This is the kind of analysis I like-- more X's and O's than the fan (and even coach) clichès: no heart, no energy, no hustle, didn't want it enough, etc. Coco, you actually answered OldAlum's very pertinent question: what did MsState do on defense. And Tomcat also noted how we could not move the ball from side to side, which also forestalls passes to cutters from the side opposite the ball as the defense has to shift. Curiously, too, we were not able to go back-door on defenders playing tight on our wings. As I looked at the replay, I saw cutters moving too early, before passers were ready for them, and some screens not set square to where cutters wanted to go. Case in point, our last offensive play, seen by many as Saniya's folly: I don't know if that was supposed to be a double screen, but Saniya set it up by taking a dribble toward the baseline; however, Napheesa's screen allowed an opening for William to slip through, and Gabby was not close enough to Napheesa to close the gap. Against a good defender, the margin of error is very slim.
At the beginning of the game, our first pass to Napheesa was intercepted because, she cut too early, before Kia was ready to deliver the pass, and Lou did not set her screen directly on Napheesa's defender. Again, small margin of error against a defender who obviously had been alerted to that UConn tactic.
One other technical matter, one that plagued and slowed our offense—the two key principles of the dribble. One, do not put the ball on the floor until you know where you want to go/what you you want to accomplish. Two, do not pick up the dribble until you are ready either to pass or to shoot. During the game, our offense stuttered because, with the normal rhythm and timing of the offense thrown off, we often picked up the ball and then had no pass open. The first principle is one that Crystal violates too often, perhaps like a nervous tick, and Lou sometimes falls into.
Geno, it has been said, is a details guy; no detail is too small. In this game, the young UConn players showed that they are still learning and mastering some of those small but crucial bits and pieces.
BTW, despite some defensive lapses (rebounding, allowing dribble penetration on occasion) our defense was, under normal conditions quite adequate. How many games has UConn lost while holding opponents to 60 points in regulation? MsState won the game in large part because they exposed small errors in our offensive execution. The good thing is that as these "kids" become UConn veterans, they will learn how to further minimize those errors. The coaching staff will insist on it.
