UConn-Providence post game thread

[victor64]

I have no solution but cheap shots like Aaliyah took has to stop. Two shots and the ball doesn’t seem to be enough.

The Huskies did seem to get a lot more calls after Edwards went down.

Paige’s OMG moment came near the end of the first quarter when she somehow made the driving crossover layup.

The ovation when Edwards came back out was a clear indication of the greatness of the UCONN following.

UCONN continues to do a great job of taking away the opponents top scorer.

Get well quickly Aaliyah.

 

[darrell]

“Aaliyah gets beat up every single game, it’s what she’s used to unfortunately. She means everything to us…we wouldn’t be here without her.” —Paige

 

[jcoton56]

No progress has been made on the contact above the shoulders issue. Why? Because there are never consequences.

 

[rubymae4]

Kudos to KK!
17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and only 1 TO.

Outside of the stat sheet, she was relentless from start to finish.

 

[veryolddog]

A good win! The Battered Bastards of Bastogne did it again. Very sorry for Edwards. Seems like a good amount of 3's. I liked especially the contribution of Ice Brady. Hope that Edwards can come back to play even with a new mask.

 

[EricLA]

Just so tired of the cheap shots UConn players have to endure. As was posted, no consequences so teams will continue to play "beat up UConn players". Maybe it's time for UConn to get an enforcer - someone who won't mind being ejected for hammering someone on the other team.

Bottom line we won, by a lot. But Q2 and the start of Q3 was not pretty. Red flags for sure, but nothing can be done now. Needed to be fixed earlier. We can only ride the horses we have. Special shout out to KK for finding her shot!

 

[Urshurak]

Very physical game that the refs let get out of hand. Same girl put three huskies down.

UConn had more offense, which is what we wanted to see. Let’s go UConn!

Ice shout out also. Nice game from her.

 

[Mike72fl]

Whom do you prefer to play against tomorrow, Villanova or Marquette?

 

[Bone Dog]

Providence played really high energy defense. It wasn’t always pretty but they made it competitive. I don’t blame them for what happened. But the refs let the game get out of hand and high spirits led to injuries. This was a disappointing performance from the officials.

Paige was a god on the court and sparked a massive response. KK Nika and Ice then put together a sustained unassailable 4th quarter.

I have no idea what tomorrow will look like because the girls are a bit beat up. The conference needs to do something to rein in physicality in the tournament. If Aaliyah can’t come back from the blow to her nose, we may not make the finals and be severely hindered in the NCAA tournament. That can’t help the conference going forward.

 

[omshanti]

Man, what a game. KK and Brady came through, great play from both. Edwards gets hammered every game. She’s tough yet no one deserves to get hit like that. Officials started calling a better game after her injury. I don’t know how Edwards keeps her cool every game.
too many turnovers first half. Cut those down and they will be fine. Outstanding win. Phew.

 

[Childhood]

Paige took many shots today and shot a lot of 3's. I like it. She has to be aggressive from now on.

 

[Surly1]

Since when did officials decide that Aaliyah is the female version of Shaq? I know Aaliyah is rugged, but she gets way more than she gives. She's not a dirty player and has always kept her emotions in check. It seems opposing teams have decided the way to beat UConn is to see how much they can get with in beating on Aaliyah.

Paige had a strange game. She started off on fire, then missed 7 shots in a row. Of course, Aaliyah exits and she goes off again, and finally misses her last 4 shots. Overall, she was a stats stuffer.

Aaliyah had that dazed look on her face. Hopefully, she'll be OK.

KK chipped in with a timely 17 today.

 

[oldude]

A couple thoughts on tonight’s game:

• The last UConn player you would ever expect to see go down with an injury is Aaliyah, who has been nothing short of a warhorse in her 4 years as a Husky. If she has a broken nose, I’m unsure how soon she could possibly be back on the court, even if she breaks out her superhero mask from last season.
• Nika with another 5 assists is now 1 behind Jenn for 3rd place on UConn’s all-time assist list.
• With Aaliyah out, I thought that Ice played very solid basketball at both ends of the court.
• As a reminder to everyone, Paige is just a different player this time of year, and she has been since high school. Like DT, Maya, Stewie and other Huskies before her, Paige is a BIG GAME PLAYER, who will take over a game if that’s what’s necessary to insure victory. Today’s stat line: 29 pts, 9 rbs, 6 assists, 3 stls, 3 blocks.
• Nice to see KK and Ashlyn rediscover their shooting stroke. KK in particular played a marvelous game, only to go down with less than 2 minutes left in the game with a quad? injury.
• Geno must feel like Job, whose faith in God was tested with all manner of abuse visited upon him by Satan. Job never cursed God. As for Geno, I can only imagine.

