UCLA postgame

[jdote33]

I know I'll get a lot of down arrows but I didn't think Paige played all that well. 9 - 23 from the field and only 3 assists. She took some poor shots that really killed the momentum and forced shots looking for fouls. Additionally Kiki Rice had a much better all around game similar to Saniya Rivers a couple weeks ago. I don't think anyone played that well for UConn unfortunately. But they fought. Paige fought. Just wasn't enough.

It's tough to see all these first. UCLA and Cori Close beating Uconn for the first time. Last seasons sweet 16 loss, big east losses, losing in national championship game.

 

[Centerstream]

If you watched the game, you might feel differently.

Not likely...

 

[oldhusky]

Amari gave the team some good minutes tonight.

Didn't see the game, but did see the box-score. 0 Points, 0 Rebounds, 0 assists, 0 blocks, 0 steals, but she did have some stats, 2 turnovers and 1 foul. A little hard to imagine good minutes with that stat line.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Didn't see the game, but did see the box-score. 0 Points, 0 Rebounds, 0 assists, 0 blocks, 0 steals, but she did have some stats, 2 turnovers and 1 foul. A little hard to imagine good minutes with that stat line.

She did what she was asked to do. She limited the player she was guarding.

 

[toadfoot]

In the post game Geno said Amari gave him some good minutes pushing her player up the lane.

Faint praise if ever there was

 

[Centerstream]

I know I'll get a lot of down arrows but I didn't think Paige played all that well. 9 - 23 from the field and only 3 assists. She took some poor shots that really killed the momentum and forced shots looking for fouls. Additionally Kiki Rice had a much better all around game similar to Saniya Rivers a couple weeks ago. I don't think anyone played that well for UConn unfortunately. But they fought. Paige fought. Just wasn't enough.

It's tough to see all these first. UCLA and Cori Close beating Uconn for the first time. Last seasons sweet 16 loss, big east losses, losing in national championship game.

Sorry, the down arrow has been removed, but there still is the Ignore member option ...
And don't forget another of last year's "first"...Brenda Frese's first win over UConn. But we showed her this year!

 

[Reypl21]

Didn't see the game, but did see the box-score. 0 Points, 0 Rebounds, 0 assists, 0 blocks, 0 steals, but she did have some stats, 2 turnovers and 1 foul. A little hard to imagine good minutes with that stat line.

From the radio it sounded like she did good on Betts. Boxed her out a couple of times, doubled her to cause a travel, and I think that's it

 

[CTBballfan243]

I know I'll get a lot of down arrows but I didn't think Paige played all that well. 9 - 23 from the field and only 3 assists. She took some poor shots that really killed the momentum and forced shots looking for fouls. Additionally Kiki Rice had a much better all around game similar to Saniya Rivers a couple weeks ago. I don't think anyone played that well for UConn unfortunately. But they fought. Paige fought. Just wasn't enough.

It's tough to see all these first. UCLA and Cori Close beating Uconn for the first time. Last seasons sweet 16 loss, big east losses, losing in national championship game.

All good things come to an end sooner or later.

 

[SARG 2011]

This program has won so much and there was a time when a win was all but guaranteed. Those days are over, too much talent spread out. Throw in major injuries and new pieces and that's what we see trying to figure things out in real time. Next game is tomorrow, they get another chance to grow as a team. I plan to enjoy....win or lose. Hoping for the 2nd and 4th quarter team though

 

[uconnever]

I know I'll get a lot of down arrows but I didn't think Paige played all that well. 9 - 23 from the field and only 3 assists. She took some poor shots that really killed the momentum and forced shots looking for fouls. Additionally Kiki Rice had a much better all around game similar to Saniya Rivers a couple weeks ago. I don't think anyone played that well for UConn unfortunately. But they fought. Paige fought. Just wasn't enough.

It's tough to see all these first. UCLA and Cori Close beating Uconn for the first time. Last seasons sweet 16 loss, big east losses, losing in national championship game.

