UCONN - Iowa post game

[EricLA]

Far too exciting for my taste LOL. Seriously tho, it was like a heavyweight battle of body blows. UCONN had a great Q1, crappy start to Q3 that turned into a great quarter, and Iowa had a great Q2.

Overall, a tremendous win. Much closer than most of us I think thought. It goes to show how good a team who is blessed with talented upperclassmen who have played together for several years (Iowa) can be when they are clicking. They are way more than Just Clark and Czinano. 13-36 from 3 for Iowa - 36% - a bit high for my taste - was hoping someone would cover that kid Martin LOL. They are a really tough team to play.

But UCONN found their sea legs and ended up 8-20 (40%).

A fantastic learning experience for the team. The win was incredible, but Geno will be able to go back over the tape for the team and show then things that need improvement. This team is super focused and seems incredibly coachable so I expect good things from that.

Azzi and Lou pretty much no-shows offensively in H1. Much better in H2. BUT my POG is Aaliyah. Double double and 6 assists to boot. she was a monster. Nika is well on her way to being one of my favorite all time PG's for UCONN. only 2 points and 6 TO's BUT 13 assists? COME ON. Ridiculous in a great way. Aubrey was great in the 1st half, but kind of quiet for stretches. Not her best game, but I think it will be hard to take her out of the starting lineup when Dorka comes back.

And how about Caroline? Talk about finding your sea legs. She did a lot of good things on the floor including going 3-6 from 3 and scoring 15 points. Ayanna continues to get better each game as well.

Overall a great win. Not a great MOV, but what a gutty comeback from the team - no quit in these guys.

 

[oldude]

Some thoughts on the Iowa game:

• What a great women's basketball game!!!!
• For many BY’ers there were a lot more questions than answers entering this season, and the questions only grew when it became clear that Caroline and then Dorka were added to UConn’s walking wounded. The Huskies breezed through their first 4 games, including 2 wins over top-10 teams. But against a veteran Iowa team, starting the same 5 players for the 3rd consecutive season, UConn encountered its first real battle of the young season.
• UConn’s guards struggled to knock down open shots in the first half. Aaliyah and Aubrey both picked up the slack, allowing the Huskies to hang around in the game.
• It was great to see Caroline earn more PT and finally find her range from the arc.
• One of the more amazing stats from this game is that Iowa hit 11 x 3’s by players not named Clark, while Clark was going 0-8 from the arc before finally hitting her first 3.
• Ayanna provided some really solid minutes off the bench.
• Nika with another double-digit assist game (13) and an outstanding defensive effort on Clark, whom she battled all game long. Clark ended up with 25 points on 9/24 shooting with Azzi in her grill all game long.
• It was a tale of two halves for Azzi. After an awful shooting first half 1-8 (0-5), Azzi started attacking Iowa from the mid-range, and then started knocking down shots from the arc and driving to the basket. Once Azzi got hot, the entire Husky team had a weight lifted off their shoulders.
• Aaliyah & Azzi are both playing at an AA level. Nika is playing like the NDPOY!!!!!

 

[darrell]

Anyone notice Geno to Lisa Bluder at the end? “That was a great game. Damn, you guys are hard to play.”

 

[victor64]

It is not an excuse and I understand why, but starting the game at 10 is not got good for anybod

Caitlin Clark isn’t the ball hog freshmen anymore. Wow.

Aubrey and Aaliyah kept them in the game in the first half with productive offense. Edwards from the high post and Aubrey’s drives were a treat.

I was not worried when Azzi started cold. When she gets hot, you can not guard her.

Another double figure assist day for Nika while holding her own against Clark in the second half. Geno high hopes for her but this good?

Ducharme and Patterson are slowly becoming solid contributors off the bench. CD reminded us in the second half that she is fearless.

Sometimes you have to just tip your hat when an opponent shoots that well from three.

Impossible to pick a bad ass because all seven played well.

This team continues to a blast to watch.

 

[huskyd]

We did our best to lose but couldn't manage it. I LOVE this team.

 

[SLY63]

A great game for the team. Dealt with adversity. AE dominated Czinano and CD is back!!

 

[Blakeon18]

Worthwhile game! Almost inclined to give the badass to Caroline....she looked SO much more like
her very own Badself!

