Some great things happened in USF game...

[mbr33ct]

This game was "USF's Super Bowl"... I'm sure Jose used a motivational speech that went something like this...

"Until the Baylor Game, UCONN had not lost in the regular season since 2014... and they have never lost in AAC play, but Baylor and some of their other games show they are 'vulnerable' this year... so Why Not Us, Why can't we, USF, be the first in the AAC to take them down! They know we are missing some players, let's use their over confidence to our advantage! The players we have going out there today are fully capable of taking them down... Why Not US!?!?!"

On the other hand, UCONN came out flat as a pancake. Minimal emotion, minimal effort. They got smacked in the teeth by a team that in the first 4+ minutes wanted it more. OK...good on ya, USF. Geno made the move... and that got things "refocused".

SO, let's chalk this up for what it was... a "flat start" that ended up as a WIN... and a game for our players to learn from. The time of possession means nothing if the opponent is playing the slow down method but can't score more points than UCONN, domination on the glass was a concern that was reduced a bit after the "refocus"... and the game was 'closer' than it should have been.... BUT, bottom line... A win is a WIN! And let's give the players who did great things props for what they did... i.e., the "Subject" of the post... "Some great things happened....

I have every confidence in the world that Geno will use this game as a motivator in practice and pre-game speeches as we move forward. The Seniors will use the "flat start" as a motivation for themselves and the Team moving forward. And the Season will go on... Our Huskies are still a #1 seed in Charlie Creme's latest bracketology, they will still be in the top 3 (or 2) in the Rankings and will remain the favorite to win the AAC Regular and Post-Season Tournaments. There is still a lot of season to go. Championships are NOT won in January!

Go Huskies

Aren't every team UConn plays "their Super Bowl"?

 

[CL82]

I sure hope we all agree that "the ship was righted" by Geno's action to hockey line change the players on the court.

Mmm, not for me. I think we took an incremental step forward. The ship is heeling less, but isn't "righted."

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Mmm, not for me. I think we took an incremental step forward. The ship is heeling less, but isn't "righted."

In the game....

 

[Longtime fan]

View attachment 38244

I think we can all agree the USF game was the definition of an "ugly win." But you don't have to look far for the silver lining.

1. Molly's coming out party - Molly played a career high 20+ minutes and stuffed the stat sheet. Two 3 point shots, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 6 points. She looked extremely comfortable playing with the starters.

2. Bench matched USF - Geno put the whole bench in for his starters halfway thru the 1st period and they matched USF in points 8 to 8. USF isn't Notre Dame, but they have a decent squad.

3. Lou scored her 2,000th point. - Katie Lou scored 19 points to join the exclusive 2,000 point club at UConn. She sits at 2,006 points and is one of 10 players in that club.

4. Bench contribution - For all the fans who argue Geno doesn't play the subs enough, they played 53 minutes, scored 16 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, handed out 8 assists and nabbed 3 steals.

5. Defense - After returning to the game in the 2nd period, the starters' defense held USF to 16 points in the 20 minutes of the 2nd and 3rd periods. The defense also forced 23 turnovers and held USF to 34% shooting.


Congrats to Katie Lou..!!
Go Huskies..!!

Not sure I can agree with your assessment of USF in point 2. USF doesn't really have a decent squad right now. They have lost to injury their top three players. So imagine UCONN without Katy, Pheesa and Dangerfield. We would still be better than USF is right now, but you get my point. Matching USF for a period of time is, in my view, not a high bar of accomplishment. But the "full five" substitution did force some bench players to " do something" other than pass the ball successfully to a starter. That they score 8 points is likely a season record for the bench. I would love to see more of this, as a development tactic, at a point in the game where the outcome remains in the balance. But it won't happen.

 

[JordyG]

I thought it was awesome how into the game the crowd was, like old times

Nail on the head. The crowd was energized no matter the score. Great to hear and see. Hopefully Molly and the rest of Team 2 can put together back to back good games,

 

[JordyG]

Man, I still can't post gif's.

 

[HuskyNan]

I was speaking of the entire defensive effort but if you think about it UConn's bench players included the ESPN #5 number #13 and number #55 rated players in the country who've been coached by the best WBB coach in history versus mostly a bunch of unranked USF freshmen ......why would I not expect them to perform well defensively?

