USC Postgame Thread

[jaydee602]

KK averages 4.2 ppg. Kaitlyn shoots 42% from the perimeter, KK 7%. I like playing them together as part of the small lineup.

I agree, Nan!
Despite UCONN's smaller lineup, they were even in rebounds with USC & the Huskies had more offensive boards. If they can hold their own rebounding with a smaller lineup, it can be a successful strategy.

 

[Vowelguy]

Fox is surely happy

 

[David54]

I love Sarah at the 5 but genos not going to give up on developing ice and Jana. It’s a long season.

 

[maple]

As good as Sarah has been. How many of us thought she would hit the 3 foul shots. Tough position to be in
The missed 3 by Paige towards the end was big. It would have brought the house down

I feel bad that Sarah was put into the position of having to win it at the charity stripe.

 

[JBK]

I like the small lineup and Azzi will be double a digit scorer in the future and add Aubrey to the mix, and I think Shade will get more consistent. We will be good. I think the outlook is better than it was looking honestly

Agree. With Chen and Kk being so fast we should do more full court pressing.

 

[Vowelguy]

I like the small lineup and Azzi will be double a digit scorer in the future

Folks need to stop with the Azzi stuff. I love her but the reality is she is often out and her performances are inconsistent. Absolutely can play A++, but it definitely doesn’t happen all the time.

 

[freekimchee]

What a game. I had so much fun. It'd have been more fun if we got the dub but I'll take this L. Sarah Strong is her!

 

[Rb335]

I’ll try to be positive, this team fought back from 18 points down. That feels like an improvement from ND. But this team spotted a top 10 team 9 points from the tip, something that needs to be fixed. We can chalk it up to hot shooting by both USC and ND, but frankly the perimeter defense is questionable. There was a stretch where usc got a wide open look on what felt like 10 straight possessions.

I have been doubtful of shade, but thought she gave some great minutes tonight. And proved to me she can bring some offense in big games. Kudos.

Cheli showed up big time. Major kudos.

I’m sometimes perplexed by lineups and choices. Kk sparks the 3rd quarter run, then sits nearly the entire 4th. Geno seems too loyal to Chen sometimes.

Paige is denied the ball on the final possession of the quarter, just to run off 13 screens and get the ball in the same spot she originally was, now with just 3 seconds to work with.

Ice continuing to start. She doesn’t rebound, can’t shoot, can’t post up, and is widely not guarded by opponents. But then sometimes she’ll be great defensively and other possessions gamble or rotate in costly ways.

Jana can’t get off the bench, when I feel she has more upside and does make an impact. I really feel like we could use her more.

It’s a disappointing loss. But I think this version of the team isn’t what we’ll be employing in March. Can Azzi get and stay healthy? Will Aubrey contribute. Can Jana or KK or Cheli force genos hand? The upside is that Sarah strong is on an upward trajectory towards greatness. If we can surround her and Paige with a unit that is cohesive and works well together, we’ll be alright.

 

[dtbtbtb]

I hope that this game will convince Geno to go for a change in the starting 5. We can't continue to dig such a deep hole in the first half and work so hard to dig out of it.
IMO, the new starting 5 should be Paige, Sarah, Azzi, Ash and Jana. Need to see what Jana can do with more minutes as it's pretty clear that Ice does not cut it as a starting center against the better teams. This line up will have Paige as the PG.
From the bench: KK, KC, Morgan and Ice.
If UConn plays the small line up with Sarah at the 5, i doubt she'll have much left by seasons end.

 

[CTtoSanDiego]

I'll say it again and again... it's hard to beat a team that is hot from 3 (better than 50%). Some is just bad luck for us, some is bad D against the 3. Also, a terrible FT % by us makes it hard to win. We have work to do, for sure....

 

[JBK]

I feel bad that Sarah was put into the position of having to win it at the charity stripe.

If Sarah hit those 3 I would have christened her all American right now.
Was optimistic but knew she would miss at least 1

 

[willtalk]

Not if she has a say. If I recall, she really didn’t want to be a low post player during recruiting.

Kiki Iriafen is a forward not a center. At 6'3" she only had one inch on her. She might not do that well against a real top flight center. Why would Strong play out of position for herself. It will do nothing for her preperation for the next level.

 

[uconnfan68]

If Sarah hit those 3 I would have christened her all American right now.
Was optimistic but knew she would miss at least 1

Think she missed the 3rd on purpose.

What I didn’t believe was Paige missing 2. Or getting a 5 count on an inbounds.

 

[Just.A.Fan]

They at least showed some fight this time, but the same bad habits continue to put this team in difficult positions.

