UCONN - Georgetown Post-game thread

[MilfordHusky]

They can hang at my place!

 

[Topdawg]

Glad we got a win!

On another thread, I had said we need to do three things.
1. Own the paint and win the rebound battle. We did that.
2. Run a good motion offense and take a lot of shots. We did not do that. They took 62 shots to our 50. You have to take 'em to make 'em.
3. Control the pace of the game and minimize the turnovers. We did not do that. We had 23 turnovers.

Yet we won!

Dorka and Aubrey had excellent games. Dorks'a double double and Aubrey's aggressive plays on defense and offense were critical for our win. Nika played hard as always and contributed with some outside shots and assists. Aaliyah has been (for her) in a slump. She had 8 turnovers and yet contributed with her rebounds and points. Lou had a tough outing and did not achieve her usual double digit output. The bench helped out a bit.

Hopefully we will continue to strengthen as we get into the final part of the regular season. Nika and Aaliyah took falls. Hopefully they are ok. I hope Caroline will be back in the lineup for the next game.

A win is a win! Onwards to the next game.

 

[Boreifs]

This was a tough win against a team where it shouldn’t have been this much of a struggle. Credit to GT for playing like they expected to win. The defensive effort was solid and a 2 to 1 rebounding margin is impressive. The offense, however, was all over the place. One minute there’s pretty ball movement and the next minute there’s a silly turnover. Fatigue is really disrupting their chemistry, and fatigue probably doesn’t let up until Caroline and Azzi are back and no one has to play more than 30 minutes. At the moment, the biggest challenge is scoring. Aaliyah and Lou have not shot as well the past five games as they did the first twenty, and it’s going to be difficult until they are able to return to form (which will hopefully be soon!). They are all playing their hardest and there was a heck of an effort in crashing the offensive and defensive boards, but we can’t let the other team take so many more shots than we do. And I don’t even know what to say about the officiating. How did Aaliyah get called for a foul when somebody ran into her stationary backside? It was a ridiculous call, and the calls were aggravatingly inconsistent. I’m also concerned that Aaliyah and Nika both seemed to tweak their ankles and I’m hoping there won’t be a problem for either of them going forward.

This was a tough one. Good job pulling it out.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player get called for setting an illegal screen when they had the ball…………..until today.

 

[DrummerDee]

But what is the answer for all the dumb turnovers?

Nika. I love that kid, but something's up with her. She has lost her fire and her composure at times. When Georgetown stole the ball on a fast break, she sulked and didn't even attempt to run. I'm seeing shoulders down, not her usual on fire-get the team inspired attitude. Spending more time angry at the refs. Kinda like her freshman year. We beed her fire back. Lou seems the same to me. It's a grind right now and they are not responding well.

 

[freshler40]

It must be said; all teams are tired at this stage in the season. Something ain't right with this team. I say play Inez more!

Yes, give Inez a run. She is quick, plays hard on defense and does break much more for the hoop on offense. She also passes with more snap instead of the many lazy passes we make for turnovers.

 

[fomalhaut]

How do they get so many more shots than we do? I know they won on turnovers, but we won by more on rebounds. I assume a lot our turnovers are also their steals, so you don't add them together. If we win rebounds by 25 and they win TO's by 10 we should have more shots. I know some of our shots were replaced by free throws we got to take, but it still does not seem to add up.

Defensive rebounds don't affect the total number of shots. Connecticut had only four more offensive rebounds and 14 more foul shots. Without going through the play-by-play, it's hard to estimate how many possessions that was (some of Georgetown's foul shots were three-point plays; I don't remember if Connecticut had any). Counting the nine extra Connecticut turnovers, the numbers seem pretty close to me.

 

[Blond D.]

But what is the answer for all the dumb turnovers?

We need to watch the passing lanes. The receiver of the pass needs to be mindful of a defender lurking in the passing zone as much as the player passing the ball. The passes need to be crisp.
You can't drive under the basket if theres too many players there and just throw up a prayer hoping to get fouled.
The bigs need to hang onto the ball, hold it up and either shoot it or clear it.
A lot of our passes inside are being made into a crowd. We never used to do that.

 

[freshler40]

I think a special shout-out for Ayanna is warranted for her play in the first half. The box score indicates that she had 5 rebounds (2 offensive), 1 assist, and 1 block for the game as a whole, and most of that was in the first half. She took one shot, which was a good shot that she missed. This was all done in 12 minutes that she played in the game.

