Speechless

[Tonyc]

The nite started out great. Met Achowca parents and introduced them to Breannas Stewarts parents. Very nice people. As for the game. Not much we can say, except why?

I think we need not put blame on anyone. The UConn Nation is Hurting. The Team is hurting. The coaches are hurting. We fans are hurting. The last thing they need is for their fans to add to their misery. For some reason we dont look like UConn againest ND and McBride plays like the best player in the country againest us. The reason for that imo no point guard. A point guard would bring, confidence, poise and leadership. Bria is playing out of position and MoJeff isnt ready yet. Still we had our chance to win and threw it away. ND is not beating UConn UConn is beating UConn. IMO we are a better team.

The team fought hard, true grit, never gave up. Once again the the last seconds proved to be fatal. This is the kind of hard fought game that will pay dividends in the NCAA because it made us tuffer and stronger. Once again we lost to ND and shouldve won. We have a great team of players. For some reason even on fast breaks 2 on 1 we make mistakes. Why my opinon we are rushing and moving to fast. We do this out of fear of making mistakes. The reason for this is IMO we are playing tentitive. We're not confident. A point guard handles that.

Yes ND had a good defensive plan and we had a size advantage and couldnt cash in. KLM was held, pushed and couldnt get open for a trey. Many times 2 defenders on her bottleing her up. We need to work on our ball handleing and become better ballhandlers.

When its said and done once again we had our chances. Once again we looked like a different team againest ND. Disappointment and Unexplainable. WHY because imo we have better players, and a better team and that is what is so frustrating.

 

[Aluminny69]

After losing all three games this year, and seven out of the last eight, only a die hard fan would still think that UConn is "better" team than ND. I guess it depends on your definition of the word "better."

At the very least, you must admit that Diggins is a much better point guard than any guard on UConn. And that McBride is virtually unstoppable. So, there's your difference between the two teams. I will grant you that it is a very slim difference. Have we ever seen two more closely matched WCBB teams? What's the cliche, Familiarity breeds contempt.

 

[Icebear]

In no way do I think we are a better team than ND but we certainly have the ability to beat them on any given night with the way the 3 games have played out this year.

 

[OneTrickPony]

I think these teams are very evenly matched...but not evenly at every position as has been noted...the winner seems to come down to hustle...I think we were out-hustled early in last night's game. When we meet again, the team that hustles the most will probably win unless somebody gets very hot...and I think Kayla was in that zone last night and we still almost had them...the Strategy of Hustle...always a UCONN hallmark, and one that Muffet has her teams emulating to perfection at the the moment...let's just out-UCONN them in the Final Four...

 

[Bestiarius]

Somewhere out there is a great high school point guard that is saying to herself, "I can get this team to an NC or two".

 

[vtcwbuff]

When you play an opponent 3 times and can't win it kinda' proves the other team is better at one thing - winning.

 

[Icebear]

When you play an opponent 3 times and can't win it kinda' proves the other team is better at one thing - winning.

Not necessarily true. It means they have a history of winning but when teams are this close the next 5 can easily go to UConn.

 

[cferraro04]

McBride plays like the best player in America when she plays against UConn. She is to UConn what Diana was to Tennessee. She probably gets the urge to punch something blue. That being said I think that McBride should have been the tournament MOP (most outstanding player). Sure Diggins is a senior but what's right is right.

 

[Fightin Choke]

McBride plays like the best player in America when she plays against UConn. She is to UConn what Diana was to Tennessee. She probably gets the urge to punch something blue. That being said I think that McBride should have been the tournament MOP (most outstanding player). Sure Diggins is a senior but what's right is right.

Kayla McBride DID win the MOP. LINK I think your confusion stems from the fact that the interviewer for ESPN told Diggins she was MOP, but the interviewer was incorrect.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Kayla McBride DID win the MOP. LINK I think your confusion stems from the fact that the interviewer for ESPN told Diggins she was MOP, but the interviewer was incorrect.

Glad to hear that...she earned it!

 

[sparky]

Dreamers wake up and smell the roses. They are better than us. Skylar makes superior decisions with the ball, and we don't. Our guards run fast and play slow. I was so disappointed in the last play. Why with 18 seconds left do we go for the home run on an out of bounds play? worst case scenerio is we go to OT.If I was ND I would have fouled and make us beat them at the line. So many different things could have determined the outcome. Stewie played a heck of a game. KML was stopped all night, and Jefferson is a deer in headlights out there. We can still be a final four team, but that is a stretch with our present frame of mind. By the way, McBride is a hell of a player against us and several others.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Not necessarily true. It means they have a history of winning but when teams are this close the next 5 can easily go to UConn.

Ice - You're betting on the come - what might happen vs what did happen. What makes these losses even more difficult is that there quite likely won't be a next time.

 

[meyers7]

Why with 18 seconds left do we go for the home run on an out of bounds play? worst case scenerio is we go to OT.

Yea, that probably wasn't the brightest play. Probably would have been better to hold for last shot.

If I was ND I would have fouled and make us beat them at the line.

ummm, that would have been an even dumber play.

 

[cferraro04]

Great! McBride deserved it...I was at the game and had lefted so I missed the announcement, you are right I was listening to the announcer on the radio on the way home and couldn't believe my ears...when they were talking about Diggins when clearly McBride had an unbelievable tournament.

