Thoughts on last nites game

[Tonyc]

Firing on all cylinders. The treys. We had are feet set when we shot them thus shooting over 50%. We looked crisp. We looking confident. Our W-2s ( Williams and Walker) shot the ball well. They didnt defer to the Big 3. That breeds confidence and confidence breeds wins. Short and sweet. We shoot close to that from 3 ville and we wont loose a game.

 

[Topsail]

we will need CW and MW big time in games going forward especially if Lou has trouble with her back...

 

[veryolddog]

While they were completing their shots with precision last night, I hope that this excellence does not stop and go into a dry spell after this result. The other thing is: how come Olivia did not play more than she did? While she was in there, she scored 7 points, I think. I personally enjoy watching her play and would like to see her play more. Also it was nice to see Micayla drive the basket and score a couple of times. She is a very quick young lady. I was impressed how she weaves through defenders to score. Nice to see.

 

[Topsail]

Against the best teams we just need to slow them enough and out score them.

 

[Topsail]

Olivia needs to focus and box out better. she tends to get a lot of "stupid" fouls so Geno pulls her.

 

[HuskyNan]

While they were completing their shots with precision last night, I hope that this excellence does not stop and go into a dry spell after this result. The other thing is: how come Olivia did not play more than she did? While she was in there, she scored 7 points, I think. I personally enjoy watching her play and would like to see her play more. Also it was nice to see Micayla drive the basket and score a couple of times. She is a very quick young lady. I was impressed how she weaves through defenders to score. Nice to see.

Liv is still an occasional defensive liability. Towson - Towson! - got around her pretty easily last night

 

[MainefanSC]

Liv is still an occasional defensive liability. Towson - Towson! - got around her pretty easily last night

Yes, did notice that. She doesn't appear tentative, which would be a whole other bothersome issue. She needs some meat on her bones and a little more quickness, in the post, to better defend. She's desperately needed, when the 2nd weekend gets here, and beyond. Would be good to see her "own" the post a little more, this year. I know, it's a little late in the season to develop that. But, with Geno and staff...……………………………..

 

[huskeynut]

The key to the game and our offensive explosion was Towson choosing to face guard Lou, aka a box on one defense. That defensive decision, a sign of respect for Lou's ability, left Towson dealing one-on-one with the rest of UConn. That was their death sentence.

BTW, UConn picked this up quickly and Lou played the decoy to perfection.

 

[connie]

Everything changes when outside shots go down. You don't shoot 50% from 3-point land every game. Towson played tight defensively. But good ball movement allowed us to kick it out to an open perimeter shooter early. And the shots dropped. Doesn't always happen that way. Psychologically, it just takes the heart out of lesser competition when that happens. You work your butt off, but the lead starts to stretch and pretty soon you're down 20 with a long night ahead of you. Still Towson (especially Jeter) did not give up.

You can bet that deeper into the tourney teams will be pressing us out further. Clean looks will become fewer and farther between. That's when it gets tough, and fun.

There is obviously no way of predicting what happens next. Anyone who's ever followed sports--especially basketball--knows that on any given night a team or player can get hot (Geno recently cited the 14-15 game against Dayton), or someone gets into foul trouble, or the ball just doesn't bounce right. Who knows? But this UConn team is well-coached and well-conditioned. Time and again this year, I've noticed teams coming at us strong early on. But we stick with the program and continue to play hard, and the other guy starts to run out of gas--usually around halfway through the second quarter (if not earlier) or by midway through the third quarter. That won't happen once we reach the Sweet Sixteen (provided the Bulls cooperate). Lots of strong teams out there.

 

[Tonyc]

The layoff did out shooters well. We were on the road during the season alot. No spare time to work out in thy gym on our shots. We are relaxed now and the time off has given us time to tweak our shots. It showed last nite. We will see what happens tomorrow nite. One thing about last nite...Lou played only 22 minutes and we won by over 50 after leading by 40. We have improved and are a much better team.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Liv is still an occasional defensive liability. Towson - Towson! - got around her pretty easily last night

ONO is a tale of two cities: she is certainly scrappy under the boards and has become a "defensive presence", as the expression goes. But oh those silly fouls!!! Those are what is keeping her from staying in the game, and from helping the team more.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Yes, did notice that. She doesn't appear tentative, which would be a whole other bothersome issue. She needs some meat on her bones and a little more quickness, in the post, to better defend. She's desperately needed, when the 2nd weekend gets here, and beyond. Would be good to see her "own" the post a little more, this year. I know, it's a little late in the season to develop that. But, with Geno and staff...……………………………..

From the peanut gallery:
Very overstated on your part! We're not "desperate" anything regarding Liv. We have 3 future WNBA players and 2 former HS All-Americans on the rise. We are "desperate" for these 5 to play up to their potential. End of story. Game, set, match. Whatever Liv gives us is "icing on the cake".
She can contribute off the bench. Of course that's meaningful!
Basketball players and coaches out there- you ever met an enigmatic big man? Of course you have! That is the definition of a big man. I played D3 hoops and it was always a mystery what they would bring to each game. A couple of times they surprised everybody. Desperate? Not at all!
BTW IMO Liv's block on Mabry at ND was one of our sweetest plays of the year!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Liv has to be stronger, both in grabbing rebounds and in putting up shots. She also fouled too much last night. She did ok and will get better. She reaches balls that no one else does. I liked her foul line jumper. Now make those FTs!

 

[MD#12Fan]

Liv has to be stronger, both in grabbing rebounds and in putting up shots. She also fouled too much last night. She did ok and will get better. She reaches balls that no one else does. I liked her foul line jumper. Now make those FTs!