I completely fail to understand the poster who said that she looked "lost".

This is the first game where it seems clear that she is making real progress in contributing to the team's success.

This was perhaps Ayanna's best game. She was active, good on blockouts and moved smartly to grab rebounds. she needs to post up stronger and call for the ball much like Dorka. She has good instincts and just needs confidence.

 

[fomalhaut]

Yes, give Inez a run. She is quick, plays hard on defense and does break much more for the hoop on offense. She also passes with more snap instead of the many lazy passes we make for turnovers.

Considering Connecticut's lack of three-point shooting (Muhl has been the best by far in the last four games), it might be worth trying to see if Bettencourt can help there.

 

[freshler40]

We need to watch the passing lanes. The receiver of the pass needs to be mindful of a defender lurking in the passing zone as much as the player passing the ball. The passes need to be crisp.
You can't drive under the basket if theres too many players there and just throw up a prayer hoping to get fouled.
The bigs need to hang onto the ball, hold it up and either shoot it or clear it.
A lot of our passes inside are being made into a crowd. We never used to do that.

Most passes are late, too much indecision on the part of the passer and too too many one-handed grabs by our bigs. Our guards need to improve their field of vision and look for other possibilities like driving to the rim, shoot or then pass. Nika did a better job in the second half passing while in motion rather than stopping before passing. Where are our pick and rolls? We play like the ball is a hot potato.

 

[OldSchooler]

Another Jekyll and Hyde game, we struggle, play very well, and then end the game not scoring a FG for more than 6 minutes at the end of the game and lose a double digit lead. Granted the Hoyas had a player playing what appears to be the game of her lifetime.
But we did win when Lou had an off game.
And that offensive foul on Aaliyah has to be the most asinine call that I can remember seeing in a really, really long time.

If the game had been any closer at the time, Geno might have been T'd up on that call.

 

[JellyBean]

Hopefully they got the plane situation figured out by now. What a season. Holy smokes!

 

[OldSchooler]

File this under, "I wonder why?"
-Edwards, who is consistently now having a wall of defenders stop her drives, doesn't either shoot the 7-foot jump shot or throw out to an open Husky?
-Why Patterson runs down the in the middle of the court on fast breaks and stays there? We all learned how to space on fast freaks in middle school.
-Lous is missing most of her shots. Does she have an ankle or other issue? Suspect so.
-DeBerry has skills that help in some, but not all, match ups. Geno constantly is yelling at her so not surprised that she at times is hesitant. Why not just let her get in the game and take open shots?

I think a number of our starters probably have dings that we can't see or don't even know about. We got a peek at Nika's ankle problem when she had to take her shoe off and tighten that hidden support strap. Likewise with Lou. And everybody held his/her breath when AE needed to re-tie her shoelace. As viewers, we can almost feel their exhaustion, especially knowing how good they can play when healthy and well-rested.

 

[Geew1992]

Hopefully they got the plane situation figured out by now. What a season. Holy smokes!

They were on a Ferris wheel about an hour ago

 

[OldSchooler]

EricLA pretty much covered it all. We are in a grind it out mode, doing a few good things and a few bad things and hoping for a wee bit more good than bad. Unless Caroline and/Azzi get back in the lineup (and play well), this is the kind of game I expect we'll see for the rest of the season. I'm sure the mental and physical exhaustion plays a large part but there also seems to be a lack of confidence individually and as a team. Too often it looked like no one wanted to shoot the ball and opted instead to make a bad pass.

Our bench was again not a factor but Patterson did some nice work rebounding. She even put up a shot, which missed, but at least she tried.

I have no idea if cupping works or is a psychological thing, but in general it looks terrible and with a fair skinned person like Dorka looks all the worse. Whatever.

I think it worked. Dorka had a monster game on the boards (no slapaways that I recall), and was near-perfect on offense in the paint. And there was one play of hers that really impressed me. She took a pass and drove toward the basket, and just as she met the defender, I was convinced she was going to take one more step and get called for an offensive foul. But she wisely stopped before contact and immediately went up for a chippy that went in. That move showed me a lot.

