I was a the game and it was a full house, raucous crowd, lots of fun. The banner raising was joyous - the banner is way over at the end of the rafters across from the UConn bench. Figuring out where the 2026 banner will go is a nice problem to have!
All the current players who were on the 2025 team were introduced, and Aubrey was also in attendance and was introduced. Kaitlyn Chen and Paige made some nice remarks on video on the scoreboards.
Morgan Cheli was in a boot. Both Gandy and Blanca participated in pregame warmups.
We had fourteen players warming up and they had nine. For those of us who have been seeing the exact opposite for many years, it was a welcome sight.
I am pretty sure that Olivia Vukosa was at the game, behind the UConn bench.
What more can you say about Sarah and Azzi. Both clearly playing at a first team AA level.
The one other who who stood out in person to me is Heckel. She is something. Quick, fearless, aggressive, and is very good at creating her own midrange shot like someone else we know who now plays for a team in Dallas. She has definitely thus far exceeded my expectations for her.
Serah is not going up strong inside as much as I would hope. I don't understand kicking it out when you are two feet from the basket. She did that a couple of times. She missed a few bunnies. The UConn weight room will pay dividends for her.
Aside for a tentative start to the game and a horrendous start to the fourth quarter, it was a very impressive performance. Geno handled the subbing very well. With two or three more coming on board, it won't get any easier for him. But way better than a couple of years ago when he could barely field a team.
Similar to the National championship game, the pedal to the medal occurred when Geno went to the "small" lineup in the second quarter. Davis, the big center for Florida State, could not come close to containing Sarah. If Sarah is not the player of the year, then I will be very surprised.
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