OK, I admit it -- your comments motivated me to re-watch the entire game to see what you might be talking about. I specifically looked for plays where Jessica Shepherd scored or had a good scoring chance after beating Napheesa or any UConn forward up the court. I found exactly ZERO instances of that. The only instance that came close was at 3:31 of overtime, where Shepherd got a layup because Azura went into one of her defensive swoons, and failed to cover Shepherd when she cut to the basket. That wasn't a fast break. Z was right there, but just turned her back and gave Shepherd a chance to cut to the basket. Napheesa had nothing to do with giving up that layup at all.
If you compare the stat lines of Napheesa and Jessica Shepard, they are strongly in favor of the player in blue and white:
Shepherd: 43 minutes, 15 points on 7-14 shooting, 11 rebounds including 5 offensive rebounds. Her clutch play at the end of regulation was to dribble the ball off her foot and turn it over just after Kia had tied the game by stealing the inbounds pass.
Napheesa: 39 minutes, 24 points on 11-17 shooting (including a clutch 3 at the end of regulation and a big basket late in overtime), 5 rebounds including 3 offensive rebounds.
All of Shepherd's scoring was in the paint on good post moves that were difficult to defend, or on putbacks. None of it (that would be 0.0) was on fast breaks or even in transition. Usually she was being guarded by Z or Lou rather than Pheesa.
While Napheesa had fewer rebounds than Shepherd, overall UConn won the rebounding battle 41-38, with a 16-15 edge in offensive rebounds. For most of the game (until about midway in the 4th quarter), UConn was well ahead in the rebounding battle.
After re-watching the game, I think that the turning point came when Lou picked up her 4th foul midway through the 4th quarter. At that point, UConn's ability to defend in the paint and contest for rebounds was substantially weakened. Perhaps Shepherd's main contribution to Notre Dame's victory was to help get Lou in foul trouble.
I really think that if you are going to make disparaging comments such as you have made that touch on the competitive desire of UConn players, you should at least back it up with specific facts. I see absolutely no facts in the game replay or the box score to support your accusatory statements.
