Not much to say that hasn't been said by Geno and the players. You can see many of the quotes below.
I will just add to the many fans that I read on Facebook and the message board......chill. I mean, really, chill.
Game Highlights
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Game Quotes From Geno
''We're not as good as everybody thinks we are and today was a perfect example of that. They think that every shot that they take is supposed to go in and then when it doesn't go in they pout and they feel sorry for themselves and act like 12-year-olds and that's exactly what happened today. Not every shot is supposed to go in. God isn't punishing you. Figure out a way to help us win the game.''
''The foul trouble really put a damper on it. Napheesa was the only one that had it going. She's the one player that you know is going to show up every night and give you everything.''
"With Nurse out it means you're going to have to use rotations you don't like. What are you going to do? This is a team. When you're a team guys are supposed to be able fill in and get the job done. Today we didn't do it the way we've been doing it."
''What happened today is the wrong team won. We had them down 17 and our guys are used to the other team maybe missing shots or struggling and this team decided to fight back. We had no business winning that game.''
''(Tulane coach Lisa Stockton) missed out on a chance to be Coach of the Year. If a couple of more shots go in she wins it. Traditionally the team that beats us gets Coach of the Year. It was within Lisa's grasp and she missed it.''
"Like in baseball, a couple guys start to hit and everyone hits. Guys start striking out and they go into a hitting and scoring slump. It's the same in basketball. Guys start missing and you need guys to step up and make some. I was disappointed in the fact people who have been making shots all year long for the most part all of a sudden don't want to shoot the ball because they're afraid they're going to miss and weren't shooting with a lot of confidence. But there's one kid on our team that you know every night is going to show up and give you the same thing every night. That's Napheesa. She was the difference tonight."
"Our guys are used to, the other team not making shots, struggling, whatever the case may be. And this team decided to fight back. For one of the few times this year, I guess, we didn't necessarily have the kind of response that you would want to have. The outcome — obviously, we made enough good plays towards the end of the game to win the game."
Game Quotes from
Tulane Coach Lisa Stockton
''We played everybody and everybody gave us something. This team was focused and didn't let anything get them down and they kept battling.''
“I’m just so proud of this group. We shot 20 percent in the first half and kept battling. Really proud of how tough we played. Disappointing because when you get that close you get a little greedy so it sure would have been nice to get that win.”
Vophal - “We worked hard for it, and it could have gone either way. Towards the end, we’re like, ‘We’re in this, and we can do it.' I know we’ve never had that many people cheering for us after a loss."
Player Evaluations
Kia Nurse
I couldn't find a picture of her on the bench, but I put her as the first player listed. It was so clear how much she was missed in this game. Kia is such a steadying force for UConn. She is not the "point guard" but she is the coach on the court. There is no doubt that she is the true leader on the team and when she is not available to play, the team looked a little lost. Yes, they missed her 13 points, 4 assists. But they missed her on the ball defense and her ability to shut down the opponents best offensive guard. In the first game Vorphol was totally shut down. She was 0-3 on threes and had 11, yes, 11 turnovers. Nurse was a big part of that. Get well quickly Kia!!!!!
Napheesa Collier
Well, Napheesa saved UConn's butt in this one!!! She played an outstanding game. Her foul trouble limited her to only 33 minutes, but she scored 26 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and had 3 blocks. ON the downside, she had no assists and 5 turnovers. That just went along with the sloppy and uneven play of the team overall. But even with that, she clearly was the one player that held it together in this tough environment and situation. She played like an AA once again.
"We were really frazzled for a lot of the game. We were forcing a lot of stuff that we normally don't and were making a lot more turnovers than we usually have. They played really well and we didn't. I think we're disappointed in ourselves because we can play better than we did tonight."
Gabby's game was a mixed bag. She was outstanding on the boards with 14 rebounds, she was her usual pest on defense with 3 steals, she handed out 5 assists. But she was only 4-10 from the field missing some easy shot jumpers and she was 1-4 on free throws, some of those late in the game in important situations. She also had five turnovers. Not good. But she did manage 9 points and dominated the boards. It's hard to get on her case when she puts out so much effort.
Katie Lou Samuelson
"We have to be ready for anything because teams are going to play as hard as they possibly can against u. We have to be better."
