FIRST ROUND GAME
Post game report
This was a terrific first game for UConn on their quest for winning the National Championship. After a few minutes where you could actually see the rust falling off the players, UConn shifted in to high gear, led by the inside game of Morgan Tuck and the outside game of Kia Nurse. St. Francis Brooklyn hit a few threes from WAY out as they have done this season. Sometimes you just can't stop them if they want to take 30 foot shots. But while they did hit seven, they missed 21.
As they do in every game, UConn went on a big run in the first half. It was 16-11 when UConn went on an 18-0 run over 6 minutes to take a 34-11 lead. After a three pointer from NYC by Benedetti to make it 34-14, UConn finished the first half on a 13-0 run for a 47-14 lead. Tuck was just dominant while on the court with 20 first half points. St. Francis scored 11 points in the first 5:30 and three points the last 14:30. UConn shot an amazing 20-24 in the first half. Amazing.
The second half was amazingly similar in how it started. St. Francis was able to hit a couple of long threes and a couple twos to stay right with UConn's 11 points in the first 5:40. From that point, UConn went on a 12-0 run, with a slight pause with a basket by Benedetti, followed by 15-0 run. For those that are counting is a 27-2 run. Gotta give St. Francis props. They outscored UConn 7-4 to end the game for the final 87-33 margin.
In a game of many many great plays, I just want to mention one play I noticed. It is representative of how in tune the players are with each other. UConn had the ball and it was being passed around the perimeter. Tuck was looking for inside position. Stewart had the ball at the top of the key. From the left side of the paint, Tuck made a very subtle signal with her finger and she slid across the lane with her defender pinned behind her. Stewart hit her with a nice entry pass and Tuck faked going right and spun left for the layup. The communication was just perfect and so was the play.
The bench gets special mention here as well. Stokes, Chong and Williams were fantastic. Between them they played 61 minutes, and had 25 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 6 blocks. They looked ready for a great tournament.
So, it's on to play an old foe from the Big East, Rutgers. I'll be putting together the Pregame report soon.
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SFBKW vs UConn 03/21/15 9 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion (Storrs, Conn.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: SFBKW 15-19 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 14 BENEDETTI, Sarah.... f 5-15 3-9 0-0 1 1 2 0 13 1 0 1 0 30 34 VENEY, Jaymee....... f 2-14 1-4 0-0 1 3 4 3 5 1 1 0 2 28 12 FECHKO, Leah........ g 1-8 0-3 0-0 2 3 5 2 2 2 2 0 3 36 21 FOX, Katie.......... g 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 0 1 34 41 SIMPSON, Eilidh..... g 2-10 1-4 0-0 2 1 3 2 5 1 2 0 0 31 01 ARTHUR, Blair....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 03 WATSON, Taylor...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 04 DELANEY, Alex....... 2-4 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 1 5 0 2 0 0 16 10 PUND, Becky......... 0-2 0-1 0-0 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 11 IOZZIA, Rachel...... 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 15 DERDA, Cassidy...... 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 12 TEAM................ 3 1 4 2 Totals.............. 13-60 7-28 0-0 11 10 21 12 33 7 14 1 6 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 5-31 16.1% 2nd Half: 8-29 27.6% Game: 21.7% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-20 20.0% 2nd Half: 3-8 37.5% Game: 25.0% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-0 0.0% Game: 0.0% 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: UConn 33-1 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 03 Tuck, Morgan........ f 12-13 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 0 26 8 2 0 1 29 23 MOSQUEDA-LEWIS, K... f 1-6 0-3 0-0 1 2 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 16 30 Stewart, Breanna.... f 8-10 0-0 1-2 1 9 10 0 17 5 3 2 1 30 04 Jefferson, Moriah... g 2-4 1-2 0-0 2 1 3 1 5 5 2 0 0 22 11 Nurse, Kia.......... g 4-6 4-6 0-0 0 3 3 1 12 2 2 1 0 26 12 Chong, Saniya....... 4-6 0-1 0-0 0 3 3 2 8 2 2 0 3 27 15 Williams, Gabby..... 