UConn stats... Villanova last 8 minutes...

[DavidinNaples]

Maddy Siegrist scored a basket with 8:08 left in the game to give Villanova a six point lead, 51-45. Exhausted and shooting poorly, UConn reached down deep and gutted out a 63-58 victory over a talented Villanova team. Here are some interesting facts about that last 8 minutes.

1. Down six points, the Huskies outscored Villanova 18-7 to win the game by five.
2. During the eight minutes, UConn's defense held Maddy Siegrist 0-3 from the field.
3. In fact, the defense held Villanova to 2 for 13 shooting in that 8 final minutes.
4. Nika and Dorka each has a critical 3 point basket.
5. Aubrey scored 5 points and Aaliyah 7 to lead UConn. (8 of their 12 came on free throws.)
6. Villanova had 8 fouls and 3 turnovers in the last 8 minutes. And, only 2 baskets & 2 free throws.
7. Only one player, Lucy Olsen, scored for Villanova. (7 points)
8. Starters for UConn played 40, 40, 40, 38 and 36 minutes in the game.

What a great win for the Huskies..!! Pure guts and effort to pull out their 4th victory in 8 days..! (Jan. 21, 23, 26 and 29th)

Go Huskies..!!

 

[Zarathustra]

I think even Siegrist was very tired (in the fourth period) after outscoring the entire
UCONN team by herself in the third period! Villanova will
be a problem in the future with Olsen and Dacre (sp). ( not to
mention the 'Nova head coach) But
we will have the extended bench (and a healthy Azzi , Paige, and
Caroline) to meet the future challenges! GO HUSKIES

 

[Carnac]

Maddy Siegrist scored a basket with 8:08 left in the game to give Villanova a six point lead, 51-45. Exhausted and shooting poorly, UConn reached down deep and gutted out a 63-58 victory over a talented Villanova team. Here are some interesting facts about that last 8 minutes.

1. Down six points, the Huskies outscored Villanova 18-7 to win the game by five.
2. During the eight minutes, UConn's defense held Maddy Siegrist 0-3 from the field.
3. In fact, the defense held Villanova to 2 for 13 shooting in that 8 final minutes.
4. Nika and Dorka each has a critical 3 point basket.
5. Aubrey scored 5 points and Aaliyah 7 to lead UConn. (8 of their 12 came on free throws.)
6. Villanova had 8 fouls and 3 turnovers in the last 8 minutes. And, only 2 baskets & 2 free throws.
7. Only one player, Lucy Olsen, scored for Villanova. (7 points)
8. Starters for UConn played 40, 40, 40, 38 and 36 minutes in the game.

What a great win for the Huskies..!! Pure guts and effort to pull out their 4th victory in 8 days..! (Jan. 21, 23, 26 and 29th)

Go Huskies..!!

The numbers you post here highlight the grit and the remarkable determination of our team. Basically it was our 5 versus their entire team. Yet there are some who would criticize their play in that game not looking at or appreciating the big picture.

Everyone has an off day, but is usually supported and backed up by reserve players on the bench. Since we have no bench that Geno will use in big games, the starters have to play through their personal adversity that day.

This is a forum for expressing one’s thoughts, cares and concerns. I’m not suggesting otherwise, but sometimes I think we fail to see the forrest for the trees, or truly appreciate the sacrifices and athleticism of our players. Thanks Dave. Good post.

 

[JoePgh]

What these statistics demonstrate is that fatigue was a factor for both teams. Do you think that Villanova (especially Siegrist and Olsen) were fresh as spring chickens at the end of the game? Based on productivity, it appears to me that Lucy Olsen was in amazing shape and totally focused in those minutes, but Maddy was not. For UConn, Dorka / Aubrey / Aaliyah / Nika (not sure about Lou) showed that they could perform even under stress, with some assistance from adrenaline and the home crowd.

If Geno had a roster of 10 (never mind 12), then of course he would have subbed more, but four of his fatigued starters still outperformed two Villanova stars and a number of more rested but less talented Villanova players who were also on the floor at that time.

 

[Littlemin]

People do realize there are two teams out there competing, right? Suddenly, the only reason players don’t play to maximum efficiency is because they are tired? Siegrist was defended beautifully down the stretch, overplayed ball denial, a tactic that was difficult to implement all game for fear of foul trouble, and then actual foul trouble for both Griffin and Edwards. Siegrist got her points, much like Clark for Iowa did, but as with Clark, it took her a lot of shots, 9-23, 1-6 from 3, to get them. IMO, Edwards, Griffin, and at times Dorka defended her well all game long and took her out of the game down the stretch.