100% agree re: your analysis. I thought she was a non-factor for most of her appearance. IMO when she's the tallest player on the court, she needs to have an impact. She has to go get the ball with her arms straight up, like Phees does. No 5 minute stretches with nothing.

 

[Gus Mahler]

While they were completing their shots with precision last night, I hope that this excellence does not stop and go into a dry spell after this result. The other thing is: how come Olivia did not play more than she did? While she was in there, she scored 7 points, I think. I personally enjoy watching her play and would like to see her play more. Also it was nice to see Micayla drive the basket and score a couple of times. She is a very quick young lady. I was impressed how she weaves through defenders to score. Nice to see.

Watching the game "live" (on my computer) I thought Liv had a really bad game. Watching a replay (on Sling TV) I thought she had a lot more good moments. She seemed to be rusty and out-of-sync. I loved the jump shot: confident, good form, pretty high release. I enjoy watching her play as well. One sequence bothered me. Megan had the ball and was looking right at Liv as she posted up with only one defender. Meg chose not to pass. I wondered if it was from a lack of confidence in her. Or maybe she wasn't demanding the ball hard enough.

Regarding MC, I agree with you. I hope it was really good for her to see a couple of balls go through the net.

 

[Bigpetunia]

For all ofher undeniable potential, Liv, to my surprise and dismay, continues to launch shots in the paint from chest level...with a full season under her belt she remains a big player playing small on offense. This is especially puzzling because she certainly cannot be similarly “accused” on the other end of the floor. Gotta learn to go to the hoop decisively with the ball held HIGH, HIGH!!

 

[Gus Mahler]

BTW IMO Liv's block on Mabry at ND was one of our sweetest plays of the year!

I was just thinking about the play of the year a couple of days ago. The block comes up number two on my list. For number one I'll go with Crystal's behind the back pass to Lou, plus the foul against Crystal.

 

[MainefanSC]

From the peanut gallery:
Very overstated on your part! We're not "desperate" anything regarding Liv. We have 3 future WNBA players and 2 former HS All-Americans on the rise. We are "desperate" for these 5 to play up to their potential. End of story. Game, set, match. Whatever Liv gives us is "icing on the cake".
She can contribute off the bench. Of course that's meaningful!
Basketball players and coaches out there- you ever met an enigmatic big man? Of course you have! That is the definition of a big man. I played D3 hoops and it was always a mystery what they would bring to each game. A couple of times they surprised everybody. Desperate? Not at all!
BTW IMO Liv's block on Mabry at ND was one of our sweetest plays of the year!

Agree with your counter opinion. History shows that the 5 are enough when playing to potential. I am concerned with Lou's health. She looked strong and took hits yesterday. If she remains able to take the punishment being meted out, God bless her and we take #12. I like your confidence and with time, I'll have that comfort zone. I'm thinking I'll be 100% on board with you when they cut down the nets in Tampa.

 

[ABCDFE]

You can tell Lou isn’t 100%. She isn’t going full speed yet but she seemed to be feeling her way into the game. My hope is that if she knows there’s no setbacks or potential to reinsure she can be at max effort by sweet sixteen matchup.

 

[MD#12Fan]

Watching the game "live" (on my computer) I thought Liv had a really bad game. Watching a replay (on Sling TV) I thought she had a lot more good moments. She seemed to be rusty and out-of-sync. I loved the jump shot: confident, good form, pretty high release. I enjoy watching her play as well. One sequence bothered me. Megan had the ball and was looking right at Liv as she posted up with only one defender. Meg chose not to pass. I wondered if it was from a lack of confidence in her. Or maybe she wasn't demanding the ball hard enough.

Regarding MC, I agree with you. I hope it was really good for her to see a couple of balls go through the net.

Nice observations!
I remember that post-up too. They must not have confidence that she can deliver in that situation, whether it be her post moves or her passing. We used to work on passing to the post and relocating for open J's.
I don't remember many positive moments when she was in in the 2nd quarter. Kind of invisible.

 

[hoopingcrane]

I was just thinking about the play of the year a couple of days ago. The block comes up number two on my list. For number one I'll go with Crystal's behind the back pass to Lou, plus the foul against Crystal.

How about CW behind the back to CD?

 

[Papa33]

[QUOTE="
One sequence bothered me. Megan had the ball and was looking right at Liv as she posted up with only one defender. Meg chose not to pass. I wondered if it was from a lack of confidence in her. Or maybe she wasn't demanding the ball hard enough.[/QUOTE]

Au contraire, I think. On several occasions Liv had her defender buried and sealed pretty well, had her legs wide and hand up high; she was begging for the ball with an easy pass, but for some reason the pass didn't happen. Especially in coming games if opponents choose to pressure our shooters out at the arc, we have got to see and feed whoever makes herself so available.

 

[Gus Mahler]

[QUOTE="
One sequence bothered me. Megan had the ball and was looking right at Liv as she posted up with only one defender. Meg chose not to pass. I wondered if it was from a lack of confidence in her. Or maybe she wasn't demanding the ball hard enough.

Au contraire, I think. On several occasions Liv had her defender buried and sealed pretty well, had her legs wide and hand up high; she was begging for the ball with an easy pass, but for some reason the pass didn't happen. Especially in coming games if opponents choose to pressure our shooters out at the arc, we have got to see and feed whoever makes herself so available.[/QUOTE]
I guess I should have put an emoticon after that last sentence.

 

[Gus Mahler]

How about CW behind the back to CD?

That's a solid number three!

 

[jdubct]

As others have mentioned Liv is a basketball work in progress. Whether she can make enough of a difference against a Louisville or any of the final four remains very open to question.