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Message: [QUOTE="#12in21, post: 4441930, member: 10763"] Having watched both first round games, I think our main advantage is the cohesiveness of how our guys operate on both offense and defense. Both teams have a key player that is critical to the flow of their games, for Iowa it is clearly Caitlin, for Uconn it is Nika. If Paige had not gone down, most likely this contest would be about who can carry their team more ( in points, assists, boards...) Paige or Caitlin. That isn't the case this season though and Uconn is not dependent on their 'best player' to have their best game against a great opponent to win. If we can disrupt Caitlin's game significantly, not just in her scoring but in her ability to facilitate on offense, we win. If they can make us play a half court game and take away Nika's ability to get the ball up court fast and run our transition game they likely can. I think our team defense, which has improved with each game, will allow us to both disrupt Caitlin's game and allow us to play more at the pace we have thus far this season. Two other things could be possible issues for us. Aaliyah needs to stay out of foul trouble, if she does and Caitlin has issues getting Monika the ball where she likes it, Aaliyah has the clear cut advantage, being both more mobile and athletic. Secondly, we have to be focused and aggressive. Our offense is dependent on fast paced great movement which sets up our ability to score quickly and in bunches. We can't be tentative. Nika's passes on run outs have been, in many cases, extremely precise - just by the fingertips of opponents and dependent on good hands and quick finishes to the basket. If we end up in a half court contest, we still could win the game but this would become much more of a matchup between who can dominate Azzi or Caitlin. In that scenario, if we avoid foul trouble to key players, IMO we still should have the edge due to better overall talent but it would mean successfully playing a totally different type of game than we have thus far this year. I am hoping for each team battling to play their 'best game', Nika and Caitlin are both very intense players and their respective teams feed off of their energy. If this plays out we walk away with another W. [/QUOTE]

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