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Villanova Postgame Thread

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When it came down to it Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong made sure this was a win, with strong contributions from Shade, Sarah W and others. That's what matters.

But this was a mess. Not just the game, the commentating, the officiating, this was just a spectacle.

KK has got to be more of an offensive threat, see the floor better or make her free throws. One of those three has to happen before March.

Blanca back was great, there’s rust but she’s needed.

Our post play is suspicious without Strong in the line-up. Williams and Jana are 6’5 and 6’4. You wouldn’t know that in this game.

The refs contributed and called the game so differently from quarter to quarter, both teams never figured that out.

The commentators were obviously Villanova fans and these games are getting tougher to listen to. They talked about everything but the game in moments and you'd think this was coffee date between friends. Even bringing up the Kim Caldwell - Coach Yo handshake debacle. Just messy. Also saying Azzi Fudd had 25, but it wasn’t a dominant 25 points. 25 points is 25 points. 10/18 4/6 from 3.
 
Sarah Strong - (hoarse and coughing)

Debbie - about the fourth foul

Sarah: It was out of a hustle play, but I've gotta be a smarter player defensively.

Physical game. First time down at half. How feel?

Sarah: We just weren't locked in. We have to do better as a team. Start off the game right. Lock in.

3rd quarter click/planned?

Sarah: We played our two man game/azzi-strong - she knows what I want, I know what she wants. Played a horrible first half. Stay calm and push through it.

Nova environment was hostile. Not the norm.

Sarah: Something we're not used to. It will push us for March.

Get to go home. How does that feel?

Sarah: Yah, I guess... gotta watch film.....
 
my2cents said:
I will take the W and move on. Geno is really not happy with Serah.
First three minutes of the game, 1-3 shooting, 1 turnover and 1 foul. Barely played the remainder of the half.
Second half, she gets an offensive rebound and throws up an ugly shot at the rim. Out of the game again.
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How did Serah average 19 points a game while she was at Wisconsin and struggle here at UConn. Maybe she is better coming off the bench. Geno seems to pull her out early anyway.
 
Villanova is 21-6 after tonight’s loss - It’s not like the Huskies were playing a cellar dweller. This was a Quad 1 win for the resume, a second consecutive double-digit win on the road.

Hopefully it’s also a wake-up call to begin game with energy and effort. Azzi and Sarah both mentioned that in the postgame interviews
 
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my2cents said:
I will take the W and move on. Geno is really not happy with Serah.
First three minutes of the game, 1-3 shooting, 1 turnover and 1 foul. Barely played the remainder of the half.
Second half, she gets an offensive rebound and throws up an ugly shot at the rim. Out of the game again.
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Neither Serah or Jana looked good, imo. They need to go up strong. Both shot foulshots better though, and Serah had a nice block.
 
EricSD said:
A solid 2nd half - the team woke up, but again, another lackluster game overall. Poor first half against Tennessee, played sleepy for about 30 minutes vs. Marquette, and down at halftime vs. Villanova. I've said it many times now. This team is NOT head and shoulders better than every other team out there. They struggle for stretches far too long against teams they should beat handily.

But let me say this - I rarely complain about the refs, but that was as poorly reffed game as I've seen in quite some time.

Great games by Sarah, Azzi, and Ash. Serah had a strong 2nd half. Both our PG's were below average, altho KK had some highlight moments in the 2nd half. And some nice moments from Allie.

Per Azzi, Geno told the team to settle in the 2nd half. They came out not ready to start the game. Not playing at UConn's pace. The team got nervous and Azzi worked to help calm them down. She said the offense just wasn't flowing. Nova was super aggressive and "we didn't match their energy".

Something is off with the team and fortunately it's not March Madness yet. They have time to figure it out. Nova is going to be GOOD - they have a young team and are on the right trajectory.
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Eric, to put your post thoughts into a short summary, at this point our team is not as good as we thought---look at the projected score thread. I'm not saying that we wouldn't win the 13th NC but we won't win it if this is the way we play in the tournament. I do hold out hope!
 
