UConn - Providence post game

[Centerstream]

Nitpicking: 7 of 31 from 3...shouldn't this be considered dreadful (I am being serious)
The Friars where annihilating us on the boards but we did close the gap
Feel really really bad for her...she must be having nightmares over her shooting woes these last 2 games. Who would have thought that the only player not scoring in the game would be her? Poor kid.

And I was amazed by Paige, when she was on the bench. One of the assistants handed her a Powerade after she sat down. I don't read lips, but I am pretty sure that Paige said "Thank you." Wow, what a great person she is.

 

[maple]

KK with the quick two buckets to start the game less than a minute in, followed by Nika making back-to-back 3s — that’s the kind of hot start you love to see!

Overall I was very impressed with everyone this game. Everyone was playing hard and doing well with scoring and rebounding. I loved how well we pressed to really put the game away in Q1.

I know we “only” played Providence, but the last two seasons we’ve at times struggled early on with Big East teams. So I was very glad to see that was not the case at all here!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

 

[Husky fanatic]

Good hustle all around. Amari with a whopping 2 rebounds and actually boxed out. Also had a couple of nice post moves. She looked almost energized. But then there’s this thing called defense. Ines earned a bit more time. Ice showed a bit more on offense but still not there on ”D”. Everyone else but Q was spot on. Sure fun to watch.

 

[64Zcode]

And, omg, Inês was awesome. 3-5 with a rebound and a steal in 9 minutes, and she chased down a Providence break from behind to get that steal. That was classic Inês. And she just looked really comfortable driving the lane, finishing at the rim, playing defense. The full package.

Inês has done that 3/4 court chase-down before...last year? Love her hustle and persistence, would like to see her get a few more minutes.

 

[dtbtbtb]

Few thoughts:
*A fun game to watch. there was no doubt UConn will win and the question was only by how much.
*Practically every UConn player that played showed some nice things.
*UConn press in the first quarter was crazy...relentless...piranha like...very very impressive.
*Second quarter was a meh as UConn missed a lot of shots that they usually make (Paige).
*Paige: while she struggled with her shot in the first half, she did Paige things with rebounds and assists and great defense.
*Nika: started the game amazing and after that was content to not shoot and just pass. 13 assists. Nice!
*KK: what a menace...i would hate to play against her. Great game by her! 8 steals. Wow
*Shade: another great game by her. She is so solid in all aspects of the game and i love how she somehow always manages to get her body squared to the basket before she shoots.
*AE: in the minutes she played she was great. we can't have her be in foul troubles against the better teams.
*Ice: continues improvement. Had one move that i think it was the first time she did in a game where she took the ball to the basket. She missed it but great move regardless. Hope she sticks with working under the basket or in the mid-range.
*Q: not a good game by her. It seems that she lost confidence and was forcing it.
*Ines: actually impressive game by her for the number of minutes she played. No fear...recovering her own miss from 3 for a lay-up, getting back on defense to deflect and steal the ball.
*Amari: there were 2 Amari in this game. The one which we all want to see , which battles under the boards, posts up and actually showing some post moves. here was a swell the other Amari which is the one that shoots for no reason from 3 and hangs around on the 3-point line but at least we saw that maybe there is still some chance we can get 10 productive minutes from her.
*Area of concern: the rebounding. Losing the rebound battle to a team which is not that athletic and not much bigger then UConn is a concern. Clearly the foul trouble of AE didn't help but if Paige is the leading rebounder, that is not a good sign.
*A good win where all players got some nice minutes.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Still struggling in second quarters and on the boards without Aubrey. Gonna need to figure that out eventually.

 

[Redux]

Amari with a whopping 2 rebounds and actually boxed out. Also had a couple of nice post moves. She looked almost energized. But then there’s this thing called defense.

Also 2-3 pretty bad and typical offensive possessions. But the positives were there this game, just enough to tease.

 

[DEpup]

Great game. Nice minutes by Ines and Amari. Gives both of them some confidence.

Our guard lineup is costing in rebounds. Not a problem now, but not sure what they will do against top competition. Guess we will find out.

It will be interesting. If they can keep up the steals to compensate then they'll be fine.

 

[Rb335]

Crazy defensive energy in the first quarter, that one stretch where they pressed was so effective. Providence looked like us against Ohio State’s press last year!

It’s interesting to see the four guard lineup, and to watch Paige play the 4. It seems like a lineup that will work very effectively in the big east, but I’m not 100% sold it will be effective against top teams. The rebounding is what it is, can’t even complain they are just severely overmatched. But that might eventually bite us.

My fear is that Paige will be exhausted and rendered ineffective offensively from battling in the post, or might find herself in some foul trouble. She’s been so willing, and it’s fun to watch her challenge herself. I just wonder if eventually we will want our best player in their best spots on the floor.

I thought ice played well. She’s always been the key to this season, so I continue to root for her.

Overall, great team win once again.

 

[and one]

1st Q was all about Nika and Ash, who accounted for 18 of the 27 points UConn scored. Nika didn't score again.

2nd Q was all about Ash, who scored 11 of the 16 points UConn scored. Paige had 4 and the rest of the team was shut out.

3rd Q AE got going with 10 points, Paige found her shot with 7, KK 6 and Ash and Ice adding 4 each.

4th Q Ines and Amari scored 10 points between them and KK added 2.

