UCONN-Maryland post game thread | Page 4 | The Boneyard

UCONN-Maryland post game thread

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Ditto to all the previous comments on how the team and individual players did. Some negatives but mostly good stuff.

A couple of things stood out to me:

I loved how hard everyone worked on defense. Quick hands and feet, aggressive closeouts, taking very few possessions off. If they can make that kind of effort game after game, winning games will be a lot easier.

While the defense was consistent, holding MD to 11, 16, 9 and 12 points per quarter, the offense ebbed and flowed, scoring 14, 28, 15 and 23 by quarter.

KK - yes, everyone has good things to say about her. I'd like to up the ante and declare her a soon to be star. She looks as comfortable on the floor as any of the upperclassmen and if she had to get 30 minutes a game I have no doubt she'd do very well. That won't happen this year (barring injuries - get well Azzi!) but next year and the rest of her college career she will and that is going to be fun to watch. One simple play showed me a lot. KK had the ball in a two person break with Paige. There was room for KK to put her head down and drive all the way to the basket, which any eager freshman would do. Instead she made the right play with a pretty little bounce pass to Paige who laid it in. Nice.

MD lost to SC 114 to 76, MOV 38. They lost to us 80 to 48, MOV 32. The MOVs are similar but the scoring couldn't be more different. In evaluating how we stack up to SC I have no idea what this means unless it is the obvious - SC has the better offense and we have the better defense.
 
That's the kind of defense we are used to seeing..Freshman played great..Brenda's team played like they always do..no defense and when Seller's picked up her third foul they had no offense either
Azzi what can you say..she's had knee trouble since high school and maybe always will..I hate to say it but Caroline should probably be the 3rd or 4th one off the bench if that.She's a liability out there now even has trouble with layups and looks really slow
It's been quite awhile since we 've seen Uconn play defense like that
Outrebounded again and AE with 6 to's not good
Great team energy and effort that was missing on Sunday
 
We need to honestly evaluate the opposition to judge how much was demonstrated by this win. I think that by the end of the season, NC State will have several wins against Top 20 teams not named UConn, but I wonder if Maryland will have any wins against ranked teams.

Sellers is talented, but she and several other Terrapin players seem to be carrying extra weight, and I think their fitness is open to question. I see that they played South Carolina even for most of the first half in Sunday's game, and then came apart in the second half. In tonight's game against UConn, they were competitive for about the first 15 minutes of the game, and after that, UConn's lead got steadily bigger.

I hope this game convinces all Boneyarders that Geno is not averse to playing freshmen, or to playing a 9 or 10 player rotation, if everyone is playing at a competitive level. If someone had to be injured, it's good that the injury is in the backcourt. UConn has a lot of depth there, and while no one can shoot like Azzi, there is enough talent and hustle among the remaining guards so that her temporary absence can be endured without too much disruption.

Another note about the game which I consider important: everyone here seems to say that Qadence had an "off game". I disagree -- she shot the ball poorly, but she played well in all other aspects of the game. I remember noticing that within two or three minutes of her entering the game, she had a block, a great lob pass to Aaliyah for a score at the end of the shot clock, and she had a hand in a steal. Geno always distinguishes between shooting well and playing well (which implies a parallel distinction between shooting poorly and playing poorly). Boneyarders should heed that distinction.
 
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Was so happy to see UCONN play amazing defense which (as always) leads to our offense clicking.

Paige….WOW!! So glad she’s back.
Our freshmen played so well. I hope this is their “ah ha” moment. But they are freshmen and it’s early. I won’t hold my breath
 
I was at the game, great atmosphere, a few empty seats but announced as a sellout, the student section was filled and jumping.

What I admired most about tonight was how maniacally hard they played defense on every possession. Fun to watch. Fighting hard through picks, staying in front of the opponent, not giving one inch. Nika`s personality and will times five. And the stats show it, 16 steals, 9 blocks, forced 27 turnovers. The game was sloppy and lacked flow, but nice that we can win a game like that against a ranked opponent by 32.

