Toughness prevails

[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.

 

[bags27]

The interesting thing about Geno's admiration for Lou is how he used to make fun of her for being a California kid who got by on finesse. Seems to me like they both grew a bit over the past two years.

 

[the Q]

Throwing a fit on that wild layup attempt when it was physically impossible for her to get fouled on the play.

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.

Her pitching a fit after a wildly out of control layup and wanting a foul on a play where that was basically a physically impossibility, didn't help matters.