A couple of points. At the start, Conn's defense was awful. Kylie could do nothing. Napheesa got schooled in way I had not seen before. Whatever the hell USF was doing, I hope no one else picks up on it. Olivia was huge on defense, and fortunately UCOnn had enough offense to pull out the win.
All that said, my wife had an interesting observation, one I agree with: "They just don't seem to extend themselves." Remember how Maya played at a amazing level and then would pull plays out of nowhere that elevated her game even more? Remember how we were pretty happy with Stef's play the first couple of year and then she transformed herself? There are lots of other examples, and I;'m not talking about players advancing from freshman to sophomore year.
Here's the thing: With Napheesa and KLS, what you see if pretty much what you get. Now, I'll grant you, what you get is pretty damn good, but you just tend to doubt there's a higher gear they can draw on when push comes to shove. Crystal, maybe. Hard to tell, and ditto Megan.. As for Christyn, it'd be a shame for a game halfway through freshman year be the one that defines her best level of play for a career. ONO is a different story, I hope she comes back bigger, stronger and with more offensive punch. She could be a real find.
Next year? Don't wanna think about it.
