UConn-South Carolina postgame thread

[faithfulfan]

When you are ripping down o board after o board, you get to the line.

You assume the difference is O rebound fouls, it isn't, it's SC playing grabbing D that no one can play against them!

 

[MD#12Fan]

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

You sub after made baskets. Player at the table ready to go in.

If I was Dawn Staley, I would probably do the same thing with my Bigs. But it's hard to watch 3 BIGs crowding around the offensive boards playing volleyball with rebounds. That's not basketball. UConn outshot SC by 52% to 39% but lost the rebounding battle by -12.

Agree with your sentiments. Except the it’s not basketball part. It is basketball and has been ever since Naismith pinned up the first peach basket. Let me think, Mikan? Chamberlain? Shaq?
I will continue to argue that there are tactics that could be employed to pull their bigs further out. I’ve been touting it since I joined the blog. I guess our lack of depth takes away options, but I’d love to see him try.
Pressure the ball, deny the wings and front the post. It plays to the strengths of Nika, AG, and even AE.
The team played so valiantly. No way this loss hurts the team in any way. I could see them moving UP in the polls after this effort.
Sometimes a strategy fails, but if executed perfectly, puts the team in position to win. Maybe stretching the D causes UConn to lose this game by 15. Not impressive nationally. But I think with the packed in strategy, SC wins the game 10 out of 10. Maybe I’m wrong but it’s what I think.

 

[maple]

I know Staley has a lot of admirers, but I loath the style of play she and Mulkey and others are bringing to women's basketball, threatening to turn it into a sport I won't want to watch anymore. Connecticut has been a powerhouse for decades playing fundamentally sound defense without fouling constantly. Some years ago the NCAA made a point of emphasis calling fouls for restricting player movement. That is completely gone now. South Carolina fouls on virtually every defensive possession. That's not even counting how many they commit offensively, pushing, throwing elbows, and displacing defenders (the same foul Edwards got called for a few games ago, with some Oscar-level acting by the defender, Boston did multiple times today). Today's game frequently resembled a rugby scrum rather than an artistic basketball contest.

I respect Dawn and Mulkey for their achievements but I will never respect their style of play for their teams. Yes they have had some success and while that is great for them, why do coaches not feel more inclined to play “beautiful” basketball? To each their own but I will never understand it.

 

[mauconnfan]

Nice effort by the girls considering.

Couple things:

Way too much living in the lane by Boston and Cardoza 4-5 seconds is more like it, it’s a joke. They pitch tents in there.

Lou is a player. You know she can light it up but that cross dribble and lefty finish was only topped by that hesitation to back out thrn take the baseline. Sweet stuff.

Truth is the big girls need to move some bodies when rebounding rather than jumping to the ball.

Again great effort

 

[and one]

South Carolina barely beat a team that for all practical purposes had only five players. They sure as heck aren't looking forward to playing us again with CD and Azzi added to the mix.

 

[VA Huskie]

I was really impressed with how well Ayanna boxed out Boston and she was quick to loose balls. A terrific game from her today

Agree. I thought she looked very composed. Best game I’ve seen her play.

 

[NutmegDog]

Some WNBA scouts might want to add Senechal to their boards. She's a steal and no one can talk me off this ledge!

Is there room for two on that ledge? Geno has said she's a pro. Maybe not gifted with pure athleticism, but you can't discount grit and intelligence -- and a really beautiful arc.

 

[BBallF]

Yep...these Huskies are the real deal... They just played the number one team in the country to a 4 point loss. Is there anyone in the country who has seen the replay that doesn't agree that the ball was handed off on the late game out of bounds play. It should have been a dead ball and a turnover...no 2 points for So. Car. I won't even get into the unnecessary technical that Geno took. With Azzi and Caroline...this would be a "W" for UConn.

This team just proved that they deserve a number one seed. Aubrey and Aaliyah have a very fast first step but, Aubrey adds to the first quick step...accelerating speed and athleticism...she is a one of a kind player. Aaliyah proved that she is an All American in this game...if she isn't added to the All American team I would be shocked...she may even be a 1st team AA. Lopez-Senechal...should go first round in the WNBA draft and she should be considered for 2nd or 3rd team AA. Muhl...while her assists were down she contributed offensively as well as defensively. Dorka played solid...she was great on defense getting 2 blocked shots and grabbing 7 rebounds.

I think this was a case of the team getting worn down...not being able to take a blow and having to play 30 plus minutes at an incredibly intense level. As far as South Carolina is concerned: Dawn...played 9 players; Cardoso had a break-out game; Boston woke up in the second half; Raven Johnson probably became Dawn's starting point guard; 25 offensive rebounds and 26 points from the foul line...by So. Car. really hurt.

Here is an interesting set of stats from this game UConn shot 51.9 from the field, 33.3 from three point and 76 from the line...beating So Car. in all three of these metrics (38.8 from the field, 20 from three point and 72.2 from the FT line) yet UConn still lost. I guess going 26 for 36 from the line to UConn's 19 for 25 didn't hurt So. Carolina at all.

All in all, even if I add 5 points to So. Carolina's 4 point win for winning on the Huskies court, I remain comforted in the knowledge that both Azzi and Ducharme are capable of scoring 9 points. If we have both of them on the court in March, we probably win this game by 9. I am very proud of our team...they played a great game but in the end...They were just too long and too deep.

