Game Analysis
Watching this game, you can see that this team learned something from last years season ending loss to Mississippi State. As Geno said, they didn't know how to react when MSU took the lead. They certainly knew how to react after the second quarter 24-4 run by Notre Dame that gave the Irish a 42-30 lead. UConn ended the half on a 6-1 run to stem the tide. The third quarter was mostly back and forth with Notre Dame holding on to a 62-54 lead.
A three pointer from the corner by ND's Lili Thompson to start the scoring in the fourth quarter game Notre Dame an 11 point lead at 65-54 with 9:30 left in the game. Katie Lou Samuelson had just left the game for good after tweaking her ankle and UConn had to go with only 5 players the rest of the way. Gabby Williams didn't play a minute in the second half.
UConn then went on a 26-6 to end the game for the 80-71 win. It was a terrific effort by all five players on the court. Kia Nurse started the rally with a three pointer to answer Thompson's three, Dangerfield made a couple of great passes and a beautiful putback floater off the backboard, Collier had several hustle rebounds and the freshman Walker had some HUGE rebounds and some needed points from the line. Finally, Azura Stevens played like an AA and dominated the paint. She scored at will, rebounded with a vengeance and defended the paint, forcing bad shots by the Irish.
The defense for the quarter was tremendous, although Notre Dame helped with some ill-advised shooting. They held them to 30% shooting in the second half and 3-11 in the fourth quarter.
All I can say is that was the best comeback by a UConn women's team I've seen in a long time and maybe the best ever based on the situations I mentioned and the opponent.
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Game Quotes from Geno
"The comeback was probably indicative of the two teams I'm coaching right now. I'm coaching the team that's capable of being down a lot and giving up layups and second shots. We are that team, we put ourselves in that situation because we played against a really good team and we're missing a lot of things. This team is missing a lot of things and we refuse to acknowledge it sometimes and it catches up to you. And then there's the other team I coach, the team that played in the fourth quarter and when it was time to win the game they made the plays to win the game. Things like that fourth quarter remind us of how good our team can be. And they're a really good team. So we can be that good and it was good for us to learn that today."
"We're used to having post players that are really active and cover a lot of space to protect the basket. That's what we've had for a really long time. It's taking Azura a while to learn how to be that kind of defensive player. We're trying offensively to get her to go to more places to get her own shots. It's taking her awhile but she's getting better every game. Megan has a lot of talent. She can do a lot of things and rebounding is one of them and she showed that today. She proved that she can make plays in this kind of a game and this kind of environment. Hopefully in the upcoming days she can build on that."
"The Gabby thing is kind of off and on. It's something she's trying yo deal with. I wish I had a definitive answer. It affects the way she plays obviously, like it would for anyone else. Lou's problem wasn't what kept her out for 3 or 4 games, It was her ankle instead of her foot. We'll know more tomorrow. She was pretty animated in the game today and she got knocked around a couple of times.She's a fighter, she's a really tough kid."
“That fourth quarter really came down to, collectively, you could see a change. We don’t have that one person that walks around and acts like it and demands that kind of response. We don’t, and you can’t manufacture it. So it’s got to be a team thing, and that’s what happened in the fourth quarter. You could see it. The demeanor of our team changed.”
"We're used to having post players that are really active and cover a lot of space to protect the basket. That's what we've had for a really long time. It's taking Azura a while to learn how to be that kind of defensive player. We're trying offensively to get her to go to more places to get her own shots. It's taking her awhile but she's getting better every game. Megan has a lot of talent. She can do a lot of things and rebounding is one of them and she showed that today. She proved that she can make plays in this kind of a game and this kind of environment. Hopefully in the upcoming days she can build on that."
"The Gabby thing is kind of off and on. It's something she's trying yo deal with. I wish I had a definitive answer. It affects the way she plays obviously, like it would for anyone else. Lou's problem wasn't what kept her out for 3 or 4 games, It was her ankle instead of her foot. We'll know more tomorrow. She was pretty animated in the game today and she got knocked around a couple of times.She's a fighter, she's a really tough kid."
“That fourth quarter really came down to, collectively, you could see a change. We don’t have that one person that walks around and acts like it and demands that kind of response. We don’t, and you can’t manufacture it. So it’s got to be a team thing, and that’s what happened in the fourth quarter. You could see it. The demeanor of our team changed.”
Game Quotes from
Notre Dame Coach Muffet McGraw
"We played well for 35 minutes. Defensively I thought we had some defensive lapses. Offensively we executed, but I thought we could have played a little smarter. We did a great job rebounding in the first half and not in the second half
"We just had a stretch of ugly and unfortunately for us it was the last five minutes."
"Being short handed and on the road doesn't impact us in a game like this. I don't think anyone felt tired in a game like this. The adrenaline doesn't let you."
“We played well for 35 minutes. I thought we had some defensive lapses. Offensively, we executed, but I thought we could have played a little smarter. We did a great job rebounding in the first half and not in the second half. … We just had a stretch of ugly and, unfortunately for us, it was the last five minutes.”
"Stevens is a great addition to the team. When we played her in the ACC (when she was at Duke) we did a good job on her but we didn't really have an answer for her today."
"We just had a stretch of ugly and unfortunately for us it was the last five minutes."
"Being short handed and on the road doesn't impact us in a game like this. I don't think anyone felt tired in a game like this. The adrenaline doesn't let you."
“We played well for 35 minutes. I thought we had some defensive lapses. Offensively, we executed, but I thought we could have played a little smarter. We did a great job rebounding in the first half and not in the second half. … We just had a stretch of ugly and, unfortunately for us, it was the last five minutes.”