That we were only up 14-11 after the first quarter seemed weird in that we were outplaying them by more than that. Felt like we should have scored at least 20. Caroline had some great opportunities that she didn`t cash in on. It seemed like the baskets Maryland was getting were largely the result of broken plays, tipped balls that ended up with Maryland, etc.

Paige reminded us tonight who she is. Just an amazing talent. Passed up a shot or two and Geno let her know about it. Otherwise at another level, and she was especially gritty on defense with six steals and two blocks.

Gotta love the freshman, all three plus Brady play hard and with toughness. KK plays like a veteran college player and Shade is super engaged and intense. Not a great game for Q but she played hard and without fear as well. The three Brady hit late in the game was not important to the outcome but I think it was big for her confidence.

I also liked the lineup with essentially three point guards in the game at once, Paige, KK and Nika.

Bottom line, this game was a defensive statement. If you want to score against us, you will have to earn it. UConn has depth and the bench players are willing to grind it out defensively. Everything you try to do will be challenged. I think that this is going to be the defining personality of the team at least for now. Hoping that Ayanna can contribute to that defensive effort soon and that Azzi is not out long. For what it is worth, she seemed to be walking fine, without a limp or anything.
 
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JoePgh said:
We need to honestly evaluate the opposition to judge how much was demonstrated by this win. I think that by the end of the season, NC State will have several wins against Top 20 teams not named UConn, but I wonder if Maryland will have any wins against ranked teams.

Sellers is talented, but she and several other Terrapin players seem to be carrying extra weight, and I think their fitness is open to question. I see that they played South Carolina even for most of the first half in Sunday's game, and then came apart in the second half. In tonight's game against UConn, they were competitive for about the first 15 minutes of the game, and after that, UConn's lead got steadily bigger.

I hope this game convinces all Boneyarders that Geno is not averse to playing freshmen, or to playing a 9 or 10 player rotation, if everyone is playing at a competitive level. If someone had to be injured, it's good that the injury is in the backcourt. UConn has a lot of depth there, and while no one can shoot like Azzi, there is enough talent and hustle among the remaining guards so that her temporary absence can be endured without too much disruption.

Another note about the game which I consider important: everyone here seems to say that Qadence had an "off game". I disagree -- she shot the ball poorly, but she played well in all other aspects of the game. I remember noticing that within two or three minutes of her entering the game, she had a block, a great lob pass to Aaliyah for a score at the end of the shot clock, and she had a hand in a steal. Geno always distinguishes between shooting well and playing well (which implies a parallel distinction between shooting poorly and playing poorly). Boneyarders should heed that distinction.
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I don't know quite what MD would look like. Turns out that with the exception of Sellers they are big, slow, and more aggressive than skilled. The announcers gave Brenda props for scheduling tough games - really?
 
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I really like the way KK plays. First, she's big (thick and strong) and quick. KK can consistently create her own shot by driving inside and finishing among the trees or doing a step-back. This adds a whole new dimension to the offense, especially in the half-court. And she can lead the break and break the press at ease. At one point, I thought she was going to go behind the back pass a-la Magic (and the SC Freshman!) on a beautiful dish to Paige. I think she could do it, but she was smart as Geno would have gone nuts if she messed it up! Finally, she a pest on defense and a beast going after rebounds and loose balls. So much energy that fed to other players, especially Paige.

Nika might still start, but KK deserves a LOT of PT. She's one of the few players on the team that has plus athleticism and speed.
 
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Bigboote said:
I was fine with the intentional on Paige (she got her money's worth), but was beside myself that Sellers didn't get a personal foul. Evidently they missed the forearm to the jaw.

