UCONN @ South Florida
Day: Monday
Date: March 9th, 2015
Location: Mohegan Sun
Time: 7:00
TV: ESPN
Records UConn 32-1 (18-0)
South Florida 26-6 (16-2)
Prior Meetings
12/28/02 W 72-56 A
12/1/04 W 75-65 (ot) H
1/24/06 W 77-47 H
2/20/07 W 81-67 A
3/4/07 W 74-54 N
1/30/08 W 71-48 H
1/6/09 W 83-37 A
3/8/09 W 79-42 H
1/4/10 W 84-42 H
12/2/10 W 80-54 A
1/28/12 W 77-62 H
3/2/13 W 85-51 A
1/26/14 W 81-53 H
2/16/14 W 63-38 A
1/18/15 W 92-50 H
3/2/15 W 88-65 A
3/2/15 W 88-65 A
Overview
This is the third and most important matchup between these two teams. South Florida has yet to solve the UConn puzzle, but they certainly improved their play from the first game to the second game.
In the first matchup, UConn just dominated South Florida, holding them to 50 points and winning by 42 points. And it wasn't that close. In the second matchup, UConn went on their usual big run, building up an 24 point lead at the end of the first half. I'm sure that most fans, and even the UConn players expected that lead to grow and become the 40+ point deficit that UConn had in the first game. But in the second half, after UConn had pushed the lead to 30 points, South Florida was able to put a monkey wrench in UConn's plans for a blowout. The Bulls went on their own 17-4 run to close the gap to 17 points. UConn built the lead back to 28 points before settling for a 23 point win, the 4th closed win of the season.
South Florida beat Tulane 78-69 in a real hard fought game to earn the right to play for the conference championship behind Alisia Jenkins with 22 points and 15 rebounds and of course the great Courtney Williams with 21 points. The South Florida had the lead for almost the entire game, sometimes by double digits before Tulane ties the score at 61 with five minutes remaining in the game. It was tied again at 63 before South Florida scored the next 10 points to take a 73-63 lead with a minute left. That was all she wrote.
UConn defeated East Carolina 106-56 in the other semi-final and it wasn't that close. Really. UConn shot a blistering 77.4% from the field in the first half. If it wasn't for UConn switching to a zone for much of the second half, it could have been even uglier. The team is firing on all cylinders and appear to be ready for the South Florida game.
UConn Starters
11 Kia Nurse 6' Freshman Guard
Nurse had 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 25 minutes in the first game against USF.
Kia had 11 points,, 3 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals in 30 minutes in the second game.
Jefferson had 15 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals in 31 minutes in the first matchup against South Florida. She was 6-6 from the field and 2-2 on threes.
Jefferson had 8 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in the second outing.
Jefferson had 8 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in the second outing.
23 Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis 5'11" Senior Forward
KML scored 18 points on 4-8 shooting from behind the arc in 23 minutes to lead the team in scoring in the last USF game.
KML had another 18 point game on 7-12 shooting and 4-9 from beyond the arc in the second game.
KML had another 18 point game on 7-12 shooting and 4-9 from beyond the arc in the second game.
3 Morgan Tuck 6'2" Sophomore Forward
Tuck scored 15 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and blocked two shots in 29 minutes against USF in the first matchup.
Morgan had 18 points on 8-10 shooting, and 2-3 on threes in the second matchup.
Morgan had 18 points on 8-10 shooting, and 2-3 on threes in the second matchup.
30 Breanna Stewart 6'4" Junior Forward
Stewart had a double-double when she scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 25 minutes against South Florida in the first matchup. She also added 5 blocks.
Stewie was the star of the second game with perhaps her best performance of the season. She scored 29 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had 7 blocks. It was a monster game.
Stewie was the star of the second game with perhaps her best performance of the season. She scored 29 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had 7 blocks. It was a monster game.
UConn Bench
Stokes grabbed 4 rebounds and blocked 7 shots in 16 minutes against USF in the first matchup. She struggled to score, going only 1-5 from the field.
In the second outing, Kiah played only 13 minutes scouring 4 points and grabbing 4 rebounds. She only had 1 block in that game as well.
In the second outing, Kiah played only 13 minutes scouring 4 points and grabbing 4 rebounds. She only had 1 block in that game as well.
Chong was 2-3 on threes scoring 6 points in 17 minutes in the first game against USF.
15 Gabby Williams 5'11" Freshman Guard
Williams snared 8 rebounds along with scoring 9 points in the first matchup against USF in 20 minutes.
In the second matchup, she only played nine minutes and was scoreless. She only had one rebounds as well.
Ekmark only saw 7 minutes in the first matchup with USF scoring 2 points.
She played even less in the second game between the two teams, playing only one minute
UConn Complete Stats
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South Florida Starters
10 Courtney Williams 5'8" Junior Guard
Williams scored 23 points on 8-25 from the field against UConn in the first matchup. she played 38 minutes and was 3-5 on threes with no assists and two turnovers.
Williams had a terrific game in the second matchup in 40 minutes with 26 points on 13-26 shooting.
