UCONN vs. SC post game thread (merged)

[packwrap]

Yay!!! Except for the Duke game in the tourney last year, and maybe Iowa St earlier this year, we haven't seen a game like this against a good team in years.

We got off to a good start, shooting and playing well. The opponent actually struggled! Good defense, poor play from SC, who knows?, but it let us open a gap and we never took our foot off the gas.

A shout out to Jana, Ash and KK early!
At one point while Azzi&Paige were still cold, that trio was 7 for 7 for 17 points! SC surely did not game plan for that.

Great job ladies and coaches! This will do wonders for confidence moving forward.

 

[slepers]

Jana looked like she belonged

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

So in the "Just Thinking" thread earlier in the week I got some "wow" emojis replies... Well. As I predicted...SC Coach and Team came out over confident with their "swagger" and bravado... UConn punched them in the mouth right away...and they never recovered.

 

[yhun89]

Ashlynn Shade was a singular force and magical today. KK's defense was on another level. El Alfy saved her best play for today. I've never seen this version of her, but if this is any indication of what's to come, keep it up baby girl..

Jana reminding me of Ice, when the pressure is on, she’s locked in. But when it comes to normal BE play, not so much. Ice in the BE tourney and the MM tourney was unlike anything we’d seen up until then.

Not an insult towards any of them either. It’s just odd to me that they perform better under scrutiny, as freshman/sophmores as well.

 

[HuskyNan]

@MSGRET is going to have to do a lot of work to find someone remotely close to the final score in his predictions thread

 

[RoadMaster]

Swipe..

 

[Bigboote]

Sometimes a shooter is having a bad game and you’ll think, she just needs to see the ball go through the hoop, even just a foul shot.

We’ve known UConn is really good this year. They’ve had some issues against the better teams, though.

Uconn is the shooter who’s just seen the ball go through the hoop.

 

[Rdkid]

Maybe Paige doesn’t need to be more “selfish” and chuck it up 20 times a game. Always needed Azzi to find her game. Happy for that kid. The years of dominance for any one team are over - the Huskies are in the hunt with the rest of the best.

 

[Plebe]

HELL YES. It's about m@$^@$%@#%$#@ing time! More of that please!

 

[UConnCat]

A game reminiscent of the good ol' days when UConn would go on the road and put the hammer down against ranked opponents.

Azzi spoke as if the Tennessee loss was a turning point. Seems that way. Everyone played well. Jana gave solid minutes. This team played like a championship contender today. Let's get Ice and Morgan back.

 

[bantamlaker]

Who said we need a big? KK had 6 rebounds today!

 

[meyers7]

Well, again we still haven't won a close game.
And you know, we used to win these high profile games by 30+. Not 29, 30+
But you know, a wins a win. I guess I'll take it.

 

[jdote33]

Really fun watch. What a performance by Azzi. Really reminded me of her game her sophomore year vs Iowa.

As others have said rumors of the teams demise have been a bit exaggerated. Honestly there haven't been that many games where the team has been healthy and they looked awful. I'm not saying there gonna look as good as they did today but no doubt in my mind they are legit contenders. And this may be a bit of revisionist history but I kinda feel the Azzi doesn't play well in big games narrative has been a bit overblown as well, in the sense a lot of them she hasn't been all that healthy. Once again she may not have 28 every time in the future, but I just wanna see her healthy and not in foul trouble to give a fair assessment.

One more thing. This was an everybody eats game. I've said it before, it's not all on Paige. I feel like Paige is playing more point which actually allows Kaitlyn to be more of a scorer which she's always been. And I like that Jana got opportunities as well. Jana is a scorer

I do think South Carolina is not the same team we've seen the past 3 years. Definitely are contenders but just not quite as good.

 

[housekeys]

UConn was in the final 4 last year. We never left the "big girls club". Today's game makes that obvious.

 

[PJCLaw]

Well, again we still haven't won a close game.
And you know, we used to win these high profile games by 30+. Not 29, 30+
But you know, a wins a win. I guess I'll take it.

I think you have a fever!

 

[MSGRET]

@MSGRET is going to have to do a lot of work to find someone remotely close to the final score in his predictions thread

Already posted and it was simple actually. Less work than having 18 point earners.

 

[gold2323]

Never underestimate the HEART OF A CHAMPION

 

[BullDawg]

What a treat to watch the Huskies today. Focus and preparation showed throughout their dominance.

