UConn-Creighton postgame | Page 2 | The Boneyard

UConn-Creighton postgame

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Glad to see us pull away in the 3Q. I'm going to be a bit negative here, but from the eye test, the team looked lethargic in the 1st half. Lots of missed layups and missed open shots. KK really needs to be more of a scoring threat, otherwise we only have 3 reliable scorers in Paige, AEdwards and Shade. Nika is on and off depending on the game and competition on the offensive end. For us to really do well in the tournament, really need more solid contributions scoring wise. Not sure why but I feel like our offense has stagnated a bit compared to our win streak before the ND loss. I don't find Shade as aggressive and KK seems to have regressed a bit scoring wise. Ice on too many occasions holds the ball at the top of the key looking to find a teammate and I'd prefer her to be more deliberate and aggressive. Hoping they can get hot during the right time, but wasn't too impressed today.
 
Surly1 said:
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Aaliyah got off to a rough start offensively, but she came on, finishing with 20. Creighton was determined to stop her and Paige, and both had to work to score. ...

Nika made sure to hit a couple of threes for her parents in attendance.

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in first Q huskies repeatedly forced the ball to liya inside even though she was quickly triple teamed. liya's great, so, sure, try it a few times, but when it's clear flannery's scheme is working you gotta give liya a break instead of feeding her the lions. when nika and ash took advantage of the focus on liya (and paige didn't, or couldn't) -- voila! -- success and that kept uconn competitive. otherwise uconn's continued 'liya attack down low' strategy could have led to a substantial deficit. adjust, and use everybody!

nika did a lot more than that. she insisted -- via her example -- that her team play with intensity and together. i thought it was vital in this game (as always) and think she deserves more than just a mention -- even though she didn't pile up a bunch of scoresheet stats. badass!
 
Well, the first half was stink city for both teams. The second half the clouds parted and the sun began to shine for UConn. All well and good but they cannot play lilke that and survive in the big tournement. Moving forward into the breech.
 
Forego said:
Classic Nika! During a lay up attempt she gets smacked in the face for the second time in the game, knocked to the floor and throws one her signature temper tantrums slamming her fist on the floor. Oh, by the way the Creighton player was not called for a foul. Actually, I was surprised the refs did not call a phantom foul on Nika.
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They could have t'd up Nika for cursing...not that it wasn't justified.
 
This was a game in which each half was like a different game.

Overall, I suspected that this would not be a case of lightning striking twice. I thought game one was atypical of Creighton's potential. Kudos to Creighton for coming into this game with a different mindset and shaving 24 points off their first-game deficit. I also think the first half was impacted by the time the game was played. Elite athletes are like well-oiled machines. If one thing is working right the efficiency and effectiveness are impacted. The early play time impacted their circadian rhythm. In the second half, they were a different team...they turned Creighton over, didn't give Creighton time to set up their packed-middle defense, and made some key three-point shots which opened the middle up for Aaliyah to operate.

KK needs to work on her shot over the summer...she needs to return as a better shooting threat or she will have difficulty competing for a starting position with Bueckers, Azzi, Shade, Zeibel, Bettencourt, and Chelli. KK does everything else well she rebounds, creates assists, and plays good defense but her lack of shooting prowess allows other teams to sag off her on defense...and allows them to be able to jam up the middle making it difficult for Edwards to work around the basket.

How can anyone who watches UConn play not fall in love with the play of Ashlynn Shade...she is so solid and consistent. You know what you are going to get with her every game. Ashlynn missed a double-double today by a single rebound. Her 15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal stat-line contributed to today's victory.

Also, I would be remiss if I did not mention the great game Aaliyah had. She was 2 rebounds short of a double-double. She had at least three Creighton players draped all over her in the first half.

Of all the players on the bench...I think Aubrey Griffin is the one we miss the most. Her ability to come off the bench and immediately impact the game is invaluable. Her defense and athleticism give UConn an extra thing that opposing teams must focus on.

As good as a player as Paige is...I can't help but mention that beautiful stop-and-go that resulted in a clear lane under-handed lay-up. It was so smooth I couldn't help but turn to my wife and say, "Whoa!" "Can you believe had smooth that was?" I am so glad that she is coming back next year...I don't want this kid's time at UConn to end.
 
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veryolddog said:
Well, the first half was stink city for both teams. The second half the clouds parted and the sun began to shine for UConn. All well and good but they cannot play lilke that and survive in the big tournement. Moving forward into the breech.
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South Carolina was down by 7 to unranked Georgia at halftime yesterday but ended up winning by 14, thanks to a 22-8 run in the third quarter. Are they going to lose early in the tournament too?
 
Forego said:
Classic Nika! During a lay up attempt she gets smacked in the face for the second time in the game, knocked to the floor and throws one her signature temper tantrums slamming her fist on the floor. Oh, by the way the Creighton player was not called for a foul. Actually, I was surprised the refs did not call a phantom foul on Nika.
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Actually, no phantom foul,as Nika backhanded the defender as she was falling.. Play on!
 
