UConn vs St John’s postgame | Page 2 | The Boneyard

UConn vs St John’s postgame

Was in the 5th row so I got to see them close up. It really impacts the perception of quickness. Serah absolutely should get the bulk of the minutes at the 5. Jana is just too slow to run out on shooters. The contrast was striking.

It felt like Blanca played better in this game. I really hope Geno shortens the bench because she needs minutes. I really want to see her come in for Ash, though, not Serah.
 
It was fun to watch the Huskies at MSG on a Sunday night. Very special.

I thought we weren't quite crisp, but SJU came in at 21-9, so they are a decent squad. Serah had a strong game, as did Allie. I hope Blanca's injury was not serious.

A couple of highlights: I met OldDude and his wife for dinner before the game. Very nice people. I met Azzi's grandfather in the men's room before the game. Tom was very pleasant. Thanks for becoming Connecticut residents for 5 years! I've loved Azzi for over 8 years.


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Wonderful day in NYC. Got together with MilfordHusky before the game and compared decades of notes on UConn WBB. Went to a game at MSG for the first time in almost 50 years.

I’m estimating there were about 10,000 fans, all in the lower bowl. At least 3/4 were Husky fans. Lots of screaming HS girls, kind of like a rock concert.

The pregame “semi-dunk” by Ayana was special. The game itself was a little uneven as Geno was employing a frenetic substitution pattern throughout to check out every combination he could think of.

I am reasonably certain that once UConn gets to the Big Dance Geno will dramatically simplify what they are doing as well as who they are playing and how much.
 
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Congrats to UConn for an undefeated regular season. As others have noted, a very nice game by Serah, Kaleigh and Allie, among others.

One observation about St. John's. They lost by 30+ and at times got rattled by UConn's defense. But they played tough. They schemed to get three point shooters open on numerous occasions and, frequently, when they broke the press, they had a numerical advantage on the other end. They didn't always convert, but you could see the makings of an improving team.
 
MSG...nice venue Geno found for the Serah Williams homecoming game.

Caroline Ducharme quite the special player during her freshmen Caro-linsanity streak.
Tonight like the old days she made the difficult look easy, as she scooped up an awkward pass and smoothly converted the transition layup!

That play represents her last 2 regular season points for UConn.🥰
 
I was at the game though a bit down with long C
A few points:
-Serah’s strong game did not exactly start at the beginning…She was pulled early after some less than stalwart D but when she came back…if not exactly a terror, a very aggressive, competent post…Either some one gave her notes on the bench or she realized herself what sort of effort was required.

-It wasn’t only that they didn’t get any offensive rebounds; no one even tried…They shot a better than decent 57% but that still left 27 opportunities when their shot didn’t fall…I really had a fleeting thought that they were instructed to not go for the ball after missed shots.
A pretty pathetic effort in that regard.

-In person, better than on the TV, it is so apparent that stifling, D is the hallmark of this team, both half court and pressing..The Johnie’s were really discouraged at times in their inability to get their offense going; it was
continuously disrupted and especially in the first half, coach Tarantella was apoplectic at his team’s inability to settle into a flow. But that’s what UConn does to you.

In the most valuable player competition…I’m afraid to say that Ms Blakes probably has it won…she and her magical, diminutive freshman guard prevail without the supporting cast Sarah enjoy, carrying the load night after night…We’ll be seeing these two go at each other for the next decade…a rerun of Bird and Magic
 
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msf22b said:
I was at the game though a bid down with long C
A few points:
-Serah’s strong game did not exactly start at the beginning…She was pulled early after some less than stalwart D but when she came back…if not exactly a terror, a very aggressive, competent post…Either some one gave her notes on the bench or she realized herself what sort of effort was required.

-It wasn’t only that they didn’t get any offensive rebounds; no one even tried…They shot a better than decent 57% but that still left 27 opportunities when their shot didn’t fall…I really had a fleeting thought that they were instructed to not go for the ball after missed shots.
A pretty pathetic effort in that regard.

-In person, better than on the TV, it is so apparent that stifling, D is the hallmark of this team, both half court and pressing..The Johnie’s were really discouraged at times in their inability to get their offense going; it was
continuously disrupted and especially in the first half, coach Tarantella was apoplectic at his team’s inability to settle into a flow. But that’s what UConn does to you.

In the most valuable player competition…I’m afraid to say that Ms Blakes probably has it won…she and her magical, diminutive freshman guard prevail without the supporting cast Sarah enjoy, carrying the load night after night…We’ll be seeing these two go at each other for the next decade…a rerun of Bird and Magic
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I disagree.. article last week said Blake's had closed the gap but Sara was so far ahead it would be difficult for anyone to beat her out
 
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I disagree with the recurring notion that no one even tried to get o-boards. We outrebounded them by 10, and got 9 o-boards to their 6. Ash was hunting them all game long. We took a lot of perimeter shots which made it difficult to predict where the rebound would go. But you can see Ash on almost every missed shot slashing into the lane trying to get a board.

