UCONN vs. SC post game thread (merged)

[Ron and Vida]

I taped game and just saw the score and am stunned
I am ashamed for being such a coward
The girls deserved better

 

[Ralph]

to paraphrase Simon on Susan Boyle's audition on Britain's got talent, "I knew the minute they came out, that we were going to see the performance of the year from our ladies, and I was right." If you believe that take a look at my prediction: so glad to look really stupid with my prediction.

 

[Vowelguy]

Best games of year
Azzi
Jana

Above average games
Shade
Chen
Griffin

Good solid games
Kk
Strong

Below avg game (not bad, mind you)
Paige

 

[FormerCTrez]

Congrats to the Huskies on this emphatic win, at South Carolina. I’m super proud of your performance! Today I went to Church so I missed seeing the game, but you gave me the best birthday present!!
My heart is so overjoyed, and this win has given me hope, once more. Congrats, enjoy the moment, keep getting better. Go UConn!! Go Huskies!

 

[SVCBeercats]

We watched the team we always knew existed, it decided to come out of hiding against SC....a total team effort and it showed.

If they are 40% on threes, they are tough. Otherwise hope the other team is having an off game.

 

[Vowelguy]

Not sure I've ever seen a whole team as a negative in the +/- category?

It’s called domination Holmes

(Still blows my mind)

 

[Blond D.]

I'LL HAVE WHAT THEY ARE HAVING!!!!

 

[and one]

Obviously it was a wonderful win on so many levels. A dominating win against a very good team on their home court is the stuff of old. No doubt the win is mostly attributed to UConn shooting well and SC shooting badly. Getting beyond that, UConn looked to be the better team in every facet of the game. There have been questions as to whether this team was athletic enough to hang with the big dogs. Well, yeah, they are.

Isn't it nice to put a stop to a 71 game home win streak? Yes it is.

 

[ABCDFE]

How I wish this was the ncaa finals!

My sentiments exactly. Will be tough to do that again, right ?

 

[Willowglen]

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!!!!

Watching the game I quickly concluded Sarah Strong was the best athlete on the floor. She was a dominant player this afternoon because she is quicker and stronger than anyone on USC’s team. She will be the difference in the NCAA tournament.

Don’t disagree with any of the above observations either.

 

[Huskies990411]

Rebounding!!

View attachment 107045 View attachment 107046

My thoughts exactly, rebounding. We shot the ball unbelievably well, of course, but no one out rebounds South Carolina like that.

 

[Vowelguy]

. No doubt the win is mostly attributed to UConn shooting well and SC shooting badly.

You don’t get todays outcome from just shooting well/poorly.

It was an all around performance. Swarming defense and aggressive offense.

 

[Crossover]

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

I appreciate your confession of error". I can only hope than many Boneyarders ("10% chance", "zero chance", etc.) follow your example.

 

[DEFCONN1]

Let’s talk the three point shot. Azzi was so much in SC’s head that whenever she touched the ball, she would give a simple fake and and SC jumped out of their socks. She would then smartly put the ball on the floor, draw the defense in and drive to the basket or dish the pill. This threw off SC’s defensive game plan and they never really recovered. Just a great all round offensive game for Azzi!

 

[BRS24]

In the first half I was yelling to get Azzi out of the game. Then WOW. Ash and Jana showed up in the first half offensively and continued to play well in the second half without scoring. Sarah was a steady Eddy. All the guards were aggressive rebounders. They finally looked like we expected them to all season.

Bless me universe, for I had also sinned against Azzi.

 

[jaydee602]

Against SC, sometimes the other team can get a lead; but invariably, SC will have a monster quarter where they take the lead back and then pull away. UConn never let them do this- UConn played great all 4 quarters and after each one kept expanding their lead. Great coaching by Geno and staff- UConn was superbly prepared, the timeout to settle team when SC reduced lead to 10in 2nd quarter was perfectly timed, his substitutions were effective and didn’t give SC any advanatage.

SC just couldn't cut into UCONN's halftime lead. Every time they approached that 22 point deficit, the Huskies drilled a 3 pointer.

 

[YSRFrisbee]

Congrats to everyone for an amazing game!!! Hopefully they continue to build on this momentum and stay hungry! It’s going to be a fun flight home!

I still think South Carolina is a super dangerous team and Dawn is building a dynasty. This loss will only make them better. But it’s going to be a wild tournament and there is no clear favorite this year!

Go huskies!

“In a world where you can be anything… be KIND”

 

[ec33]

Now that was a pleasant surprise. Great team win. Loved the effort they showed.

Most of all it was great to see them play against a top team with the confidence they have seemed to lack in the big games of late. Hopefully this is the turning point. We will see in the second and third week of the tournament.

 

[BRS24]

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.

Very good point. I haven't felt that way about hammering down in a long time. This team finally had a no mercy moment

 

[maple]

I keep going back to my thought that UConn could win even with an imperfect game as long as well played consistently and executed their game plan. How true that was!

No time to rest on their laurels now, but use this win to give yourself the swagger and confidence to carry us deep into March. See what can happen?? I said I had not seen much growth between the ND/USC/TN games. Today I saw that growth. The loss to TN was a major gut check and wake up call.

Let’s go!!!!

 

[BRS24]

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.

Well, I did pull out my Everybody Eats t-shirt for the first time this season, so ...

 

[FormerCTrez]

View attachment 107047

@Triad, you know we’ve been the hungry Huskies for a long time. So today our team had a feast!

 

[UConnCat]

Maybe McGraw?

No. 4 in a row for MM.

 

[fomalhaut]

Connecticut has now compiled or broken the seven longest home winning streaks in history:
99, 98, and 69 by Connecticut, Stanford's 81, South Carolina's 71, and 69 by Baylor and Tennessee.

 

[BRS24]

hey @HuskyNan, can we get a merge on this one?