So how come NaLyssa Smith

[boontonbomber]

only took 5 shots in the second half, Coach Mulkey? and she made 4. I believe Christyn was guarding her, but Christyn wasn't going to stop her a lot of the time, but obviously she wasn't taking shots a lot of the time. She was their best player, but she was taking many more shots. maybe a bigger reason for Baylor losing than the unfortunate no-call.

 

[oldude]

As I posted a few days ago, if I were Baylor I would have run my offense through Smith every time down the court in crunch time. As a Husky fan, I am delighted the Lady Bears chose option 2.

 

[JoePgh]

As a forward, NaLyssa Smith is not going to get herself the ball. That's what the Baylor guards are for. Their best passing guard went out with a hamstring midway through the third quarter. Among their other guards, Carrington showed no inclination even to look for open teammates, and Sarah Andrews was not ready for that kind of game. I think Moon Ursin is primarily a shooting guard and a defender, not known for her passing.

There was a play near the end of the game when Smith was open at the foul line screaming for the ball, but Carrington was oblivious. In general, though, I think the UConn defense saw Smith as the main threat, and were doing everything possible to stop her from getting the ball. The Baylor guards still on the floor were not up to that challenge.

 

[RedStickHusky]

As a forward, NaLyssa Smith is not going to get herself the ball. That's what the Baylor guards are for. Their best passing guard went out with a hamstring midway through the third quarter. Among their other guards, Carrington showed no inclination even to look for open teammates, and Sarah Andrews was not ready for that kind of game. I think Moon Ursin is primarily a shooting guard and a defender, not known for her passing.

There was a play near the end of the game when Smith was open at the foul line screaming for the ball, but Carrington was oblivious. In general, though, I think the UConn defense saw Smith as the main threat, and were doing everything possible to stop her from getting the ball. The Baylor guards still on the floor were not up to that challenge.

This is good analysis, just read in another thread that the loss of the non-scoring Didi should not have been a big deal but this is exactly why it was. All they had was Carrington self-isolating at that point.

 

[oldude]

As a forward, NaLyssa Smith is not going to get herself the ball. That's what the Baylor guards are for. Their best passing guard went out with a hamstring midway through the third quarter. Among their other guards, Carrington showed no inclination even to look for open teammates, and Sarah Andrews was not ready for that kind of game. I think Moon Ursin is primarily a shooting guard and a defender, not known for her passing.

There was a play near the end of the game when Smith was open at the foul line screaming for the ball, but Carrington was oblivious. In general, though, I think the UConn defense saw Smith as the main threat, and were doing everything possible to stop her from getting the ball. The Baylor guards still on the floor were not up to that challenge.

Agree with your take. Although if it comes down to it, I would have handed the ball to Smith 20’ from the basket, and then cleared out that side of the court. Smith has demonstrated a remarkable handle for a Big kid.

 

[Centerstream]

It could also be because of our defense...maybe she had to work too hard to get free for a shot???? I doubt that Baylor, as a team, faced 40 minutes of this type of defensive pressure, before this game.

 

[rt bb fan]

As a forward, NaLyssa Smith is not going to get herself the ball. That's what the Baylor guards are for. Their best passing guard went out with a hamstring midway through the third quarter. Among their other guards, Carrington showed no inclination even to look for open teammates, and Sarah Andrews was not ready for that kind of game. I think Moon Ursin is primarily a shooting guard and a defender, not known for her passing.

There was a play near the end of the game when Smith was open at the foul line screaming for the ball, but Carrington was oblivious. In general, though, I think the UConn defense saw Smith as the main threat, and were doing everything possible to stop her from getting the ball. The Baylor guards still on the floor were not up to that challenge.

Didn't Smith go 11-11 the game before? So why was she not involved in the offense.

 

[rt bb fan]

Didn't Smith go 11-11 the game before? So why was she not involved in the offense.

 

[boontonbomber]

As I posted a few days ago, if I were Baylor I would have run my offense through Smith every time down the court in crunch time. As a Husky fan, I am delighted the Lady Bears chose option 2.

Did not see your post, but not surprised you did, knowing your reputation for sharp analysis.

