South Dakota State Postgame Thread

[Geew1992]

I am concerned also. I can't see Caroline in Genos doghouse, at least not enough to not play her. Hopefully, she was just under the weather, I just pray it isn't her head. Surprised nobody asked Geno about it at the post-game presser.

Or maybe because she played so many minutes on Saturday and it's only 1 days rest.

 

[Conndog]

I want KK, all summer, to do nothing, but work on her offense. For as great and electric as she is defensively, she is equally maddening on offense. She misses wayyyyyy too many layups and even her makes are an adventure. I've never seen a player shoot a layup that touches every part of the rim before it goes in.

Offensively, I feel she needs to work on her jump shot, especially the short pull-up jump shot. She can see how successful Paige, Azzi, Shade are either making that shot.

 

[ABCDFE]

This team is really looking like the UConn teams of old. Suffocating defense and beautiful basketball. The only true weakness is a rim protector and big in the post, although Sarah is mitigating some of those concerns.

LOVING KK and Ash and how they seem locked in. You can tell they are bit worried about getting tired and fouls this year because of our depth and it just shows in their relentless defense.

Paige is awesome. Nothing else I can say.
Azzi playing with confidence and shot looks great.

Sarah looks like a veteran out there and she’s a bucket at all levels. Amazing that she’s just a freshman. Ice looked good out. Jana struggled quite a bit. She needs to get stronger and learn to seal her defenders better. I think she sags to much when entry pass comes to her. She should establish position get the ball and then use her post moves. Too many times she moving away from the ball and that allows defenders to get to it.

Aubrey is looking ok out there. In certain moments she will make a great play like her rebounding and she has hops, making those layups look so effortless.

Just really liking the way our team looks. I’m happy they will be challenged by another good team in Oklahoma.

 

[Rowdy831]

At the end of the game, we tried to force it to Jana on like 5 possessions in a row. And I don’t understand it. It’s either a turnover or a wild shot every time we telegraph that we are going to Jana. Not sure what the rationale was.

Like it or not Jana needs to get better and the only way that happens is getting the ball and learning what to do with it. That is one reason you see her in the bginning and she disappears for most of the middle of the game before coming in at the end. She gets the ball way more at the end of every game and that is purposely done to prepare her for later when they don't have Paige or Azzi out there to carry them.

 

[Rowdy831]

In a game you need to have a rotation that does two things. First all players need to rest a little during games but more importantly when that happens the people coming in need to add something to the mix. KK is a very difficult player to deal with when she is playing defense but her offense is also very underrated. She can push the ball at will and when she goes to the basket she finishes. I think people confuse not doing something with not being capable of doing it.

KC got beat to the basket every time SDSU wanted to drive. She plays hard but her quickness is just a sliver less than KK so that substitution actually makes the team different and in some ways better. I also noticed last night that Ice has hit another level much like she did in last years tournament. UConn has the best roster top to bottom and even when they take out a superstar like Azzi there isn't much decline in what they can do on the floor.

 

[RedStickHusky]

It seems like so many games involving the top seeds in this tournament are close for the first half. Then, the cream rises to the top & the games become blowouts. The lower seeded teams just can't sustain an offensive attack to match the high scoring top ranked teams.

Depth eventually shows up

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I’d be willing to bet my social security check that Caroline is not in Geno’s dog house.

Some chance the bedlam in Gampel had her head spinning.

 

[HuskyNan]

Zimmer: UConn too strong for the Jacks, but South Dakota State will keep chasing next-level success

After a slow start the Huskies ran circles around SDSU, but that doesn't wipe out the accomplishments of a special season

www.siouxfallslive.com

 

[Henry]

I doubt Caroline is in anyone's doghouse. She may still have good days and not-so-good days. Yesterday may not have been a good day for her.

 

[hookshot]

In a game you need to have a rotation that does two things. First all players need to rest a little during games but more importantly when that happens the people coming in need to add something to the mix. KK is a very difficult player to deal with when she is playing defense but her offense is also very underrated. She can push the ball at will and when she goes to the basket she finishes. I think people confuse not doing something with not being capable of doing it.

