Toughness prevails

[Kaizen]

I really don't know what you saw. I saw Collier trying to rip the ball out of Mabrey's hands and Mabrey not letting her. If anything, Collier was trying to get under Mabrey's skin there (and it worked).

I don't know what the basketball purpose of grabbing the ball away and not waiting for Mabrey to hand it to the official could be.

Hope you see this photo and look at her finger ...

 

[the Q]

A flop is if you try to sell the contact and make it look more intesne than it really is. What happened on that play is that Ogunbowale drove hard and Lou did her best to stay in front. Lou anticipated the move so the refs often give the defensive player the benefit. I am not sure it was the right call since Lou was moving but it seems you do not have to be stationary to earn a charge if you anticipate well. In any case, Lou took a lot of real contact so no flopping. Lou is queen of everything else

You don't have to be stationary. You just have to be in legal guarding position and "own the real estate" first. Or in a shot attempt before the offensive player starts their shooting motion.

 

[Orangutan]

Hope you see this photo and look at her finger ...

Which one? Her thumb that is pointing back at herself. Or her index finger pointed towards the ceiling?

 

[Kaizen]

Which one? Her thumb that is pointing back at herself. Or her index finger pointed towards the ceiling?

If you are blind that is fine to me. There are only 2 fingers in the photo ...LOL
I do wish both her fingers were pointing to herself, the loser of the game.

 

[Bigpetunia]

Because I take so much pleasure in any victory over Notre Dame, especially when the possibility of a victory is dangled before them, I used to indulge in the perverse pleasure of scanning their message board and observing the very predictable nature of their whining. I stopped doing that long ago because it got boring, but the one hallmark that always populated their post-loss posts focused on how the refs "stole" it from 'em. It's just in the nature of fans who perpetually feel persecuted...maybe too much religious imagery in their midst. I'm sure their football fans feel cheated that they will not be in the NCAA final four! So, for those of you who still visit there...was it all the refs fault...yet again??

 

[eebmg]

Because I take so much pleasure in any victory over Notre Dame, especially when the possibility of a victory is dangled before them, I used to indulge in the perverse pleasure of scanning their message board and observing the very predictable nature of their whining. I stopped doing that long ago because it got boring, but the one hallmark that always populated their post-loss posts focused on how the refs "stole" it from 'em. It's just in the nature of fans who perpetually feel persecuted...maybe too much religious imagery in their midst. I'm sure their football fans feel cheated that they will not be in the NCAA final four! So, for those of you who still visit there...was it all the refs fault...yet again??

Maybe I am nuts but the 4th quarter was almost foul free on both sides and no real complaints on either side. The Mabrey call was not a physical one. The game played out very fast in the 4th and was a great exhibition of skill by UConn.

 

[Orangutan]

If you are blind that is fine to me. There are only 2 fingers in the photo ...LOL
I do wish both her fingers were pointing to herself, the loser of the game.

Are you trying to say she is giving somebody the middle finger? Because that's not what is in the photo.

If not that, I genuinely have no idea what you are saying.

 

[eebmg]

As much fun as it is to think Mabrey gave the finger, there is at this stage no real visual evidence that it was anything other than a ring finger. I am sure if it happened, we will get a nice HD image but until then no go. Also, I think she has much more animus for the ref than the UConn player so if a finger came out, it would have been directed at the ref.

 

[Kaizen]

If you're going to make accusations, make them. Are you trying to say she is giving somebody the middle finger? Because that's not what is in the photo.

If not that, I genuinely have no idea what you are saying.

I am making the accusation now. She was rude, non-polite and pointed her pointer finger to sky. Anything wrong with that?

If you don't know the difference between middle finger and pointer finger you can find in Google.

 

[Kaizen]

As much fun as it is to think Mabrey gave the finger, there is at this stage no real visual evidence that it was anything other than a ring finger. I am sure if it happened, we will get a nice HD image but until then no go. Also, I think she has much more animus for the ref than the UConn player so if a finger came out, it would have been directed at the ref.

Agree, Mabrey is much more animus for the ref than Phessa. But that makes it even worse...

As for the finger photo, it was just a joke at beginning but I will let you people to figure out.

 

[Bestiarius]

Speaking of Gabby . . . Recall that in last year's game vs. Notre Dame, Gabby was THE difference maker on both ends of the floor; take her out of that game-- as she was neutralized by her illness yesterday-- and that game plays out quite differently. Might some of UConn's problems for much of the game-- both offensive and defensive, especially the latter-- have their roots in her much reduced capacities and eventual absence?

Migraines can be one of the most debilitating of maladies. Playing basketball during a migraine is one of the last things a person would be capable of doing. All the sufferer wants to do is lie in a dark, quiet room. Just the thought of sitting up would be excruciating. The fact that Gabby was willing to get on the court and did fairly well was amazing to me. I admire her attempt to play at all.

 

[Longtime fan]

Notre Dame looked great until crunch time, when the movement in their offense ground to a halt. They started playing one on one, standing around, forced shots. Our defense was great, and ND looked tired and overwhelmed.

I was surprised to see Ogunbowale out for critical possessions late in the fourth. Subbed Thompson for her. Would say they don't have a true point guard when Thompson is not in the lineup, although that did not hurt them most of the game.

Ogunbowale is great going to the basket and midrange but not good from three.

Great move putting Stevens on Westbeld. Westbeld has only taken four foul shots all year so Stevens was not going to pick up fifth foul.

Agreed the tougher team, and the one in better shape, won tonight. But they outplayed us for most of the game and UConn will very likely see them again in Columbus. They are really good.