I was also taken aback that they didn't look to see about an intentional on the thumb to the eye that Paige got. It was contact above the shoulder when the ball was below her waist. No way that's a play for the ball.
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From my point of view, the Maryland player was in a defensive posture with hands up and stepped out to switch onto Paige. Just unfortunate incidental contact. I don’t think in the mili second of the switch the player thought “I am going to intentionally poke another player in the eye” ! But I guess we all see what we want to see!
 
Iowa loses at home to an unranked team. Clark had a poor game. The door is wide-open for Paige to claim her 2nd Player of the Year. She's the early favorite.
 
An end of the game item not commented on so far. Geno pulls Ashlynn in the last minute and subs in Q. I think that was an acknowledgement of the excellent game she played so that the fans could acknowledge her. Otherwise there was no reason to stop the game to make that last 30-40 second substitution.
 
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I’ve gotta say, I never thought I’d see a Brenda Frese team play that physical and also play pretty good defense for most of the game! I wonder if she brought in a defensive coach or if she simply got tired of her teams playing soft? Whatever it is, I have to say I was very impressed at how tough that team was and I think they’re going to be a tough out for all but the very best teams.
So proud of our defensive effort tonight! I don’t know what to think about Caroline. It’s really breaking my heart to see her like this! Of course, now we have to hope Azzi is OK And on top of that we have to hope Paige’s eye is fine! Unbelievable! It’s almost as though someone somewhere is sticking needles into little mannequins of our team!
It does look like we’ve got some keepers with our freshmen+Ice. Aubrey was really magnificent tonight although I did wonder why she passed up several wide open threes? Aaliyah seems a bit out of sorts but at least she played hard. Hopefully she can get her groove back before UCLA. It was such a pleasure to see the team respond with such a strong defensive effort! If they can keep that up we’re gonna be fine.:)
 
I like what I saw tonight. When I turned on the game and heard that Azzi has to have her knee evaluated...I couldn't help but think..here we go again. My first thought was, "You got to be kidding me". When I shifted towards thinking about how we would play without Azzi in the line-up...I thought, oh hell...we are going to see a lot of zone, they will pack the middle and life would be miserable for Edwards in the middle. At times Maryland did just that...but UConn's disruptive defense prevented Maryland from doing what they wanted to do.

Bueckers gave the basketball world a reminder of just how impactful she was before she had to deal with her injuries. It almost seemed like the commentator was right...when he made his comment about "poking the bear". She came back from being poked in the eye like a possessed woman...both defensively and offensively.

Thank God that we had Ashlynn Shade knock down a couple of threes. Samuels, Nika, and Ducharme were unable to knock down their Three-point shots. Granted hit her first attempt...but, nada after that...and, wasn't it a hoot when Ice Brady stepped into a three? I am really happy to see our freshmen playing so well this early in their college careers. KK, Ashlynne, Samuels and Ice were all on the floor together and they did not lose any ground to Maryland...pretty impressive and it bodes well for UConn as the season progresses forward.

UConn's defense was truly suffocating in this game...they held Maryland to 48 points. Maryland scored 75 against South Carolina. While Maryland's offensive performance against SC was better than it was against UConn tonight, I am not sure that anything can be gleaned from that fact. We are still early in the season to be making any sweeping generalizations.

All in all, it was a great bounce-back game and one that we needed despite the loss of Azzi Fudd from the line-up. I was off the MOV by
quite a bit...but, watching UConn get back its defensive swagger was well worth not being in the running for any points on the prognosticators thread. I hope that Azzi's injury is minor and we get her back soon. And, I hope UConn can build upon this game and develop a consistent defense that teams will come to fear.

Let's hope that the North Carolina State game was an anomaly and the loss ends up being the turning point to UConn's season.
 
If I were an opposing coach I would make sure whoever was guarding Paige did nothing to make her mad.She is like the Hulk. Get her mad and watch out!

Much better play and attitude tonight. It did make you wonder why Shade didn't play last game. I bet Geno knows.I hope all is well with Ines. I too noticed she looked like she was in a foul mood on the bench.

