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Yeah!!!! Post Vaccine visit with the Grandsons.
Bad job by me. No photo of Logan.
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UConn 97 Butler 68
Interesting game, huh. Butler was very Arkansas-like hot with their three point shooting. Good thing that UConn had their offense working otherwise they might have been down at the half. When a team is hot, there is almost nothing you can do about it. Take a look at the first half shooting for the players on Butler. I listed what they did in the half and their 3 point shooting percentages coming into the game.
Diew 2-2, 36% 9 made on the season
Adika 2-3, 41%
Atosu 1-3, 24%
Dowell 1-2, 25%
Ross 1-1, 30% 3 made on the season
Scheetz 2-4, 33% 7 made on the season
9-15 total for these 6 players. 31% coming in. It happens.
Geno analyzed it perfectly at halftime. The team was not stopping the drives in the lane. They then overplayed on help defense, and that left the three point shooter open. Better on the ball defense will help stop the open threes.
The second half was quite a different story.
Diew 2-2 first half, 0-2 second half
Adika 2-3 first half, 1-3 second half
Atosu 1-3 first half, 0-2 second half
Dowell 1-2 first half, 0-2 second half
Ross 1-1 first half, 0-0 second half
Scheetz 2-4 first half, 0-0 second half
That's 9-15 first half, 1-9 second half. I'd say Butler both came back to earth and UConn figured out how to defend them better.
Ok, enough about the three pointers. 97 points is a great total for the Huskies. And a few players had great games.
Five different players scored in double digits and Muhl had 9 points. A great team effort. All this talk about UConn being a one player team can go by the wayside.
Let's talk about the record setting Bueckers. She broke the season record for total assists, passing Pam Webber and Renee Montgomery's 123, finishing the game with 130 assists on the season. With hopefully 10 games left. No one will touch that record. Maybe ever. And she broke the single game record for assists with 14 passing Montgomery again. Poor Renee. Two records in one night. Gone. I'm sure she is ok with it. Bueckers game was just off the charts. She had 20 points to go with those 14 assists for another double double. And she added 3 steals and 1 block. The stat that stands out is the 14/1 assist to turnover ratio. That is just unreal.
If it wasn't for Bueckers great record breaking game, we might all be talking about the incredible breakout game for Aaliyah Edwards. She had 24 points to lead the Huskies and 14 rebounds for her second double double in three games. I think we can officially say she is no longer a freshman.
It's funny, I was looking at the stats before the game and you know how I love stats. Well, I would really like more players averaging double figures and both Edwards and Evina Westbrook were in the high 9's in average. I calculated that Edwards needed 16 points and Westbrook needed 21. So close. UConn now has 4 players in double figure scoring with Edwards now averaging 10.4 PPG. Evina is so close at 9.8. Hey, lets round UP!
Christyn had another solid game in her recovery from her shutout game of no points. In her last 6 games she is averaging 18.6 PPG. Yes, UConn has options. She had 15 in this game hitting 3-87 threes, and grabbed 6 rebounds.
Olivia had a technical. Geno told the ref that wasn't a technical. I really would like to know what she did. She was really annoyed on the play before the tech. Butler was pretty physical with her. She didn't like it and I don't blame her. The refs did a piss poor job in this game. Olivia did end up with 11 points and 9 rebounds. But she had an unusually sloppy game with 5 turnovers.
Aubrey Griffin was scoreless but she embodied a player that doesn't score but does other things to help their team. She grabbed 8 rebounds and was all over the court in the second half defensively. She is so athletic.
Nika took only threes and was 3-6 from deep. She also added 5 assists. A couple were really nice.
Did I mention that Paige Bueckers is a really good player?
I think Geno is looking forward to getting the last regular season game out of the way so the team can rest up for the Big East Tournament starting next Saturday for the Huskies.
They play Monday against Marquette, and that could be a tough battle. Talk about physical. More on that game in Sunday's blog.
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Post game Videos
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Here is a video from a few weeks back. Thanks to my friend Linkster for pointing it out. Great stuff! But I think they should add some video from the Butler game.
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By David in Naples
Tonight was a great, gutsy win by UConn. They withstood Butler shooting 10-15 or 67% in the 1st period to crush the ugly puppies. Thoughts on the game:
1. The point guard for Butler, Genesis Parker, is a shoot first, lousy passing player. She took 16 shots and had 1 assist. Great when you make you shots, but she missed 10 of the 16. And, she has the worst hairdo in the history of women's sports.