Paige played very good. A lot of her misses were her shooting threes in the end of the game. And her being the only one doing anything she had to force some shots. Paige was definitely the best player on the floor it’s just her team wasn’t helping much. Kiki had help so we couldn’t just focus on her. She is really good too, I’m not saying she isn’t. But I agree about the firsts and as good as Paige is, I believe these other players aren’t up to UConn standards in regards to the kind of players we’ve gotten in the past. Some may disagree, but I’ve thought that for awhile. We aren’t athletic as a lot of teams and are to soft. Geno needs to recruit better. As I’ve said recently, these next two recruiting classes will be very telling as to where this dynasty is heading. We have two excellent pieces next year now he needs to focus on some tough athletic skilled bigs and more shooters, one is not enough.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Faint praise if ever there was

She gave all she is capable of giving. That’s all we can ask.

 

[hookshot]

Faint praise if ever there was

Faint praise is a start

 

[Blue Huskie]

Geno needs to stop going over seas looking for talent and focus on the kids here. It’s ok to have a couple of players from over seas but we are always not as athletic or tough as the better teams we play.

Well if most of the highly rated post players in the USA want to go to SC, Stanford and LSU he doesn't have much choice. We only had Nika and AE from outside the USA on the court tonight. Last year 2 of those "overseas" players carried us - Dorka and Lou. Janna may have helped a lot in a game like this had she not gotten hurt pre-season. I myself, like the foreign players a LOT. Keep gettiing them.

 

[SLY63]

Just checked out the box score. UConn had more FTs, 7 more FTAs and only 3 less 3 point FGs. We missed too many inside the arc, that was the difference.

 

[SJF]

There is going to be lots of growing pains with a team full of freshman that will have to grow up on the court. It will be fun most of the time watching the maturation. I don’t care if the opposing posts are 7’0 and 6’11 our Senior post has to produce more.

 

[jaydee602]

Geno Auriemma alluded to this postgame (radio):
"You can't beat a really good team with one player. It was disappointing that we didn't get more contributions from more people. Our combinations are all screwed up right now, so that's gotta get sorted out."

 

[Bone Dog]

Some of the commentary on Twitter suggested Paige was getting mugged on drives. Did anyone see this?

Also, I dread watching the replay, but it doesn't surprise me that Aaliyah struggled when I see how poorly the perimeter shooters other than Paige did. If we don't have a perimeter threat, then Aaliyah is bound to get crushed in the low post. For UCLA it's the opposite -- we need to hit 3s to open the post, they need to attract double teams in the paint to open up the perimeter. Who exactly are our outside threats now that Azzi and Caroline are out?

 

[dtbtbtb]

Few Thoughts:
*a depressing game for this UConn fan.
*UCLA got all that is needed fora championship run (size, outside shooting, great guards, ability to score from multiple players and areas of the floor)
*The first quarter was probably the worst defense I've seen from a UConn team. UCLA got every shot they wanted.
*The third quarter was one of the worst offensive quarters from a UConn team.
*This team is limited on offense unless AE finds her junior season form. Paige can't do it alone.
*If I'm Geno, I invest the playing time in Amari. Yes, she is limited but she is the only size on this UConn team. AE or Ice couldn't deal with Betts.
*Yes, Paige was forcing some shots but she always reminds you how amazing she is. As long as we have Paige, we have a chance.
*I don't understand why Aubrey a senior with amazing athletic abilities is so hesitant on offense. When she just plays, UConn looks so much better.
*KK is a player. Hopefully those kinds of experiences help her grow (quickly)
*Shade is so fundamentally sound that you can always play her and she'll contribute but she is not a big time scorer.
*The starting line-up should be AE, Ice, Aubrey, KK and Paige with Nika fist of the bench for a change of pace and Amari coming in for either of the bigs.

 

[bantamlaker]

I know I'll get a lot of down arrows but I didn't think Paige played all that well. 9 - 23 from the field and only 3 assists. She took some poor shots that really killed the momentum and forced shots looking for fouls. Additionally Kiki Rice had a much better all around game similar to Saniya Rivers a couple weeks ago. I don't think anyone played that well for UConn unfortunately. But they fought. Paige fought. Just wasn't enough.

It's tough to see all these first. UCLA and Cori Close beating Uconn for the first time. Last seasons sweet 16 loss, big east losses, losing in national championship game.

In the chat weren’t you the one who said it’s all on Paige including the loss in the sweet 16 when she was out the entire season. I guess that makes sense. It’s her fault she got injured so blame everything that went wrong on her. Next you’ll blame her for Azzi’s injury this season.
I’m guessing most of us on the BY are really thankful that we have Paige and are hoping she will stay healthy which will always give this team a fighting chance.

