The good news from a way too close game

[CTtoSanDiego]

Both Walker and Williams hit very big shots down the stretch, when the outcome was still in doubt. If we can assume our big 3 will usually be very good, it's nice to see that our 4 and 5 can perform under pressure! Still, I'm sure this score was a surprise to all....

 

[UConn82]

I was going to post exactly what CTtoSD just posted. This is very big for the March-to-come. I don't really want to talk about the "Big 3" anymore. These two--CW and MW--are equal parts now. And they will just get better and better.

Now Touley has played her first meaningful minutes at UConn. More to come.

I am very happy with this game. We will grow.

 

[Centerstream]

I think we got a good glimpse of our team when NOBODY played their A game and yet we won. I will take it.

 

[oldude]

Agree on CW & MW pressure 3’s. Like the way the Huskies finished. Also, got to give credit to the Johnnies. They played hard and executed. It will be interesting to see if they give Depaul a run for the Big East championship.

 

[Kallee]

Who do they play tomorrow

 

[Ralph]

What are the odds of Pheesa missing 5 foul shots? Has that ever happened before?

 

[bbballfan23]

What are the odds of Pheesa missing 5 foul shots? Has that ever happened before?

Not only that but missed her last 3 in a row. Other than that she played a near perfect 4th quarter. Dominated down the stretch. CW & MW monster 3s. I'm more encouraged by the end by the previous 30 mins.

 

[Biff]

Who do they play tomorrow

Purdue

 

[Sonny44]

Not only that but missed her last 3 in a row. Other than that she played a near perfect 4th quarter. Dominated down the stretch. CW & MW monster 3s. I'm more encouraged by the end by the previous 30 mins.

As a freshman she could hardly miss a free throw, but seems her percentage has decreased yearly.

 

[CTtoSanDiego]

Interesting how a post about the clutch play of our two new starters has transformed into a discussion of an abnormal free throwing performance from Pheesa.... Negative Nellies! LOL

 

[bbballfan23]

As a freshman she could hardly miss a free throw, but seems her percentage has decreased yearly.

agreed but hard to live up to 90%. I'm more encouraged with her getting to the line 10 times. It's a long season. Lou will shoot over 40% from 3 and Pheesa will shoot over 75% from the line. Percentages will even out over the long haul.

 

[Hope]

Christyn played 40 minutes and took 3 shots. Our bench was 0-3. Hmm?

 

[enigmatic]

Not the accustomed blowout but we won and that's all that really matters. Hopefully this kind of grit will help as the season goes along especially tournament time.

 

[oldude]

As a freshman she could hardly miss a free throw, but seems her percentage has decreased yearly.

Sonny, I thought you just might have pulled that one out of mid air, so I checked it out, and sure enough, Pheesa’s FT % has gone from 92% as a freshman to 82% as a sophomore to 79% as a junior. My only thought is that perhaps fatigue is a factor. Tonight I believe she played all 40 minutes.

 

[CTOldSchool]

Christyn played 40 minutes and took 3 shots. Our bench was 0-3. Hmm?

Christyn played 40 minutes and took 3 shots. Our bench was 0-3. Hmm?

Very astute observation. With Geno starter minutes are always top heavy of late. CW has been patient and letting the game flow w/o forcing lower % shots. No need for her to force bad shots on this team. I believe the 3 bench players scored 1(?) point? That must improve. Maybe against bigger teams you start 32 or 20 and bring 3 or 13 off the bench to score for the subs.

 

[Carnac]

This was precisely the type of early season “gut check“ game UConn needed. When you win them, they are a confidence booster. Blowout games sometimes can instill a false sense of security.

I like the fact that the team had to scratch out a win that was not decided until the last minute of game. These types of games also build character, which will come in handy when they play their next game where “character may be the difference in winning or losing.

The only negative I took away from this game was that the St. John’s bench out scored UConn’s 11-1.

 

[pvdoggy]

This was precisely the type of early season “gut check“ game UConn needed. When you win them, they are a confidence booster.

The only negative I took away from this game was that the St. John’s bench out scored UConn’s 11-1.

You can't score if you don't get to play. Bench playing time difference is 40 to 11min.

 

[JordyG]

This was precisely the type of early season “gut check“ game UConn needed. When you win them, they are a confidence booster. Blowout games sometimes can instill a false sense of security.

The only negative I took away from this game was that the St. John’s bench out scored UConn’s 11-1.

No offense Scoop, but if that's the only negative then you need to watch the game. For the last few years the bench consistently gets outscored. If you did watch the game, then watch again. So far every game they've played this year they haven't played patiently using the Hi/Lo. Virtually every game this year their set offense has been lacking in player and ball movement. Their spacing is not consistent. The team in every game has not really shot well. The team does not get enough turnovers to play a transition game. This is not a good full court pressure team. Their offensive and defensive rebounding has not been good. They have yet to show a consistent 3rd or 4th option offensively. They give up too many offensive rebounds. Early in games they give up too many open looks from the perimeter. Meg and CW get beaten off the dribble a lot. Crystal has been hesitant to shoot in the first period.

Now all these symptoms are treatable. I don't expect all of these problems to remain past Christmas. I also don't expect much from the bench beyond Liv this year. I do expect their on ball defense to improve. I do expect their shooting to improve. I do expect them to play the Hi/Lo, pass and move more crisply than they have. I do expect Crystal to score more in the opening period when it looks like the others are not.