2. Butler had 19 personal fouls and could have had 39. Reminded me of UCF.
3. Paige had 14 assists and 1 turnover. Yup, freshman wall...
4. The Butler coach screamed directions all night. Hey coach, they're not listening to you... shut up and sit down.
5. Aaliyah should finish 2nd in the National Freshman Player of the Year.... to Paige.
6. Christyn quietly went 3-7 from three range. That's 43%.
7. Butler made 8 of 15 threes to start. That's 53%. Then they came back to earth and made 6 of 21 or 28%.
8. Piath outscored Aubrey, 2 to 0.
9. UConn 12-30 or 40% from beyond the arc.
Last road game for a while... rest up Huskies..!!
1. The point guard for Butler, Genesis Parker, is a shoot first, lousy passing player. She took 16 shots and had 1 assist. Great when you make you shots, but she missed 10 of the 16. And, she has the worst hairdo in the history of women's sports.
2. Butler had 19 personal fouls and could have had 39. Reminded me of UCF.
3. Paige had 14 assists and 1 turnover. Yup, freshman wall...
4. The Butler coach screamed directions all night. Hey coach, they're not listening to you... shut up and sit down.
5. Aaliyah should finish 2nd in the National Freshman Player of the Year.... to Paige.
6. Christyn quietly went 3-7 from three range. That's 43%.
7. Butler made 8 of 15 threes to start. That's 53%. Then they came back to earth and made 6 of 21 or 28%.
8. Piath outscored Aubrey, 2 to 0.
9. UConn 12-30 or 40% from beyond the arc.
Last road game for a while... rest up Huskies..!!
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No. 7 Baylor 85 Kansas State 49 - The Lady Bears are celebrating yet another Big 12 regular-season title. Egbo scored 19 points and No. 7 Baylor extended the nation’s longest current streak of consecutive regular-season women’s conference titles to 11, clinching at least a tie for the crown by beating Kansas State 85-49 Saturday. NaLyssa Smith added 16 points and Moon Ursin scored all 15 of her points in the first half and had a career-high eight assists as the Lady Bears (19-2, 14-1) topped the Wildcats for the 36th straight time. No. 18 West Virginia is the only team that can catch Baylor, and it would require the Lady Bears losing their remaining three games. A jumper by Moon started a 20-2 run over the first and second quarters that turned a 14-9 lead into a 34-11 advantage, and the Lady Bears steadily pulled away while leading by as many as 39 points.
No. 11 Indiana 87 No. 15 Ohio State 75 - No. 11 Indiana defeated Ohio State 87-75 in Columbus.The Hoosiers started out the game really well, stifling the Buckeyes' offense, forcing eight turnovers in the first quarter and taking an 18-12 lead into the second quarter. Ohio State hit a three to cut the lead to six, and then Indiana turned the ball over at half court and Ohio State banked in a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut to lead the three. The Buckeyes went on a 9-0 run to take their first lead since the first quarter, and eventually took a 56-51 lead going into the fourth. All five of Indiana's starters scored in double figures with Berger leading the way with 20 points. Patberg scored 19, Cardaño-Hillary scored 16, Mackenzie Holmes had 17 and Gulbe contributed 10 while also playing all 40 minutes.
No. 13 South Florida 49 Houston 67- UH extended its winning streak to seven games, beating its highest ranked opponent since knocking off No. 13 TCU 76-71 on Feb. 27, 2004. UH had lost 29 straight games against ranked teams. Guard Bria Patterson shoots the ball during a game between UH and No. 13 South Florida. UH won 67-49. Down 14-10, UH took control with a 19-4 run to end the second quarter and did not trail the remainder of the game. UH used its defense to force 24 turnovers and limit USF to 37 percent shooting, including 4-of-21 from 3-point range. Entering Saturday, UH was among the “Last Four Out” in ESPN’s bracket projections for the NCAA Tournament, which will be played in Texas. The Cougars have not qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 2011. The 12 AAC wins are the most for the Cougars since joining the league. Elena Tsineke had a game-high 24 points for USF, which had its school-record 13-game winning streak snapped.