 

[jazz]

I thought Uconn guarded maddy very well the entire game. She hit some really tough shots in the third, but overall she shot about 40% form the field and something like 17% from 3 pt land.

 

[UConnCat]

Yesterday's game was Villanova's first since January 20. Fatigue should not have been a problem for them.

UConn changed up its defense on Siegrist from doubling to face-guarding and it helped limit her touches.

 

[UConnCat]

I thought Uconn guarded maddy very well the entire game. She hit some really tough shots in the third, but overall she shot about 40% form the field and something like 17% from 3 pt land.

9-23 FGA and 1-6 3FGA.

 

[Topdawg]

3

Maddy Siegrist scored a basket with 8:08 left in the game to give Villanova a six point lead, 51-45. Exhausted and shooting poorly, UConn reached down deep and gutted out a 63-58 victory over a talented Villanova team. Here are some interesting facts about that last 8 minutes.

1. Down six points, the Huskies outscored Villanova 18-7 to win the game by five.
2. During the eight minutes, UConn's defense held Maddy Siegrist 0-3 from the field.
3. In fact, the defense held Villanova to 2 for 13 shooting in that 8 final minutes.
4. Nika and Dorka each has a critical 3 point basket.
5. Aubrey scored 5 points and Aaliyah 7 to lead UConn. (8 of their 12 came on free throws.)
6. Villanova had 8 fouls and 3 turnovers in the last 8 minutes. And, only 2 baskets & 2 free throws.
7. Only one player, Lucy Olsen, scored for Villanova. (7 points)
8. Starters for UConn played 40, 40, 40, 38 and 36 minutes in the game.

What a great win for the Huskies..!! Pure guts and effort to pull out their 4th victory in 8 days..! (Jan. 21, 23, 26 and 29th)

Go Huskies..!!

Your story of digging deep is further amplified when you consider the same team scored no points from 3:50 in the second quarter to 4:36 in the third quarter, a time period of similar duration!

 

[jazz]

9-23 FGA and 1-6 3FGA.

so 39% and 16.7% from 3 pt land. not a bad job of guarding her.

 

[AJay11]

What these statistics demonstrate is that fatigue was a factor for both teams. Do you think that Villanova (especially Siegrist and Olsen) were fresh as spring chickens at the end of the game? Based on productivity, it appears to me that Lucy Olsen was in amazing shape and totally focused in those minutes, but Maddy was not. For UConn, Dorka / Aubrey / Aaliyah / Nika (not sure about Lou) showed that they could perform even under stress, with some assistance from adrenaline and the home crowd.

If Geno had a roster of 10 (never mind 12), then of course he would have subbed more, but four of his fatigued starters still outperformed two Villanova stars and a number of more rested but less talented Villanova players who were also on the floor at that time.

Didn't Lou have a hand in blocking those two three pointers in the final seconds?

 

[Carnac]

What these statistics demonstrate is that fatigue was a factor for both teams. Do you think that Villanova (especially Siegrist and Olsen) were fresh as spring chickens at the end of the game? Based on productivity, it appears to me that Lucy Olsen was in amazing shape and totally focused in those minutes, but Maddy was not. For UConn, Dorka / Aubrey / Aaliyah / Nika (not sure about Lou) showed that they could perform even under stress, with some assistance from adrenaline and the home crowd.

If Geno had a roster of 10 (never mind 12), then of course he would have subbed more, but four of his fatigued starters still outperformed two Villanova stars and a number of more rested but less talented Villanova players who were also on the floor at that time.

Very true!!! Allow me to illustrate a few observations...........
Looking at the box score below, I want to point out several things....

1. Look at the minutes played by Villanova's starters versus ours - 150 to 194.
2. Note the total points by their starters = 54 compared to ours = 63.
3. Note the bench minutes provided by their reserves = 50 compared to our bench minutes = 6
4. Note the number of players used by Villanova = 8 compared to what Geno used = 6
5. Note the number of rebounds, assists, steals and blocks their bench provided. Patterson had 1 assist.

