UConn - SJU post game

[CONN78SEJ]

Good, gritty win by UConn. Was shaking when St. John's had the ball, only down by 7. Despite St. John's having all the momentum and only being a few shots from taking the lead, Huskies, who must have been exhausted, buckled down and made a big run.
Most of my comments were already captured so a few quick notes:
-Pro: Edwards had perhaps her best game of her career. One of the great UConn performances - well worth a watch. Should be another springboard to All American status.
Paige had an equally special Q4 when UConn was under severe pressure, hitting from all parts of the court, scoring 11
While not a stat stuffer, Slade again played most of the game, gave great defense, effort and made few mistakes. Rarely got the ball on offense but when she did, made some key shots.
-Con: Seemed that whenever UConn made a run in the first quarter, Nika made a bad pass or fouled. Geno had to take her out again due to foul troubles. Coming so close to her poor ND performance, this was a big surprise. Sometimes played great defense; other times, similar to the ND game, wasn't quick enough to keep St. John's quicker guards from turning the corner on their drives.

It’s bothersome to me that Nika still passes up open shots, even some when she’s close to the basket, she’ll make quick short pass to a teammate that completely surprises the teammate and the result is a TO.

 

[CL82]

No one’s goal this year is to win a natty

Everyone's goal is to win a natty, or should be.

 

[HopJim]

It seems to me that Ashlynn is calling for the ball but not getting it. Perhaps Geno wants Paige to be the first option?

Nan, have been watching Ashlynn the past few games and I have the same question. Often open, she is regularly ignored. She often is guarded by the worst defender on the other team, making this more frustrating. Her shots typically come as the 4th or 5th option. Difficult to argue that she deserves the ball more than Edwards or Paige, but hoping that Geno has some plays for her when teams double up on our Big Two. Kudos to Ashlynn for always giving 125% effort all around the court whether she gets ball or not.

 

[HuskyNan]

Lots of posters here bemoaning a "bad second half" etc. But it was actually just a three-and-a-half minute lull in which SJU scored 16 points (including banked three's) to our 3 points. I don't like "lulls" but to me, that was the only bad spell of the game. Without that run, we win by 28 points. So I'm not as upset as others.

I went through the play by play for that 3 minute 5 second stretch. When it started, Paige, Nika, KK, Q, and Aaliyah were on the court with a 20 point lead. KK went out, and Ice in 37 seconds into that period. During that stretch:

Q played 2 minutes 33 seconds and shot 0-2 and had 1 block and 1 foul
Ice played 2 minutes 23 seconds and had 1 turnover

Both seemed overwhelmed and confused by St John’s slapping at the ball and aggressive defense when it ramped up late in Q3. Without KK to speed up the game or Ash to draw a defender, the team truly was depending on only three at that point and Nika was busy defending Unique Drake, which had to be exhausting.

I am NOT blaming the young players, by the way. They’re freshmen that were thrown into a physical game played at an unfamiliar pace. I thought Ice, especially, had some nice moments earlier in the game. However, they’re both still learning and facing situations they didn’t experience in high school. We need to be patient

 

[AmeriConn]

Aubrey is sorely missed.

 

[AmeriConn]

I went through the play by play for that 3 minute 5 second stretch. When it started, Paige, Nika, KK, Q, and Aaliyah were on the court with a 20 point lead. KK went out, and Ice in 37 seconds into that period. During that stretch:

Q played 2 minutes 33 seconds of that period and shot 0-2 and had 1 block and 1 foul
Ice played 3 minutes 8 seconds and had 1 turnover

Both seemed overwhelmed and confused by St John’s slapping at the ball and aggressive defense when it ramped up late in Q3. Without KK to speed up the game or Ash to draw a defender, the team truly was depending on only three at that point and Nika was busy defending Unique Drake, which had to be exhausting.

I am NOT blaming the young players, by the way. They’re freshmen that were thrown into a physical game played at an unfamiliar pace. I thought Ice, especially, had some nice moments earlier in the game. However, they’re both still learning and facing situations they didn’t experience in high school. We need to be patient

Paige is normally a good ball protector, but even she had it slapped away several times. Missing Aubs off the bench.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Certain conditions impact what a player or team can do during a game. If you have a short bench, youth, nagging injuries, etc., then you just have to lower expectations. Most fans like to point out who the team can't afford to lose. WELL...none of them is the answer. Texas, UCLA and Kansas St are a few examples of what happens when you lose just 1 or 2 key players. They are still dangerous teams to play.

