Tough night in Palo Alto

So, I guess I was a little off with my 20+ point win for UConn. Well, a lot off.

OK....I blew it...big time. But I did get one thing right. Thompson and Orrange are the best pair of guards that UConn will face. You see how they play and you immediately understand why Tara went to this guard-centric offense.

One thing I underestimated was the impact the loss of Dolson and Hartly would have both defensively and offensively. Lulled into a false sense of security with the 2 exhibition  games and the UC Davis game, it was easy to think that UConn would continue their excellent execution they showed in those games. I remember back in the post-taurasi era feeling the same way when they would show early dominance against weak teams and then struggle and even lose in some games. Not that this team is at the same level as those UConn teams. Far from it. But to think that playing with 2 new starters and two players coming off the bench that weren't there last season would be a cake walk is foolish. This season, it will be a year of continual growth with plenty of bumps in the road. We should all be holding on tight!!!

So, what happened???

We didn't defend well.

Thompson and Orrange were able to get into the lane way too easily and UConn's help defense was consistently late to pick up the guard when she beat her defender. There is no doubt that this is one area where we missed Hartley and Dolson. As good as Stokes is, she doesn't switch out as well as Dolson did and I have no doubts that Harley would have defended either guard better than the defense that was played tonight by Jefferson, Chong and Nurse.

We didn't rebound well.

UConn was outrebounded in this game. I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering they play several 6'3" players. But UConn's 6'3" Kiah Stokes left her rebounding sneakers home. She had a disappointing 5 rebounds in her limited 25 minutes. UConn needs more from her.

We didn't execute well.

This goes for offensively and defensively. As I mentioned before, UConn's help defense was a step slow tonight. doubles were weak and they just seemed a step slower than usual. On offense, the stats speak for themselves. Only 14 assists on 28 baskets, well below their usual WCBB leading numbers.  

We didn't react to the referee's points of emphasis tonight.

Last year, it seemed that Geno had them ready and were clearly the best team at avoiding the calls almost all the other teams had trouble with. Tonight, they didn't look as prepared. When was the last time that a UConn team had 24 fouls called on them? It definitely had an impact on tonight's results.   

So, what about Stanford?

Well, they are better than most folks thought, that is obvious. I was so impressed with how hard they player, how tough they were mentally. They never let the times that UConn looked to run away impact their resolve.

And Tara is just a great coach. She looked at her team and took a big chance changing her entire offensive scheme to accommodate her roster and strength at the guards. The team really embraced it.
It was shocking to see how easily at times they scored against what was thought to be the best defense in the country.

I really enjoyed watching Kaylee Johnson, the tough freshman forward, dominate the boards at times. She was the main reason UConn went stretches with poor rebounding.

Lili Thompson is a future all-American who is playing like a current all-American. I just love her game. A quick first step with a deadly pull up jumper and if you come out to get her, she drives by you for layups or she gets fouled.

The 3 pointer by Orrange was awesome. Now, Jefferson made a bad choice doubling the player with the ball leaving Orrange open, but she made the shot. It's what seniors do.

Stanford looks to me like they are not ready to give up the dominance of the PAC-12 anytime soon. Tara is too good a coach and she still gets some terrific players.

So, what's the good news?

Everything is fixable. More practice, more games means improved play and better execution.

You don't have to go undefeated to win a championship.  

We spoiled UConn fans won't go into any tough games in the future thinking it's a sure win. It's a good thing. While I love wining every game by double digits, a game like tonight was exciting, nerve wracking, exhausting and a lot of fun even if frustrating.

The Samuelson girls were terrific tonight with 14 and 8 points, hitting several critical three pointers. How is this good news? Kati Lou is a lot better than either of them.

Chong was terrific for most of the game. She hit a lot of key shots. Yes, a few mistakes, but she is now 8-14 on three pointers. She is going to be a weapon. I don't think teams will leave her open as a strategy.

Stewart had some excellent numbers. 23 point, 10 rebounds and 3 assists are great. But I'm sure she feels she should have done more (like hit more FT's).

In spite of poor games by several UConn players, they had a 3 point lead with 11.3 seconds left. 

Closing Comments.

I read somewhere that KML looked slow and out of shape. I have to disagree. It's hard to defend quicker players and on some switched she was guarding one of the 3 quick guards. She is not going to look good doing that. Out of shape? She played 44 minutes. Someone out of shape can't do that.

Nurse played really hard on defense and sometimes too aggressively. You need to adjust to the way the refs are calling the game. She will learn from this and I expect pretty quickly.

It's clear that UConn has a 7 players roster for any competitive games. The big question is how long will it take to incorporate any of the 3 freshman that sat on the bench tonight into the rotation. If any. We saw how tough it was for Chong last year. Can any of the freshman break out? 

There is no time to dwell on this loss and I'm sure Geno and the team won't do that. In less than 3 weeks, this very same team travels to Notre Dame to face a terrific Irish squad led by the dynamic Jewell Loyd and super freshman Briana Turner. It will be every bit as tough a game for UConn as the Stanford game was. There will be no underestimating the opponent by this UConn fan. I'm expecting a battle royal. Very physical and lots of flopping. Yes, I said that.

So, hang in their Huskie faithful. I repeat, you don't have to go undefeated to win a championship. It's only one game. Etc. Etc. We still root for a great team and I plan on enjoying the trip to the Final Four. Hey, one loss won't dim my bright bulb of optimism about this team.

GO UCONN!!!!!!!!!!!