This game their experience down the stretch won the game. Late 3's by Meg and CW were timely, but how about some early scoring to take the pressure off the the other players?

Yeah, this was a good kick in the pants for these guys. Hopefully It'll show next game.

 

[Carnac]

No offense Scoop, but if that's the only negative then you need to watch the game. For the last few years the bench consistently gets outscored. If you did watch the game, then watch again. So far every game they've played this year they haven't played patiently using the Hi/Lo. Virtually every game this year their set offense has been lacking in player and ball movement. Their spacing is not consistent. The team in every game has not really shot well. The team does not get enough turnovers to play a transition game. This is not a good full court pressure team. Their offensive and defensive rebounding has not been good. They have yet to show a consistent 3rd or 4th option offensively. They give up too many offensive rebounds. Early in games they give up too many open looks from the perimeter. Meg and CW get beaten off the dribble a lot. Crystal has been hesitant to shoot in the first period.

Now all these symptoms are treatable. I don't expect all of these problems to remain past Christmas. I also don't expect much from the bench beyond Liv this year. I do expect their on ball defense to improve. I do expect their shooting to improve. I do expect them to play the Hi/Lo, pass and move more crisply than they have. I do expect Crystal to score more in the opening period when it looks like the others are not.

This game their experience down the stretch won the game. Late 3's by Meg and CW were timely, but how about some early scoring to take the pressure off the the other players?

I didn’t see the game. Listened to it on 97.9. I’ll Watch it tomorrow if it’s posted. I refuse to pay for these games. I may come away with a different take once I SEE the game. I don’t disput anything you’ve addressed.

There is a lot of action on the floor the announcer does not address or mention that listeners never become aware of. Based on your narrative, the game you saw is not the game we heard. I was still greatful to be able to listen to the game. You know what is said about a picture being worth a thousand words.

Some games are not allowed to be “streamed” over the world wide web by stations that broadcast games. This is especially true for NFL games.

 

[donalddoowop]

You can't score if you don't get to play. Bench playing time difference is 40 to 11min.

People should consider that before they bad mouth the bench.

 

[Carnac]

People should consider that before they bad mouth the bench.

Don, I didn't bad mouth the bench. Since it was ME and no one else that made that statement, it's OK for you to address your response to ME, and not generalize it to "people".

Trust me, we're looking at the difference in minutes played by the reserves differently. You're looking at the surface (minutes played). I'm looking deeper as to why there was such a difference in the minutes played, and the trust one coach had in his reserves versus the trust the other coach had in his.

I simply stated a statistical fact. How much play they get or don’t get is up to them according to Geno, not me. There is a huge difference between being critical of individual or team play, and merely recognizing game stats. The stats are what they are. Instead of criticizing my comment of a game statistic, maybe you should be trying to figure out and rationalize why Geno has less faith and trust in his bench that is suppose to have better quality players on it than St. Johns' does.

I did some research on both teams. Bent and Irwin are the only players on UConn's roster that was not in the top 100 of their class when they committed. That means 9 of the 11 were top 100. None of the 10 players on St. Johns' roster was in the top 100 when they committed. So UConn has better skilled players on its roster than St Johns' does based on their rating coming out of high school. This means that UConn has more skill on it's bench than SJ does.

And why St. Johns' coach is not reluctant to use his bench against the #2 team in the country, even when they are behind. Why doesn't Geno trust his bench (against an unranked mid-major) as much as Tartamella trusts his? After all, Tartamella does not have any top ranked 100 players on his bench. So, what's the problem?

When you figure that out, your criticism of my comment may not be as harsh.

 

[FridaFriend]

On January 4, 2015, UCONN had a tough time with St Johns at Madison Square Garden, winning 70-54. Morgan Tuck led a second half surge that settled the game and she scored 23 points total. Stewart had 18; Jefferson had 16; KML had 6; Nurse had 5 points. Gabby Williams, Saniya Chong, and Kiah Stokes were on the bench. The bench had one field goal, Kiah Stokes, and 2 points total.

I think that St. Johns was the last unranked team that UCONN lost to?

 

[Bajan Best]

First and foremost I have to applaud the Redstorm Players, haven't been fortunate to see any of their games this year, but I can see why they had no losses prior to this game, On defense, Love their quickness to the ball. On Offense, their spacing, ball movement and confidence. This is exactly the type of team that will give us problems. They actually had more assist than UConn did in this game and played us practically even in every other statistical category other than free throws...

What impressed me the most about UCONN in this game, was that after playing so many minutes, players shot the ball pretty decent in the fourth quarter and played with good energy. Considering the overall quickness of the St. John's Team, I thought we were pretty solid defensively. Was really impressed with Crystal's play on their ball screen attempts..

Also pleased to see both ONO and BC get some minutes, especially in a game this close. Those are the two players I think we will need the most off the bench as we get closer to April. A more aggressive MW wouldn't hurt either.

It is my hope that a game like this will be just what some players need to motivate them to improve on both ends of the floor, Notre Dame is not too far away Let's Go Huskies!!

 

[Siestakeyfan]

What are the odds of Pheesa missing 5 foul shots? Has that ever happened before?

Very troubling performance