I know a lot of people don’t want to hear this, but the coaching has been inexplicable this season. We’ve seen way too many Chen minutes at the expense of Arnold/Azzi, not nearly enough of Paige at the point, and Brady starting over El Alfy is indefensible at this point.

It’s time for a lineup change so this team can compete athletically with the top teams in the nation.

Azzi? She gave us absolutely nothing out there tonight. She had no business being in this game at all as she was ready. Chen is getting such a bad rap from many of you. Ice and Jana have terrible hands and haven't learned to move towards the pass QUICKLY when being defended. They don't and as a result Chen gets a turnover when the defender slaps the ball away. Both she and Arnold played very well in this game, KK sparking the turn around for us and Chen hitting a big 3 pointer. I was so happy that Geno kept his "bigs" on the bench where they belonged.

After this game, I too now believe we would be better off with Sarah handling the post along with four (4) guards.

 

[uconnfan68]

Kiki Iriafen is a forward not a center. At 6'3" she only had one inch on her. She might not do that well against a real top flight center. Why would Strong play out of position for herself. It will do nothing for her preperation for the next level.

You see the way the 5 plays in our offense. You really want to shut her down?

 

[Conndog]

Bigs need to improve- I’ll give a pass to Jana being new to program and freshman coming back from injury, but Ice? Poor rebounding, too little offense- not surprised they didn’t play much 2nd half. Encouraging that UConn came back. Besides Paige and Sarah, Ash and KK were great. When will Aubrey get back?

 

[WLT1717]

Well said, I totally agree, but tonight with Sarah at the five have me new hope. That’s something they can work on and get better at. It could also backfire and Sarah get into foul trouble early, just have to wait and see. But I agree they are not where they need to be as far as toughness, mostly mentally.

One thing is clear - Strong is the prohibitive frosh of the year. No one appears close in terms of talent or impact. She just plays the game at a high level and makes it look effortless. What a treat to watch her.

 

[boontonbomber]

While I agree that KK should get more playing time I don’t feel like Azzi is ready right now except limited time. Not because of injury but because she was unproductive tonight. If she was hot I would say yes let’s keep her out there.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Folks need to stop with the Azzi stuff. I love her but the reality is she is often out and her performances are inconsistent. Absolutely can play A++, but it definitely doesn’t happen all the time.

It has hardly ever happened.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Azzi? She gave us absolutely nothing out there tonight. She had no business being in this game at all as she was ready. Chen is getting such a bad rap from many of you. Ice and Jana have terrible hands and haven't learned to move towards the pass QUICKLY when being defended. They don't and as a result Chen gets a turnover when the defender slaps the ball away. Both she and Arnold played very well in this game, KK sparking the turn around for us and Chen hitting a big 3 pointer. I was so happy that Geno kept his "bigs" on the bench where they belonged.

After this game, I too now believe we would be better off with Sarah handling the post along with four (4) guards.

Chen did not play well. She did little of anything, missed a big three late, and took that awful 1-on-3 shot in transition with about 2-1/2 to go.

 

[boontonbomber]

It's early, but got to say it's the first time in my memory(which is fading) that no one blamed the officials! Of course , they only took 6 free throws to our 17.

 

[UCTitleTown]

A few really bad and rushed shots late were the difference. Unusual lack of poise.

 

[Rb335]

Morgan is becomming my favorite. No reason not to keep the 4 gaurd lineup at this point

It’s also interesting that Paige, KK, and Ashlynn played many many many minutes together last year. They have chemistry, but rarely share the court. I thought you could see that chemistry in the 3rd on a play where KK pushed tempo and knew where Ashlynn would be for a 3.

We have 3 returning players from a final four run, plus a freshman who is playing at an AA level. Finding the right lineup feels like the biggest obstacle at the moment. But there’s a golden lineup somewhere. Too much talent for there not to be one!

 

[Blond D.]

Morgan looks like a freshman....a VERY GOOD freshman but still a freshman. As she gets more playing time she will lose that freshman wide eyed look and will find the "short-cuts" to guarding and put herself in better positions to score.

Sarah doesnt look like a freshman. She looks like an all American Jr or Sr. Its scary that she will get better too. I see her slimming down a bit and putting on more muscle next summer. She will be unstoppable then.

Shade and KK look great on defense....as if they had a great teacher last year. (can you say Nika?)

Our only problem is our bigs. They need to get faster both physically and mentally. I'm trusting they will before March.

 

[Just.A.Fan]

I feel bad that Sarah was put into the position of having to win it at the charity stripe.

She couldn't have won it there, she could only have tied it.