Xavier Post-game Thread

[EricLA]

Well that game was an absolute treat - pick which one was he sweetest?!!

• Seeing Caroline back on the floor
• Seeing Olivia back on the floor
• Seeing Piath in with 8 minutes left in Q4 - and be productive - 11 points, 4 boards
• Seeing Amari in with just under 7 minutes left in Q4 - and be productive - 5 points, 3 assists

I'm sure the best things were seeing a healthy Caroline and Liv, but so much to enjoy about this game. Sloppy and ragged the first 6 or 7 minutes, then it was off to the races. An old fashioned beat down harkening back to years past. And the team didn't really ever take their foot off the pedal. Sure there were moments and lapses, but it's impossible to play a "perfect" game. Still, for what we have been thru, to smack down an overmatched opponent for most of the game was so nice to see.

• I continue to marvel at this teams' newfound 3 point prowess. Does having Azzi in the lineup make THAT much of a difference for the rest of the team? It's uncanny how the team 3-point %'s have skyrocketed since Azzi's return.
• The defense was stifling with any combo of the 8 core players in. Held Xavier to 22% shooting thru most of the game. Gave up 9,10, and 5 in Q'2 1,2 & 3 and <gasp> 11 in Q4
• The scoring was so incredibly spread out. No one had more than 13 points, AND no one had less than 5. We scored 89 points with contributions from everyone.
• 5 players in double figures with 42 bench points!
• We shot 63% for the game and 48% from 3.

A nice and easy game - getting injured players back in the flow, giving bench players plenty of time and opportunity - a great game. WooHoo!!!

 

[oldude]

Some thoughts on the Xavier game

• The start of the game reminded me of that old Bear Bryant line. Every now and then your team is going to come out flat. Hopefully, that’s the day you’re playing Vanderbilt…….or in UConn’s case, Xavier.
• Great to see Liv & Caroline back in the lineup. I sure hope UConn can figure out how to deal with prosperity. The Huskies played an ASTOUNDING TOTAL OF 8 PLAYERS in the first 5 minutes of the game.
• UConn was a little sloppy at the start of the game until Evina entered the game and did an excellent job of settling everyone down. Evina's leadership on this team should never be underestimated.
• Longtime BY'ers are going to have to test their memory banks on this one. Has UConn ever gone on a scoring run longer, or even close to the 37-0 run they laid on the Musketeers tonight through the 2nd & 3rd qtrs?
• Congratulations to Christyn who passed both Kia and Shea tonight on the all-time scoring list.
• Love to see a UConn game when everyone on the roster also gets on the scoresheet.
• Who's going to start a thread arguing for Piath to start ? (11 pts & 4 rbs in 7 minutes)
• Just waiting on the return of ONE MORE PLAYER!!!

 

[Redux]

Gabriel. DeBerry.

 

[Kaizen]

Good win, everyone scores and even Piath has 11 pts and DeBerry has 5 pts.

 

[JordyG]

Everyone contributed, everyone shot well. Not much competition. On to the next.

 

[EdSaid]

Chemistry. 8 players interchangeable. All playing at a high level. All 8 on the scoring page in the first half. Moving in the right direction.

It only took Caroline 20 seconds to take a shot.

 

[eebmg]

Hard to get 20 point performers with everyone eating


Range of scores from 5-13. This may be the most evenly distributed game in UConn history.

 

[LarryLegend]

hats off to under strength Xavier for competing the entire game. Their intensity early forced UCONN to step it up. Great effort by all. Edwards another strong game, hopefully she can find consistency. Dorka great as usual. Nika, EW, everybody.

 

[GoUconn7961]

Wow.

That is all.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Hard to get 20 point performers with everyone eating

Nightmare for defenses.

 

[oldude]

Chemistry. 8 players interchangeable. All playing at a high level. All 8 on the scoring page in the first half. Moving in the right direction.

It only took Caroline 20 seconds to take a shot.

She has no conscience! Which is a really good thing for a great scorer.

 

[uconn1999]

When SHE’S back, she’ll refresh to be fresh

 

[RedStickHusky]

I don't think I've ever seen a team score 89 with a 13 point high scorer. How do you defend that?

 

[JordyG]

I will say that the Xavier blob is the worse mascot in WCBB. Maybe in sports history.

 

[HopJim]

Good win, everyone scores and even Piath has 11 pts and DeBerry has 5 pts.

View attachment 73467

If I was on a team preparing for UConn in the playoffs, the balanced everything-scoring, rebounding, assists, etc. would be scary.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Great game by all of the players tonight! Nice to see them all put some points on the board!

 

[Camiam88]

One additional major takeaway — Amari DeBerry is going to be something special.

 

[JoePgh]

What stood out to me was the total lack of rustiness in Caroline's game. Other than her limited minutes, you couldn't have told that she had missed any time. No "wooziness" at all. And I'm not sure that her minutes really needed to be limited -- I guess the team will find out tomorrow whether she has any lingering headaches.

Liv was slightly different -- she did show "rust". Traveling, mental slow in getting into position for an entry pass. I'm quite sure that these symptoms will disappear as she gets more minutes. I saw no indication of any physical limitations in her movements.

Another point, unrelated to the above: Dorka is now playing the post position in just the way that the best UConn posts have done going back to Kara Wolters. Do the footwork before you get the ball, and lean into the shot. On defense, don't let any cutters get behind you. She was completely different at the beginning of the season -- she was a defensive liability against Arkansas and South Carolina. It is amazing how much she has learned in her short time in Storrs.

And I think Aaliyah is back -- she still has to watch her fouling, but the aggressiveness is back, and she doesn't seem to lose balls with slippery hands in recent games.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[JordyG]

...and Nika hit a pull up tonight! Mercy me!

 

[Monte]

Hard to rate this game because of the poor competition.

 

[Ozimoto]

First game I have been able to watch live for awhile. Took about a quarter to get used to having an eight player rotation. Once they got settled and got into a defensive rhythm that was all she wrote. Now, admittedly Xavier wasn't much of a threat scoring, but they played scrappy defense for the first three quarters anyway so it was good to see the ball movement to get open shots and the hard nosed defense that led to the run that broke the game open. So much easier to play when you have a double digit lead and can just play without having to stress on every possession.

 

[eebmg]

...and Nika hit a pull up tonight! Mercy me!

and then everyone on the sideline went nuts and pointed towards Geno. I think to address the slight Geno had with Nika's mid-range game. These kids hear when Geno criticizes a part of a players game and uses it as fuel just the way he wants it.

 

[f1f1ferrari]

The way I look at it, yeah, the competition wasn't strong, but they womped on them, and we haven't seen a lot of that lately. The fact that they can sub players in and out so much more is a HUGE help. And this was still without Paige....