Sanyia Chong
Not a great game for Sanyia. She struggled with her shot and her two assists and two turnovers is very un-Chong like. She sure looked like she missed her usual backcourt mate in Kia Nurse. 2-8 from the field and 2-7 from the three point line, she score 6 points in her 39 minutes. Her defense was not good late. She went under one screen giving the Tulane player an open look at a three. It just wasn't a good game for her.
I finally found an action picture of Crystal. There were a few back round pictures but it was odd for a player that played 30 minutes. But not odd when you see that the only real contribution was that late steal. No, it was a HUGE steal. And I wish someone had captured that on camera. After a nice game against South Carolina, Dangerfield really showed her freshman mindset in this one. She made one three pointer in five attemps, missed her only two other shots, had only one assists and had two turnovers. She was also 2-6 from the foul line, all in the last minutes of the game giving Tulane a chance to actually win this game. Geno said it was disappointing that she missed her free throws. I'm sure she was devastated. UConn will need her to get over that quickly for the Temple game.
''This was a wakeup call. If we don't bring it every night things like this can happen.''
''This was a wakeup call. If we don't bring it every night things like this can happen.''
Natalie Butler
Well, she didn't score, but I thought that in her 11 minutes, Natalie played BIG. She had five defensive rebounds, all big and late in the game. She also showed great hustle, getting back into a play for a huge block. I wish she would be more aggressive offensively in the paint, but sometimes the game doesn't lend itself to that happening. She had a nice game last time against Temple. Geno will have to play her some minutes.
Kyla Irwin
The good news was that Geno trusted her in a game like this. She had eight solid minutes and contributed 3 rebounds. But Geno will need more from her. I know she has more to give!
Well, they had a good view of the game and I'm sure they were as stunned as the fans.
Final Thoughts
Next game is against Temple on Wednesday, February 22nd at the XL Center. UConn beat Temple in their first matchup by 28 points. However, the Owls outscored the Huskies in the second half scoring 50 points. With Nurse out, this game could be a bigtime struggle. Temple's guards are terrific.
Agree big time on Bulter. Worst game I have seen UConn play in probably 5 years.
ReplyDeleteWell, if you are grading on a UConn curve this game would have been a D-. Thing is Tulane played their A+ Game at the same time. For UConn horrible shooting and awful defense in the 2nd half. They weren't helping off screens, they looked lost out there half the time. 13 more rebounds than Tulane but Tulane still managed to take 14 more shots (and sink 4 more than we did). Collier's performance at the line saved us. This game was the wake up call Geno was looking for and they were very lucky not to get an L because of it. Every player knows they have things to work on. Collier, has to stay on the floor and stop getting some of the needless early fouls she picks up, Gabby needs to be able to know she can't do everything out there, play under control (fewer turnovers, you can't make that highlight film pass or move every time) and keep her emotions in check which will help at the free throw line, Chong has to be able to run the point when needed and not leave it up to everyone else to win the game, she needs to fill those senior shoes, KLS, not sure what is going on in her head, she looked lost tonight (that turnover near the end of the game was something you expect out of a JV player, not a college All-American) and wasn't much better agaisnt SC. Recovering from being sick maybe, but looks more like she, as Geno pointed out, missed some shots and started pouting. Dangerfield, free throws and take care of the ball. And sometimes dribbling all over creation doesn't do anything except get your teammates lost in what they are supposed to be doing out there. Butler, watch tape of Big Mama Steph and learn to get that ball out quick, you know where those players are going to be, stop taking forever to make the decision where you are going to pass the rebound.
Of course UConn used to have a game or two like this every year but honestly, I have not seen them play this bad in 5 years. Maybe, there was a game or two Stewies freshman year that wasn't great, but those were against much better teams. They need to get their heads on straight, Temple and USF are playing for their spots in the Big Dance and would love to go in with a Davidesque performance on their record against the Goliath that is UConn. Tulane almost did it and USF really has been on the verge of doing it for the last two seasons. If the women don't come to play they might see a lot of streaks end at exactly the wrong time.
What a bunch of crap, Collier scored most of her points in the first half against an undersized player while the other players were being guarded tightly, she again picks up silly fouls thus hurting the team on the defensive end and giving up lay ups as to not foul. Who scored in the second half OHHH KLS 15 consecutive points when we needed them and saving Collier from her 6th turnover, who tightens when the game is on the line. So all this crap is just unjustified.
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