It’s also worth noting that we took 63 shots and made 36 of them. SJU only took 48 shots — reflect on that for a moment — and only made 17 of them. That stat screams off the page much more than the number of o-boards.
 
RockyMTblue2 said:
Well this is disorienting Nan. I'll endeavor to persevere. I thought we played too fast throughout the first quarter and it reduced our efficiency. To me the whole game had a sort of helter skelter quality. Kept thinking Geno would try to settle them down, but no. The high spots Serah and Allie, emphasis Allie. We need to get that girl a nick name, maybe Pistol Pete (just kidding).
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Allie’s three point shooting is so impressive but the other thing about her is her adeptness around the basket. She hardly ever misses a layup. When she drives or gets a pass going to the basket it’s money! Kudos to Serah too! If she can build on this for the postseason, we’re in good shape.
 
msf22b said:
I was at the game though a bit down with long C
A few points:
-Serah’s strong game did not exactly start at the beginning…She was pulled early after some less than stalwart D but when she came back…if not exactly a terror, a very aggressive, competent post…Either some one gave her notes on the bench or she realized herself what sort of effort was required.

-It wasn’t only that they didn’t get any offensive rebounds; no one even tried…They shot a better than decent 57% but that still left 27 opportunities when their shot didn’t fall…I really had a fleeting thought that they were instructed to not go for the ball after missed shots.
A pretty pathetic effort in that regard.

-In person, better than on the TV, it is so apparent that stifling, D is the hallmark of this team, both half court and pressing..The Johnie’s were really discouraged at times in their inability to get their offense going; it was
continuously disrupted and especially in the first half, coach Tarantella was apoplectic at his team’s inability to settle into a flow. But that’s what UConn does to you.

In the most valuable player competition…I’m afraid to say that Ms Blakes probably has it won…she and her magical, diminutive freshman guard prevail without the supporting cast Sarah enjoy, carrying the load night after night…We’ll be seeing these two go at each other for the next decade…a rerun of Bird and Magic
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For those of you who were at the game (I'm jealous), you missed a great halftime interview with Geno. His biggest complaint about the first half was that his team was tied with a dead man for most offensive rebounds -- zero! (That rivals Casey Stengel's "Most people my age are dead.")
 
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SCNCHuskie said:
Scrimmages are over, tournament time.

Serah Williams looking like she’s starting to get ready for tougher opponents, and looked good tonight. I am always impressed how hard Kayleigh Heckel drives the lane. Her pass from her knees was classic.


Side Note: I was driving this week and saw a billboard for a restaurant. It made me realize Azzi missed a sponsorship deal by going to the wrong school. Had she gone to that New Jersey school she would’ve been - FuddRutgers!
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Send this suggestion to her agent. Great idea.
 
It was great being there. Before the game they announced that it was the first stand alone game ever at the Garden so perhaps that earlier Villanova- St. John's game in 2023 was a doubleheader. Either way it was very special. Almost 10,000 there. Insane. Heckel played great as did Allie and Serah. Azzi missed her first three 3 point shots otherwise the opening score would have been 20-2. Blanca and Sarah are still not 100% and I trust this 6 day rest will do wonders. Great night at the Mecca.
 
RockyMTblue2 said:
Well this is disorienting Nan. I'll endeavor to persevere. I thought we played too fast throughout the first quarter and it reduced our efficiency. To me the whole game had a sort of helter skelter quality. Kept thinking Geno would try to settle them down, but no. The high spots Serah and Allie, emphasis Allie. We need to get that girl a nick name, maybe Pistol Pete (just kidding).
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Rocky, I'm going to assume that this was sarcasm, which generally doesn't play well here on the BY. If this was a serious post, please explain.
 
All season long I have been waiting for Serah to exhibit some semblance of the player she was at Wisconsin, and quite frankly I have not seen it... until last night. Continue on!
 
TUCBTUD said:
Geno Auriemma:
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MSG truly is the indoor sports capital of the world. Geno knows it and appreciates its history, even beyond basketball. He seemed more relaxed at this post-game presser than at any this season. Even the quality of the questions were on a higher level than usual. You could see he was enjoying it.
 
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Cuango said:
Allie’s three point shooting is so impressive but the other thing about her is her adeptness around the basket. She hardly ever misses a layup. When she drives or gets a pass going to the basket it’s money! Kudos to Serah too! If she can build on this for the postseason, we’re in good shape.
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She's got great hands.
 
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