In the end we had two great offensive quarters, one blah quarter, and one quarter - the fourth - where it was more about player development for Ice, Ines and Amari.

KK was a beast on O and D. Paige didn't see the need to put up many shots and concentrated on her post skills. Ash made 7 shots including three 3s. Nice. Ines made a case for getting more minutes to rest our guards. Her hustle on running full court to get a block and following a 3 point miss to get the rebound to score 2 deeply impressed me. Ice looked pretty good. Amari made a couple of baskets so good for her. Q got shut out and had her second bad shooting game in a row. For now she gets the benefit of the doubt but we'll be in games where we'll need her scoring.

Small ball has its drawbacks but sure can be fun to watch.

 

[my2cents]

It looks like Paige will not be playing many Q4's in the Big East.

 

[Gusaford]

Maybe my eyes are deceiving me, but Ice seems quicker and more fluid than earlier in the season. She also seems to be boxing out better; there were several occasions where she didn't grab the rebound but her box outs opened the lane for a teammate to snag the ball. Progress.

Q was shooting ~ 40% from 3 before tonight's game so she clearly has the shot in her repertoire, but she's been forcing the trey in some recent games, including tonight, and the misses seem to be getting in her head. Love the confidence, though.

Where would the team be without KK and Ash?

 

[DEpup]

It looks like Paige will not be playing many Q4's in the Big East.

Thats what we need to sustain the season. I'd like to see the same for Edwards so they stay fresh.

 

[#12in21]

Really good game by many players, all as noted above. Nika continues to climb the all time assist leaders ladder, now sitting at 527. At her current pace she will be solidly in the top ten by the end of January. Plus she added another double digit assist game to her own career record.

 

[BballFan]

Slightly off topic but I noticed Patterson was not on the bench tonight. Then I started wondering if I have seen her at all the last few games. Any ideas?

 

[Geew1992]

Slightly off topic but I noticed Patterson was not on the bench tonight. Then I started wondering if I have seen her at all the last few games. Any ideas?

I believe she’s home

 

[cferraro04]

I find it interesting that if we look at the stats for the season...we have 5 players averaging double figures....

05	Bueckers, Paige	16	16	461	28.8	108	203	.532	33	70	.471	53	65	.815	302	18.9	3	68	71	4.4	27	61	23	37	18
03	Edwards, Aaliyah	16	16	461	28.8	113	191	.592	0	2	.000	41	58	.707	267	16.7	35	96	131	8.2	42	35	37	25	14
12	Shade, Ashlynn	15	10	380	25.3	65	121	.537	23	66	.348	12	12	1.000	165	11.0	5	27	32	2.1	17	21	12	10	3
35	Fudd, Azzi	2	2	61	30.5	8	25	.320	4	14	.286	2	2	1.000	22	11.0	2	3	5	2.5	5	5	3	2	0
02	Arnold, KK	16	10	430	26.9	60	109	.550	10	27	.370	31	44	.705	161	10.1	7	29	36	2.3	40	49	30	44	0

 

[cohenzone]

This was the freshmen -- and Nika -- from beginning to end. KK and Ash led the charge, and Paige and Aaliyah were like a safety net in case they faltered. But they didn't.

And Amari showed us something. She dove for a ball in a scrum had a lovely soft-touch floater in the lane. And best of all, she had a wonderful up-and-under post move. Getting down on the floor in a scrum -- I hope that means her back isn't bothering her anymore.

That move by Amari was like, where has she been hiding that.

 

[HuskyNan]

Thats what we need to sustain the season. I'd like to see the same for Edwards so they stay fresh.

20 minutes for Aaliyah, 28 for Paige tonight

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Geno is not thrilled:

 

[RoadMaster]

Geno is not thrilled:

I loved his response during the half-time interview. Classic Geno... About the team (sarcastically), "running our give and go offense": "Give me the ball and you go to he_ _.."

 

[DefenseBB]

I believe she’s home

Ayanna, Caroline and Azzi have not been with the team since mid Dec. Ayanna and Azzi had surgery (Azzi was at the Georgetown game) and last I heard CD was still having issues with crown noise, lights and other Concussion typre issues so she has been around the team, just not at games. Jana is there and always enthusiastic on the bench!

 

[msf22b]

Thoughts

-I'm not going to go on a multi-thread filibuster as in the past , but I've been curious as to why Inez wasn't playing...She gave us some solid minutes last season.

-Ice and Amari each made some post moves that we all desire. Surely the rebounding disadvantage that we had experienced changed when we had two bigs in.

-It's been noted that Ash's jumper from inside the 3-point line is lethal...a great weapon, that she should be encouraged to use...(Perhaps she doesn't need encouragement). Talk about high percentage...

-KK, aside from her D and steals, is so confident on O amidst the trees. Surely our best in this regard since Mo...may turn out better yet.

-But Geno is right to be dissatisfied and to require, yet more perfection; we are going to see some tremendously talented teams, later on, who will not lay down and wilt after a spectacular turn or two by our gals...like tonight.
The going will be a lot tougher But surely the job he and they have done to turn this season around is truly impressive.

 

[jdote33]

KK and Ashlynn r truly amazing. Couldn't be more impressed by them the past 6-8 games. Also think Nika and Paige ability to play up and guard bigs is great. They both just do whatever the team needs. It sounds cliche and obvious but it's a quality about them that just feels unique.