Question, Azzi is just below averaging 50% FGs to get 50/40/90 with Sara. When does it the tally end? At the end of the regular season (with the conference tournament) or at the end of the season (UConn winning their 13th natty)?
 
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my2cents said:
I will take the W and move on. Geno is really not happy with Serah.
First three minutes of the game, 1-3 shooting, 1 turnover and 1 foul. Barely played the remainder of the half.
Second half, she gets an offensive rebound and throws up an ugly shot at the rim. Out of the game again.
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Was still better than Jana.
 
some thoughts:
*The refs were horrible.
*The announcers were very hard to listen to. Please talk about what is going on in the game instead of i don't know what...at a certain point I've muted the screen but that made for a strange viewing experience so i put the volume back up...arggg
*Vilanova was very good...they attacked UConn with no fear...Boscoe in the first half was absolutely amazing
*D. Dillon is an excellent coach and i just hope that no P4 team steals her from the BE. Next season this team will be much better with experience.
*Azzi was amazing most of the game but some of those turnovers she had...she did seem as well to rush her shots at time...still, we are so lucky to have her!
*Sarah, was unreal especially after getting back to the game with the 4 fouls.
Unstoppable!
*Shade was great. Hustle and timely shots.
*Both Serah and Jana are so frustrating...i find myself screaming at the screen.: hands hands... i have no idea why they can't catch some simple passes or be able to hold to the ball...
*KK and K9 had a poor game today...couldn't stop Boscoe and were not efficient on offense.
*Carter for Vilanova is a very interesting player who should be very very good in the next few seasons...those endless arms...wow
*The first half was so so disappointing....it seems UConn sent avatars to play in the game while they stayed in CT...it was good to see that the team figured it out in the 3rd quarter and started playing UConn basketball.
*Blanca was clearly rusty but I'm so happy she is back playing...she is needed!
*As the next game is Sunday, i hope Feno gives the team a day off to recharge.
 
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AzzisBraids said:
When it came down to it Azzi Fudd and Sarah Strong made sure this was a win, with strong contributions from Shade, Sarah W and others. That's what matters.

But this was a mess. Not just the game, the commentating, the officiating, this was just a spectacle.

KK has got to be more of an offensive threat, see the floor better or make her free throws. One of those three has to happen before March.

Blanca back was great, there’s rust but she’s needed.

Our post play is suspicious without Strong in the line-up. Williams and Jana are 6’5 and 6’4. You wouldn’t know that in this game.

The refs contributed and called the game so differently from quarter to quarter, both teams never figured that out.

The commentators were obviously Villanova fans and these games are getting tougher to listen to. They talked about everything but the game in moments and you'd think this was coffee date between friends. Even bringing up the Kim Caldwell - Coach Yo handshake debacle. Just messy. Also saying Azzi Fudd had 25, but it wasn’t a dominant 25 points. 25 points is 25 points. 10/18 4/6 from 3.
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Good points all. KK has to be more of an offensive threat. Here finishes need polish and determination, not a hail Mary at this time of year. She started out with strong moves to the hoop then goes unground. Why?
 
Disappointed by the play of our bigs (again). Lots of missed opportunities. We're fortunate to have a team that can shoot >50 FG%, but what happens in the tourney when shooting is off or foult trouble, or (God forbid) illness or injury sidelines a key player. We do have shooters. But it's the poor rebounding, offensive misses and inconsistent rim protection that baffles & worries me when other teams are as big and perhaps bigger around the paint.
 
You can’t see much in the box score
but in the first part of the 3rd quarter, especially when Sarah got her 4th,
Blanca made some good plays on both sides and helped steady the ship.

It’s been a few games now that Kayleigh hasn’t been much help; too bad.
And the Serah story continues…if nothing else, reduces her placement in the draft
(if there is one)…perhaps never was going to be a good fit….Surprised me and surely Geno and the staff…And she doesn’t seem very happy.
 
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I thought it was an eye-and-brain-catching competition and game flow with interesting performances from both teams.

