Final Four Championship Game
UCONN 63 NOTRE DAME 53
Post game report
All year long I've heard the same thing, "what happens when UConn is challenged", "how will UConn handle a close game", "Can UConn win when they don't play their best".
Well, all of those have been answered.
What happens when UConn is challenged? They respond.
How will UConn handle a close game? With great defense and clutch shooting.
Can UConn win when they don't play their best? They just did.
This game wasn't exactly what everyone expected between two of the best offenses in WCBB. Sure, UConn also has the best defense, but ND doesn't and the over/under was much more than the 116 points scored between the two teams. Defense ruled the day and when it came time to make clutch shots, UConn was right there to make them.
I have to give Notre Dame plenty of credit. They were able to make UConn uncomfortable on offense, never allowing the Huskies to get into any extended period of their well know offensive execution. They certainly took a few players out of their comfort level. You could tell by Tuck's misses that she just wasn't the same confident player we saw for most of the season.
But UConn was able to do just enough on offense and applied devastating defense against the Irish, led by the Tasmanian Devil, Moriah Jefferson. Her defense on Jewell Loyd in the second half was stuff legends are made of. Sure there were complaints of clutching and grabbing by the Irish fan base. But that is just sour grapes. Jefferson dominated this game on the defensive end, something you don't see very much from point guards. The rest of the UConn defense was great as well, holding Notre Dame to 53 points, including a 35 foot three pointer from Mabrey to close the scoring and another late shot clock beating bank shot from Turner.
Notre Dame was only able to manage 33% from the field and 27% on threes. UConn was not that much better at 41% and 34%, but they hit big shots when they needed to. I don't think Geno was ever prouder of the effort by his teams than he was with this teams effort in this game. You could see the absolute glee on his face and the faces of the coaching staff. I don't know what it was, but this one seemed really special.
Game Quotes
Coach Geno Auriemma
''Obviously ten is a very significant number because that's the number that's been out there and people want to talk about it. I'll be the first to say I'm not John Wooden and I got a bunch of friends who'd tell you I'm right, I'm not. As I said the other day I just think what we've done here in the last 20 years is pretty remarkable in its own right. I'll let the people who write the history decide where I fit in.''
''Each day after January 1, this team just kept proving over and over again. You wouldn't notice this by the scores. Every day this team kept working, they deserve everything they have.''
''I just know that in our sport, from 1995 to today, what we've done against our peers is as good if not better than anybody else has done in their sport against their peers. I don't care whether it's harder in that sport.''
"It's incredibly rewarding to do what we did. ... It was really hard to do it," Auriemma said. "We knew playing Notre Dame would be really, really difficult."
"I'm glad that the two buckets that K made down the stretch was kind of the difference," Auriemma said. "That's the way she's supposed to go out."
Coach Muffet McGraw
"I thought the three that Lewis hit in transition was critical," Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. "We had just cut it to six. ... It's a five-point swing, six went to 11, and that was the game."
"We felt at halftime that we were guarding them in the half court offense pretty well and our problem was in transition and second chance points. We held them to 63 points which is probably a season low for them. Our problem was on offense, we couldn't score,".
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Player evaluations
Breanna Stewart
''We had to work hard this is one,'' Stewart said with tears streaming down her face. ''This is one of the hardest things we've had to do since I've been here.''
"I said I wanted to win four," Stewart said. "You can't win four without winning three."
Stewart was a warrior in winning her unprecedented third straight final four MOP. While she didn't put up a lot of points, her stellar defense (4 blocks) and imposing rebounding (15) were enough to dominate.
She had a nasty ankle turn midway through the first half and you know it had to impact her offensive game. But tough is tough and Stewart showed that she was TOUGH.
Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis
Kay was just terrific in her last game for UConn and her poise on offense in the last few minutes were incredibly important in UConn holding on for the win. After 4 years of hearing about her lack of conditioning (euphemism for overweight) from some pretty nasty fans, she played 40 minutes and was playing as hard in the last 5 minutes as she was in the first 5 minutes. Her 15 points were great but I loved her two important blocks. She will be missed!
Moriah Jefferson
What a terrific game for the now All-American point guard. 15 points and 5 assists in an energetic 40 minutes. Her defense on Loyd sent Jewell right to the WNBA where she figured it had to be easier than playing UConn. She was a vocal leader for much of the season and particularly in this game.
Morgan Tuck
After dominating the paint for the first 5 games of the NCAA tournament, Tuck really struggled from the field in the Championship game. She just didn't seem to have the same touch. She short-armed a few shots, rushed a few more. But she he 2-3 three point shots and she lead the team as a point-forward with 7 assists. A really great complete game.
Kia Nurse
Nurse had a nice game considering that she was a freshman in this game. She managed 9 points and hit a few key baskets, but she did rush her game some. Loved the hustle and defense showed throughout the game. 28 minutes for a freshman in the championship game was quite the accomplishment for the rising star from Canada.
Kiah Stokes
Gabby Williams
I thought that Stokes played well for the limited minutes and I was surprised she didn't see more. Geno was going to go with his four star starters for as long as possible and it really impacted Kiah's minutes. I don't think she was upset. Winning does that.
Geno gave her just enough time on the court to get her feet wet and prepare her for next season. You can bet Gabby will be working hard on her shooting and bring a new offense game to the team next year.
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(pictures from the Hartford Courant, UConnhuskies.com)
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