So many things to take from this game. It is hard to know where to start. To begin with I have heard so many times that 5'6" is too small for basketball...well, I don't want to hear that anymore...let's not talk about the size of the player...you have to talk about the size of their heart. That kid has a huge heart and she plays the game with all of it. 34 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists...UConn had no answer for her. Nika couldn't guard her, KK couldn't guard her, and Paige couldn't guard her...kudos to Hildago...she certainly does not play like a freshman. And, we may very well have watched the performance that clinches her Freshman of the Year award.
Westbeld and Citron did their job...Westbeld stepped up and made big shots...Hildago and Citron found her over and over again. Marshall coming off the bench for 10 points was a bonus for the Irish. The irony of this game is those four players are the only ones who scored in this game. Westbeld, Hildago, and Citron accounted for 72 of the Irish's 82 points...ugggg!
Now to UConn...something was off for this game...the vaulted defense that we have watched over the last 9 games was nowhere to be found...I have to admit it left me scratching my head. I guess it just goes to show what a dominant point guard means to a team.
Paige was double and tripled teamed but, so what that means other players are open... Paige should understand that going forward in for the rest of the season...this game will be part of the scouting of our opponents. Teams will follow the blueprint to render Bueckers ineffective and force the rest of the team to win the game. We are going to need to run some screens to free up Paige. ND was great at setting screens and giving Hildago the ability to turn the corner and go in for an uncontested lay-up. Some weak side help would be good, taking charges or something. Giving the kid a free shot to the basket is unacceptable.
Shade and KK played well and did pretty much what I expected, scoring double-digits, and getting rebounds and steals. KK was 2-2 from three...while Shade's three-point shot was off going 0-6.
Special kudos to Aaliyah Edwards...her double-double against ND was impressive. She can't be expected to do it all on her own...she needs help. Ice tried but unfortunately, she still wasn't ready for the prime time. Brady only got one rebound, she has to do better.
I can't say how much Nika's consistent foul trouble is a liability to UConn's team effort. I do not prescribe to the notion that when Nika fouls out she shows how valuable she is to the Team. On the contrary, when she fouls out she shows what a liability to the team she is. We need her on the floor. We do not have anyone on the bench to replace her. Bettencourt is the best we got off the bench. She is a senior leader on the team...she doesn't help the team getting silly fouls and fouling out. Let's be real folks our opponents are not fouling out. KK and Shade aren't fouling out. They start the game and they finish the game. Nika needs to be mindful of her value when she is on the court...and she must understand her fouling out or being on the bench in foul trouble is a liability.
Sadly, UConn did some good things in this game...they had 13 steals and ND only had 4; UConn only had 13 turnovers while they forced 16 on ND. However, they got out-hustled on the boards 37 to 27. They allowed ND to outscore them in the paint 46 to 26. And, UConn did not shoot the 3 ball well at all. And the saddest of all was losing that way at home in front of all our alumni who were at the game. All in all, I like most of the boneyarders here am disappointed in this game...this was an opportunity to make a statement, gain some momentum, and make the argument that we deserve to move up in the polls. Oh well, it is back to the drawing board. Let's hope Geno can use this game to get more out of this team and the players will use this game as a reminder of what happens if you don't want to win more than your opponent wants to win.