 

[huskeynut]

Maybe we should ask Kim why Smith only took a limited number of shots. Or why did Carrington become a ball hog and play hero ball.

It all goes back to coaching. Practice until you can't get it wrong.

 

[diggerfoot]

only took 5 shots in the second half, Coach Mulkey? and she made 4. I believe Christyn was guarding her, but Christyn wasn't going to stop her a lot of the time, but obviously she wasn't taking shots a lot of the time. She was their best player, but she was taking many more shots. maybe a bigger reason for Baylor losing than the unfortunate no-call.

I agree with your premise. In the 19-0 run I thought Baylor’s problem was not our 19 points; Bueckers was able to score previously and we really did not light things up in the second half despite the run. Baylor’s problem was the 0 points they scored in the time it took us to score 19. There turnovers went up during that spell and shooting percentage went down. Carrington missed a few shots during that time.

I’m not saying Richards is one of the best offensive players in the country, but she seems to facilitate Baylor’s offense well. I bet Smith particularly hated to see Richards out of the game..

 

[bluedevil]

Well maybe Baylor can put up a banner that says "for 30 minutes we were the champs"

 

[MD#12Fan]

I realize Kim Mulkey's reputation not only as a coach but a sane human being has been put in question after Monday's post game fiasco, but Baylor does have a coach and the Baylor players can be directed to get the ball to Smith. What category do we put this in: 1) Poor game coaching by Mulkey. Allowing a 19-0 run with no timeout might go in that bucket too. 2) players do not respond to the coach's directives. Carrington took it upon herself to phase out the 1st team All-American/ POY candidate.
Take your pick. Has a bad look!

 

[bballnut90]

This is good analysis, just read in another thread that the loss of the non-scoring Didi should not have been a big deal but this is exactly why it was. All they had was Carrington self-isolating at that point.

This ^^

Smith took 11 shots in the first 25 minutes when Richards was out there and just 2 once Didi subbed out.


Before Didi was out, Carrington had 18 points on 7-15 shooting, 3 assists and no turnovers.
After Didi was out, Carrington scored just 4 points on 0-6 shooting, 0 assists, 3 TOs.

It was absolutely a night and day difference having Richards out there vs. not having her out there, even if the numbers don't show up on Richards statline.

 

[RedStickHusky]

This ^^

Smith took 11 shots in the first 25 minutes when Richards was out there and just 2 once Didi subbed out.


Before Didi was out, Carrington had 18 points on 7-15 shooting, 3 assists and no turnovers.
After Didi was out, Carrington scored just 4 points on 0-6 shooting, 0 assists, 3 TOs.

It was absolutely a night and day difference having Richards out there vs. not having her out there, even if the numbers don't show up on Richards statline.

Aubrey taking two charges and saving a bad pass over the base line don't show in the box either. I'm starting to believe in this non-stat impact concept.

 

[Littlemin]

As a forward, NaLyssa Smith is not going to get herself the ball. That's what the Baylor guards are for. Their best passing guard went out with a hamstring midway through the third quarter. Among their other guards, Carrington showed no inclination even to look for open teammates, and Sarah Andrews was not ready for that kind of game. I think Moon Ursin is primarily a shooting guard and a defender, not known for her passing.

There was a play near the end of the game when Smith was open at the foul line screaming for the ball, but Carrington was oblivious. In general, though, I think the UConn defense saw Smith as the main threat, and were doing everything possible to stop her from getting the ball. The Baylor guards still on the floor were not up to that challenge.

So Baylor had one player on the whole roster capable of getting the ball to their AA? Come on, if that truly was the case, shame on Mulkey. The salient point is they never even attempted to run a play through Smith, there is a big difference between trying and failing and not trying. There is no doubt in my mind Richards would have made sure to get the ball to Smith but Mulkey did nothing to try and make that happen.

 

[nwhoopfan]

My casual view, Carrington kept them in the game in the first half, then shot them out of it in the 2nd half. She was playing some extremely selfish basketball, especially down the stretch. On one late possession Smith was begging for the ball, she was unguarded, but Carrington had tunnel vision.

