watanabe said:
We do not know what Geno's plan was, we know what transpired. Geno has often said that is outlined in the huddle is most often not what happens on the court. He has noted that he they lay out something and he looks at everyone and they all nod and then they go out and what occurs is unrecognizable.
Wait do you actually find the game thread more disappointing than the Loss?
Nope, not Murphy's Law - I think your 1-8 summed it up very nicely.
No, I'm good! Thanks for the clarification. I know in the past some posters are overtly sensitive to any criticism of the girls performances while others have probably gone off a cliff and I just didn't know what posts might have bothered you. I agree that there needs to be some balance because these aren't seasoned professionals though they are earning scholarships based on their skills and potential contributions to the program overall. I felt like some of the poise and decisions that we've come to expect from Geno's squad were absent in key moments of this game. It's quite unusual and disappointing that they played a key role in this loss. As you said, it'll actually probably be a key learning tool for Geno and the staff to use to make them better. I felt that there was enough experience on this team were some of those errors would not have happened but they did and they are correctable (I hope).
I'll say that Saniya's offensive performance was really good and it's nice to see her confidence growth. However, on the defensive side, Doris Burke spoke frequently and it showed, how Saniya's defensive lapses contributed mightily to many Stanford scores of easy baskets. When Kia Nurse fouled out, Stanford soared. By the way, the officiating was really bad, with so many cheap or non existent fouls being called and it played heavily in Stanford's favor. Losing Morgan and Kia really crippled UConn because they both were performing at a very high level for the Huskies unlike some of the other ladies. I do think Stanford played very well and was very opportunistic but that isn't the type of play that we've come to expect from a typical Huskie team. There were mental errors galore, particularly later in the game, that were so totally un-Husky like.
You are so right! What was really disappointing was the defense because that's always been the catalyst for the offense. It failed mightily and it's amazing that one of the few people to step up on the defense was Kia Nurse whose presence was missed mightily when she fouled out on another very suspect ticky ticky type foul. The absurdity of some of those calls, which in a lot of cases did nothing to impede the offensive player, was through the roof. I know they were called somewhat consistently but it really came back and bit UConn because two of the Huskies who were having the most impact in the game were lost, Kia and Morgan. Morgan scored the first baskets of overtime and was really effecting the game and poof, she's gone. Kia's loss opened the door to many easy, easy baskets at the expense of Saniya. To have anyone score that many points, even with an overtime session against a typical UConn team is crazy. Hopefully, some corrections will have an immediate effect.