No. 18 West Virginia 72 Kansas 68 - On Saturday afternoon, the No. 18 West Virginia women’s basketball team was able to get past Kansas on the road, pulling out a 72-68 win. WVU guard Kysre Gondrezick hit a big three-pointer with 11 seconds left to put the Mountaineers up five points. The Mountaineers were trying to run the clock down and Gondrezick found an opening to shoot the ball. In the second half, the Mountaineers struggled to get shots up in the paint, resulting in a lot of forced jump shots. Senior Blessing Ejiofor had a great performance against the Jayhawks, recording eight points in 22 minutes. This season, West Virginia has dealt with a lot of conflicts with being short-handed. Today, WVU missed starting guard Madisen Smith again with an injury, leaving only seven players to check into the game.
No. 21 Gonzaga 77 Loyola Marymount 39 - Jenn Wirth scored 19 points, Jill Townsend added 18 and No. 21 Gonzaga captured the West Coast Conference regular-season women’s basketball championship outright with a 77-39 rout of Loyola Marymount on Saturday. A three-pointer by Jasmine Jones had Loyola Marymount down 16-15 less than a minute into the second quarter but those were the visitors’ only points until the 6:54 mark of the third quarter.The Zags scored 26 straight points while the Lions were 0 for 14 with nine turnovers.Trailing 57-20 after three quarters, the Lions scored 19 points in the fourth, doubling their field goals from seven to 14. They went 7 of 14 from three-point range and 7 of 35 inside. They were outrebounded 45-20 and had 22 turnovers. Ariel Johnson scored 11 points for Loyola Marymount. Gonzaga earned a double-bye into the WCC tournament semifinals and won’t play until a week from Monday in Las Vegas.
No. 22 South Dakota State 72 UM Kansas City 66 - Paiton Burckhard scored a season-high 24 points, T ylee Irwin scored a critical basket with 20 seconds to go and No. 22 South Dakota State held on to defeat UMKC 72-66 on Saturday, wrapping up a perfect Summit League regular season for the first time.The Jackrabbits, who led by as many as 17 late in the third quarter, went ice cold down the stretch. The Roos had a 7-0 run to pull within 68-64 with 2:31 to play. Both teams missed and had turnovers before the Jackrabbits had a miss with 26 seconds to go. In a scramble for the offensive rebound, the ball went to South Dakota State with six seconds on the shot clock. Irwin got the ball on the left wing, drove to the basket and finished in traffic from close range, ending a scoreless drought of 5 minutes, 10 seconds. Irwin finished with 17 points for South Dakota State. Naomie Alnatas scored 19 points for UMKC and Paige Bradford add 17 with 11 rebounds.
No. 23 Missouri State 64 Loyola Chicago 50 - Jasmine Franklin scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and No. 23 Missouri State beat Loyola Chicago 64-50 on Saturday to set a program record for its best start in Missouri Valley Conference play. Missouri State broke a tie with the 1995-96 team to set the record. On Wednesday, the Lady Bears claimed their 14th MVC regular-season championship. Franklin (13) and Abby Hipp combined to score 20 first-half points, including MSU’s final 16 for a 29-25 lead. Franklin set her season high in the third, reaching 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting, and she put her team ahead by double figures for good with 2:16 remaining in the fourth. Hipp finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, and Emily Gartner added 13 points for Missouri State. Franklin moved into ninth on the school's career rebounding list with 703. Allison Day had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Ellie Rice added 11 for Loyola Chicago (10-9, 8-7). Bre Hampton-Bey scored 10.
No. 24 DePaul 75 Providence 49 - Lexi Held scored 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting and No. 24 DePaul regained its shooting touch on Saturday with a 75-49 win over Providence to end a two-game losing streak. DeJa Church added 16 points, Darrione Rogers 13 and Sonya Morris had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Blue Demons. Mary Baskerville and Alyssa Geary scored 12 points apiece for Providence (6-13, 4-10), which closes the regular season with a five-game losing streak. Held was 5 of 7, Church 4 of 5 and Rogers 3 of 5 from 3-point range as DePaul went 16 of 29 behind the arc (55%), its second-best long-distance shooting performance of the season. In their two-game skid the Blue Demons were a combined 9 of 42 (21%) The Blue Demons were just as accurate from closer range until the closing minutes. They were 1 of 5 inside the arc in the fourth quarter and finished with an overall shooting percent of 47%. In double-figure losses to Creighton and Marquette, DePaul shot 39% and 38%.
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