ELITE EIGHT
UCONN 91 DAYTON 70
Post game report
A funny thing happened on the way to the Final Four in Albany. A real live competitive basketball game broke out.
As we all got settled in our seats after Morgan Tuck hit her two free throws, I doubt that many UConn fans knew what was in store for the Huskies and for the fans watching on TV as well. For the next 15 minutes the teams pretty much exchanged baskets with neither having more than a two point lead. Dayton was on fire, hitting their first four three-point baskets. Every time UConn took the lead, you expected a stop on defense and UConn would do what it always does, add to the lead. Not in this game.
It was 37-37 with five minutes left in the half when UConn went on a 6-1 run to take a 43-38 lead. This is almost always UConn time, where Geno expects his team to dominate the last five minutes of the half. But 13 second later Dayton hit a jumper, KML missed a three, Dayton his another jumper, Stewart missed a three and with 1 minute left Dayton drove the court for a fast break layup to take the lead into the second half. I believe it was the first time in almost two years that UConn trailed at the half and the first time in the NCAA tournament since 2011.
So, what happened? Well, for one, Dayton was just hot. They hit 70% of their first half three-point shots. 6'4" Ally Malott was 4-4, with a couple of those on the break. She does hit at a high percentage, around 40%, but she really didn't shoot that many during the season. It's clear the long range shooting was a big part of their strategy in this game. It wasn't just the three point shots. Dayton was terrific in using screens to get open for jumpers and they hit a good percentage of those. Lastly, they used nice spin moves to create separation from the UConn defender for an open look. They are just a very good offensive team and UConn did not play as well as usual on defense. UConn was late on the help defense and were not strong in their switches. You can't leave a good shooting team like that open.
Geno certainly had some choice words at half time and it showed when the second half started. UConn scored 43 points in the first half, so they knew they could score against Dayton. They needed to find a way to slow down Dayton and do a better job on the player with the ball. Boy, did they figure it out. UConn set the tone by turning over Malott on Dayton's first possession and Stewart hit a baby hook in the lane on their first possession. UConn scored the first 9 points of the half, with KML hitting two three-point shots while Dayton turned the ball over three times and missed two layups. It was the start that UConn fans expected from the beginning of the game.
Dayton stayed tough, exchanging baskets with the Huskies, cutting the lead to seven points at the ten minute mark. And just like that, it was over as UConn scored the next ten points, Dayton missed a couple of three pointers and when Jefferson skied for a rebound and drove through the entire Dayton team for a layup, UConn had a 17 point lead with 7 minutes left and only the final margin was in question.
So, how did UConn change things around? First and foremost it was defensive pressure on the perimeter and help defense in the paint. You could see the difference in how intense the defense was for UConn. The switches were crisp and the help defense was quick to come. It was what most people expected from the start and I'm sure a lesson well learned by the UConn players.
At this point I just want to say that Dayton is now my official second favorite team and Jabir my second favorite coach. He has a great demeanor and ability to get the most out of his players. His style is fun to watch, not the boring grind it out defensive teams you see in 99% of the NCAA teams, especially in the much touted SEC. I really believe that Dayton had a shot to be in the final four in any of the other three brackets.
Congrats to the Flyers and their wonderful fans and specifically their fantastic band that entertained us throughout. Their flamboyant band leader was a stitch.
Next is Maryland and I'll have my Pregame Report out later in the weak. Just let me say that it won't be anything like we saw in this game.
Game Quotes
Coach Geno Auriemma
"I can't say enough great things about the kids from Dayton. That's one of the best teams we've played in the last five years."
"We got together with the coaching staff and we made a strategic decision to tell the team in the second half that we'd really, really appreciate if one of you would just put your hand up. You all don't have to, and you don't have to do it all the time, but if just one of you puts your hand up it might catch on."
Coach Jim Jabir
"We looked like pingpong balls sometimes guarding their guys,"
“I was just so proud. To watch the kids grow up in front of your eyes, that’s an amazing feeling. I guess the sense is just pride. Hopefully we’ll continue to grow and build.”
“I don’t want this to be the last time we do this. I want this to be a regular thing. We should work hard to recruit the kinds of kids to keep us here and I think that’s the critical thing.”
“Really proud of our guys, we competed, weren’t intimidated. They are the best team in the country, bar none. … For a long time we hung around and hung around. I couldn’t be more proud. This was a great day.”
“We’ll be back here. I can promise you, we’ll be back here.”
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Player evaluations
Player of the Game
Breanna Stewart
It was hard not to give the POG to KML. But Stewart was a difference maker in three ways, Scoring, rebounding and defending. She was unstoppable in the post and in what has been a great area of growth in her game, she is posting hard in the paint, calling for the ball play after play. In this game she played 38 minutes scoring 23 points, grabbing 16 rebounds including 4 big offense rebounds, and 4 big blocks. Her switching defense allow UConn to put more pressure on the perimeter in the second half. A superstar on a team of stars, she shines the brightest.
Morgan Tuck
There is no one in WCBB with better post footwork than Tuck. Her drop step move and finish with her left hand is almost unstoppable no matter how big the defender is. When Stewart brings her defender to the outside and Tuck can isolate on her defender, it's almost a sure thing UConn will score. I know some don't think she should shoot the three (especially sTu, who sat next to me and screamed in my ear NOOOOO every time she shot one) but it helps open up the inside for Stewart. Tuck played 38 minutes, and scored 23 points with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. She certainly deserved her all-regional team selection.
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis
As Tina Turner said "You're simply the best, better than all the rest, better than anyone, anyone I've ever met". Certainly when it comes to three point shooting, there is no one one better. She hit her fifth three pointer of the game at 12:42 of the second half to break the all time NCAA record for three pointers made at 393. She was 7-10 from beyond the arc for the game, bringing her back to .500 for the season. "It eases my mind a lot," Mosqueda-Lewis said of getting the record. "Now I only have one thing to worry about - a national championship."
Kaleena not only broke the record, but every one of those three pointers in this game were huge. UConn needed to keep up with Dayton and KML answers their threes with her own. It was not only her threes. She worked hard on defense, posted up the smaller Dayton players and was a the leader you would expect from the senior. I can't wait to see what she does in her last Final Four.
Moriah Jefferson
She didn't make the all-Regional team and that is a shame. But I'm sure it didn't bother her. She ran the offense to perfection with 6 assists and no turnovers. While she didn't hit any of her threes (she didn't miss in warm ups) she had several coast to coast drives to the basket putting Dayton on their heels. She played 39 minutes and played with the same intensity from beginning to end. She better win the Lieberman award. No one deserves it more.
Kia Nurse
Kia was a true freshman in the first half. Unsure of herself, she played with a little bit of hesitation where most of the season she was always aggressive. She struggled with the excellent play of the Dayton guards in the first half. The second half was a difference story. She turned up her defensive intensity along with her teammates and was much better on the offensive side as well. This game was a huge learning experience for Nurse and she should take that forward to the Final Four.
Kiah Stokes, Gabby Williams, Saniya Chong
In games like this, Geno will always go with his best players for as long as he can and he only really subbed in for Nurse with the bench and for not that many minutes. Stokes was the only one to impact the box score with 2 points a rebound and a block in 7 minutes.
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(pictures from the Hartford Courant, UConnhuskies.com)
Instead of picking out some pictures, here are links to the UConnhuskies.com site with plenty of pictures for you to look at.
Picture Group 1
Picture Group 2
Picture Group 3
Instead of picking out some pictures, here are links to the UConnhuskies.com site with plenty of pictures for you to look at.
Picture Group 1
Picture Group 2
Picture Group 3
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