UConn's 5 starters out played and out produced the entire Villanova team with only 6 minutes of help (and no points) from the bench.
Patterson played those 6 minutes in the first half. You think our players might have been just a little tired in the 4th quarter.....knowing they could not foul out, and knowing they were not going to be subbed for......and knowing what they needed/had to do to win? I think the saving grace was the UConn players could tell their opponents were gassed too, especially Siegrist. Some of our players did not play up to their usual par. Everyone has an "off" day, but they played through it. Happy to report that none of them disappeared. They ALL produced and gave what they could.

It's one man's humble opinion that this type of substitution pattern will not hold up in the NCAA tournament, especially against the highly talented teams they'll see the 2nd & 3rd weekend. I'm not faulting Geno. I want to be very clear on that. He knows what he is doing!!! He was just playing the hand he was dealt. He did what he had to do based on 38 years of being a head coach to win the game. THAT was job 1. Would associate head coach Christine Daley have done it differently, perhaps, but we'll never know.

What I am suggesting is that if Azzi and Caroline don't return by the end of next month (and there is nothing to suggest that they will), UConn's chances of going deep in the tournament are slim at best, regardless of what their prior tournament history of success is. What those teams did in the past has no bearing on THIS team, and the adversity it faces. One game at a time. Let's hope for the best, and keep hope alive. Keep your goggles on, Go Huskies.

 

[Topdawg]

A few paths forward:
0. Where we are today. Nothing gets better.
1. The team spends February getting the bench to perform at a higher level so the starting 5 can get rest when needed.
2. Path 1 plus one of Caroline/Azzi
3. Path 1 plus both Caroline and Azzi

In the NCAA tournament, games 1 and 2 are teams with rankings in the 25+ range. Game 3 would be like playing Tennessee or Villanova. Game 4 would be a top 10 team. Games 5 and 6 would be top 5 teams.

With path 1, we have a shot at winning game 4 and getting to the final 4. With path 3, we have a shot at winning it all. The upcoming South Carolina game will help us assess the gap between where we are and what it would take to win it all. Current win probability per Massey is 40%! We could have a great win on Feb 5 and a greater one in April!

 

[UcMiami]

Just a note: Maddie Siegrist also played all 40 minutes and Villanova depended on her for 43% of their scoring while Uconn spread the scoring out more with Griffin accounting for only 30% - heck of a load to be carrying for Maddie. For the year she is accounting for 41% of Villanova's scoring and averaging 35.2 mins per game.

The comparable players for Uconn: Edwards at 22% of the scoring and Nika at 35.5 minutes.

Not taking anything away from Uconn's wonderful players, just pointing out what a warrior Siegrist is and what a responsibility she carries into every game.

 

[Carnac]

Just a note: Maddie Siegrist also played all 40 minutes and Villanova depended on her for 43% of their scoring while Uconn spread the scoring out more with Griffin accounting for only 30% - heck of a load to be carrying for Maddie. For the year she is accounting for 41% of Villanova's scoring and averaging 35.2 mins per game.

The comparable players for Uconn: Edwards at 22% of the scoring and Nika at 35.5 minutes.

Not taking anything away from Uconn's wonderful players, just pointing out what a warrior Siegrist is and what a responsibility she carries into every game.

A 6'2" senior F Maddie Siegrist is the leading scorer in the country at 28.4 ppg. She will be a high first round draft pick in April's WNBA draft. Oddly enough, there were no UConn WBB players ranked in the top 25 in scoring last week. Neither does South Carolina. [LINK] Lauren Park-Lane (Seton Hall) is tied for 25th with 19.3 ppg.

 

[The deacon]

Just a note: Maddie Siegrist also played all 40 minutes and Villanova depended on her for 43% of their scoring while Uconn spread the scoring out more with Griffin accounting for only 30% - heck of a load to be carrying for Maddie. For the year she is accounting for 41% of Villanova's scoring and averaging 35.2 mins per game.

The comparable players for Uconn: Edwards at 22% of the scoring and Nika at 35.5 minutes.

Not taking anything away from Uconn's wonderful players, just pointing out what a warrior Siegrist is and what a responsibility she carries into every game.

Well said, UcMiami. I said on the post-game thread, my take was that Olsen and Mullin simply lost track of Maddy down the stretch.

From my courtside seat and a similar perspective from friends at the game, we were all stunned the Wildcats basically ignored Siegrist. She might very well have been fatigued, possibly even lost focus a few times, but she was open enough times that 'Nova blew its chance to win by not even trying to get her the ball.