"Stevens is a great addition to the team. When we played her in the ACC (when she was at Duke) we did a good job on her but we didn't really have an answer for her today."
Player Evaluations
Azura Stevens
Kati Lou Samuelson
Azura was fantastic in the comeback. She hit several key shots including a beautiful baseline move that was just spectacular for her 8 points in the quarter. I thought she just dominated the paint and as McGraw said, they had no answer for her. She intimidated the Notre Dame players on the defense end. She is showing more and more emotion on the court as well. In her 26 minutes she had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. She is turning into a difference maker and on her way to an AA season.
“Playing through injuries speaks to this program. It is not about who is an All-American. It is about who is ready to play on any given night. I think an example of that is Meg. She came in today and got some key rebounds and played some solid defense. I think it shows we just have to be ready and play our best game.”
“Playing through injuries speaks to this program. It is not about who is an All-American. It is about who is ready to play on any given night. I think an example of that is Meg. She came in today and got some key rebounds and played some solid defense. I think it shows we just have to be ready and play our best game.”
“We started packing it in really well and playing zone. We did a good job of not focusing on players that were not even looking at the basket to try and score.”
Kati Lou Samuelson
No doubt Kati Lou is the toughest kid on this team. If you didn't know it after her "bucket" game against Maryland last season then you know it after this game. She was playing until either Geno dragged her out or until she unfortunately reinjured her foot. But as much pain as you saw her in after the tweak of her foot she ran out of the locker room and was ready to get back in the game. And Geno did just that in the last minute. She played an inspired 28 minutes scoring a team leading 18 points, and grabbing 5 rebounds. Kati Lou added 1 block and 2 steals. Not bad for missing 4 games.
“We didn’t play the right way in the first half. I think we overcame every challenge that was thrown at us. People who needed to step up stepped up and I think we really showed what we were made of and the heart that we had”
Crystal Dangerfield
One of two 40 minutes players in this game, Crystal was terrific in helping to engineer the comeback. Her defense was great and she had 5 assists and only 2 turnovers. She added 12 points going 2-5 on threes. The great rebound, putback floater was a huge basket in the middle of the comeback and her dump off pass to Stevens was just gorgeous. She is one special player.
Kia Nurse
Make room for one more AA. It would be a shame if she doesn't get that honor this her last season. She made several clutch plays but none more than the big three she hit to start the rally in the fourth quarter. She also faked a three and blew by the Notre Dame defender for a layup later in that rally. In her 33 minutes, she had 13 points, 2 rebounds, and an assists. And she was 3-4 on threes increasing her three point percentage to a smidgeon over 60% for the season.
“In the final quarter we moved to the zone and tried to keep them on their heels, and we were able to help each other out more with drives and kicks.”
“I think we are really fortunate to have players who are able to play different roles, and different positions and understand there is an unselfishness to it. When you get down by 10 with seven minutes left we made the right play at the right time and were able to get a good bucket.”
“In the final quarter we moved to the zone and tried to keep them on their heels, and we were able to help each other out more with drives and kicks.”
“I think we are really fortunate to have players who are able to play different roles, and different positions and understand there is an unselfishness to it. When you get down by 10 with seven minutes left we made the right play at the right time and were able to get a good bucket.”
Napheesa Collier
Napheesa is still shooting way below the standards of her shooting percentages but she really impacted the game in many other ways. She played all 40 minutes and scored 15 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, added 3 blocks and a steal. Oh yeah, 3 more assists. The play that personifies Collier was after the run when UConn took their lead. UConn was up 75-70 with 2 minutes remaining when Dangerfield missed a jumper. Collier, starting from the foul line jumped in between two ND players to snag the rebound and give UConn another 30 seconds to kill. Look at the picture I posted above and not the four Notre Dame players around her. They all got a great view of that basket.
“With the injuries, it showed how many different players we have that can step up. Everyone did something that contributed to our win, I believe that is more trust building for us knowing we have so many people we can count on.”
Gabby Williams
You could tell something was wrong with Gabby from the get go. She just didn't seem herself on the court or on the bench. We found out from Geno that she had migraine headache. For anyone who has had one, it was a wonder she was playing at all. Word is she had them on and off all week. Hopefully some time will help her get over this episode. But this is something that Geno and staff will have to monitor and deal with all season. She did manage 17 minutes and had 5 rebounds and 5 assists. But she had only 2 points (the above picture) and was 1-7 from the field. Definitely not Gabby-like.
Megan Walker
Walker got a good taste of the big time and she did herself proud. She didn't score a lot, but in her 16 minutes she had 3 points and 6 rebounds. Those rebounds were huge in helping UConn grab the lead and hold on to it. And her on the ball defense helped hold Notre Dame down in the fourth quarter. She will just keep getting better.
Final Thoughts
Congrats to Azura Stevens on her 1000th point!!!
Nice crowd!!!
I'm sure they were the "sixth" man on the court during the comeback!
When Geno speaks EVERYONE listens!
You talkin' to me??
Wanna Chest Bump??
I can FLY!!!!!
Candidly, most of the losses came early in his career when the program was building. Almost no team the Huskies have played lately has even close to a winning record. For example, USF is 0-23 and Cincinnati is 0-16. In fact, Geno is undefeated in the AAC at 70-0 for the regular season. 
, here is some good news. While these stats will not talk die-hard pessimists of the ledge, it may help some who feel the Notre Dame game will be a 20+ point loss. It will, just not for the Huskies. 
