UConn stats... Paige, Azzi & Huskies win for Dorka...

[DavidinNaples]

Wow..! What an exhausting & exhilarating evening of great basketball..!! Here are some stats from a game that had a season's worth of highlights.

1. Paige erupted in the 2nd half & in the overtimes. Missed her first shot, then made 8 straight baskets. 6 for 6 from the free throw line. 23 points.
2. The game had 13 lead changes and 9 ties.
3. Azzi Fudd played 49 minutes & 13 seconds out of 50 minutes of game time. Scored 19 points on 44% shooting.
4. Rebounds tied at 39-39 each. Fouls tied at 16-16 each.
5. Second chance points = UConn at 14, NC State at 3.
6. The Huskies scored 30 points in 10 minutes of overtime. (After playing 40 minutes in regular time.)
7. UConn went 1-7 shooting free throws early. Then 11-13 or 85% in the two overtimes.
8. UConn had 8 turnovers in 50 minutes of basketball.
9. NC State shot 48.5% for the game. UConn finished at 48.1%.
10. UConn shot 75% from the field in the two overtimes.

On to the Final Four..!!
Go Huskies..!!

 

[warbler1055]

I shuddered and cringed every time UConn was at the line except when Fudd and Bueckers were shooting. Poor free throw shooting will hurt badly in a close game. Hate to lose at the FF due to poor free throw shooting. I am mystified why this is happening to players.

 

[huskyd]

I shuddered and cringed every time UConn was at the line except when Fudd and Bueckers were shooting. Poor free throw shooting will hurt badly in a close game. Hate to lose at the FF due to poor free throw shooting. I am mystified why this is happening to players.

You are right. If FTs were made by UConn at the end of regulation, there would have been no OTs. When everyone eats, some choke.
Most will remember this as a "great" game; I will remember it as a transcendent performance by a great player. As Geno noted: "No Paige, no win."

 

[warbler1055]

Of course there are many reason for poor FT shooting. Tiredness, nervousness, choke, shaking, loss of focus, no skill at FT, physical and/or mental issues etc...Except for Paige and Azzi, the team as a whole left a lot of points on the floor shooting at I think at less than 50% FT. Geno and staff couldn't possibly miss this so I am sure they will do what they can. May be there is nothing that they can do at this point.

 

[DavidinNaples]

The free throw shooting stats need a bit more context.
Consider:

1. UConn started the first four quarters going 1-7 from the charity stripe. In the 2 overtime periods, they were 11-13 or 85%. That is the definition of clutch.
2. NC State went 3 1/2 periods shooting 12-12 on their free throws. From the 5 minute mark of the 4th on, they were 4 of 7 or 57%.

Clearly, UConn excelled from the charity stripe when the game was on the line. The 11 makes included Paige (6-6), Azzi (2-2), Aaliyah (2-2) and Christyn (1-2).

 

[jaydee602]

As the Huskies met the media, Geno Auriemma pointed to a box score on the table they were sitting at.
Even with all her heroics, UConn was a minus-6 in Bueckers’ 44:42 on the court.
“You know what she said? ‘It was the two threes I gave up,’ ” Auriemma said. “You can’t get anything by her. She has an answer for everything.”

 

[TeamFirst!]

Paige is still not at her best defensively. It's still an aberration though overall.

 

[sun]

Something must have been wrong with my laptop while watching the game.
I kept yelling at the UConn women over and over to "shoot now" and "only shoot mid-range shots."
But they acted as if they couldn't even hear me.
I guess the laptop was working on a delay or something because as the game went on and they started making more & more mid-range shots.
After all, UConn's 23.8% three point shooting is pretty low, but they were saved by the fact that NC State's 30.43% wasn't much better, 5 for 21 vs. 7 for 23.
I hope they remember the message in their next FF game when their 3's aren't going in.
Kudos to "Snazzi Azzi" and as the announcer calls her, "Pistol Paige."
Off course CW provides a lot of the muscle.
"They all got game."

 

[CTGirl15]

Also, 2 of those early FT misses were from Aaliyah immediately after Dorka's injury when she was inserted into the lineup to take the shots in Dorka's place. I really can't blame her for missing those two at all. Azzi might even have gone 0fer if she was taking the shots during that emotional moment.

Aaliyah was 2 - 4 overall in the game, with some clutch overtime FTs.