Thank goodness for finally being able to see a replay of the game which was posted this morning by our Boneyard brother tcf15. tcf, you are THE man!!! Thank you so much.
I saw the entire game live on TV.
I thoroughly enjoyed it from tip to buzzer. Cal was a very worthy opponent. They made UConn work for everything they got. There were very few easy or uncontested baskets for the Huskies.
"The score doesn't tell the whole story -- that the Huskies built a 17-point lead in the second and third quarters before allowing the Bears to nearly pull off a record-breaking comeback. "We're a different team than we've ever been," Anigwe said. "It's disappointing to lose because I really, really believed we were going to win this game."
UConn escaped a second-straight close game with a win, partially thanks to another big game from senior Katie Lou Samuelson, who recorded her third consecutive double-double.
Despite being from California, it wasn't what you could call a "homecoming game" for Lou. That game was last year at UCLA. Berkeley is 413 miles (6hr 45min drive) from Lou's hometown city of Huntington Beach. With a large group of family and friends sitting directly behind the bench, she played like it was. She recorded 20 points and 11 rebounds."
"It's really great," Samuelson said of playing so well in front of her family, "especially because they had to travel so far to come today. I really appreciated that because this is one of their only chances to get to see me in person, so I'm just happy that they're here and that I get to see them for a little bit."
GREAT CROWD - A Cal program-record crowd of 10,818 attended the game.
In a game where Geno was not able to incorporate his bench into the game (2 min / 0 points), the starters realized it was up to them to bring this one home. No doubt they figured that out after awhile. Several observations here:
1. ALL 5 starters showed up and played well.
2. ALL 5 starters scored in double figures.
3.
Megan Walker was the only starter that did not play 40 minutes. The 2 minutes ONO played, she subbed in for Megan. The other 4 gutted it out. Cal's bench provided
39 minutes of rest for it's starters.
4. UConn played like they wanted to win this game, just like Cal did. They asked no quarter, and gave none.
5. Cal did not back down or show any fear. They took it right to the Huskies from the tip.
6. This game and the one in South Bend, were games they needed to experience and put behind them before they resume play in January.
7. The Oklahoma game was the 10th game on the schedule. It marked the completion of 1/3 of their season.
8. Crystal was the only starter with 3 fouls. Pheesa had none
9. Collier was going around and by Anigwe to the basket all afternoon.
[Box score]
11-0 during the first 2 months of the season. You can't do better than that. The good thing is that not all 11 were laughers. They had to bear down and scratch out a win in a couple of them. Their first game coming back from the holiday break is Baylor. A very formidable opponent. One of the two games that some BY'ers predicted (during the summer) they would lose.
Baylor sits at 8-1, with a 68-63 road loss to #11 Stanford. They've played two other ranked teams to date, #23 Arizona St. (65-59), and #18 South Carolina (94-69).
These are also the only 2 road games Baylor has played so far. The other 7 were at home against mid-majors.
I think Baylor is more concerned about UConn than UC is about them. I'm not saying for a moment that UC is taking them lightly, far from it. UConn knows this may be the most difficult game remaining on their schedule. Even though the Bears have not played a top 5 team on the road yet and come out on top, they figure to give UConn all they want. However, I think UConn has an excellent chance of leaving Waco with a win.
I'm going to take a break from the yard for a few days to enjoy Christmas with my family, since no UConn games are pending. I'll catch up with any breaking news upon my return.
I want to take this opportunity to wish
ALL of my fellow BY'ers Happy Holidays. May this holiday season be the best yet for you and your family. In a world where you can be anything, be kind. Be a blessing to someone this holiday season.
