t think she was hurting, she was not productive is my guess. She was out of sorts today, it was easy to see. No contribution so he sat her. She always contributes some way but not today.

Too bad. I was sort of counting on her to provide firepower from the outside. I do hope that there is nothing wrong with her.

 

[Plebe]

Not sure what to make of this meme, which is rare.

 

[Aluminny69]

The problem is that these picks have been allowed for every game until tonight. So, will they be OK again going forward? Did Dawn Staley get in Dee Kantners' ear to call fouls on those picks?

I fully agree, but they can still go to the game film, and learn how to set a stationary pick. Remove all doubt from the Refs. I think Geno and CD and staff have done an excellent job teaching the players how to cut down on fouls, and still play excellent defense. This was just a learning experience.