Doggydaddy's Den: UConn/Cincinnati III Post Game Report

UConn-Cincinnati Post game report

(pictures from the Hartford Courant, UConnhuskies.com)

This was the third meeting this year between these two teams and the only difference I noticed is Geno did not hold his player back for any time in the first half. They pressed more than most games this season and certainly more than the first two times they met. At this point in time, it's all about having the team ready and not taking it easy on an old friend.

KML was on fire, hitting 4-7 threes and 3-4 on her twos. She was just so comfortable in the flow of the game. Stewart grabbed what seemed like every Cincinnati miss and had nine rebounds after 20 minutes. Tuck played a great point forward, finding KML and Stewart for four assists and Jefferson showed her NLK award winning skills with five assists at the half.

The bench was terrific as well with Chong showing her speed to the hoop on a couple of drives and Williams with her patented post bank shot going 3-3 from the field. Stokes looked a little lost in this game in the first half.

The key to the 49-15 first half lead was the usual great UConn defense. They were in every Cincinnati players grill with their quick and aggressive hands and it was clear Geno wanted to have a team that hates to press (his words) use the press for most of the first half.

In the second half, UConn jumped off to a 14-2 at the first time out behind the inside play of Tuck and Stewart. Geno did not have them pressure out of the gate like he did in the first half, but the team was so efficient on offense it really didn't matter. Geno brought in Stokes and Chong early in the 2nd half and it was clear UConn was not going to play with the intensity for long in the second half.

By the time the second official timeout occurred, you could tell the game had slowed down as UConn and Cincinnati scored seven points each over the previous 4 minutes. Ekmark came in at that point and now it was all about what the final score would be.

As Geno has done the last several games, he played at least one starter with the bench players and in this case it was Jefferson. What a difference it is having her running the point with the subs compared to Nurse or Chong running the point. She makes everyone look better and they outscored Cincinnati 8-2 over those 3 minutes until the next TV timeout. Geno then took out Jefferson and Nurse came in.

The next four minutes belonged to Williams and Nurse (her air-ball not withstanding) as they split UConn's next eight points before Lawlor came in for Nurse. Pulida was not not far behind her. At that point it was the usual attempt to get the walk on a few shots. With two minutes left, Williams is still diving for loose balls. Geno finds the best players that also play hard ALL the time.

Pulido hit a beautiful pull up jumper with 1:30 left to the roar of the crowd. It was awesome!!! And Lawlor gets in the box score with a beautiful pass in the post to Williams.

The final? 93-34. Believe it or not, the closest game of the three they played this year.

UConn goes to 30-1, winning thirty games for the 10th consecutive season. Wow!!!

Game Quotes

(from Uconnhuskies.com)

Coach Geno Auriemma

''Our guys are all about winning. So, win and all those good things that come to those who win will come too.''

"There's not much I can say. It's a three-day tournament and you try to win one game each day and not get caught up with what's down the road."

“I didn’t think we would be such a great passing team and, generally speaking, when people want to be good passers it’s because they are unselfish and they care about their teammates. Being close off the court obviously helps. ... I have tried to convince them to impact the game when they don’t have the ball. Most great players, that’s what they do. They’re unselfish, so they don’t need the ball in their hands to impact the game.”

Coach Jamelle Elliott

''If you take UConn out of this league, I think it's a very competitive league from top to bottom. Obviously, they beat teams by a lot, but there are some other really good teams in our league.''

"The tournament is their prelude to the NCAAs. He's trying to get his guys ready to win another national championship. … It's about setting the tone from a mental standpoint. He wants them ready to go."

"UConn did what they always do, make shots, block shots and compete. They make it hard for you to score. I always want my team to experience small victories against teams like Connecticut. … We've been playing as well now as we have all season, but when we go up against a team like this, with so many weapons, it was hard to show our improvement."

Player of the Game

Breanna Stewart

POG was a tough call, but Stewarts overall game wins out over some nice performances by her teammates.

Stewie played 27 minutes, scored 13 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, handed out 6 assists, blocked 3 shots and had 2 steals. A total game by the quintessential complete player in WCBB.

Morgan Tuck

Morgan was just awesome facilitating the offense from the point forward in the first half. And she was her usual efficient self on offense in the second half. Just a terrific game for Tuck as Geno limited her minutes with three games in three days.

In only 19 minutes Morgan scored 12 points, snagged 8 rebounds and dished out 4 assists.

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis

KML was enfuego early in the game, hitting 4-6 threes and was dynamite with her midrange game as well, scoring 18 points. After that? Meh.....not so hot. But she had done her damage and still led the team in scoring.

KML now has 375 three pointers in her career, just 17 short of the NCAA record of 392. She needs just one more to tie former Oklahoma star Aaryn Ellenberg for 10th place on the all-time Division I list.

Overall, Mosqueda-Lewis in 25 minutes score 18 points and snatched 5 rebounds with a steal and a block.

Moriah Jefferson

I could watch Jefferson play all day. Between her terrific shooting, amazing ball handling skills, her impressive passing and her dipsy-do moves and acrobatic finishes, there is just so much to see, even against overmatched opponents.

She did it all in this game, playing a team high 28 minutes. She scored 12 points going 2-2 on threes, handed out 9 assists with ZERO turnovers. She was rock solid when she was the only starter with the subs.

Kia Nurse

Geno mentioned before the game that she has had some great practices recently and it sure showed as she carried over that great play to this game. She showed no hesitation in her decision making and while she struggled from beyond the arc going 1-5, the rest of her game was great.

In 21 minutes, she scored 10 points, dished 3 assists with 0 turnovers. And her defense was terrific.

Saniya Chong

I really enjoyed Chong in this game, although statistically, it wasn't her best. She was aggressive on both defense and offense and was only one open three pointer away from a double digit game.

Chong played 23 minutes showing how much Geno is trusting her. She scored 8 points, snared 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 blocks and 2 steals.

Gabby Williams

Gabby was Gabby in this game. Soaring above everyone for rebounds, Posting and spinning for her unstoppable bank shot. I can't wait for her to do this on the national stage of the NCAA tournament.

In 18 minutes Williams scored in double figures again with 12 points on 6-7 shooting. Amazing. She corralled 7 rebounds as well.

Kiah Stokes

Stokes had a pretty benign first half but she showed some signs of life in the second. She was robbed out of two blocks with bogus foul calls.

UConn's Kiah Stokes blocked three more shots to give her 128 this season, three behind Rebecca Lobo's single-season school record of 131. She now has 306 in her career, and moved past Tina Charles (304) for third place on UConn's all-time blocks list.

In 18 minutes Kiah scored 4 points, engulfed 5 rebounds and had 3 blocks.

Courtney Ekmark

Courtney had a decent game in her limited minutes. She just plays so hard and is certainly not afraid of contact as her hard drives to the basket show. She missed her only 2 three pointers.

Ekmark played 12 minutes and scored 2 points with 2 rebounds and 1 assist.