And this is a good pressing team, BUT not with limited bodies. You have to tame your aggressiveness because fouling out or having to sit long periods worsens the landscape. If you noticed Nika defended Drake using a completely different strategy than she did Hidalgo. She faceguarded her and just didn't allow her to get the ball. She still picked up 4 fouls. And while they are capable of taking large leads....expecting them to maintain it under these conditions just isn't realistic. Personally, I think they are playing better than I expected.

 

[VaConnFan11]

4 starters having to play 35+ minutes and the 5th would have, if not for foul trouble, is not a good sign.

 

[JonathanXIV]

4 starters having to play 35+ minutes and the 5th would have, if not for foul trouble, is not a good sign.

Agreed, but it's the hand we were dealt. Funny how losing five starters/contributing players for the season will effect your depth.

 

[MSGRET]

It’s bothersome to me that Nika still passes up open shots, even some when she’s close to the basket, she’ll make quick short pass to a teammate that completely surprises the teammate and the result is a TO.

How many T/O's did she have, "3" how many did Paige have "5". Nika had some questionable calls from the refs she also had a handful with guarding Drake. Her first job is to facilitate the offense and shut down the opposing team's PG. She had 9 assists, so that's at least an additional 18 points for the team. During the first half Drake only scored 3 points, all from what looked to be a good block by Nika that was called a foul. She had an assist to turnover ratio of 3-1 in this game. Nika is not the shooting guard or one of the main point scorers on this team, that is the other four players, Paige, AE, Ash, and KK. She is the facilitator as the teams PG, energizer, and defensive guru.

 

[Centerstream]

Agreed, but it's the hand we were dealt. Funny how losing five starters/contributing players for the season will effect your depth.

Especially when it appears that the first two off the bench didn't seem to be performing up to expectations for the game.

 

[Centerstream]

How many T/O's did she have, "3" how many did Paige have "5". Nika had some questionable calls from the refs she also had a handful with guarding Drake. Her first job is to facilitate the offense and shut down the opposing team's PG. She had 9 assists, so that's at least an additional 18 points for the team. During the first half Drake only scored 3 points, all from what looked to be a good block by Nika that was called a foul. She had an assist to turnover ratio of 3-1 in this game. Nika is not the shooting guard or one of the main point scorers on this team, that is the other four players, Paige, AE, Ash, and KK. She is the facilitator as the teams PG, energizer, and defensive guru.

I agree with everything but as I posted earlier, it looked to me like early on she had 3 clearly open shots, I think from behind the arc, that she refused to take. In previous games, she didn't hesitate to take similar shots.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Especially when it appears that the first two off the bench didn't seem to be performing up to expectations for the game.

It's tough, and unrealistic, to rely on four freshmen to be in your top seven players and have them all perform at a high level. Having two of them do so is both unexpected and very welcome (and needed).

 

[cohenzone]

It was 2 against 5 the whole game. That freshman wall must be really really tall if they’re still climbing it.

This team should have had it figured out by now. This was not a great game by any stretch of the imagination. Sorry.

No idea what will happen come tournament time. Complete guess. They could lose in the first round against something something state or win NATTY 12.

This team is just ??????

This is a team with 5 potential real contributors gone and is divided between a lot of experience and newcomers who have all contributed to some of the wins. You think they are going to steamroll every team every game? There is still quite incredibly no league team that comes close to beating them. Real world.

 

[MSGRET]

I agree with everything but as I posted earlier, it looked to me like early on she had 3 clearly open shots, I think from behind the arc, that she refused to take. In previous games, she didn't hesitate to take similar shots.

Just because you think that she had them doesn't mean that she did or had different instructions from Geno. Hasn't Geno emphasized all season that he wants Paige to get involved early in the game and that AE take advantage in the paint when she has it. So if Geno is harping on that don't you think that maybe Geno has instructed to Nika that those two get involved in the game first and that she is to facilitate that at the beginning of the game? Most of those shots that she took was after the first quarter and most of the second had been played.