 

[Icebear]

Ice - You're betting on the come - what might happen vs what did happen. What makes these losses even more difficult is that there quite likely won't be a next time.

Not really. Before the last 7 games what was the record in the previous 7. I would agree with you if all these last game were being lost by 5-10. But not when the scores have been as they've been.

 

[rjp172]

Great! McBride deserved it...I was at the game and had lefted so I missed the announcement, you are right I was listening to the announcer on the radio on the way home and couldn't believe my ears...when they were talking about Diggins when clearly McBride had an unbelievable tournament.

Diggins looked like she couldn't believe her ears either. She already declared McBride MOP before the ESPN interviewer told her the incorrect info. When told she quickly shot a glance off to the side at her team with a "What?" expression.

 

[sparky]

Yea, that probably wasn't the brightest play. Probably would have been better to hold for last shot.


ummm, that would have been an even dumber play.

I don't know, we didn't exactly shoot a great % the last time we played. Also, why not play lock down and try to get a TO or steal for 8 seconds and foul, that gives ND the ball with 10 seconds and perhaps down 2 with 3 VG scoring options.

 

[connboy77]

Dreamers wake up and smell the roses. They are better than us. Skylar makes superior decisions with the ball, and we don't. Our guards run fast and play slow. I was so disappointed in the last play. Why with 18 seconds left do we go for the home run on an out of bounds play? worst case scenerio is we go to OT.If I was ND I would have fouled and make us beat them at the line. So many different things could have determined the outcome. Stewie played a heck of a game. KML was stopped all night, and Jefferson is a deer in headlights out there. We can still be a final four team, but that is a stretch with our present frame of mind. By the way, McBride is a hell of a player against us and several others.

sparky, I think you need to change your spark plugs! ND is not better then UCONN. UCONN lost by one point, two points, and a triple over-time game at ND. We should have won all three games, but the luck of the Irish held up. These young ladies left everything on the floor and deserved a better fate. I hope UCONN gets another chance to play ND and defeat ND in the final four. That would be poetic justice.

 

[vtcwbuff]

sparky, I think you need to change your spark plugs! ND is not better then UCONN. UCONN lost by one point, two points, and a triple over-time game at ND. We should have won all three games, but the luck of the Irish held up. These young ladies left everything on the floor and deserved a better fate. I hope UCONN gets another chance to play ND and defeat ND in the final four. That would be poetic justice.

So you really believe that ND won because of luck? Your luck theory holds as much water as the "if" theory in a previous thread.

The inability to guard McBride had nothing to do with it? Diggens had nothing to do with it? McGraw had nothing to do with it? I agree that UConn could have won all three games but they didn't. The reason they lost all three was because ND was better.

McBride and Diggens scored an unbelievable 130 points in the 3 games. UConn's combo backcourt of Hartley, Jefferson and Doty scored 36. Add Faris' points and they still come up waaaaay short.

When it comes to athletic competiton there is only one measure of who is better. Winning.

 

[CCinCT]

So you really believe that ND won because of luck? Your luck theory holds as much water as the "if" theory in a previous thread.

The inability to guard McBride had nothing to do with it? Diggens had nothing to do with it? McGraw had nothing to do with it? I agree that UConn could have won all three games but they didn't. The reason they lost all three was because ND was better.

McBride and Diggens scored an unbelievable 130 points in the 3 games. UConn's combo backcourt of Hartley, Jefferson and Doty scored 36. Add Faris' points and they still come up waaaaay short.

When it comes to athletic competiton there is only one measure of who is better. Winning.

The first 2 of the 3 games turned on a single 3 point attempt each - one bounced out, and the other bounced crazily in. Yes, some luck was involved. Other than that the guard play was the overwhelming factor. ND did not beat us convincingly, but they beat us. A bounce here, a ref's call there, a turnover here, a rebound there, and we've got a different thread.

 

[DaddyChoc]

VTWC Im with you... if, should of, when, blah blah blah all you want... Notre Dame won 3 straight (this season), snatched them away in my opinion.

congrats to the Irish

 

[meyers7]

I don't know, we didn't exactly shoot a great % the last time we played. Also, why not play lock down and try to get a TO or steal for 8 seconds and foul, that gives ND the ball with 10 seconds and perhaps down 2 with 3 VG scoring options.

Well mostly because it didn't work. Had we held the ball and not even taken a shot at least we would have gotten to overtime. As it was we didn't hold onto the ball, didn't get off a shot and allowed ND to score. When it goes that badly, it probably wasn't a good idea.

But that's looking at it hindsight.

 

[sparky]

sparky, I think you need to change your spark plugs! ND is not better then UCONN. UCONN lost by one point, two points, and a triple over-time game at ND. We should have won all three games, but the luck of the Irish held up. These young ladies left everything on the floor and deserved a better fate. I hope UCONN gets another chance to play ND and defeat ND in the final four. That would be poetic justice.

I love UCONN. That being said, ND is better in clutch situations which have resultes in W's. We make questionable decisions with very young talent at crunch time. In 3 games it has yielded 0 wins. I truly believe that we will win the NC in 2013 and 2014 because hopefully our young talent will have enough crunch time under their collective belts. Stewie, KML and Dolson along with a decaffenated Bria will be able to bring home the banner.