 

[SARG 2011]

Looks like they are getting in some R&R at the National Harbor. That ferris wheel is cool

 

[JBK]

Yes, give Inez a run. She is quick, plays hard on defense and does break much more for the hoop on offense. She also passes with more snap instead of the many lazy passes we make for turnovers.

I was thinking the same thing but unfortunately Ines is a DiV 2 player and that where she was heading before our phone call My daughter played D2 and there is amazing talent, but it is not UCONN level - I am surprised she has not been able to hit any 3s

 

[msf22b]

I have a theory about the turnovers (not all)
A reluctance to shoot...

The ball is passed around
The clock winds down
And then a desperation pass, often to the post
is picked off.

if the team would take more shots when they're open
rather than "pass them up" no pun intended

Turnovers would go down.

 

[DavidinNaples]

Not to be a harbinger of doom and gloom, but....................this is not your father's UConn WBB team. They struggled today with a 12-12 (5-11) BE team. It is what it is!! They don't appear to be improving. My turban is off to those who look at this UConn team and think they will make the final four because they see something I don't. Playing like this, they may not make it past game #2, especially if either of those first two teams smells blood in the water.

I'm NOT throwing shade at our girls, just sharing an observation. UConn may not win the BE tournament playing like this. They will have to beat Villanova (22-4/13-2) and Creighton (17-6/11-4) to win the BE tournament. They CAN do it, but will they?

Et tu, Carnac..? ;(

 

[Carnac]

Few Thoughts:
The Good:
*UConn won.
*The bench played and contributed a bit more than in previous games.
*UConn controlled the boards against a physical team.
*DJ: was steady good. It seems she is taking much more ownership of the team on offense and defense in the last some games.
*AG: good on offense and defense and her last block was amazing! few times should have look down and move half a step back so she can actually get a 3 instead of a 2 pointer.
The Bad:
*23 turnovers...many of those led to fast breaks by Georgetown.
*The offense still getting stagnant where (maybe because they are tired) they don't move...
The Confusing:
*What happened to the hands of AE? she seems to fumble a lot of balls in the last few games.
*What happened to the shotting of Lou? is she injured?
*Will we have enough players for the next game: how will Nika's ankle feel the next few days and without her, we are toast...AG's was in pain the last minute or so after she was fouled hard and the Georgetown player after the foul, pulled her hand...
General:
*Kudus to Georgetown for a gritty game. The clearly believed they can win...The freshmen guard was really good.

That was an "intentional" foul and should have been called. The defensive player was beaten and grabbed Aubrey (not making a play for the ball) to prevent a breakaway basket. Two shots and the ball, but most refs don't have the guts to call intentional fouls.

 

[OldSchooler]

Foul shooting started out shakey, like the last two games. But OMG did they come through from the line down the stretch.

 

[maple]

Not to be a harbinger of doom and gloom, but....................this is not your father's UConn WBB team. They struggled today with a 12-12 (5-11) BE team. It is what it is!! They don't appear to be improving. My turban is off to those who look at this UConn team and think they will make the final four because they see something I don't. Playing like this, they may not make it past game #2, especially if either of those first two teams smells blood in the water.

I'm NOT throwing shade at our girls, just sharing an observation. UConn may not win the BE tournament playing like this. They will have to beat Villanova (22-4/13-2) and Creighton (17-6/11-4) to win the BE tournament. They CAN do it, but will they?

Last year I was thinking this same thing when UConn was struggling to beat BE teams ... I'm thinking it again now. I always want to believe that UConn has a magical "big dance" switch that they turn out and winning and winning. But this year's team ... I don't know. Injuries and fatigue are one thing, but the mental mistakes seem to happen almost every game. I don't know the solution, but I hope whatever it is can resolve itself by tourney time.

 

[JellyBean]

Hey. We got the win and hopefully no major injuries. I saw Aubrey holding her back on that play after her incredible block! Hopefully nothing major. I am sure the team will take a day or two to rest and get some shooting in and do a light walk-through on defensive and offensive stuff before their next game.

Rest up, UConn Huskies!!

 

[Bigboote]

Yes, give Inez a run. She is quick, plays hard on defense and does break much more for the hoop on offense. She also passes with more snap instead of the many lazy passes we make for turnovers.

One thing that had me shouting at the TV: When Lou fouled out, Georgetown was pressing and UConn was having problems with it. Why didn't Geno put Inês in then? It would have given them another ball handler, passer, shooter.