UConn-South Carolina postgame thread

[JBK]

Wow. 37 - 0

 

[BrassBights]

Great effort by the players. They had a chance which is admirable given our injury history. Area to improve is definitely the rebounding department.

Weak in game performance by Geno in my opinion. Untimely technical that got us into a hole. No offense defense substitutions in crunch time.

Moral victory? South Carolina isn’t as big of a Goliath as their reputation made them seem. Get healthy and we have a great shot against them.

It's gonna be hard for us to beat their bigs inside, should we meet SC again. Dawn's found a winning formula using Boston and Cordosa inside. Geno's got his work cut out to find a way to beat that all four quarters.

 

[uconnever]

I posted how GGREAT the girls played but there was one bad. Despite them having a clear advantage in the post, our boxing out and putting a body on a player was REALLY BAD. If you watch the play when Cardoso got like 3 or 4 rebounds in a row before being fouled, no one put a body on her at all after she shot it 2 or 3 times and rebounded it. They just stood and watched. That pissed me off. And it happened a lot in this game. Just at least get in front of her or even get next to her and it makes it not so easy for her. They need to focus more on that because some of those rebounds were too easy.

 

[Bazz2014]

Gutsy performance by the good guys today. Unlike both of last years games against SCar, we were in this one til the bitter end, even without reserves. Rebounding continues to be an issue but it is a fixable problem if we see them again, especially if we can depend on having fresh legs coming off the bench to even out minutes/absorb some of the foul trouble. If I’m UConn, I have no fear of any team from this game out. Play with that level of energy and grit and the can take anyone on their best day. Will also be interesting to see how SCar handles the rest of the SEC schedule. I could see them dropping a game or two before the NCAA tournament. UConn gave others a roadmap for how to play tough with this squad.

 

[jdote33]

Boston was pretty great. To start 0-5 in the first half and end up with like 26-10 is crazy. The end margin is a lot closer than either game last year with Paige, so that is somewhat encouraging. Dorka played a bit better in the second half. As did Lou.
Obviously Azzi and Caroline make a big difference in any rematch, but idk how you solve the rebounding issue. And it's not really a UConn thing but SC does it against everyone.

 

[Jokerman619]

Can I just point out that UConn only had 13 turnovers?! That’s tremendous for this year’s team! Despite the pressure by SC, UConn shot over 50% and only had 13 turnovers. Outstanding! There’s still time to work on rebounding position and other details, but it’s good to know the #1 team in the country couldn’t hold UConn below 50% shooting or cause 20+ turnovers.

So true. And the best is yet to come

 

[npignatjr]

I continue to be amazed by Aubrey Griffin's abilities....Lou and Aaliyah were great. SC put Boston on Dorka to keep her from being a scoring threat, which worked. Nika did everything she could to keep us in the game...a really hard fought one. Ayanna is showing great maturity for a freshman. All in all, without Geno's Technical, this game could have gone either way.

Between a few good plays Aubrey is a negative relies on being athletic but still gets lost on team ball.

 

[Jokerman619]

Boston was pretty great. To start 0-5 in the first half and end up with like 26-10 is crazy. The end margin is a lot closer than either game last year with Paige, so that is somewhat encouraging. Dorka played a bit better in the second half. As did Lou.
Obviously Azzi and Caroline make a big difference in any rematch, but idk how you solve the rebounding issue. And it's not really a UConn thing but SC does it against everyone.

They will get it figured out. Have plenty of faith.

 

[Topsail]

Don’t think you can solve OB issue.. just shoot better percent cut down a few To s and you win

 

[Majorthreat]

Valiant, effort today. Bad play calling by Geno today. It is obvious that Patterson was effective and looked bewildered at times. Scoring was a major concern and Patterson isn't going to give you that. DeBerry was a better option as she can hit the 3 ball and isn't speeded up like Patterson was. Plus she is 6'5" and a better match-up against Boston. The game plan should have been once SC took a shot that everyone crashed the boards instead of only having Dorka and Aaliya left to rebound. The first QTR was a success but in the 2nd QTR, they (SC) found their rhythm. When you double you have to stay in place not keep moving that's why Boston came to life in the second half. (That and Aaliya's foul problem and having Patterson guard her) Dorka seemed overmatched and against athletic bigs, she is neutralized and isn't effective at all. She only scored in the last few minutes. She really needed to be more aggressive in looking for her shot. You can't play behind a 6'7" big or Boston and if that was the game plan it wasn't a good one. If it wasn't for Edwards, Senechal, and Griffin (more so at the end) we would have been in a world of hurt. The lack of debt really played a factor today. Nika played a solid game. It is so frustrating when we stop dribbling and pick up our dribble and waste valuable time waiting for someone to come and get the ball or pass too.
Yes, there were some bad calls by the ref at the end. Why didn't Dorka commit the foul at the end instead of Senechal?
If we would have had our full complement even Ducharme it might have been another story.
Hopefully, we won't fall that far in the rankings.