There are a bevy of really good teams. Texas and Baylor will be outstanding. South Carolina is better than they were last year. Not sure how good Stanford/UCLA will become. Is Louisville any good? Is Ohio State the "class" of the big 12? Who am I missing?

 

[Orangutan]

I am making the accusation now. She was rude, non-polite and pointed her pointer finger to sky. Anything wrong with that?

If you don't know the difference between middle finger and pointer finger you can find in Google.

No. In two senses. There's nothing wrong with you saying it. And there's nothing wrong with what she did.

 

[Kaizen]

No. In two senses. There's nothing wrong with you saying it. And there's nothing wrong with what she did.

Thanks ...case closed.

 

[donalddoowop]

There are a bevy of really good teams. Texas and Baylor will be outstanding. South Carolina is better than they were last year. Not sure how good Stanford/UCLA will become. Is Louisville any good? Is Ohio State the "class" of the big 12? Who am I missing?

Oregon.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

I politely disagree that Notre Dame played the better game. That might have been true for quarters 2 and 3 but not so for the entire game. Notre Dame did not follow a smart game plan in the 4th quarter and took ill-advised outside shots (AO in particular) and failed to attack the UCONN post player (AZ) who had four fouls. That was not good decision making and certainly not good coaching. A team will not win scoring single digits in the fourth quarter vs. many teams, no less UCONN.

Completely agree. ND was the better team for 2 and 1/2 quarters (last half of 1st. 2nd & 3rd)... but NOT when it mattered!! Everything went in until 4th... when they couldn't buy a bucket. And as we all know, score at end of 4 quarters is all that matters.

 

[Teacherdeb]

Lucky the ref didn't give Mabrey a technical foul at the end of 4 Q. I don't like her from what she did to Pheesa.

Absolutely! Poor sportsmanship. Show some maturity- she demeaned her performance and herself. Muffet shouldn't have tolerated that.

 

[Teacherdeb]

Man, it's nice to play that poorly and still win.

But the good:

- Yes, this team showed heart. It's tougher than last year's team already. This game is a good thing to have happen now so it's really ready for March.

- Z. She completely took over down the stretch. They had no answer for her. There's still so much left in the tank for her, let's hope Geno can extract it out of her.

- Walker was just huge on the boards down the stretch. She was getting decked by ND still holding on. And she had a nice move to the basket as well.

- Dangerfield is gonna be about as good of a PG as we've had here when it's all said and done. Maybe not in the collaborative sense, but in the peak sense. her improvement is beyond what I could've reasonable expected after year 1. Simply amazing. That 3 she hit from basically the seat next to Geno was ridiculous.

- Nurse and Lou hit some absolutely huge 3s to swing the tide.

The bad:

- Turnovers. The one thing I really harped on during the blowouts, almost came back to bite the girls in this one. A lot of dumb, long, telegraphed passes that turned into points.

- Rebounding. ND built their lead on the offensive glass, i was a little miffed because a couple of those early rebounds and put backs were 100% fouls on ND (and was more agitated after they nailed Z with a few lesser over the back calls...still fouls, but nowhere as egregious as what they let go earlier in ND's favor). Gotta control the boards. The 4th quarter the rebounding started to come together though. Hopefully this one improves as the year goes on.

- Shot selection. Way too many long 2s early in the shot clock. A few of them were particularly frustrating with collier not knowing where she was on the court.

- Collier and Nurse couldn't guard anyone on the floor.

Excellent summation, thanks!

 

[HuskylnSC]

I really don't know what you saw. I saw Collier trying to rip the ball out of Mabrey's hands and Mabrey not letting her. If anything, Collier was trying to get under Mabrey's skin there (and it worked).

I don't know what the basketball purpose of grabbing the ball away and not waiting for Mabrey to hand it to the official could be.

The purpose is to get the ball in play while the other team is in a bit of disarray

 

[BigBird]

I really don't know what you saw. I saw Collier trying to rip the ball out of Mabrey's hands and Mabrey not letting her. If anything, Collier was trying to get under Mabrey's skin there (and it worked).
I don't know what the basketball purpose of grabbing the ball away and not waiting for Mabrey to hand it to the official could be.

At the risk of losing my BY Huskies Fan membership card, I have to agree. Unless I misunderstand the rules, Mabrey was only obligated to hand the ball to the ref, not to hand it to Phee.

 

[BigBird]

No. In two senses. There's nothing wrong with you saying it. And there's nothing wrong with what she did.

I love those Huskies, but I have to agree with you on this. Lots of otherwise enlightened people on the BY are making way too much out of a single act of frustration and/or competitiveness. I am not a fan of ND or Ms. Mabrey, but that has nothing to do with it.

 

[eebmg]

You don't do that in our house.

 

[Zorro]

If Gabby was really (as someone suggested in another thread) seeing three players and three basketballs, she did a pretty damn good job of isolating the middle one; five boards, five assists and only one turnover in 17 painful minutes!!!

 

[Florida Fan]

Both teams were incredibly tough. Don't lay it on ND that their shots didn't fall at the end. There was no quitting and no chocking. Just law of averages.

UConn is the better team. They won on talent. But Notre Dame played the better game.

I'm not feeling sorry for ND. They have two significant contributing transfers, two top-notch shooting guards and an emerging bench player who has started. Add another post-grad big to match their "hardship" Nebraska transplant, and the Irish don't need resusitation OR the last rites. Muffet called it. They are close to where they want to be, less today's late reminder as to who is still number one.

 

[Gus Mahler]

In the post-game presser, Geno said that Lou is really tough, even though she doesn't look it.

I think her patience is really admirable. She so much more in control of herself.