UCONN 105 TEXAS 54
Post game report
Well, I sure picked a great game to go to for my first NCAA tournament game. No, it wasn't a close game that UConn won on a buzzer beater. It was another UConn beat down of an overmatched opponent. Only this time is was against a solid Texas team that had a 6'7" post and a 6'5" post for UConn to deal with.
UConn came out strong jumping out to a quick 17-6 lead five minutes into the game. Texas seemed to weather the storm outscoring UConn 13-9 over the next five minutes. With the score 26-19, UConn went on an incredible 24-2 run with Stewart scoring 12 of those points. It was 8 minutes of perfect basketball. Unbelievable.
The half ended with UConn ahead 52-24 and there was no doubt how this was going to end. UConn responded to Geno's challenge (see his quotes below) to be even better in the second half than they were in the first. They came out on an 18-4 run in the first 3:16. That made it 42-6 over 12 minutes. These numbers are staggering.
So, how did UConn do it? Fantastic shooting for one. In the second half 3:16 run, four different players hit three pointers. Geno's game plan to work the ball around and wear out the Texas posts was run to perfection. McGee-Stafford was held to 7 points and 7 rebounds in only 17 minutes. She was just ineffective against UConn. She was unsure of herself, turning the ball over 3 times. Their other post, Kelsey Lang, was held to 6 points on 2-8 shooting. Stokes sent one of her shots flying.
Dayton is next. Looking forward to writing my Pregame report for that one.
Game Quotes
Coach Geno Auriemma
''That's lots of wins, 100 wins in the NCAA tournament. Some people don't get to play in the NCAA tournament ever or play a couple games. We've been pretty fortunate. We didn't win anything in the NCAA in our first couple years.''
''Like I said to the coaching staff at Texas, when you shoot the ball as well as we did, we're a really hard team to play against.''
''I can't say enough about these two guys (Jefferson and Stewart). It seemed like they were on a whole different level than anyone else who was playing. You almost come to expect that from Stewie at this time of year. To see Moriah do what she did today, she's come a long way in two years. I couldn't be happier for these guys.''
"We're going to play even better than that. Whatever that is, we're going to find another gear in the second half."
"Those first five or six minutes of the second half? That's pretty good. I like that. That was as good as it's going to get. It really was."
"Stewie's not affected by pressure, generally. She doesn't let the moment get to her. She knows what the moment is and she embraces the moment. … She's just something else."
Coach Karen Aston
''They are a tremendous basketball team, and I say that in every sense of the word,'' Aston said. ''They play the game at a high level on the offensive and defensive end. It was not a good day for us. We weren't patient enough to not let them have extra possessions. Our defense wasn't as connected as it needed to be.''
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Player evaluations
Player of the Game
Breanna Stewart
So, we have seen Stewie 2.0 earlier this season. Who knew we would see Stewart 3.0 so soon? I'm sure I'm a little biased but anyone who doesn't vote for Stewart as POY is an idiot. Sorry to be so blunt. Ok...no I'm not. She just DOMINATED the big Texas front line from the opening tip that she won from the 6'7' Stafford-McGee. Her stat line was just phenomenal. In 31 minutes she scored 31 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, handed out 7 assists and blocked 3 shots. WOW! If this is the Stewie for the rest of this tournament, turn out the lights, the party's over!
Morgan Tuck
The next time someone tells me UConn might have trouble because the opponent has a big front line, I'm going to smack them on the head. Morgan Tuck can play against ANY size player. Her post footwork is exemplary and she schooled the Texas front line several times. Tuck had her usual solid stat line with 14 points on 6-11 shooting. She added 2-4 on threes and five rebounds along with 2 assists. She helped bring the Texas posts away from the basket with her complete offensive game.
Despite them face-guarding KML for much of the game, she managed to make 2 three pointers. Her defense was terrific. She guarded players much quicker than her and she used her feet to stay in front of them. And her help defense was timely. She managed a couple of blocks as well. She only needs four more threes to tie the NCAA record. I'm hoping its Monday.
Moriah Jefferson
I hope the voters of the Lieberman Award, and the voters for the All-American teams are watching. If this young lady isn't on the 10 player team, no one should be. Against Texas, she flat out controlled the entire game. In her 34 minutes, she scored 25 points on a remarkable 10-12 from the field. She added 6 assists and 3 steals. She is just special.
Kiah Stokes
Stokes had a terrific game off the bench. She helped neutralize the Texas post players with her strength and quickness on defense. In 19 minutes she had 4 point, 7 rebounds and 4 very impactful block. I'm sure the Texas forward, Kelsey Lang, hasn't had many of her shot blocked.
Kia Nurse
Kia is playing strong in the finish of her terrific freshman season. She made life miserable for the Texas guard with her "in your face" defense. She wasn't shy from beyond the arc taking eight but she also made three of them. With her 13 points, she hit double digits for the second time in the three NCAA games to date.
Gabby Williams
Gabby had a decent game for the limited minutes that she saw. It's tough for her against really tall players at this stage in her career. Her jumping ability will only go so far. Geno decided to shrink his bench some for this game and it limited her game time. I think she will see more against Dayton.
Saniya Chong
Same story for Chong. Her minutes were limited as Jefferson was going to play extended minutes and when Geno took out Nurse, he went big with Stokes off the bench. I thought she played well on defense. She certainly played hard.
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Dunk? Nahhhh.....not yet!
DoggyDaddy at the game!!!!
Shea was nice enough to smile for me. I said to her that she waited on my
table at Willington Pizza when she was a waitress there years ago.
I told her she was a better coach than a waitress.
Louisville coach Jeff Walz was watching the last few minutes of the UConn game looking at the scoreboard, shaking his head. I think he was dreading what might be coming next. I called his name and he turned around. You can see that he looks a little nauseous. Maybe he threw the Dayton game so UConn wouldn't beat him by 50?
(pictures from the Hartford Courant, UConnhuskies.com)
Nice picture of the height challenged Amigo.
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