 

[real141]

NGL, I was anticipating a tough game, but a lot of what happened seemed very un-UConn like. UCLA going 71% for 3 pt in the first half was unreal. I'm not totally surprised of the result though. Loved Amari battling in the post on defense, however she reminds me of me, with some indecision on offense read/react, a paralysis by analysis. The bigger picture was going up against the #2 team in the nation after finding out a key starter and scorer is out for the year. Definitely not ideal. Coaches had to piece the team together both mentally, and tactically in a short time period.

That being said, I'm glad we had this game now in November. There is so much time left to rethink the starters, the sub pattern, who needs to do what, how we counter another team with size. If we were in March, there would not be much, if any time to recover and reconstruct the team, Shea's injury in the 1st round of the tourney in 1997 completely turned everything upside down, and the team never really recovered. Per Geno postgame, "Our combinations are all screwed up right now, so that's gotta get sorted out."

Geno has said that he intentionally plans the "murderer's row" schedule early, as he wants to play a competitive schedule so there aren't any surprises in March. A 3-2 record today is not going to doom us. Let's see what happens and look for both individual and collective growth within the team.

Amari has to get consistent playing time to help her confidence and get use to a rhythm. Coming in after never playing. Also we dont know if the coach advised her not to feel free to shoot or play her game.

 

[Audi1954]

Ok!

That was not great, but I only want to say one thing. Paige not looking for her shot immediately has been the only detriment to her game since she got here, IMO. She has got to shoot the ball every time she touches it(if a shot is there). She passes the ball way too much to open games. If her teammates see her shots going in, it gives them confidence. Unfortunately, she waits far too long to call her own offense.

I agree. Paige needs to start the game shooting right away. We can’t spot teams 19 points.

 

[TCC Kid]

As bad as we shot outside of Paige, if UCLA shoots threes like they did against Princeton (2-9 from three) we could have possibly won this game. It's all part of the growth process. Unfortunately our upperclasssmen are having a rough time.

In evert game there are 2 teams. Unfortunately tonight one scored better and defended better than Uconn. 2 Freshmen passed the test. Edwards isn't 6-5 inches. Paige is a super star. Ashlyn and KK proved they belong. Others need more work. Griffin is all I thought her to be--a PRO. Scouting does amazing things when combined with a great game plan. I'll cry in my beer later.

 

[SARG 2011]

A few weeks ago Geno made a comment about playing Aaliyah and Ice together in order to look like a real college team. In years past starting Aubrey and Aaliyah would do but not against elite teams. Not going suggest I know better than Geno but I agree that trying to get Amari more involved may help with some of the size that's coming their way. TX game is right around the corner.

 

[Zonepress]

This program has won so much and there was a time when a win was all but guaranteed. Those days are over, too much talent spread out. Throw in major injuries and new pieces and that's what we see trying to figure things out in real time. Next game is tomorrow, they get another chance to grow as a team. I plan to enjoy....win or lose. Hoping for the 2nd and 4th quarter team though

A voice of reason !!

 

[TCC Kid]

Amari has to get consistent playing time to help her confidence and get use to a rhythm. Coming in after never playing. Also we dont know if the coach advised her not to feel free to shoot or play her game.

I agree and disagree. If a good player gets more PT they become better. When a not so great player gets more PT they tend to lose games. Which is Amerri? We still don't know.

 

[scotty0330]

Faint praise is a start

Kind of like praising the waiter at end of meal for not dropping dinner all over the floor. Yes it’s a start but she is on full scholarship

 

[my2cents]

Taking my position back on the ledge.

 

[AgStatesman]

"It was beauty that killed the beast." Our beauty is frailty. AE is not a 5 in anyone's book, but she has to play it for Uconn. Nika's role needs to be diminished, but Azzi and Caroline being out keep her on the court. It's obvious that Paige longs to play in a system where she is but a cog. Maybe a big cog, but she loves the team game and being forced to play the savior role, while she excels at it, is not what drives her. This program has fallen hard. It's not about parity, it's about UConn not being able to be UConn.

 

[RadfordRam]

Edwards(Senior All American) 2-12 5 boards 5 points Nuff Said!

This game was not all on Edwards.

 

[Baylorfan]

So sorry for the injuries that continue to plague the team. I am a Baylor fan, but wbb needs UConn to be setting the pace. SC seems to be the only invincible team this year. But the season has just begun, and all that matters is where a team is in March. Good luck!