UCONN vs. SC post game thread (merged) | Page 7 | The Boneyard

UCONN vs. SC post game thread (merged)

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EricLA said:
Well... who could have predicted that? Q1 was really solid, Q2 a thing of beauty, Q3 - I thought SC might blitz us after the halftime lecture I'm sure Dawn gave them, and frankly I didn't care what happened in Q4 - the damage was done. But... we basically outplayed them in EVERY quarter. Holy cow!!

I'm not going to speak in hyperbole regarding the future this season, nor even discuss it. Just going to enjoy this game, which to me was totally unexpected. 3 things shocked me in the first half:
  • Jana's play, AND going 2-2 from the FT line
  • Ash going 3-3 from 3
  • All of that lead was done with average output from Paige and Azzi
Then obviously Azzi caught fire and showed us the potential she has. Every player contributed. Even in an off shooting night for Paige (3-12, but a double-double and a host of boards), this TEAM still played great for a hard fought and well earned win. A couple shout outs...
  • Azzi in the 2nd half - just wow
  • Jana battled
  • Sarah with a double double
  • Ash on fire in the first half
  • Kait was solid
  • Paige was a real leader in spite of an off-shooting night
  • KK was a terror
  • Aubrey made some FT's, got several assists and rebounds
  • Our rebounding was fierce
Just gonna bask in the glow of this tremendous win. Possibly the best non-NCAA tourney win in a LONG time.
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All is right with the world!
 
A couple thoughts as I read thru all the posts...
  • Haven't seen a single SC fan over here congratulating us (it is possible I missed one in the 8 pages of posts in this thread). You know they would have been over here consoling us saying "good effort" had we lost ;).
  • Someone mentioned in the first page about people saying we don't have enough athletes on the team etc. I was one of them. HAPPY to have been wrong. It's one reason Geno is a great coach and I am... NOT LOL.
    • For the record I'm still thrilled at the "athletes" we have recruited next season - even Gandy at her size and position. But our help defense was sensational today. Against a bigger, longer, more athletic SC team who looked anything but...
  • I can't believe anyone would say Paige had a "below average" game. Her shooting was off for sure (3-12), but she still managed a double-double with assists and scoring, and was a very vocal leader today. Oh and she grabbed 7 boards and had 1 steal.
I do tend to agree that no matter what happens we won't get a 1 seed, even tho both us and SC both have 3 losses and we just mopped the floor with them. IMHO right now the top three 1 seeds are ND, Texas, UCLA. And neither Texas/LSU/SC will win out. One of them will have at least 2 more losses this season. Same goes for UCLA and USC. They play each other in league play 3/1, and likely will face off a 3rd time in the conference tourney. one of them will have at least 2 losses.

I don't know enough about the metrics to know how it all will work, but a 30 point win over a top 4 team AWAY should have a huge impact on UCONN's numbers. Our only "bad" loss was to Tennessee. But who knows? Certainly not me, and there are folks on here who are way more tuned in as to how the committee uses criteria for their seedings.

Originally, I would have said we would be lucky if we were able to avoid ND and SC for as long as possible in the tourney. Geno has often said you need luck as much as skill to win a NC. But now... not sure I'd like to "avoid" anyone. Again this was just one game, but if Geno and Azzi are correct - that the team has been in a different place since the Tennessee loss, that might end up being the turning point and the best thing that could have happened to this team this season...
 
The big 3 showed up big on both ends of the floor. UConn got great minutes early from Jana and Ash came in and hit a couple threes. SC has no size and UConn has the best small lineup in the country and when they play like they did today they are tough to beat. Jana even had a couple good drives to the basket that made the defense play her honest.

I do think that UConn played a perfect game defensively and SC couldn't hit a shot even when they were open. After watching SC against Texas and UConn I am pretty sure they will have a more difficult time making the final 4 than UConn. I do think this win will erase a couple losses from the evaluators and UConn will move back into the top 4 where they should stay unless they really drop the ball in a game down the stretch.
 
Basingstoke said:
On a side note, I was watching Texas/LSU and it struck me that Taylor Jones jump hook would be a perfect addition to Jana's arsenal.
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Speaking of Jana, I noticed that her scoring around the basket rarely if ever used the backboard. It is remarkable how soft and smooth a touch she had floating the ball into the basket. Maybe this is how she normally plays around the basket? Not every shot needs to be by the text book to be effective. Hope she is comfortable with it and continues to grow confidently down underneath the basket.
 
EricLA said:
A couple thoughts as I read thru all the posts...
  • Haven't seen a single SC fan over here congratulating us (it is possible I missed one in the 8 pages of posts in this thread). You know they would have been over here consoling us saying "good effort" had we lost ;).
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How many times have you gone to ND’s board to congratulate them immediately after a win? Or Tennessee’s board?
 