Carter (8-9, 3-3, 2-3) is either All-Conference or had profoundly lucky game. Bascoe was an entertaining dynamo. Fudd and Strong and Shade did their thing. Other than that . . . .

reelfan said:
Williams should have dominated in the post. DON'T understand.
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I don't understand if Williams is better than El Alfy or vice versa, and I further don't understand whether I like my lack of understanding.
 
Bills Fan said:
Eric, to put your post thoughts into a short summary, at this point our team is not as good as we thought---look at the projected score thread. I'm not saying that we wouldn't win the 13th NC but we won't win it if this is the way we play in the tournament. I do hold out hope!
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Oh puhleeze - why put my post into a short summary when I can use lots of words to say the same thing LOL 😉
 
Glad to take the win!

1. Still struggling in the front court. We barely exceeded them on rebounds. Many baskets missed from very close.
2. Too many turn overs. Need to stay below 10.
3. Perimeter defense fell short. We will face teams who will depend on the luck of 3’s falling to upset us. We need to be a little tighter. They had 11/24 today.
4. Free throw shooting needs to improve.

Lots of homework to close out the regular season. Azzi and Sarah continue to deliver. Ashlyn had a good game.
 
As usual, a lot of good takes from the Boneyard.

For me, it was a Dickens of a fame (A Tale of Two Halves). The first half was about as dreadful as I could've imagined, and the second was much more like a normal UCONN performance.
I thought that Villanova is talented, very well coached and has a star in Bascoe who can score off anyone. The real surprise was Carter playing the game of her life both on offense and defense.
I was stunned by so many of our turnovers. All too often they were on careless passes that didn't take into account a Villanova player being directly in the passing lane (unfortunately, Azzi seemed to be one of the main culprits).
It seemed like UCONN's bench in the first half didn't contribute at all (I had no idea that Allie was even on the court that half, K-9 was having a very rough time and Blana, understandably, was very rusty) with the exception of some good minutes by Jana.
Thank goodness that Ash really asserted herself on offense, to compliment Azzi and Sarah's brilliance.
Azzi shot really well on all levels tonight and Sarah had a remarkable line tonight, augmenting very efficient scoring with 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks - only being stifled a bit by, what I feel to be, 2 very questionable foul calls in tge 3rd quarter (how in the world can you be judged to have committed an "undercutting" foul while clearly beating your opponent to a loose ball?).
The great news is that the team regrouped in the second half, remained unbeaten and has a lot to reflect and improve on in their last few games before the Big East playoff gauntlet.
One more note about their turnaround tonight: they wound up outrebounding Villanova on both the defensive and offensive boards.
 
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There are positives that come from being tested on the road and winning games when they’re not playing their best. That’s likely to happen at least once during the NCAA tourney en route to a championship.

At the same time, this team can be extremely careless with the ball at times, and that could come back to bite them against stronger opponents if they don’t clean it up before March.
 
Hayven said:
Question, Azzi is just below averaging 50% FGs to get 50/40/90 with Sara. When does it the tally end? At the end of the regular season (with the conference tournament) or at the end of the season (UConn winning their 13th natty)?
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All stats are for the entire season including the NCAA tournament.
 
First half - ugh. Azzi summed it up in the post g ame interview.Team was flat. Not communicating. Nova was very aggressive and forced UConn out of its offense. Defense was off.

Second half - outscored Nova 46 - 29. We outrebounded Nova. Got to the free throw line more than Nova. Forced Nova into 26 turnovers.

Nova came out ready for an upset. Give credit were credit is do. Dillion is an excellent coach.

Good to see Blanca back but she was very rusty. Ash had a great game. Jana had some good minutes.

Some things to continue to work on. Geno knows what needs to be done.
 
GetReal2day said:
not saying much.
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True. But look at the +/-. If you give Jana's minutes to Serah, we gain 9 points. Now it is a 23 point win. Still mediocre but not awful.

And it would be nice if we stopped looking like we are running in molasses. There is way too little movement and, when they DO move, it is way too slow. Is it a cold going through the team or the plague?
 
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