KC got beat to the basket every time SDSU wanted to drive. She plays hard but her quickness is just a sliver less than KK so that substitution actually makes the team different and in some ways better. I also noticed last night that Ice has hit another level much like she did in last years tournament. UConn has the best roster top to bottom and even when they take out a superstar like Azzi there isn't much decline in what they can do on the floor.

ND arguably has a equivalent roster top to bottom with far more experienced and accomplished bigs

 

[Bone Dog]

Don’t want to rain on any parade, but SDSU managed to expose a weakness in the small lineup. Paige was forced to defend against bigger post players once Jana left the game, and they were able to take advantage of it. Geno responded initially by putting Ice in the game, which is not entirely satisfactory. SDSU did this with only a pair of 6’2” players. Rebecca even commented on it at the time.

Adjustments were made and the small lineup was able to run away with the game. But this is worth keeping an eye on. I’m sure Geno is thinking hard about how to manage OU’s big guards/small forwards with this in mind. Payton Verhulst in particular comes to mind. The easy solution to this problem is Aubrey who is an obvious asset for any small lineup. Caroline could also seal this gap, if she’s feeling up to it. I wonder if this means we could see a lot more of Aubrey and maybe Caroline next week.

 

[Stagnant]

Maybe I said it in another thread. But strong is verhulst’s worst nightmare. I am a big fan of verhulst since she was a high school prospect. One weakness of hers? Turnovers. Strong would be capable of poking the ball away from her quite a bit. Maybe Geno will choose to put Sarah on Van, Williams, or even Beers. But I think Verhulst is the player UConn should key in on.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Is this already up here? If so, sue me!

 

[Geew1992]

Don’t want to rain on any parade, but SDSU managed to expose a weakness in the small lineup. Paige was forced to defend against bigger post players once Jana left the game, and they were able to take advantage of it. Geno responded initially by putting Ice in the game, which is not entirely satisfactory. SDSU did this with only a pair of 6’2” players. Rebecca even commented on it at the time.

Adjustments were made and the small lineup was able to run away with the game. But this is worth keeping an eye on. I’m sure Geno is thinking hard about how to manage OU’s big guards/small forwards with this in mind. Payton Verhulst in particular comes to mind. The easy solution to this problem is Aubrey who is an obvious asset for any small lineup. Caroline could also seal this gap, if she’s feeling up to it. I wonder if this means we could see a lot more of Aubrey and maybe Caroline next week.

Hmmm..... I thought Ice played really well.

 

[DEpup]

This was something subtle but I think it just shows good coaching and good pupils. Yes KK completely changed the game but something else happened in the early part of the game. Paige Meyer got several right side drives to the basket. And then along with KK coming in, the court positioning also changed. All of the sudden a player was in that lane half way up the box forcing her further out and someone was in front of the basket blocking her from going left. I don't think she got another drive the rest of the game. She was forced to then a lower percentage pull up, take a three, or pass it which often led to a turn over. I just liked the adjustment.

 

[Bone Dog]

Hmmm..... I thought Ice played really well.

I thought she did, too. But if you play her next to Sarah, then the small lineup is gone. Geno has experimented with playing her in Sarah's place, but then the offense becomes quite limited as we've seen quite often. There's just a lot of things Sarah does that Ice can't.

 

[ctfjr]

Great game to be at - even if our tix were right behind the Jacks' families I think the real turning point was the pressure defense by UConn. I haven't seen the box score but I'm sure they turned the rabbits over more than 20 times.
Was a little disappointed in Azzi's slow start. Paige was Paige. I feel good about the tournament!

 

[Stagnant]

Hmmm..... I thought Ice played really well.

I remember a play where ice stopped Meyer and then turned back to her regular assignment; and Meyer went unopposed for a layup. I still think ice is prone to lapses in concentration like that.

But ice can absolutely come in and hit a jump shot.

 

[my2cents]

ND arguably has a equivalent roster top to bottom with far more experienced and accomplished bigs

ND's roster is good but not even close to ours based on experience and talent.

 

[ME Husky Fan]

-Paige emptied her bag a tricks for her final home game. One career loss at Gambel is amazing.

—Geno was concerned about SDS before the game. What a well coached, fun team to watch.