 

[FairView]

It just feels good.

 

[DEFCONN1]

To repeat myself from the chat room, I’m hoping this win makes us bad for women’s basketball again !

 

[Basingstoke]

I echo the word of the day; WOW!
In addition to the obvious points in UCONN's performance (Azzi, Sarah, Ash, Paige's dimes and Jana's inside presence)...
For the game, this was not an extreme anomaly as far as 3 point shooting goes. I think it's only a little better than their season average. The big difference for that was finally doing it against a top 5 opponent.
They obviously met South Carolina on an off day shooting-wise, but their defense was great, they won the turnover battle and they dominated on the boards. This was incredibly impressive and, potentially, bodes well for the future.
Hot shooting can come and go, but defense, ball security and rebounding can be reliable constants.
On a side note: even though Paige shot poorly today, I was so impressed with her post defense on Edwards.
Everyone who played today in the first 39 minutes made a real contribution!
Such a well-earned victory

 

[Stagnant]

I didn’t get to watch it. I am flying today. I am pretty stunned by the result.

I think UConn has gotten a lot better with the return of Aubrey. I think that has been huge for the huskies. Azzi is in a good groove right now. And I think some of the result might be about South Carolina; they aren’t the same team they were.

 

[Next 12]

WOW! WOW! What a game. Statistically we won EVERY category in this game. Uconn was superb! AZZI was a beast. SARAH and PAIGE had double=doublrs. ASHLYNN came off the bench and lit it up with 3 3pointers in a row. Looks like we are back into our NCAA playing mode. Everyone with meaningful minutes scored. A real team effort. GO HUSKIES!!!!

Winning a game like this made me wonder how So,Carolina won 23 games. In a previous game So.Carolina Made oner 20 fouls and the team they were playing made over 20 fouls. It must have been a slug-fest. In this ggame there were only 21 fouls combined. Better PLAY!

 

[msf22b]

How glorious it is to be wrong!

Was it not just this morning (maybe last night) that I complained that the team was underachieving
-that the stars didn't show up for big games
-that what you've seen is what you will get
and that past performance is what you most likely will see this afternoon.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

What happened?
Geno called the team out on their disappearing act after ND...no sugar coating
As he said in the pre-game...you just have to say it once...repeating it is not positive but negative ...the stars have to star in order to win...

Let's not forget...Page and Azi missed a whole lot of shots in the first half
(If they would have made a plurality of them we would have won by 40).
But (especially in Azi's case) she kept shooting (and driving) and causing general mayhem.

And everyone stepped up...all those who also had been absent against Southern Cal, ND and UTenn.

And lordy B, we had effective center play
and rebounded.

And the sub pattern was immaculate and effective. everyone contributed

And of course for the other team facing an unfamiliar juggernaut, it becomes harder and harder to make shots...and the way they turned over SC...gave then no chance to come back...there were no serious runs against us in the 2nd half.

The game had been decided and UConn was not interested in a 2nd-act reversal. They kept the pressure and aggression on for the entire game.

Now....we've seen Jana actually dominate (for short stretches) ...more, more, more.

How glorious to eat crow...
I've got a pie in the oven.

MSF

 

[ABCDFE]

Haven’t seen game. But preparing my crow now.

 

[UConnCat]

 

[ConnecticutBB]

Can someone post the post game interviews?

 

[UConnCat]

 

[Zanzman]

In the "Just Thinking" thread earlier in the week I got some "Wow" emoji reactions to my post.

As predicted, SC came out over confident their Coach and Team with their normal "swagger.". UCONN punched them in the mouth early and SC never recovered. Dawn got her traditional scowl on her face, she yelled at the team and the refs. The only thing I predicted that didn't happen was Dawn getting a Tech or two...instead she "gave up and sat" on the bench waiting for the pain to end.

SIGNATURE WIN??? I don't know...is a win over SC going to look good in the eyes of the committee??? The fact that SC won 70 straight at home had to be worth at least a look from the committee.

GO UCONN!!!!

Toot

 

[veryolddog]

I admit, that I have viewed this years team with a lot of doubt. I only followed the team in the news. I watched them play once before and I was not impressed. I did watch them today and I was impressed. This was a big win and an important confidence booster. I anticipated a loss for UConn. Instead, I was surprised with a substantial victory against the biggest nemesis for the team before the tournament. Good for them. Play like this all the time.