7-7 0-0 1-4 1 5 6 2 15 0 1 0 1 14 20 Lawlor, Tierney..... 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 22 Ekmark, Courtney.... 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 9 24 Pulido, Briana...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 41 Stokes, Kiah........ 1-2 0-0 0-0 4 6 10 2 2 2 1 6 0 20 TEAM................ 2 2 Totals.............. 40-57 5-13 4-8 10 34 44 8 89 26 13 9 6 200 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 20-33 60.6% 2nd Half: 20-24 83.3% Game: 70.2% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-11 36.4% 2nd Half: 1-2 50.0% Game: 38.5% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 1-4 25.0% Game: 50.0% 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Bruce Morris, Kevin Pethtel, Kathleen Lonergan Technical fouls: SFBKW-None. UConn-None. Attendance: 3666 Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total SFBKW......................... 14 19 - 33 UConn......................... 47 42 - 89 Points in the paint-SFBKW 6,UCONN 68. Points off turnovers-SFBKW 6,UCONN 15. 2nd chance points-SFBKW 8,UCONN 12. Fast break points-SFBKW 3,UCONN 8. Bench points-SFBKW 8,UCONN 27. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-0 times. Last FG-SFBKW 2nd-00:22, UCONN 2nd-01:08. Largest lead-SFBKW None, UCONN by 59 2nd-03:04. SFBKW led for 00:00. UCONN led for 39:37. Game was tied for 00:15.
Game Quotes
(from Uconnhuskies.com)
Coach Geno Auriemma
"I think the way the game started out, the way Morgan (Tuck) kind of got us going, and that combination of what Morgan was doing in the lane and what Kia Nurse started the game off doing, I mean that's exactly the way you want to start any game, especially an NCAA Tournament game where you know you are able to score inside and outside. I thought we just played really, really well. You know when you shoot the ball the way we shot it tonight; it's hard to play against us obviously. But I'm happy for these guys, you know we haven't played in a long time, but I thought we played great. You know Moriah (Jefferson) took a shot in the head and Kaleena (Mosqueda-Lewis) is resting up a little bit. She tweaked something but she's fine too. But you know, not everything goes perfect in the NCAA Tournament and I thought we were really good."
"You know, we spent a good part of this break that we had, we spent a good part of it, trying to get Gabby (Williams) and Kia Nurse especially, but also Saniya (Chong) and Kiah Stokes, but especially Gabby and Kia Nurse, to understand that there was going to be a lot of opportunities for them during the tournament. Sometimes our players think we are the only ones allowed to watch film. They don't understand that other teams watch film. If they were smart, which they are, they would know where we like to go to get our points. Those guys are going to get opportunities and that they needed to be ready and they needed to feel like they could deliver when it was time and because they have never done it before you are not quite sure how they are going to respond. I thought they responded great. It's not easy to play well in the NCAA Tournament your first time around and I thought that both of them were- if they could play the way they played tonight, if we could get that every night we would be pretty hard to beat."
Coach John Thurston
"A lot of people root for underdogs. I'm always intrigued by the people who have been able to maintain a dynasty. You can pop your head up every once in a while, but to maintain excellence at the highest level is so incredibly difficult to do. I am always really intrigued by that and I really admire those people."
"This was an incredible experience for our program. This team is the first time that St. Francis has sent a team to the NCAA Tournament on either the men's or women's side. Coach Auriemma is a gentlemen. He said nice things about our team and that means alot to these girls. I told the girls if we played anyone else, we would have beat them, but it would take the defending National Champions to knock us out."
"I was really impressed about how much Tuck has improved. People often discuss Breanna Stewart but Tuck is a tough player to guard. She is a strong, great defender. I thought she was outstanding, and since we are playing four guards, we really don't have anyone to defend her. It would take an outstanding post defender to defend her."