 

[Blueballer]

GREAT win today! I wish we would do what the PAC 12 does. 2 games and then a day off before the final. Tough to play 3 days straight.

 

[huskeynut]

My biggest take away from this game was don't piss off this UConn team. After Aaliyah went down, Nika had that drive to the bucket and an And One. Her reaction to scoring said it all. That startd the team to end Providence's hope of an upset.

To the Big East - when are you going to deal with shots to the head and face? Just calling an intentional foul, 2 shots and posession is not enough. That is not a consequence for a shot that injures a player. A shot to the head should be an ejection at a minimum. Maybe add a one game suspicion.

Kudos to Paige. What a game. Kudos to KK for her play on both sides of the ball. And kudos to Ice. She held her own.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Quick transcription of post game Debbie w/KK:

Injury - Charley horse? I got kneed in the thigh. I'm really good.

Shift after AE went out: She was the only one going for boards. We crashed boards when AE went out.

Offensive drought? When we couldn't score, rushing our offense. Soon as we started attacking things dropped.

Defense? Big emphasis. Got in bonus. Def energy brings our offensive energy

Return off week impact? Def did. One day away from court really helped.

March madness - feel off? Energy is always high. Great crowd. Opposing fans. Everyones yelling.

CD - may not join?

 

[oldude]

No progress has been made on the contact above the shoulders issue. Why? Because there are never consequences.

I was stunned that the Providence player was not ejected for a clear, intentional swing to Aaliyah's face.

 

[CL82]

Battered Bastards of Bastogne

That's a veryoldreference.

 

[Forego]

I am glad that UConn continued to pour it on after there was no doubt of the outcome.

 

[Centerstream]

I believe opposing coaches took notice of how UCF "played" us back in the AAC days and have used that against us. We can't/shouldn't do anything different to prepare for "physical" opponents except hope that the refs decide to call the game correctly.
The next time I hear the TV analyst say that our opponents are being physical, I will select the mute button.
I am soooooo proud of our Huskies for turning it up a couple notches and turning a 3rd quarter single digit lead to a 4th quarter 30+ point lead!!!!!

 

[CTBballfan243]

I was stunned that the Providence player was not ejected for a clear swing to Aaliyah's face.

she wasn’t ejected because it was not “a clear swing” at Edward’s. The player was going up for a rebound and Edward’s caught an elbow. It happens.

 

[boontonbomber]

Providence played really high energy defense. It wasn’t always pretty but they made it competitive. I don’t blame them for what happened. But the refs let the game get out of hand and high spirits led to injuries. This was a disappointing performance from the officials.

Paige was a god on the court and sparked a massive response. KK Nika and Ice then put together a sustained unassailable 4th quarter.

I have no idea what tomorrow will look like because the girls are a bit beat up. The conference needs to do something to rein in physicality in the tournament. If Aaliyah can’t come back from the blow to her nose, we may not make the finals and be severely hindered in the NCAA tournament. That can’t help the conference going forward.

If you think the Big East is especially physical, you must not watch much of the play in the power conferences.

 

[Urshurak]

I am glad that UConn continued to pour it on after there was no doubt of the outcome.

Yup. Geno let it roll. I bet he was smiling on the inside too.

 

[jaydee602]

File this under "So, you want to be a gambler!"
I placed bet on UCONN today. The point spread was 32 1/2 points.
It was a 6 point game halfway through the 3rd period, and Allyah was out of the game. In what world do the Huskies cover that spread?
It took a 24-8 fourth quarter that included Providence going scoreless for the last 4 minutes. A Quadence Samuel layup with 24 seconds left put me over the top with a 33 point magin.
After that improbable win, I am never betting again...until tomorrow!!

 

[maple]

A VERY physical game. I was impressed with how tough UConn played and battled against adversity.