 

[freshler40]

When you are playing the foul game and South Carolina uses a timeout, why not sub Ines for Lou to give a foul? I’m only talking pure offense defense substitutions to ensure your only shooter is available to take a 3 in crunch time.

Agreed, strange that didn't happen to keep our shooter on the floor.

 

[tkaes]

If head-to-head competition is a factor, I'd say Aaliyah is ahead of Aliyah now.

The double A is clearly the overall better player and without the assistance of blind officials.

 

[jaydee602]

The players & coach displayed class & sportsmanship. South Carolina fans are ridiculed nationwide because they don't know how to act since they never won anything before this great team & coach.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I didn't think they could play 40 minutes at that tempo. IMPRESSIVE. All of them. I got no complaints.

 

[Brewski]

I have never seen anybody work so hard to get open than Lou. She just could not get any separation from her defender. Yet, she ends up with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. Magic!

 

[JBK]

Between a few good plays Aubrey is a negative relies on being athletic but still gets lost on team ball.

Not sure who you are watching. Aubrey was the best defender on the court and they could not stop her going to the hoop -
Too unselfish I think

 

[Littlemin]

Geno didn’t have enough time outs to sub in every other possession

But he didn’t do it at all, even when he could have. In particular when Muhl fouled out after a SC time out and when Senechal got her 5th; Griffin was on the line and you get Bettencourt at the scorers table for Senechal, assuming Griffin would make her foul shots, which she did. Sorry, but he screwed up that 4th qtr big time.

 

[HuskyNan]

Between a few good plays Aubrey is a negative relies on being athletic but still gets lost on team ball.

Both teams were scoring one on one today, so fewer assists for the Huskies today. It was the best path to victory as Geno fells that, individually, his guys match up with anyone and can score more quickly. He’s spoken about it earlier in the season after Azzi was hurt

 

[nickp91]

Hats off to Aaliyah Edwards!!!!!! She was hooping today!!!!

 

[npignatjr]

South Carolina is like the Pistons of lambeer, foul like crazy the officials won't call them all. Is there a new NCAA rule Boston can't foul?

 

[Blaneylover]

Random thoughts...

• Great effort by the team
• Lack of outside shooting hurt today (Azzi addresses that)
• Wish Geno got the T earlier where it could impact the game more and when SC had the ball (not us)
• We need to have a better answer to the Boston-Cardoso combo
• AE in foul trouble might have been the difference
• Boston really gets preferential treatment with her shoulder on offense
• Incredible how much Lou is being grabbed and held
• If we play them again, we won't have more depth up front and need be better with front court fouls
• Can't be disappointed with this one
• I don't see us dropping in the polls (hopefully) and if we win out, should be a 1 seed
• Can't believe the refs missed the inbounds handoff !!!
• We lost to the undefeated #1 team with an All-American (well, really 2) on the bench

Agreed. Heroic effort. SC is big, deep and very, very physical. Great game plan today. SC was given the perimeter shots and they were off... which is what we needed. Cardoso was just too big. She converted her shots and was very good for the free throw line.

Tough no call on the handoff at the end. Inopportune timing on the Geno technical. South Carolina was allowed to play extremely physical on Lou. She took a beating.

During the final possessions, I expected Geno to go offense/defense with Bettencourt and Lou for foul purposes...subbing her back in after the foul.

All in all, a heroic effort in a spectacular environment by a team that has been playing heroically for the last month. Looking forward to a strong finish, a Big East Championship, and a #1 Seed.

 

[Littlemin]

Hats off to Aaliyah Edwards!!!!!! She was hooping today!!!!

She had a really strong offensive game but there are two ends of the court when you hoop, her complete lack of presence on the defensive boards was a big factor in the game.

 

[Jokerman619]

Not sure who you are watching. Aubrey was the best defender on the court and they could not stop her going to the hoop -
Too unselfish I think

So true. She made a big difference, has a motor that never quits. This team will spring back. Never lose faith in all. And Audrey does make this team much better..

 

[Conndog]

This was a winnable game.

Agree, if we could box out better and grab and hold onto up-for-grab rebounds, we might have been the victor today. Rebounds is why we lost today. Also, at some point, the refs need to call foul on Boston when she pushes through UConn defenders. Turnovers also were an issue. Still, would like a second chance against them if it happens with Azzi and Caroline available. Huge game by Aubrey today.

 

[maple]

South Carolina is like the Pistons of lambeer, foul like crazy the officials won't call them all. Is there a new NCAA rule Boston can't foul?

The fact that Boston didn’t get a single foul call is crazy. I’m not saying she needs to foul out but give me a break.