Watching the UConn Stanford FF game

[Bone Dog]

Just re-watched the Stanford game, and am reminded once again what an awesome game it was. A defensive struggle between two hyper-competitive teams. Paige was awesome even though she only scored 14 on 7/13 shooting. Haley Jones was also awesome with 20 pts on 8/21 shooting and 11 rebounds. She really carried the Cardinal.

The hero for me was (once again) Evina, who only shot 3/9, but that was 3/5 from 3, and those 3s all came in the space of three minutes in the 2nd quarter, real daggers. Plus she filled in at the 4 when Liv and Aaliyah got into foul trouble, even though she was not a physical match for Belibi. She played tough D and was overall the calm head on the court for a young, shorthanded team.

Nika only scored 2 in 18 mins, but she got 8 really tough rebounds, including 3 offensive rebounds. She was tough and scrappy every minute.

The pressure on our players (theirs, too) in this game was enormous. I'm so impressed by what both teams were able to do, and how they kept their cool throughout.

One last thing: the video includes a number of highlights of Paige's wonderful jump shot. She goes high with her long arms and releases the ball above her head. It's a thing of beauty, and she was able to get it off over Brink's outstretched arms. That says a lot about Paige's cool, but also about her form. Most players release the ball from lower down, typically from shoulder height. I imagine it's a matter of compensating for hand and wrist strength. Azzi also has a high release on her jump shot.

 

[jdote33]

I watched this game the other day too. I was trying to see how Azzi played and she was ok. Missed some shots she normally would make. Got into a bit of foul trouble as well.
Also kinda in conjunction, I watched Caroline as well. I remember thinking she didn't have a big game, but I feel like she was engaged. She had an assist to e, drew a foul when posting up hard and then got subbed out.
Both freshman, kinda played like fine. But it was clear they weren't focal points. I felt like they almost didn't get the ball enough but it was a high pressure game.
I thought Cam Brink had some moves where she really went at our bigs.
I also thought some of our offensive struggles seem to be because of two non shooting bigs being on the floor. Stanford was playing way off Aaliyah.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Azzi was disappointed in her pull-up jumper last season. Having seen her in 9 high school games, I thought the shot was rather automatic. She will be looking to raise her overall FG percentage by 5-10 percentage points. She shot .457/.430/.912 last year. I bet her goal is .530/.450/.900. Like the great KML, I think Azzi will flirt with 50/40/90 each season (Kaleena missed by 1 FT as a sophomore and senior).

 

[Centerstream]

Did we still win??????

 

[Zarathustra]

Did we still win??????

The last five times that I watched the game.... yes, we did win!

 

[oldude]

One thing that struck me from that game was that with all the talent on Stanford’s roster, Tara struggled throughout the game to find the right combination of players to get the job done against an underdog Husky team. While Jones & Brink were very good, the rest of the Cardinal roster struggled at times.

Of course, nothing happens in a vacuum. Geno had the Huskies ready to pull off the upset. At the end of the game Tara looked a bit stunned by the outcome.

 

[Bone Dog]

At the end of the game Tara looked a bit stunned by the outcome.

I was stunned too! But I didn’t know what to expect from Paige — I suspect no one really did. In the previous few games she looked alternately unstoppable and like she was held together with bandaids and kinesio tape. But she was on her usual mission. If we can give her half a chance, she’ll bring home #12. This could well have been her year, with this squad and a healthy Paige. I’m so angry at the cosmos right now.

 

[oldude]

I was stunned too! But I didn’t know what to expect from Paige — I suspect no one really did. In the previous few games she looked alternately unstoppable and like she was held together with bandaids and kinesio tape. But she was on her usual mission. If we can give her half a chance, she’ll bring home #12. This could well have been her year, with this squad and a healthy Paige. I’m so angry at the cosmos right now.

This year’s team, even without Paige, is still a FF team. Whether the Huskies can get over the hump vs SC remains to be seen. But with Geno as HC and hopefully a healthy UConn team in March/April, the Huskies are certainly capable of pulling off the upset vs the Gamecocks.

 

[JellyBean]

That was a game that I was worried about in terms of match ups. You never know which team is going to get hot shooting. Stanford has some snipers in that game. Just glad that Lexie could not find her shot (2-12) and I believe 0-from the 3-point line. Haley was doing alot out there but she struggled with her shot. It was a grind of a game and just glad that our UConn squad won in the end.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

As good as Stanford was last season, their lack of a point guard was a problem. Their talent was better than all but UConn and SC but they didn't have that alpha leader a team generally needs.

Jones is a gamer and I love the kid but she's not a great shooter and PG isn't a natural place for her.

 

[Bone Dog]

As good as Stanford was last season, their lack of a point guard was a problem. Their talent was better than all but UConn and SC but they didn't have that alpha leader a team generally needs.

Jones is a gamer and I love the kid but she's not a great shooter and PG isn't a natural place for her.

Yup. If anyone needed to recruit Kiki Rice, it was Tara. I wonder if Stanford was in the mix of offers for her.

 

[Bone Dog]

Just glad that Lexie could not find her shot (2-12) and I believe 0-from the 3-point line. Haley was doing alot out there but she struggled with her shot.

Usually teams struggle shooting either because of the pressure or the defense. We played good D against them. But I think it was the pressure both teams were experiencing that had the biggest effect. We struggled at times too, but we may well have been a little more ready for it.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Yup. If anyone needed to recruit Kiki Rice, it was Tara. I wonder if Stanford was in the mix of offers for her.

Kiki's aunt went to Stanford. I was very surprised that Kiki didn't go there.

 

[Jingo]

AE was a key in the Stanford game drawing a charge on Jones and a HUGE putback at a critical juncture, eh?

 

[jabstep]

I watched this game the other day too. I was trying to see how Azzi played and she was ok. Missed some shots she normally would make. Got into a bit of foul trouble as well.
Also kinda in conjunction, I watched Caroline as well. I remember thinking she didn't have a big game, but I feel like she was engaged. She had an assist to e, drew a foul when posting up hard and then got subbed out.
Both freshman, kinda played like fine. But it was clear they weren't focal points. I felt like they almost didn't get the ball enough but it was a high pressure game.
I thought Cam Brink had some moves where she really went at our bigs.
I also thought some of our offensive struggles seem to be because of two non shooting bigs being on the floor. Stanford was playing way off Aaliyah.

I think Ice and Amari can help solve that problem.

 

[jdote33]

I think Ice and Amari can help solve that problem.

Also kind of a related thought regarding this game. I always remember Geno saying it's no fair that the bigs are expecting the guards to make 30 jumpshots to win the game. He was referring to the first half and a lack of inside scoring. Liv really stepped up in the second half and had a huge 3 point play.
I'm thinking about this year's team, and wondering if Aaliyah and Dorka will be able to score inside. I actually think Ice and Amari can and will do so if given the opportunity.

 

[Bone Dog]

Also kind of a related thought regarding this game. I always remember Geno saying it's no fair that the bigs are expecting the guards to make 30 jumpshots to win the game. He was referring to the first half and a lack of inside scoring. Liv really stepped up in the second half and had a huge 3 point play.
I'm thinking about this year's team, and wondering if Aaliyah and Dorka will be able to score inside. I actually think Ice and Amari can and will do so if given the opportunity.

It's two sides of the same coin. Aaliyah and Dorka will have a much easier time scoring in the paint if they aren't double teamed, and that depends on the guards hitting from the perimeter. This is the primary reason Cameron Brink had such a good season last year.