 

[Pharos]

Nan, have been watching Ashlynn the past few games and I have the same question. Often open, she is regularly ignored. She often is guarded by the worst defender on the other team, making this more frustrating. Her shots typically come as the 4th or 5th option. Difficult to argue that she deserves the ball more than Edwards or Paige, but hoping that Geno has some plays for her when teams double up on our Big Two. Kudos to Ashlynn for always giving 125% effort all around the court whether she gets ball or not.

And this... idea and question and opinion...
Ashlynn isn't the only one who seems hesitant. KK and Nika, too. Is it a question of a "Offensive rebounding likelihood calculation". Some teams just hoist 'em up and crash. UConn may not think of itself as a "We can get second shots" group. If so, then there will be a hesitancy to shoot the 3 too soon or too "not Paige." Opinion: this is too bad. When 2 or 3 are shooting 3s at a reasonable percentage, that opens up the middle some. And that would give AE more space to work. Shoot a few more 3s and "believe" enough OBs will come.

 

[good2go]

I agree with

Nan, have been watching Ashlynn the past few games and I have the same question. Often open, she is regularly ignored. She often is guarded by the worst defender on the other team, making this more frustrating. Her shots typically come as the 4th or 5th option. Difficult to argue that she deserves the ball more than Edwards or Paige, but hoping that Geno has some plays for her when teams double up on our Big Two. Kudos to Ashlynn for always giving 125% effort all around the court whether she gets ball or not.

I agree that Ashlynn is calling for the ball but is being ignored. That happens every game.

 

[cabbie191]

If I were Geno, I’d make Nika and KK watch hours of tapes of how Kelly Faris played defense - hard and smart defense.

It was frustrating that they were saddled with fouls early. But I agree with Maples observation in post #5 as regards the officiating. I thought too many of the fouls were ticky tacky and that this was one of the more poorly called games.

And overall, I thought St Johns got the worst of it.

 

[maple]

It was frustrating that they were saddled with fouls early. But I agree with Maples observation in post #5 as regards the officiating. I thought too many of the fouls were ticky tacky and that this was one of the more poorly called games.

And overall, I thought St Johns got the worst of it.

Thank you. I thought the last second fouls on Nika (especially the first one) were just phantom calls. It's annoying how refs have honestly just zero consistency between games/halves/quarters. And that goes for all teams/games across the board, not just us.

 

[maple]

This is a team with 5 potential real contributors gone and is divided between a lot of experience and newcomers who have all contributed to some of the wins. You think they are going to steamroll every team every game? There is still quite incredibly no league team that comes close to beating them. Real world.

Especially when you think about last year and all the injuries that happened then. BE teams did beat us during the regular season and yet we still came away as champions of the regular season and tournament. I'm the first one to lose perspective but I try to ground myself. No moral victories, just being realistic. I'll take the win any day.

 

[Centerstream]

Thank you. I thought the last second fouls on Nika (especially the first one) were just phantom calls. It's annoying how refs have honestly just zero consistency between games/halves/quarters. And that goes for all teams/games across the board, not just us.

I am a firm believer that refs review the stats at halftime and adjust accordingly.

 

[HuskyNan]

The #1 UConn men beat an unranked St John’s on Saturday by 17 points and everyone is ecstatic. The #11 UConn women beat an unranked St John’s on Sunday by 15 and the sky is falling.

Jeepers.

 

[CL82]

I agree with

I agree that Ashlynn is calling for the ball but is being ignored. That happens every game.

That's up to Geno to change, if he wants to.

 

[Longtime fan]

Your post included numerous really good points, but I'm stumped by your reference to 'a team of three great players."

Stumped how? We have Paige, Edwards and Muhl. Each is a great player in their own way. No one else is great at the moment. ICE is slowly getting back into her game and Q is a project. KK and ASH are doing really well, but they are basically told to " hold the fort" and feed Edwards and Paige. Yesterday, that strategy yielded 59 of our points. You think we have a great player I overlooked?

 

[JonathanXIV]

The #1 UConn men beat an unranked St John’s on Saturday by 17 points and everyone is ecstatic. The #11 UConn women beat an unranked St John’s on Sunday by 15 and the sky is falling.

Jeepers.

I’m fairness, the men’s program only has 5 National Championships.