Williams had a terrific game in the second matchup in 40 minutes with 26 points on 13-26 shooting.
24 Alisia Jenkins 6'1" Junior Forward
Jenkins really struggled offensively in the first UConn game in her 36 minutes. She was 0-4 from the field. But she did grab 8 rebounds and had 3 blocks.
She was better in the second game playing 40 minutes with 8 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks.
20 Laura Ferreira 5'11" Junior Forward
Ferreira really struggled against UConn in the first matchup in her 29 minutes. She was 2-10 from the field and 1-6 from beyond the arc. She scored 7 points and handed out two assists.
Laura played 40 minutes in the second game scoring 8 points and grabbing 5 rebounds.
23 Shaleth Stringfield 5'6 Guard
Stringfield started in the first UConn game, playing 30 minutes. She was 0-8 from the field. She did hand out 4 assists.
She was much better in the second game scoring 8 points and grabbing 8 rebounds along with 4 assists and 2 steals.
13 Laura Marcos Canedo 5'8" Sophomore Guard
Marcos Canedo was just coming back from injury the first time these two teams met and she played 9 ineffective minutes.
She only played one minute in the second game.
South Florida Bench
45 Katelyn Weber 6'5" Sophomore Center
Weber played 29 minutes against UConn and had a nice game. She was 4-8 from the field scoring 8 points and grabbing 6 rebounds along with one steal and one block.
Weber only played 9 minutes in the second game scoring 5 points.
Weber only played 9 minutes in the second game scoring 5 points.
3 Tamara Taylor 5'10" Senior Guard
Taylor played 15 minutes in the fist matchup. She was second in shots with 13. She only made three with two of those three-pointers. She scored 8 points and had 5 rebounds.
Taylor played 31 minutes in the second game, scoring 10 points and grabbing 4 rebounds.
15 Shavantae Naylor 5'9" Junior Forward
Naylor played only 3 minutes in the first UConn game.
DNP in the second game.
11 Ariadna Pujol 6'1" Sophomore Guard/Forward
Pujol played only 2 minutes in the first UConn game.
DNP in the second game.
DNP in the second game.
Game Analysis
South Florida has to be coming into this game with more confidence than they have had with any game against UConn. They did manage to outscore UConn by one point in the second half, but that was based on one 17-4 run where UConn lost their focus and at times their composure. I'm sure that Geno is playing the video of those 7 minutes over and over. I'm not sure we will see that happen again.
USF is a talented and confident team. But UConn is a horse of a different color. Teams just don't match up well with them and the Bulls are no exception. South Florida has really shrunk their rotation and several players are playing close to 40 minutes. Certainly Williams won't see much bench time. They just can't afford to keep their better players on the bench. They have no choice.
USF will go to Williams early and often and she will oblige with plenty of shots. Jenkins is a terrific undersized post player and that works fine against most teams. Not against UConn. She will find it difficult to score as she did against Tulane.
UConn is ready. It's hard to believe that they can continue to improve, but it sure as hell seems that way. The first half against East Carolina was unbelievable. So, how does UConn continue that impressive play against a tough South Florida team? Geno was his usual glib self when asked about all the layups they made against ECU. He said that his team took all threes against Cincinnati and told them to take it inside against ECU. He laughed and said "they listened.....finally...".
Look for UConn to press the advantage on the inside. They might not press as much as USF is terrific in breaking the press and Williams is a great finisher on the break. Of course, Jefferson will try to drive and dish to open shooters and if UConn is hitting at a good rate, it's Katie bar the door, UConn will win another league Championship.
USF is a talented and confident team. But UConn is a horse of a different color. Teams just don't match up well with them and the Bulls are no exception. South Florida has really shrunk their rotation and several players are playing close to 40 minutes. Certainly Williams won't see much bench time. They just can't afford to keep their better players on the bench. They have no choice.
USF will go to Williams early and often and she will oblige with plenty of shots. Jenkins is a terrific undersized post player and that works fine against most teams. Not against UConn. She will find it difficult to score as she did against Tulane.
UConn is ready. It's hard to believe that they can continue to improve, but it sure as hell seems that way. The first half against East Carolina was unbelievable. So, how does UConn continue that impressive play against a tough South Florida team? Geno was his usual glib self when asked about all the layups they made against ECU. He said that his team took all threes against Cincinnati and told them to take it inside against ECU. He laughed and said "they listened.....finally...".
Look for UConn to press the advantage on the inside. They might not press as much as USF is terrific in breaking the press and Williams is a great finisher on the break. Of course, Jefferson will try to drive and dish to open shooters and if UConn is hitting at a good rate, it's Katie bar the door, UConn will win another league Championship.
Final Prediction
South Florida is a good team. But can they keep UConn's runs to a minimum and have a couple of their own? With a long break before the NCAA's start, Geno won't hesitate to use his starters for 30-35 minutes and only if the lead is over 40 will he start to use the bench more. He looks at this kind of game as practice for the NCAAs.
It won't be as close as the last time and more like the first time.
UConn by 40+
It won't be as close as the last time and more like the first time.
UConn by 40+
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