DoggyDaddy's UConn/South Florida Post Game Report

UConn 102 South Florida 37

Anyone know why Gabby has different sneakers than anyone else? 

Post Game report

What a great game for UConn and what a terrible game for South Florida. While I love seeing UConn play so well, it's not good for the conference to have the supposed 2nd best team lose by 65 points.

That being said, screw the conference and let's just revel in the excellence of the UConn Huskie Women's Basketball Team!!!!!!!

Whenever Geno can be impressed by his team and he expounds on that during the half time, post game and final press interviews, you know there was something special going on. I won't go into the usual play by play of each quarter, but I'll just talk about each player's exploits and outstanding individual efforts.

But I will talk about some of the team statistics that make me say wow!!!

* UConn had 21 first half assists, USF had 19 first half points
* UConn shot 67% in the first half, USF shot 26.5% in the first half
* UConn outrebounded USF 25-13 in the first half
* USF had ONE assist in the first half
* UConn only scored 37 points in the second half....but they only let USF score 18 points
* Chong (15),  Dangerfield (13),  Butler (13), Bent (12) and Irwin (10) all played as many or more minutes than Samuelson, Williams, Collier and Nurse in the second half.   

Game Highlights

  

 Game Stats and Box Score

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Game Quotes From Geno

Geno at halftime - "We talked a lot about how we wanted to start the game. I though defensively we were just really really really good and that fueled  a lot of our offense. We got a lot of easy shots which is probably why our percentage is really high. But man oh man, the way we started that first five minute.....and it's not that South Florida's......we were just really good. Everyone that came off the bench contributed. I don't know what I am going to say to them at halftime."

Geno right after the game "We started off great, we just keep playing. We played at a whole different level today. I wouldn't have really mattered if it was South Florida or anybody else....the way we played, the energy we played with defensively, we just made a lot of shot. It fun to watch for me. I keep doubting these guys but they keep proving me wrong. I was saying that because we switched a lot tonight....Gabby Williams is like the Lawrence Taylor of women's basketball....whatever play you are tying to run she disrupts it"

"For me it was more about how well the game went than the actual streak. We played those first 20 minutes like a team on a mission to accomplish something. Those first 20 minutes were the best 20 minutes of basketball that any of our players have ever been a part of." 

"It's always nice when the home crowd is involved. We made a lot of highlight reel plays today to get them so involved. Sometimes our crowds wait a little while to be entertained but tonight they were loud from the beginning."

Game Quotes from Coach Jose Ferndandez 

"No, I'm not surprised the streak continued this year because it's about the system and their culture."

"Running is our style. But when you don't make shots, you give a team must more possessions and that's what happened."

"There has to be some kind of individual accountability for your play. We didn't get to the free throw line until the fourth quarter. We weren't aggressive enough offensively. The 50-50 balls, Connecticut got. Like I told them, they were like a kid in a candy store and they took our lunch money on the school yard. There was no passion, we were just content getting our asses kicked. And that's what happened."

"I thought they did a good of going no catch on Laksa and they did a really good job switching. They (UConn) played great. They played really well. Talking to our staff, we have a lot of guys who haven't played against Connecticut. This is the worst margin of defeat we've ever had against them. We hadn't given up 100 points in my 17 years at USF. It's disappointing on how we performed and executed on both ends of the floor. They also had a lot to do with that."

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Player Post Game Interviews

Player Evaluations

Player of the Game

Sanyia Chong

This was by far the best game of Chong's career. In the first half, she had 13 points and 7 assists with zero turnovers, going 4-5 from the field and 3-4 on threes. For the game she tied her career high with 20 points and had 8 assists. She was just as good as any point guard in the country for her 30 minutes. She made the right pass at the right time every time she had the ball in her hands. And for once she just let it fly whenever she had an open shot. If this game gives her the confidence she needs to reproduce this kind of effort, UConn has just jumped another notch in performance level.      

"I think it was our mindset. We just had to go out there and have fun and play hard. We had fun."

"The streak means a lot. But, I'm not going to talk about it until we actually beat the record."

"It's been pretty amazing just to be a part of the 90 wins and make history and knowing that my name and my teammates’ names are also going way back with other girls’ names. It's pretty amazing."

Kia Nurse

Kia was not spectacular on offense in this game. She had 13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists. Nice numbers for sure. But her biggest contribution was on the defensive end. It didn't matter who she was guarding, that player had no chance of scoring or even making a pass that could possibly lead to a score. She plays so tough and intensely on defense it's an inspiration to the other players. I'm saying this knowing that there is another player that is even better in that regard on UConn. See the Gabby Williams write up. But Kia is a great leader and consistency this year has been so much better this year.      