I've watched Azzi's dad's Europe videos from this summer. Fun watch. Was interesting to know Ines Folks were there as was Amari's mom and sister. Somehow made me happy.
 
IMHO MD played over the line physically!
Hands and elbows flying out with hip checks, they played like hockey players not BB players!
Carolyn had ice on her head during the 4th period!
Q except for her shooting played a really good game, lots of hustle!
Geno has to find more minutes for Ines and Amari especially if injuries begin to mount up!
If we can play defense like we did vs MD we'll be in every game all season!
 
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When I saw the starting five, I thought, these are the toughest players on this team. It set the tone.
 
I don’t post a lot so I will be doing my best to post more in these threads so I’m not seen as some random fan who just comments when there’s negativity to be had.

First off, Paige did her thing on both sides of the ball. She was the catalyst offensively and defensively for the team today. She put the loss on her shoulders and she responded like I thought she could.

Second I would like to again give a shout out to the freshman for stepping up. kK and Shade did a good job even if Q couldn’t put it together tonight. I will imagine they will be inconsistent the entire year but they all are our future for sure. Especially Arnold. She’s the explosive and athletic guard we’ve been getting beat by since Stewie left.

Much better effort on defense and keeping our feet moving and beating offensive players to the spot. The rebounding still wasn’t impressive but I don’t think it will be. It will depend on our guards and I don’t think they will be that adept at it.
MilfordHusky said:
I thought that Paige yanked the ball and the kid went with it. Meanwhile, Paige took 2 shots to the face on that play.
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Paige didn’t yank her down on purpose, but she didn’t realize the ball got knocked loose by the time she tried to wrestle it to the ground. There was no ball involved in Paige’s wrestle to the ground.
 
On defense, as soon as the ball went up in the air towards the basket, Shade moved in front of domebody to box them out. 20 feet out, she put her body on somebody. Or she leaped for the ball. Right inder the basket, box out.
 
Bills Fan said:
It was not Geno's finest coaching job. 7 minutes for Ice and zero for Ashlynn. If you want to see someone excel at playing "team defense" just watch Shade. She isn't flashy like KK but she is solid in everything she does on the court.
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Love the way Ash covers double teams by jumping in the passing lanes. She is as fundamentally solid as any Freshman who has entered this program. If Azzi is not shooting well, Ash is a totally viable sub. She is a better defender, better rebounder and is faster and more athletic.
 
RSHERMVIKES said:
IMHO MD played over the line physically!
Hands and elbows flying out with hip checks, they played like hockey players not BB players!
Carolyn had ice on her head during the 4th period!
Q except for her shooting played a really good game, lots of hustle!
Geno has to find more minutes for Ines and Amari especially if injuries begin to mount up!
If we can play defense like we did vs MD we'll be in every game all season!
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I hope Geno can find a way to work in Ines. I don’t think he will ever find more minutes for Amari.

As I understand it, its a usual thing for Caroline to sit with an ice pack on her head, on the bench. That in itself should be troubling.
 
wingsfan055 said:
I really like the way KK plays. First, she's big (thick and strong) and quick. KK can consistently create her own shot by driving inside and finishing among the trees or doing a step-back. This adds a whole new dimension to the offense, especially in the half-court. And she can lead the break and break the press at ease. At one point, I thought she was going to go behind the back pass a-la Magic (and the SC Freshman!) on a beautiful dish to Paige. I think she could do it, but she was smart as Geno would have gone nuts if she messed it up! Finally, she a pest on defense and a beast going after rebounds and loose balls. So much energy that fed to other players, especially Paige.

Nika might still start, but KK deserves a LOT of PT. She's one of the few players on the team that has plus athleticism and speed.
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When Nika and KK were on the floor together it seemed the offense was a little disjointed. Nika seemed a little lost when KK had the ball in her hands.
 
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