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HuskyNan said:
How many times have you gone to ND’s board to congratulate them immediately after a win? Or Tennessee’s board?
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Never, but they post over here all the time. I NEVER have posted on those boards. If I was a regular contributor on the ND or Tennessee boards, I certainly would then post congratulating them. And on our board, when posting after a loss, I almost always compliment and give credit to the other team. They certainly posted in our threads leading up to the game...
 
The deacon said:
The Huskies played a great game, especially defensively in the first half, and put Azzi in her comfort zone so she could shoot well in the second half.

Plaudits to Sarah, Jana, Kaitlyn, Ashlynn and KK for their fine games, and to Paige for her rebounds and assists.
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Hats off to all but especially Paige and her 10 assists, many to Azzi. (Something that they have talked about for years in coming to UConn and we all saw it finally came to fruition today.) Paige had an off-shooting day but she was clearly the leader and floor general.
 
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Been waiting a long time for this! The aggressiveness, decisiveness, urgency, focus, even dare I say the athleticism.

I was concerned that we would struggle to get open shots as we have in the recent past against SC but that was obviously not a problem. Actually felt that we could have been up by at least 30 in the first half if Paige and Azzi were hitting them. Beat down.

I feel like this is the most important regular season win we have earned in many many years. Maybe since Tennessee in 1995. In the space of two hours, the energy and momentum has suddenly swung back to UConn. What a great feeling!
 
I was fortunate to attend today’s South Carolina game, and somewhat unfortunate to attend the game in Knoxville. My seats were in row one in Knoxville and in row one of the second level in Columbia. For anyone that has not been fortunate enough to be this close to the action during a big game it is a completely different feel than what you see on television. There are several things that struck me about these games. I had a better view with the Tennessee game, but a decent view for the SC game.

  • It was interesting just how ferocious Ash is with defensive intensity and in things like going for a 50-50 rebounds. Her “aw shucks”Midwestern personality does not translate in person when she is locked in a defensive stance and stalking her opponent.
  • I always picture Azzi with the big smile and the jovial personality, but on the court she has a locked in laser focus that should translate to taking over games in clutch situations.
  • With Paige, it seems like the game actually slows down when the ball is in her hands. in Knoxville when the team was being pressed, and it seemed chaotic and things looked out of control, as soon as the ball hit Paige‘s hands, it seemed as if everything moved slower, and there was no panic whatsoever.
  • Sarah was unusual to me as she seemed the same when I watch the games on television as in person. She is very poised and in control and doesn’t seem to move very fast even when she’s moving pretty fast.
  • In person, KK is blazing fast and lightning quick This is something everybody knows, but until you see it close up, you don’t realize just how fast she is.
  • Jana seemed like two different people in the two games, although in both cases, she made some minor mistakes. Today in Columbia she made several moves, and she had a presence, that made me feel very optimistic about the rest of the season.
  • KC is still one of my favorite players, although I don’t have any significant observations.
  • Glad to see Aubrey back on the court and moving well, she seems to be getting better each game.
  • Caroline worked really good during warm-ups.
  • I don’t believe Allie touched the rim on any shot during the warm-ups.

All in all, I saw two slightly different teams although obviously the Knoxville game just came down to missing a plethora of uncontested shots. The team I saw today dismantled a pretty good South Carolina team and gives me some pretty good hope for the upcoming tournament.
 
WiseWillie said:
Hats off to all but especially Paige and her 10 assists, many to Azzi. (Something that they have talked about for years in coming to UConn and we all saw it finally came to fruition today.) Paige had an off-shooting day but she was clearly the leader and floor general.
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maybe nika gave her slime a pep talk when she visited :D
 
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Wow, amazing team effort in all phases, offense, defense, rebounding, steals, etc etc etc. Everyone contributed significantly to this win. It was so fun to watch, might have been the best UConn game I have seen in 4-5 years!

Sorry to bring in the UConn men’s game (they played Seton Hall a one win big east team) into this thread, but if you were to ask someone before the weekend that one team would win by almost 30 and the other would lose in OT how many would have predicted this! So glad to end the weekend with this magnificent performance.
 
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PAHuskeyFan said:
Found a new way to help UCONN WBB today... Some may recall my habit of drinking Mike's Hard Lemonade, Mango Flavor, during UCONN games...and it helps!!! humor me ok ..

Today, when it was back and forth in Q1, I added Wheat Thins, Tomato and Basil flavor...and, we all saw the result...total beat down. My NEW go to for drinks and snacks during future UCONN WBB games!!!

Just doin' my little part to help
..
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Centerstream said:
Thank you for your reply.
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"Every silver lining has a cloud?" That is definitely a glass half empty philosophy. Every cloud has a silver lining seems to be more apropos right now considering the gloom and doom clouds on this forum by somany loyal BY'ers after the TN loss. Let's let the euphoria continue.
 
WiseWillie said:
"Every silver lining has a cloud?" That is definitely a glass half empty philosophy. Every cloud has a silver lining seems to be more apropos right now considering the gloom and doom clouds on this forum by somany loyal BY'ers after the TN loss. Let's let the euphoria continue.
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Did you read the post I replied to (which was a reply to a different post)????
 
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