Who wins this weekend? #6 Notre Dame at #3 U$C, #1 SCAR at #5 fUCLA

[Frankus]

In support of not focusing on the past I submit the NDame-TCU game. and the preceding NDame vs USC game. Nothing moves in a straight line. After holding USC to 12 pts in the 4th period of their win the Irish gave up 31 to TCU.

How did Miles', Citron's and Hidalgo's "very good at their worst" defense allow 31 pts. in a period and lose after leading by 11 after 3. And that ignores the trio's offensive production in that 4th period.

UConn had the good sense to choke in the 3rd period, giving them an opportunity to recover.

I'll tell you how. Kovall picked up her 4th foul which opened a gateway for Van Lith who was guarded by the too slow Prosper out side, with the too small King guarding the rim. She totally controlled the game at that point. Initially when Kovall went out, ND's offense collapsed on Van Lith, who dished to wings for three point shots. Then they stopped collapsing and Van Lith scored EASY layups, or dished to Prince for easy baskets.

Why didn't Ivey switch to HH or Miles on Van Lith to prevent Van Lith's penetration? Good question.

 

[Dillon77]

I'll tell you how. Kovall picked up her 4th foul which opened a gateway for Van Lith who was guarded by the too slow Prosper out side, with the too small King guarding the rim. She totally controlled the game at that point. Initially when Kovall went out, ND's offense collapsed on Van Lith, who dished to wings for three point shots. Then they stopped collapsing and Van Lith scored EASY layups, or dished to Prince for easy baskets.

Why didn't Ivey switch to HH or Miles on Van Lith to prevent Van Lith's penetration? Good question.

Many on The Bench thought Ivey used Citron and, this too, was a mistake because Soni -- while coming back from that foot/ankle injury --- isn't quite up to guarding quick guards with low centers of gravity and speed; like Hailey Van Lith. Yup, should've made the switch to HH on Hailey Van Lith.

This is a game that illustrated why ND needs Westbeld or Karlen back at the forward slot. Both provide very good weakside help and can also slide well on driving guards. That, in turn, would mean HH, Miles, Citron, Prosper wouldn't all have to drop down and wouldn't have given up open 3's all 4th quarter!

Hey, all power to TCU for executing and hitting the shots. Tip of the hat.

Let's see how ND against a team that doesn't have dribble-drive penetration or a tall, agile center but does pass very well and can get pistol hot. 5 p.m. today!

 

[Dillon77]

Many on The Bench thought Ivey used Citron and, this too, was a mistake because Soni -- while coming back from that foot/ankle injury --- isn't quite up to guarding quick guards with low centers of gravity and speed; like Hailey Van Lith. Yup, should've made the switch to HH on Hailey Van Lith.

This is a game that illustrated why ND needs Westbeld or Karlen back at the forward slot. Both provide very good weakside help and can also slide well on driving guards. That, in turn, would mean HH, Miles, Citron, Prosper wouldn't all have to drop down and wouldn't have given up open 3's all 4th quarter!

Hey, all power to TCU for executing and hitting the shots. Tip of the hat.

Let's see how ND against a team that doesn't have dribble-drive penetration or a tall, agile center but does pass very well and can get pistol hot. 5 p.m. today!

Well, that didn't come out well, did it?
Sorry for not replaying earlier, but instantly went from Utah game to hoping/praying ND football would hang on against U$C (they did!), played hoops in the morning, then came home and got sick with a flu. Ugh.

I wrote a three-minute summary of Utah for a buddy on the Bench: quick passers who will make the extra one; good open shooters; will use screens and shoot right off them. You think the scout was lost or written in Latin.

Maybe, the two games in two days got to a depleted team, but I'll go with the line of late, great Lou Carnesecca: good game, Utah.

Time to get ready for Texas. (And pray Westbeld comes back sooner rather than later).

 

[DallasDomer]

Well, that didn't come out well, did it?
Sorry for not replaying earlier, but instantly went from Utah game to hoping/praying ND football would hang on against U$C (they did!), played hoops in the morning, then came home and got sick with a flu. Ugh.

I wrote a three-minute summary of Utah for a buddy on the Bench: quick passers who will make the extra one; good open shooters; will use screens and shoot right off them. You think the scout was lost or written in Latin.

Maybe, the two games in two days got to a depleted team, but I'll go with the line of late, great Lou Carnesecca: good game, Utah.

Time to get ready for Texas. (And pray Westibeld comes back sooner rather than later).

Main thing ND needs is Westbeld and Karlen back. The former for her skills, shooting and leadership the latter for depth and paint power. The depth is essential when you get a combination of floppers and refs that allow flopping like Utah did. They saw an opportunity and took it. I'm not saying it was the cause of the loss but this compilation seems excessive.

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ND does need to find a way to combat this and improve their shooting but this was demoralizing and much different from the way the USC game was called.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Main thing ND needs is Westbeld and Karlen back. The former for her skills, shooting and leadership the latter for depth and paint power. The depth is essential when you get a combination of floppers and refs that allow flopping like Utah did. They saw an opportunity and took it. I'm not saying it was the cause of the loss but this compilation seems excessive.

x.com

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ND does need to find a way to combat this and improve their shooting but this was demoralizing and much different from the way the USC game was called.

A few of the charges were legit charges, but a number of the offensive fouls were joke calls. Wowsa. I am now less surprised that the Domers lost this one.

 

[DallasDomer]

Well, that didn't come out well, did it?
Sorry for not replaying earlier, but instantly went from Utah game to hoping/praying ND football would hang on against U$C (they did!), played hoops in the morning, then came home and got sick with a flu. Ugh.

I wrote a three-minute summary of Utah for a buddy on the Bench: quick passers who will make the extra one; good open shooters; will use screens and shoot right off them. You think the scout was lost or written in Latin.

Maybe, the two games in two days got to a depleted team, but I'll go with the line of late, great Lou Carnesecca: good game, Utah.

Time to get ready for Texas. (And pray Westbeld comes back sooner rather than later).

To modify your quote that one did come out well! Texas 70 Notre Dame 80 in OT. High scorer was Hidalgo with 30 and a double double by King.

You can look at the box score but I will leave it to Dillon77 to go into detail because I held my breath the entire OT.

Notre Dame 80-70 Texas (Dec 5, 2024) Box Score - ESPN

Box score for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Texas Longhorns NCAAW game from December 5, 2024 on ESPN. Includes all points, rebounds and steals stats.

www.espn.com

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Sometimes your defensive strategy has to me more about containment than stopping. And limit the and ones. I would focus on steering them into areas where they are less effective. They are going to score. I'll surrender 20 points if it takes 25 shots to get there. Like Miles loves that straight drive down the right side box with the scoop shot. It's killer. I have this one circled on my calendar.

Go look at what Miles did to take the lead against Texas last night.