USA Defense in second half!!!

[UcMiami]

Wow - out score Opals by 19 in second half. Tina and Ashja got strong on both Liz and Lauren using their legs and lower body to keep them both out of the low post positions they were getting in the first half.
Also - just no way a team could keep shooting 60% for the whole game - Opals played a perfect half, luckily it was the first half!
BUT - Lauren Jackson is such a warrior - she had near 20 rebounds in this game.

 

[MilfordHusky]

We got our hands up better in the second half and challenged passes a lot more. Australia made more of the hustle plays in the first half.

Tina kicked it in gear, and Asjha showed the very reason she was selected.

Candace is strictly a finesse player. The big screen showed her seemingly disinterested brother a few times. She did not have a good game.

Catch, on the other hand, deflected a number of passes and knifed in for some badly needed rebounds. I was yelling to rebound stronger, and Tamika heard me.

 

[UcMiami]

I thought Tamika in the first half was just HUGE!
I thought it was Angel's worst game - the first game where she wasn't quite right.
And I thought Candace didn't have a good game either - too much beef and contact for her game.
Whelan had those six points when we really needed them.
Tina a huge second half.

 

[UConnCat]

I thought Tamika in the first half was just HUGE!
I thought it was Angel's worst game - the first game where she wasn't quite right.

Agree on both counts. Don't underestimate the pressure that comes with playing in a game like that. It has to be greater than an NCAA or WNBA final. It showed with Maya as well. She had some shaky moments too (poor shot selection and a dumb pass), but Maya also made some big shots and a huge steal off of Cambage.

 

[ThisJustIn]

I keep hoping folks will learn how to spell Whalen's name. I bet Gino knows how.

 

[JimGunther]

I thought Sue's after-game comment was helpful (I don't understand any of the tactics or strategy of the game). She said the adjustment at half-time was to defend them sooner to prevent them from getting their shots.

Given the 2nd half defensive disparity, I guess they executed the strategy well.

 

[UcMiami]

I keep hoping folks will learn how to spell Whalen's name. I bet Gino knows how.

Are you making fun of my dyslexia?! (Actually I don't think I have it, but I do seem to be switching vowels around a lot laterly!)

 

[alexrgct]

How about Sue Freaking Bird in the first half?

 

[MilfordHusky]

How about Sue Freaking Bird in the first half?

Smart, steady, clutch. Best PG in the world. Period.

 

[Icebear]

Smart, steady, clutch. Best PG in the world. Period.

I bet one could count the number of times I have seen Sue flustered on the court since coming to Uconn on one hand.

 

[VAMike23]

Agree on both counts. Don't underestimate the pressure that comes with playing in a game like that. It has to be greater than an NCAA or WNBA final. It showed with Maya as well. She had some shaky moments too (poor shot selection and a dumb pass), but Maya also made some big shots and a huge steal off of Cambage.

At times, Maya still plays very 'young' in these types of games, for good and for ill, but of course I wouldn't change her for the world

 

[RadyLady]

I keep hoping folks will learn how to spell Whalen's name. I bet Gino knows how.

LOL!!!!!!!!

 

[speedoo]

We got our hands up better in the second half and challenged passes a lot more. Australia made more of the hustle plays in the first half.

Tina kicked it in gear, and Asjha showed the very reason she was selected.

Candace is strictly a finesse player. The big screen showed her seemingly disinterested brother a few times. She did not have a good game.

Catch, on the other hand, deflected a number of passes and knifed in for some badly needed rebounds. I was yelling to rebound stronger, and Tamika heard me.

Catch is a warrior, a real gem. If Parker ever had some of that rub off on her, and added about 20-30 pounds of muscle, she would be a really great player, instead of a finesse player with great skills with holes in her game.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Catch is a warrior, a real gem. If Parker ever had some of that rub off on her, and added about 20-30 pounds of muscle, she would be a really great player, instead of a finesse player with great skills with holes in her game.

Well said.

 

[Icebear]

Catch is a warrior, a real gem. If Parker ever had some of that rub off on her, and added about 20-30 pounds of muscle, she would be a really great player, instead of a finesse player with great skills with holes in her game.

Exactly, Speedoo, if CP3 had Catcgings spirit she would be unstoppable. I have so much respect for Catch. She has the heart of a lioness.

 

[Icebear]

Well said.

You got to see a tremendous game. Awesome dude. Glad you got your game together in the second half and brought the team to victory. You just needed a kick in the butt.

 

[MilfordHusky]

You got to see a tremendous game. Awesome dude. Glad you got your game together in the second half and brought the team to victory. You just needed a kick in the butt.

It worked for Misty and Kerry when they were down 13-7 to the Chinese, so I had confidence it would work over 40 minutes. Plus we had Sue, Dee, Tina, Maya, Catch, Lindsay, Seimone, Asjha, et al.

 

[JoePgh]

Attempting to be objective, I think all of the factors cited in this and other threads about the USA second-half defense (Sue's halftime speech, Tina's renewed determination, Parker not defending Cambage, Asjha's excellent positional defense), while certainly true and significant to some degree, are far less important than one simple fact: Elizabeth Cambage completely ran out of gas. At the beginning of the second half, having just had 15 minutes recovery time, she continued to overpower Tina. But she could not sustain her energy, whereas Tina never wore down. When the USA started to establish an advantage, she was on the bench, recovering again. When she returned, she was often at the high post, avoiding the physical battles that would occur if she went closer to the basket. Even there, she was not gripping the ball (ask Maya) and when she was on defense Tina easily beat her a few times.

If Cambage had been in adequate physical shape for this level of competition, the game would have been entirely different, and the USA would have been lucky to win.

I do agree that Asjha's immovability (by Jackson and Batkovic as well as Cambage) was a very significant factor causing the Aussies' reduced scoring in the second half. Brunson might have done as well, but not Dupree. But I agree with cardfan that the missing resource for Team USA was Nneka. If she were on the team (instead of either Swin or Asjha) and had played maybe 20 minutes against Australia, it might easily have added 10 points to the margin of victory. Cambage would not have found it easier to move her than to move Tina or Syl, and she would have dived for more contested balls than the players in the game.

 

[UcMiami]

JoePgh - Part of USA strategy in these games is to push teams physically to breaking point - it was most obvious with Cambage because she was so impressive in the first half, but Batkovic also disappeared in the second half as well. I believe Lauren had 10 points at half time and only 4 in the second half - all the Aussie players were exhausted by the end and the shots they were making in the first half disappeared in the second.
And no ... Nneka would not have been as effective as Jones defensively on Cambage and Jackson - she may have brought different things to the team, but not that.
And one thing people forget when talking about the 'three vets' is that there is actually a fourth - Cash. She may not be seeing the playing time or be particularly effective when she is playing, but she is also a vet of the 2004 gold medal team and I suspect is adding a lot in practice and on the sidelines.
I love Nneka's game, and I suspect she will be on the 2014 WC team, but I would not have chosen her over any of the members of this team in May, nor over a number of other WNBA vets. Her time is coming.