"UConn can make up for their missed shots. They are a great offensive rebounding team. If they miss a shot, they are so well organized that they can get second and third shots. They execute so well with their many different weapons. The only chance to have a show early is if Jefferson and Nurse are not shooting well."
Sarah Bendetti- St. Francis Brooklyn Forward
"Coming in, I knew Gampel was a great atmosphere to play in, and this NCAA tournament game was exactly what I expected. I knew UConn's fans would be lively and it was nice to have the support of my family and friends back home from Canton who came to the game. Regardless of the outcome, I had such a great time and it was such an enjoyable experience that I will remember forever."
"Geno gave me a really big hug, and he was making a joke about how far I shoot, saying they should be worth four points because some of them are from so far back. He is such a nice man, a great coach, and has a nice team. Regardless of the outcome, I had such a great time and it was such an enjoyable experience that I will remember forever."
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Player evaluations
Player of the Game
Morgan Tuck
What more can you say about Morgan Tuck that hasn't been said all year. Geno had her on the court for a solid 29 minutes in this game and she was the best player on the court the entire time. With a career high 26 points and a career high 8 assists, Tuck is showing that she is an all-American without the award. There isn't a player in WCBB basketball that has her ability to post up, receive the ball and then finish around the basket with either hand. Just look at the size of her hands in these pictures on the smaller women's ball. It's why she has such control on her shots. I'm looking forward to seeing her continue her great play against Rutgers.
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis
As Geno said "Kaleena (Mosqueda-Lewis) is resting up a little bit. She tweaked something but she's fine". She played 16 pretty ineffectual minutes but as long as she is ok, I would expect the KLM we always see.
Breanna Stewart
Stewie had a sneaky game. She didn't look like she was dominating, but she ended up with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks and a steal in 30 minutes. My guess is she is just warming up and will save the best for last. She makes is look so easy.
Moriah Jefferson
It was a very quiet game for Jefferson but more due to her getting a shot to the head than anything else. I think she did see the magic that Stewart and Tuck and and how hot Nurse was and decided to let them do their thing. She only took four shots, but she did hand out 5 assists. What was surprising to me was that she didn't record any steals. She will need to be more aggressive against Rutgers. I'm sure that Geno will remind her of that.
Gabby Williams
Is Williams getting taller? Not to start a height controvery, but I thought she looked a lot taller than her listed 5'11". One thing for sure. She plays like she is 6'4". This was another great game for Gabby. She was 7-7 from the field and scored 15 points with 6 rebounds in only 14 minutes. This young woman is going go be a big star and I guarantee she will have a few big moments in this tournament when it counts.
Kia Nurse
I just love this picture. The freshman is barking out orders, well, calling out a play, anyway. Looks like the rest did her good, as she looked strong in this game. Her three point shot was true in the first half, going 4-6 for twelve points. In the second half, she just played and didn't shoot. I'm not sure if it was because she didn't have an open shot or she just didn't want to shoot. Either way, she did her damage early and it was great to see.
Saniya Chong
Chong had a slow start to her game against St. Francis, but she had a solid game once she got her bearings. Geno must have been happy as he rewarded her with the third most minutes on the team with 27. She was 4-6 from the field for 8 points. The rest of her line was good with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. She was really aggressive in her drives to the basket and that is a GREAT sign.
Kiah Stokes
One of six blocks, Stokes just dominated the smaller Terriers in her 20 minutes. She was also strong on the boards with ten rebounds. She really seemed to be enjoying herself. I have a feeling she will make the most of her last games at UConn.
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Putting the squeeze on!!!!
And again!!
One more time!!!
Owww..owww...owww..my earring is caught on your bracelet!!
BreakDancing!!!
Looks like Stewart learned this move from Jefferson!!
"No freshman, the secret handshake goes like this......"
Ring around the rosey.......
No you didn't!!!!!
Rested and ready for Rutgers!!!!
(pictures from the Hartford Courant, UConnhuskies.com)
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