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ABCDFE said:
Glad to see us pull away in the 3Q. I'm going to be a bit negative here, but from the eye test, the team looked lethargic in the 1st half. Lots of missed layups and missed open shots. KK really needs to be more of a scoring threat, otherwise we only have 3 reliable scorers in Paige, AEdwards and Shade. Nika is on and off depending on the game and competition on the offensive end. For us to really do well in the tournament, really need more solid contributions scoring wise. Not sure why but I feel like our offense has stagnated a bit compared to our win streak before the ND loss. I don't find Shade as aggressive and KK seems to have regressed a bit scoring wise. Ice on too many occasions holds the ball at the top of the key looking to find a teammate and I'd prefer her to be more deliberate and aggressive. Hoping they can get hot during the right time, but wasn't too impressed today.
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Well said and perhaps repeated by Geno in the locker room. Hard to understand the many missed layups at this stage of the season. Seems like we pass the ball to much and thus pass up some open shots. KK is a disrupter on offense and needs to keep that juice flowing, just slow down a bit when looking to the layup.

We seemed content to play even w/ C in the first half. Against better teams that can be fatal. Play up and our game, not theirs.
 
ABCDFE said:
Glad to see us pull away in the 3Q. I'm going to be a bit negative here, but from the eye test, the team looked lethargic in the 1st half. Lots of missed layups and missed open shots. KK really needs to be more of a scoring threat, otherwise we only have 3 reliable scorers in Paige, AEdwards and Shade. Nika is on and off depending on the game and competition on the offensive end. For us to really do well in the tournament, really need more solid contributions scoring wise. Not sure why but I feel like our offense has stagnated a bit compared to our win streak before the ND loss. I don't find Shade as aggressive and KK seems to have regressed a bit scoring wise. Ice on too many occasions holds the ball at the top of the key looking to find a teammate and I'd prefer her to be more deliberate and aggressive. Hoping they can get hot during the right time, but wasn't too impressed today.
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If you are going to ask KK, then you need to ask the senior, Muhl to be more of a threat as well.
 
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dtbtbtb said:
Few thoughts:
*Good win against a scrappy opponent. Crieghton is difficult to defend as they move constantly and are really good 3 point and free throw shooters.
*The refs were horrendous in the first half as AE was hit on the hands whenever she got the ball with the refs swallowing their whistle. Good for Geno for taking a technical. The reffing was much better in the second half even if they called fouls on Ice for breathing on someone.
*Paige: took the game over especially when AE was out with foul troubles. Still would like her to be more aggressive in looking for her shots.
*AE: had a real good game especially considered that she was fouled practically every time she touched the ball around the basket.
*Shade: The energizer bunny. Constant movement, smart fundamental player, hustle, rebounding and great shooting. The Badass of this game IMO.
*KK: a game to forget. Good on defense but couldn't hit anything today. 1-9 on FG and 0-3 on Free throws is horrible. Needs to work hard on getting a mid-range shot.
*Nika: some strange TO's. Steady in all other aspects of the game.
*Ice: The reason Geno didn't play her more in the first half was that Crieghton is a very difficult team for Ice (at this point of her career) to defend with all the switches and cutting. After AE got her 4th foul with Geno having no choice but getting Ice in, she actually played real well. Moving on defense and her block was real nice!
*Q: seemed confused on defense and unsure on offense.
*All in all after a scarry first half and start for the 3rd quarter, UConn did a great job on defense and that turned the game around (together with Paige, AE and Ash scoring).
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First of all it's Nika and second 2 of her 4 t/o's the player stopped and she was passing the ball to the area that she thought that the player was going to.
 
LwrcasefaN said:
AE gets mugged and they call ICE for breathing on someone too deeply. SMH
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The no-call in the 1st half, where Liya was pulled to the floor, and Geno got the Tech was just one example of a terrible game by the ref crew. Another pitiful sequence was the lack of a held ball call by the female ref who then called a doubled dribble on the Bluejay player who I think had even dribbled once. Liya has to have bruises all over her body!
 
Are Nika and Paige PO'd at each other. They seemed to be arguing at the beginning of the presser.
 
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It was a good crowd, nice to see a lot of young people at the game.

Also the last game at XL this year, UConn goes 7-0 there with some impressive wins, especially Louisville, Marquette and now Creighton.

Creighton is a veteran team that is 21-2 against teams other than UConn. They have been together for a long time and they know how to play together. They are well coached. So even though we crushed them earlier this year, we should not have expected them to just roll over. They did not.

It was clear from the outset that they were going to collapse on Aaliyah and to hedge on Paige, and live with what the other three got. The players covering Paige, looked like Brake and Maly for the most part, were a little taller than her and that caused her some problems in the first half. Although they are not a big team they did have a size advantage at some positions.

I thought UConn was going to break away in the second period but then they got sloppy. UConn`s defense and rebounding was solid throughout. Jensen is a pretty good player - she has some length and at times was able to shoot over her defender in the lane. Ronsiek was a non-factor.

This is a good time for UConn to get a mini-break, no practices until Thursday and a lesser opponent in DePaul on Sunday.

I think UConn is doing a lot of good things right now with the major area for improvement being outside shooting.
 
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