Frustrating/entertaining....no injuries...and a win over a good team...yes!

 

[jcoton56]

Exhausting! Good job. Take a punch and keepfighting.

 

[Happydad745]

Couldn't get more exciting with the game going back and forth in the second half.....Nika and Aaliyah are so important to this team. Azzi kept fighting and finally come on strong later in the game. CD was doing great, hope to see more of her in the future. Great team effort.

 

[SLY63]

Anyone notice AE has done a 180 with her fouling issues?

 

[darrell]

Just looked at the box score: 30(!) team assists, led by 13 from Nika. Beautiful basketball was played today.

 

[Geew1992]

Just looked at the box score: 30(!) team assists, led by 13 from Nika. Beautiful basketball was played today.

You would’ve never thought that after the 1st half

 

[DEpup]

I'm really happy for Caroline. She was fully in the mix!!!

 

[JJTB]

Happy Holidays! Couldn’t be happier for CD! What a “team!” Just a fun bunch!!!

 

[HuskyNan]

Azzi and Lou pretty much no-shows offensively in H1.

IMO, it was more a case that they couldn’t figure out the triangle and two that Rebecca illustrated so well. Geno figured it out and corrected the problem at halftime, though

Really good coaching job by Geno today

 

[JavaMan]

 

[hoopsfan22]

So that's 5 wins with 3 of them coming against top 10 teams while having injuries to key players to deal with. Great job by the coaching staff this season.

 

[Hayven]

Great game for November. If Iowa can consistently get that 3 from their other players not names Clark, they can be a final 4 team.
Boy I hope this game was a stepping stone for CD. We need her offense and moxy.
Aaliyah is the player we all expected her to be. I’m glad we have Azzi and other teams don’t.

 

[Surly1]

This was an important game for UConn. It was the first time this season that they were tested and appeared out of sync. Give Iowa credit because they actually were playing good defense, particularly in the 2nd quarter.

Shout outs have to go to Aaliyah - she has clearly upped her game this season. Obviously, Azzi experienced her first half of adversity, but she showed her AA credentials by bouncing back in the second half. You may shut her down, but you can't stop her. That release of hers is second to none. Welcome back Caroline. She may not always look pretty, but damn is she effective. Her presence adds so much to this team in all areas.

As much as the stars shined, the key to the game was Conn's defense shut down and took Czinano out of her game and made her a non-factor. The key to Iowa's game is the give-and-take between Clark and Czinano. Clark had to work hard for her 25 and Iowa kept in the game due to their outside shooting.

What makes UConn so difficult to beat is the their defense. While the offense struggled at times, Aziz finding her stroke opened the court for the rest of the shooters.

Loving this team!

 

[JordyG]

Nika made Clark's day miserable and she said so during the TO. Clark shot 9-23 for her 25 points with 3 TO. Yes, Nika had 6 TO's, with her 13 assists. But this team executes under pressure. They may get stagnant, but they don't get rattled. This team is as mentally tough as any I've seen at UConn. Iowa did a great job shutting down UConn's transition game by shutting down the passing lanes in transition, keeping their mark in front of them in secondary transition, and playing a tight zone in the quarter court. Yet, UConn was able to execute against the various zones Bluder used, even though a lot of the actions Geno loves were shut down. A lot of his ladder screens were ineffective, and the zones took away some others. The reality is, Iowa with their experience matched up well against UConn, and it still didn't matter. UConn has too many shooters, and although outsized up front this team rebounds (45 today!) like demons. I think this team is ready for Providence.

 

[JeannoCT]

Just wow. So many great performances all at different times. And all were important. Great win.

 

[Monte]

WOW! So many thoughts on this game!

Too many bad things that I want to forget: passing, shooting, defense.

Good things: Edwards was steady throughout the game; Lou starting making shots in the 2nd half; Fudd starting doing what she is supposed to do(shoot more).

 

[bkart1978]

Caroline does SO many things on the court - underrated post defense, tie-ups, three-pointers, midrange shots, she’s an excellent finisher and I love love love her post-ups on smaller guards. So good to see her back.

 

[freekimchee]

Great halftime adjustment by coach. Really good to see AE playing this well. WB, Caroline!!! Super happy for this kid.

 

[HuskyNan]

There were 19 points from the bench today

Ayanna is coming right along. She’s looking better every game