Bad calls on both sides. refs missed several against nova in the first half but yet seemed to make up for them with at least 4 ticky tacky fouls they called on nova. second half, it seemed that ALL of the big calls went against uconn and they were only big bc the calls were so terrible.
that said, i am wearing my husky blue glasses so maybe I'm a bit biased but......lets see,
CD and AE get smacked in the face, no call... as usual lou gets mugged, no call, lou gets fouled while shooting, no call, AE gets fouled on put back, no call, NM gets body checked into another player...foul on NM, NM boxing out and gets a foul, AE reaches around a player and slaps the ball out of bounds and gets called for a foul. i think i have forgotten a few others. now did we play physical with Maddy, well of course we did but I think it was reasonably within the rules of BB.
anyway, we won and played great defense, although nova did miss some open shots. most disappointing is that GA doesnt even think that Yana deserves even a minute of time.
Too many TOs from NM, although as stated before, many of the great assist players of all time, routinely were league leaders in TOs. I don't entirely fault NM for all the TOs. She also caused 3 nova TOs so that makes up for some of her own TOs anyway. Not all of her 4 fouls were silly either. But, I think Olsen out played her. I know NM feels slightly by the refs and sometimes she has a point, but she needs to compose herself better. Dropping F bombs at the ref isn't going to get you anywhere.
AE and Dorka continue to fail against double teams and turn the ball over. Maybe they know they have to do a bit more than they are capable and hence it happens. AE in particular, just doesn't seem to recognize the double coming and dribbles right into it. Rebounding was great although many times, Nova conceeded the rebound and ran back on defense.
Most disconcerning is that we can't get out of the 60s in 6 out of the last 7 games. I don't think that changes much with CD in the lineup, unless she consistently hits threes. Teams will make her drive and better teams will defend her drives well. Those long, slow-step, underhand scoop shots look nice, but I don't think they work as well against better teams. She does give us another good player but she isn't the answer. Of course, I'm pulling for her. The real answer is Azzi if she ever gets back this season.
Still so proud of this group! They aren't perfect but they certainly play hard. Also despite the lack of bench, they stretched out the lead in the second half and eventually handled their business in the 4th.