Sorry, no, they were fouling and not getting called for it. That game was winnable but not with those referees. Lou was fouled every time she tried to move, and I mean every offensive possession. The only time it stopped was after the Geno technical when her defender started to play legal defense on Lou and Lou came alive. That's because the defender knew it was being watched. That tells me it was a deliberate pregame strategy. Was there a single push/over the back call on SC the entire game? Not that I remember. I guess SC is just perfect in that regard. It was a very poorly officiated game and you can't mince words about it. That football handoff no call was one of the worst in a big game I have ever seen. The refs refused to call charges on SC and especially Boston. If you don't blow the whistle, the more physical and bigger team wins especially when your footballesque holding on our guards never gets called and prevents our outside shooting from the best 3 point shooter on the floor who was Lou. On the one foul on Lou they went to the tape to see if it was a Lou flagrant foul. It was almost comical. Forcibly restricting the motion of an offensive player with physical contact is a foul at every level. Otherwise it's some other sport which is what those referees were officiating today, not women's basketball..

 

[LuvBball]

We make our free throws, we win. Ready for the rematch in March

 

[faithfulfan]

Big difference in SC guards driving to the basket, and UCONN guards getting hacked with no calls from the refs, you wonder how much more Lou can take before she gets injured!

 

[Carnac]

Wow!!! When was the last time you felt this good after a UConn loss? Our girls really showed us something today. Could not be prouder.
Happy to finally have this game BEHIND us, and ecstatic that none of our players got hurt.

 

[Urshurak]

SC won because of the rebounds leading to second chance points plus their depth (37-0) by bench.

It’s exactly what we expected. What was unexpected was how close UConn kept it. We certainly had our chances.

So, if we get to face them again, will that change? Short answer? Nope. The difference, however, is hopefully we have Azzi and Caroline to help Lou on perimeter. That will be the difference in evening it out a bit. If UConn hits their shots from the perimeter with 7-8 3’s, they win the next matchup. If we had Azzi, CD, Paige and Ice now? UConn by 15-20. I’m sure Dawn knows it too…..just sayin.

 

[JBK]

Are you bragging about Cooke’s only 2 hoops
2-15 am 0-4 from 3 in 39 minutes with 1 rebound. Aubrey made her look very average today.
Vs
Aubrey. 5 for 10 - 17 points and 4 rebounds

 

[boontonbomber]

A bit surprising that nobody has mentioned the coaches leaving their best player in to pick up her 3rd foul in the first half. Sort of automatic to get that player out of there after the 2nd foul. Aaliyah got her 2nd with 5 min. left, her 3rd 2 minutes later. When she picked up her 4th in the 3rd quarter got to think this affected her defensive mind-set during the most important minutes of the game.

 

[Longtime fan]

Couldn't be more proud of this team. Practically a NC contending team injured on the bench, the "next man up" rolled out with what we had, and battled like gladiators. Shout out to the fans too. Heck of an atmosphere!!

No analysis - just incredibly proud. The rest of WCBB take notice - this team will look very different come March!

Someone please explain Patterson to me. In a game where we had great difficulty scoring, she had at least three opportunities to shoot, and never did. On one occasion, she was driving from the edge and there was little time left on the clock shot. But, instead of taking a shot, she decided to dish it off to a well covered player and lost possession. You can't tell me she scored zero points every game in high school. What is wrong with her?

 

[Bama fan]

Despite UConn's best fighting effort, this game went mostly how the previous two did. Turnovers and rebounds were the major difference going in and they were by far the biggest factor in outcome. SC with 13 more field goal attempts and 11 more free throws.

The disparity in free throws helps to limit our ability to get rebounds and make shots. Not sure what our kids can do unless we give them whistles. But SC is a great offensive rebounding team.

 

[faithfulfan]

We make our free throws, we win. Ready for the rematch in March

UCONN 76%
SC 72%
from the foul line, it was SC getting 11 more shots

 

[Wbbfan1]

Why Can't UConn Rebound and Box out. Its inexcusable for Aaliyah Edwards to have two defensive rebounds. IMO its almost as bad that Dorka Juhasz only had 6 and 7 rebounds in total. Patterson had Zero rebounds despite playing 14 minutes. So Carolina was living in the Low Post Area and they dominated UConn down low. Rebounding has been UConn's weakness for the last few years and it doesn't matter how much size UConn recruits. Is it coaching or does UConn not have the correct physical attitude when going up against Elite teams.

Still I do like how UConn stayed in the game and battled So Carolina throughout the game. I was thinking UConn would lose this game by 15+ points. Who knows with a healthy Azzi Fudd and/or Caroline Ducharme UConn might have won the game. With Azzi and Caroline available, So Carolina would have have been able to play the defense they did on Lou. A great UConn effort went down the tubes because UConn can't rebound.

 

[Padutch5]

We got Paige, Azzi, Caroline, and Isuneh on the bench and lost to South Carolina by 4. By 4. That's pretty dam good. I hope we can learn from this game. They guarded Lou really well today. Aalyah just put herself top 3 for AP player of the year. Overall, a lot to learn from this game and it really showed the Huskies grit and heart.. If Uconn goes to the championship game vs South Carolina this year, Uconn will win by 15 points.

If you mean they guarded Lou well, does that mean with continual holding? At one point in the second half, 4 of our players had their shirts out of their pants on the back. A coincidence? I think not.

 

[faithfulfan]

The disparity in free throws helps to limit our ability to get rebounds and make shots. Not sure what our kids can do unless we give them whistles. But SC is a great offensive rebounding team.

It has gotten closer, last yrs final SC got 22 more foul shots, today only 11 more,
guess that's what you call a home game advantage!-))

 

[Husky Jack]

Well since she only had 2 baskets the entire game I guess the defense made no difference since she even missed an uncontested layup. I would think if you shoot 2-15 defense must have played some part?

 

[BBallF]

Yes the stripes were good for Boston

When did Boston get most of her points? When Aaliyah was either out of the game or in foul trouble and couldn't body her, especially not with those jaded referees. What did she have one foul? It's really absurd and it has been the case for 3 years.