-Sarah did a great job guarding Brooklyn Meyer.

—They got away with a slow shooting start (thanks to Paige and KK) tonight but slow starts could be a concern later on. Their defense is allowing them to work through slow starts.

—Paige makes 8 in a row but gives a chance for nine in a row to feed Ash who hits a three. UConn’s unselfishness is instinctive. They just naturally, no matter how hot someone is, gives up a good shot for a great shot. Azzi did it twice on the first half on Saturday.

-When I see Ice shoot that 17 footer, I just wonder if next year, with more front court depth, that Geno gives her more opportunities to play out on the perimeter. It is a nice looking stroke.

-Jana has not had a good tourney so far. I understand why but it is still hard to watch.

-Caroline must have had a setback today. I feel bad for her.

-31 straight sweet sixteens in a row. Yikes.

—Looking forward to watching this team play a good Oklahoma team.

Was also hopeful Ice’s jump shot was an indication for more positive contributions, then she went into one of her funks with chippy fouls, seemingly in the wrong place at the wrong time, lazy passes. We’ll need her in the next round (or more?) to give us a more consistent contribution.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

BTW seems Paige's performance had Charlie The Great making an adjustment. UConn is now his Number One:

Women's Sweet 16 rankings: UConn is No. 1, USC holds tight at No. 4 as Trojans await word on Watkins

The Sweet 16 is set, and there's a new No. 1. But all eyes are on USC and injured JuJu Watkins.

www.espn.com

"The Huskies' margins of victory in their two games have totaled 103 points, the eighth time a team has gone over a 100-point cumulative margin -- and a big reason they have moved to the top of the Sweet 16 rankings."

 

[ME Husky Fan]

I was really, really surprised that neither Beth Mowins or Rebecca mentioned during the game that this could possibly be Azzi's last game at Gampel.
Another good game that was really close and then suddenly we were up by 20, then 30 and then 40...impressive!!!

Nor any mention of the low TO numbers for UCONN…

 

[ME Husky Fan]

It’s great to try to get Jana a basket, but she was well-defended. It doesn’t help Jana or the team to have 3-5 turnovers forcing the ball in to a player who’s not open.

I was miffed as to why down the stretch they tried to get her the ball but thought maybe Geno was trying to boost her confidence some but it’s March, not November.

 

[JoePgh]

Unfortunately, that’s my take as well. As a senior, Geno would have undoubtedly found some minutes for Caroline, unless there was a health issue.

Since Caroline has already announced her intention to return to Storrs next season, there was no urgent need to give her an applause opportunity during the game. Taking care of Paige and making sure that Aubrey had minutes (to get her primed for the next few games and to showcase her for WNBA scouts) were higher priorities.

It's also possible that Caroline was "under the weather" for some reason, but more likely it's just that she was at the bottom of the priority list last night.

 

[donalddoowop]

This team is really looking like the UConn teams of old. Suffocating defense and beautiful basketball. The only true weakness is a rim protector and big in the post, although Sarah is mitigating some of those concerns.

LOVING KK and Ash and how they seem locked in. You can tell they are bit worried about getting tired and fouls this year because of our depth and it just shows in their relentless defense.

Paige is awesome. Nothing else I can say.
Azzi playing with confidence and shot looks great.

Sarah looks like a veteran out there and she’s a bucket at all levels. Amazing that she’s just a freshman. Ice looked good out. Jana struggled quite a bit. She needs to get stronger and learn to seal her defenders better. I think she sags to much when entry pass comes to her. She should establish position get the ball and then use her post moves. Too many times she moving away from the ball and that allows defenders to get to it.

Aubrey is looking ok out there. In certain moments she will make a great play like her rebounding and she has hops, making those layups look so effortless.

Just really liking the way our team looks. I’m happy they will be challenged by another good team in Oklahoma.

How many times did Jana get a high pass into the post? Those bounce passes are hard for any tall player to grasp when shorter players can get their hands on them. Get the ball high to a 6'5" player. She missed a close in shot but that happens to all players. If Jana averaged at least seven shots a game, I believe she would make at least three of them. She gets too much blame for mistakes her teammates make. imo