 

[RedStickHusky]

So Baylor had one player on the whole roster capable of getting the ball to their AA? Come on, if that truly was the case, shame on Mulkey. The salient point is they never even attempted to run a play through Smith, there is a big difference between trying and failing and not trying. There is no doubt in my mind Richards would have made sure to get the ball to Smith but Mulkey did nothing to try and make that happen.

Their lack of a true point was talked about ad nauseum pre-game as their one glaring weakness. Roster composition and injury... Absolutely true that Paige was still getting hers and we don't know that UConn doesn't come back if Didi stays in the game but it was a huge hit that seemed to hit them emotionally for an extended period as well. Rolling her back out on one leg was maybe a desperation move, but it probably made things worse.

 

[pvdoggy]

Their lack of a true point was talked about ad nauseum pre-game as their one glaring weakness. Roster composition and injury... Absolutely true that Paige was still getting hers and we don't know that UConn doesn't come back if Didi stays in the game but it was a huge hit that seemed to hit them emotionally for an extended period as well. Rolling her back out on one leg was maybe a desperation move, but it probably made things worse.

If Baylor knew they did not have a true point guard, perhaps they should have tried to develop Sarah Andrews at the start of the year? She is supposed to be a pretty good PG coming out of high school.

 

[King Kong]

Maybe we should ask Kim why Smith only took a limited number of shots. Or why did Carrington become a ball hog and play hero ball.

It all goes back to coaching. Practice until you can't get it wrong.

Carrington was overly aggressive, being called for a charge at 9:04 & 7:24, & the last second attempt was a charge, as well. But when the 19 point run was over, UConn scored only 5 points in the last 7 minutes.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

So Baylor had one player on the whole roster capable of getting the ball to their AA? Come on, if that truly was the case, shame on Mulkey. The salient point is they never even attempted to run a play through Smith, there is a big difference between trying and failing and not trying. There is no doubt in my mind Richards would have made sure to get the ball to Smith but Mulkey did nothing to try and make that happen.

That is why I will be eternally grateful for the transfer of Carrington to Baylor!!!!

It also gives rise to the trivia question of "how to keep NaLyssa Smith to two shots in 15 minutes?" ANS: Have Carrington (or a shooting guard) as your point guard.

[Much like how do you hold Michael Jordan under 15 points a game? ANS: Have him play for Dean Smith!!!]

 

[nwhoopfan]

Carrington was overly aggressive, being called for a charge at 9:04 & 7:24,

The second charge was a flop. Academy Award level.

 

[FridaFriend]

In the 2016 championship game, UCONN defeated Syracuse by 31 points. In the third quarter, Syracuse went on a 17-0 run, after which Geno called a timeout. The zero was mainly due to turnovers and missed layups by Morgan Tuck. After the timeout, Syracuse put a press on again, but unfortunately Alexis Peterson, Syracuse star guard, got tangled up with Kia Nurse and dislocated her shoulder, thus putting an end to a further comeback. Really good teams, like UCONN or Baylor, can go cold or have lapses without a coaching error. Both Baylor and UCONN were terrific offensively in the first quarter. Then defenses adjusted and clamped down. I don't know that I would blame coaching or N. Smith for her lack of production in the second half. When UCONN defense clamps down on a player, it usually succeeds. Carrington was open, so she was the one shooting. Anyhow, I didn't think that she was a player known for assists. After the 19-0 run, Baylor defense slowed Paige fairly well, and, as I recall, Christyn scored the majority of the last points.

Another interesting note about the 2016 tournament is that Katie Lou broke her foot in the first half of the semi-final against Oregon State. Fortunately for UCONN, Geno had Stewie, Tuck, Jefferson, Nurse, Gabby, Saniya, and Napheesa to pick up the slack and he had a few days to design a good team configuration for the final without KLS.

 

[jonson]

My casual view, Carrington kept them in the game in the first half, then shot them out of it in the 2nd half. She was playing some extremely selfish basketball, especially down the stretch. On one late possession Smith was begging for the ball, she was unguarded, but Carrington had tunnel vision.

This is the Carrington (good and bad) I remember from her time at Stanford.

 

[nwhoopfan]

This is the Carrington (good and bad) I remember from her time at Stanford.

I remember her being inconsistent, but more like she would just disappear at times, not try to play hero ball and fail at it.