Washington's final home game

[nwhoopfan]

Frankly she needs to be worked hard the entire game. Press her bringing the ball up, make her drive instead of shooting outside and run her around on defense. Play UW for the end of the 3rd and the 4th quarter. Run Osahor to death as well. Make her drive the ball from the perimeter on offense and bring help when she puts the ball on the floor down low. By the 4th they'll both be dragging their feet with their tongues hanging out.

You don't think everything possible has already been tried w/ Plum? It has, and nothing has worked this year. Double team, trapping, big athletic defenders on her, rotating defenders so there's always a fresh body chasing her around. It's all been done, and it doesn't matter.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I was at the game today. Incredible performance. It was just shy of a sell out and the crowd was rockin', especially as Kelsey neared the record.

 

[donalddoowop]

... final regular-season home game, that is. They will play the Pac-12 tourney at Key Arena, and of course UW will host the first two rounds of the NCAAs.

Second half just started. Utah is giving UW a very tough game, currently down 5. Kelsey Plum already has 25 points, Osahor with 12 and 7.

This UW team is my second-favorite team in the country to watch. Love watching Plum and Osahor. They are so special individually, and they work so well together.

I believe if you had watched them two years ago and the beginning of last season you would have had a different opinion. Plum was a big time, irritating gunner. One of her teammates got on her big time last season and told her to start trusting her teammates. From that point on the team started playing winning, team ball. They were easy to guard because the other players stood around and watched Plum. Now the team is fun to watch and Plum is, imo, an extraordinary player and I seldom use that word. I knew the country would enjoy watching Osahor shoot in such an unorthodox way. I wonder how well they will play against a big, fast team if they face one in the NCAA Tournament.

 

[Plebe]

I was at the game today. Incredible performance. It was just shy of a sell out and the crowd was rockin', especially as Kelsey neared the record.

I'm envious. The rocking atmosphere definitely came through on the broadcast. The crowd was just roaring in the 4th quarter. Aren't you glad you didn't skip that game?

 

[donalddoowop]

Kelsey broke Stiles' career scoring mark. She was within 3 of the all-time single-game record of 60 as well. A game for the ages. I'll look around for a replay.

The replay is at 4:00 a.m. CST.

 

[Zorro]

I guess today's performance pretty much wraps up the POY, no?

 

[donalddoowop]

You don't think everything possible has already been tried w/ Plum? It has, and nothing has worked this year. Double team, trapping, big athletic defenders on her, rotating defenders so there's always a fresh body chasing her around. It's all been done, and it doesn't matter.

Yes it does. It can be done. Just not by Pac 12 players.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Yes it does. It can be done. Just not by Pac 12 players.

Arizona St., Oregon St. and Stanford are all good defensive teams and none of them were able to do much with Plum this year. She didn't have a great shooting night but scored 22 against Notre Dame. She was good last year during the NCAA Tourney, but she is a SIGNIFICANTLY better player this year. I'll believe somebody can shut her down when I see it.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Aren't you glad you didn't skip that game?

no doubt!

 

[donalddoowop]

Arizona St., Oregon St. and Stanford are all good defensive teams and none of them were able to do much with Plum this year. She didn't have a great shooting night but scored 22 against Notre Dame. She was good last year during the NCAA Tourney, but she is a SIGNIFICANTLY better player this year. I'll believe somebody can shut her down when I see it.

She is a lot better than last season. A lot better and imo, the front runner for POY. However, the defense in the Pac 12 is similar to the defense in the SEC. The teams in those leagues are offensively challenged so it is hard to rate the defense. MS was supposed to have a very good defense last season, until they played Uconn, a team that was not offensively challenged. OSU was also a team touted as being good defensively. Many teams in the SEC and Pac 12 have only two or three scoring threats. Two or three are not so hard to play defense against.

 

[LO TRADER]

You don't think everything possible has already been tried w/ Plum? It has, and nothing has worked this year. Double team, trapping, big athletic defenders on her, rotating defenders so there's always a fresh body chasing her around. It's all been done, and it doesn't matter.

nwhoopfan: I know you saw the UW vs OSU game this year? And, last year? OSU has done the best job of defending Plum that I have seen. You can't stop her, but you can force her to take difficult shots. Requires great team defense, and, a solid 1-on-1 defender like Gabby Hanson of OSU. Even though Kelsey Plum shot horribly in the 1st 3 quarters, she nearly brought UW back from 20 down to beat OSU this year. She is frickin amazing.

 

[LO TRADER]

She is a lot better than last season. A lot better and imo, the front runner for POY. However, the defense in the Pac 12 is similar to the defense in the SEC. The teams in those leagues are offensively challenged so it is hard to rate the defense. MS was supposed to have a very good defense last season, until they played Uconn, a team that was not offensively challenged. OSU was also a team touted as being good defensively. Many teams in the SEC and Pac 12 have only two or three scoring threats. Two or three are not so hard to play defense against.

You are correct about PAC12 teams have 1,2,3 max players per team that can create a shot and score when needed. When OSU played UCONN last year that was absolutely what happened, and, coach Rueck made the mistake of keeping Ruth Hamblin on the floor. She was a defensive liability against UCONN because Ruth Hamblin wouldn't leave the key to guard her UCONN player. UW can make it to the final 4 again, because of Plum and Osafor. I don't think any of the other PAC12 teams have the offense to get to final 4.

 

[Plebe]

nwhoopfan: I know you saw the UW vs OSU game this year? And, last year? OSU has done the best job of defending Plum that I have seen. You can't stop her, but you can force her to take difficult shots. Requires great team defense, and, a solid 1-on-1 defender like Gabby Hanson of OSU. Even though Kelsey Plum shot horribly in the 1st 3 quarters, she nearly brought UW back from 20 down to beat OSU this year. She is frickin amazing.

I didn't watch much of Washington before the postseason last year, but the best defensive job I've seen on her was in the Syracuse game at the Final Four last year. Syracuse used their patented swarming full-court press and she could never get comfortable. Finished with 17 points on 5-of-18 shooting (1 of 6 from 3) and 6 turnovers. I'd put that just ahead of the OSU game this year only because Plum did get going in the 4th quarter in Corvallis and almost led an amazing comeback.