"I don't go up against Gabby much, but, she's definitely disruptive in what she does. She reads the ball extremely well, she reads who she's defending and she comes out and makes plays."

"It was a really fun game to be a part of. I think it was the energy that we came out with and the energy that we maintained throughout the game. Everyone was getting excited at the big plays we were making and when you play games like that it's pure fun, joy, and excitement."

"Yeah, in terms of how we played. I think coming into the game we understood that there was something that we could do, but at the same time it was how are we going to execute to win this game and play our best basketball."

Katie Lou Samuelson

I'm pretty sure that the one handed, left handed bounce pass that was a tip pass to Williams for a layup is the play of the season so far. It showed athleticism that I didn't know she had, and a great basketball instinct that is just beginning to show itself in her play this season. She scored 19 points in her 26 minutes along with 4 assists (that great one included) and only one turnover. For a period of time thought, she reverted to the "shooter" missing several shots before Geno took her out. I watched the interaction with Geno as she sat there. He was pretty animated and at the end of his lecture, she looked up at him and laughed. It was great!!! This California girl is carving out the same relationship as the first California girl!!

"We all knew we were going to be in brand new roles this year and we all knew we had a lot ahead of us so the fact that we all embraced that even though they left, we can show them what we got too and we can pick up where they left off."

"I had to expand my game and do different things for us to be successful"

Napheesa Collier

Collier had another great game. In 29 minutes, she had 18 points on 8-11 shooting. She added an 6 rebounds and 1 assist. But the stat that stood out was her SIX steals. I love when she is so active on defense. I thought that Tuck had a lot of moves in the paint, but Napheesa has even more. And some that haven't been invented yet.    

Gabby Williams

Nobody, but nobody can jump as high as Gabby Williams on her SECOND jump. She is just relentless. When you add that mindset to someone with her skillset....well....you see what you get. Just look at the picture above and check out the ups. 

I know I talked about the defense of Nurse. And she is a great defender. But Gabby is National Defensive Player of the Year good. Hopefully you read the quote from Geno comparing her to Lawrence Taylor. That is the supreme compliment when you are talking about disrupting an opponents offense. She only played 21 minutes and had 3 steals and 4 blocks and when she was covering a player, there was nothing that player could do. She also scored 11 points, had 13 rebounds and remarkably another 7 assists. She has turned into the most complete player in the country. Sue me for my hyperbole.        

Crystal Dangerfield

Ok....the spin move with under 4 minutes was just sick. Sick I tell you! Sadly, we won't be seeing that for a few weeks. She has a foot injury that needs rest and Geno will have her do just that. If the injury was really serious, they wouldn't have let her play in this one.

Crystal only had 5 points in 2 assists in this game in her 20 minutes, but she didn't turn the ball over and that spin move was so good I have to mention it again. Wow!   

Natalie Butler

Butler's game was so good, I had to post two pictures!!! One on offense and one on defense. She was just great from the minute she got into the game. The first time she touched the ball she passed to Samuelson for an open three. And she hit a few nice mid-range jumpers. As you can see, great form on that jumper. In her 19 minutes she had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists. UConn will need this Butler when they play Coates. And she showed she has the game to play with any center in the country.  A shout out to my friend Debbie who is not a big Butler fan. What do you say now?? 

Kyla Irwin

Sadly, no game actions of Kyla in any of the professional publications. Very annoying!! There are several pictures of the starters on the bench cheering and laughing after great plays by the bench players. You'd think they would show the great plays they are cheering for!! Like Irwin's three pointer that Danny captured on Facebook. In her 11 minutes, she had 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists and 1 steal. Not too shabby. Her parents must me happy to see her play and contribute!   

Molly Bent

As soon as she entered the game she had a rebound and an assist. And Geno had her guarding Laksa. With Dangerfield out with a foot injury, Bent will see double digit minutes and I hope she makes the most of it. In this game she played 16 minutes. She didn't score but she did have 3 assists and 2 rebounds. And played well on defense. She still had two sloppy turnovers. Hopefully she will stop making those mistakes as she gets more time on the court. 

Tierney Lawlor

Tierney only had 3 minutes but she did manage to take an open three. A little deep, but it was a good try. Hopefully she will score soon. She works so hard at it.   

 Final Thoughts

I'll be moving this picture to my future pre game reports!

Next up is at SMU at 3:00 on Saturday for the record breaking attempt at 91 straight games. To give you a quick indication of the prospects of UConn winning, SMU lost to Mississippi State by 49 points, and lost to the one common opponent East Carolina, who UConn dismantled 90-45.