The #5 is a freshman, the #13 is a little used reserve sophomore, the #55 is gimpy, and the other two were seldom used role players

I don’t know why I bother. Perception is reality

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Lou in post-game said Molly was one of the best shooters on the team. This is how she came out of HS; a shooter with a pretty complete array of shots. Let's hope for more. Her reticence to shoot has always been puzzling to me.

Geno on Molly Sunday:

“The object was to speed up the game, so we wanted to get the game going fast," Auriemma said. "And I don’t know what Molly puts in her cereal every morning, but she’s always revved up a lot. So I figured we’d put her in there, let her run around and stir things up a little bit. And she kind of did. She was in there scrapping for a loose ball and getting a rebound, and she knocked in a couple of shots. That was probably the best part of the game -- that Molly actually had a chance to experience some success. She works so hard at it, so I was thrilled for her.”

Molly Bent was the ‘best part’ of the UConn women’s basketball USF win and other takeaways - Hartford Courant

 

[Charliebball]

The #5 is a freshman, the #13 is a little used reserve sophomore, the #55 is gimpy, and the other two were seldom used role players

I don’t know why I bother. Perception is reality

UConn's two other players were juniors who've had 2 1/2 years studying defense from the master plus they were playing against four inexperienced freshmen...................in a way you're doing a disservice to the UConn players who I'm pretty sure would tell you stopping that particular opponent was no big deal............

 

[Huskee11]

The bench players as a group are pretty decent passers. Batouly and Kyla made nice bounce passes to players cutting to the hoop, leading to easy baskets.

Lou is cutting much better this season following ankle surgery. Yet she is not getting the ball nearly enough when she breaks open or posts up in the halfcourt offense. Not usually a bad pass, but hesitancy and no pass. She would never admit it or let on, but I suspect it is frustrating (it is to me). However, Kyla hit her with a beautiful bounce pass along the baseline, resulting in a layup.

 

[MilfordHusky]

The career scoring list is interesting. The cluster of 6 players between 2,133 and 2,178 is strange.

As noted, Kaleena missed about 12 games. She should have finished just about even with Tina. Nykesha also missed a bunch of games at the very and of her career.

I've asked before: Do we know the NCAA career record for scoring for classmates? Lou and Pheesa could approach 5,000 combined points.

Even though she was shut out on Sunday, I expect Christyn to pass the 2,000-point mark.

 

[veryolddog]

This is a very interesting topic. What we saw was a an action taken and a response that was better than what was expected. I guess, that I would ask why was the starting team flat? But, for this board and myself that is pure speculation.

It was interesting listening to Geno for a few minutes while he chatted with the ESPN announcers after the game. He said coaching today is more "suggestive" than "ordering" performance in a certain manner because of the type of individual that he is coaching.

What he apparently saw was a "team" that did not play with the enthusiasm and passion that he expects both in practice and on the floor. And, if you do not do what he "suggests" then you can sit down. There are many ways that you can send a message of suggestion. We saw one.

 

[meyers7]

I've asked before: Do we know the NCAA career record for scoring for classmates? Lou and Pheesa could approach 5,000 combined points.

I don't know either. However, they will not be the highest scoring classmates for UCONN anyway.

Bird - 1378
Cash - 1583
Jones - 1502
Williams - 1402

5865

Stewart/Jefferson/Tuck - 5506

Even though she was shut out on Sunday, I expect Christyn to pass the 2,000-point mark.

She might do it next year, with the scoring we'll be needing.

 

[HuskyNan]

This is a very interesting topic. What we saw was a an action taken and a response that was better than what was expected. I guess, that I would ask why was the starting team flat? But, for this board and myself that is pure speculation.

It was interesting listening to Geno for a few minutes while he chatted with the ESPN announcers after the game. He said coaching today is more "suggestive" than "ordering" performance in a certain manner because of the type of individual that he is coaching.

What he apparently saw was a "team" that did not play with the enthusiasm and passion that he expects both in practice and on the floor. And, if you do not do what he "suggests" then you can sit down. There are many ways that you can send a message of suggestion. We saw one.

Geno said the team is immature, that it assumed USF was too depleted to put up a fight. That’s why there was a lack of effort

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Geno said the team is immature, that it assumed USF was too depleted to put up a fight. That’s why there was a lack of effort

It's hard to wrap my head around that - I believe it. But, we have two senior AA's and one of them is the hands down leader of the team. Being a leader means being a leader in the locker room too, so this should have been covered by both Geno and the team's leaders going in.

 

[veryolddog]

I agree with Rocky. It is something else. Often, information is shared in order to direct you away from the real reasons. Some type of let down occurred. Whatever it is, only Chris Daly and Geno know. No disrespect to the opposing points of thought intended or spoken to on this board.

 

[Carnac]

Aren't every team UConn plays "their Super Bowl"?

Yes!!! I’ve suggested many times that UConn is the biggest and most noteworthy game on Notre Dame’s schedule. If this is the case for a program that is a perennial top 3 every year, it is certainly the case for other teams. UConn is THE game the domers circle on their calendar every year, and vice versa.

Teams that host a UConn game usually enjoy their largest crowd of the season. Look at the local buzz and media attention (hype) the Cal-Berkeley program received recently pending UConn’s arrival back in December.

It was reported that UConn drew the largest crowd for a women’s game ever at Cal. Geno refers to UConn coming to your city as “the circus coming to town.” Who doesn’t like a circus? So, does that mean that Geno is a ring master?

 

[mbr33ct]

Yes!!! I’ve suggested many times that UConn is the biggest and most noteworthy game on Notre Dame’s schedule. If this is the case for a program that is a perennial top 3 every year, it is certainly the case for other teams. UConn is THE game the domers circle on their calendar every year, and vice versa.

Teams that host a UConn game usually enjoy their largest crowd of the season. Look at the local buzz and media attention (hype) the Cal-Berkeley program received recently pending UConn’s arrival back in December.

It was reported that UConn drew the largest crowd for a women’s game ever at Cal. Geno refers to UConn coming to your city as “the circus coming to town.” Who doesn’t like a circus? So, does that mean that Geno is a ring master?

Which reminds me of this...and this was at 10.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Which reminds me of this...and this was at 10.

Funny, well done, self-mocking ... great. 'Course there are 2 sides to that coin - the impossible expectations, the weight of it.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I don't know either. However, they will not be the highest scoring classmates for UCONN anyway.

Bird - 1378
Cash - 1583
Jones - 1502
Williams - 1402

5865

Stewart/Jefferson/Tuck - 5506


She might do it next year, with the scoring we'll be needing.

Let me restate the question: What DUO of players in the same class holds the UConn and NCAA career scoring record?

 

[meyers7]

Let me restate the question: What DUO of players in the same class holds the UConn and NCAA career scoring record?

As it stands now
Stewart/Jefferson - 4208
KLS/Collier - 3880
Hartley/Dolson - 3791
Moore/Dixon - 3391
Strother/Turner - 3328
Bird/Cash - 2961
Rizzotti/Elliott - 2927
Charles/McLaren - 2912
Sales/Williams - 2877
KML/Stokes - 2780

 

[ed4ourgirls]

As it stands now
Stewart/Jefferson - 4208
KLS/Collier - 3880
Hartley/Dolson - 3791
Moore/Dixon - 3391
Strother/Turner - 3328
Bird/Cash - 2961
Rizzotti/Elliott - 2927
Charles/McLaren - 2912
Sales/Williams - 2877
KML/Stokes - 2780

Unless my arithmetic is faulty, I have Taurasi/Conlon - 2870.

And instead of Bird/Cash you could have Cash/Jones - 3085.

Also Wolters/Berube - 3522

 

[Striper69]

I'm just glad the bench players got a chance to get more comfortable with playing time.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Three games for top seeds to win the AAC tourney.

This list would be even more interesting had KML and KLS not both missed a slew of games throughout their career.

or if they had started as freshmen... along with more competitive games where they would have played more minutes

 

[DaddyChoc]

As it stands now
Stewart/Jefferson - 4208
KLS/Collier - 3880
Hartley/Dolson - 3791
Moore/Dixon - 3391
Strother/Turner - 3328
Bird/Cash - 2961
Rizzotti/Elliott - 2927
Charles/McLaren - 2912
Sales/Williams - 2877
KML/Stokes - 2780

Stokes and Dixon didn't make it easy for KML and Maya