Uconn/Cincinnati Post Game Report

 

UConn-Cincinnati Post game report 

(pictures from the Hartford Courant, UConnhuskies.com)

He tried. He really did. Geno started in a zone, took out his starters as early as he has all season, told his players not to run, told them not to pressure defense. You could see the hesitation in the play. Yet they still scored 96 points and held Cincinnati to 31 points.

In one really weird stat, UConn was only called for 5 personal fouls. Gabby Williams was called for 4 of them. The other players, over the course of the entire game, were called for ONE foul. Wow...that is so unusual.

So, I've also noticed that almost every player on the team goes strong with their left hand. Driving  , finishing at the basket, I can't think of one that doesn't use their left hand as well as their right. There is no one better than Tuck and I mention that later.

There is not much more to say about the game. In a blowout like this it's more about individual performances and  that follows the game quotes.

Game Quotes

Geno - "We're just in a place right now where, especially with our starters, the points just come so easily and come so quickly when we're making shots like that. We're in that mode right now where we're just making a lot of shots."

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis - "Our starters don't pay much attention to it, that we're only getting that many minutes. We want to make sure that we're productive during that time. We want to set the tempo for the team and an example for the people coming off the bench."

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis on her records - "When I look back on my career, I'm going to be happy just knowing that I was able to leave something. It will hit me when I'm done playing here. That's when I'm most likely to say, 'Wow, that's pretty cool.' ''

Morgan Tuck - "The plan was to come out the way we did at Central Florida," when the Huskies led 61-18 at the half on Wednesday. That means to come out with good focus. And our offense was really good. We were just playing UConn basketball."

Jamelle Elliott - "What can you say? Same UConn result, different year. Every year they get really good players. You know, the good keep getting good. They came in here - I don't know what word you use - they were generous to us going to zone early and we still weren't able to make shots."

Geno on finding the balance between playing his starters enough and resting them in lopsided games.  - "It's not ideal. It's not easy on them. I don't know. We just keep going and do what we do and see what happens down the road."


Here are the coach and player evaluations -
 

Coach Geno Auriemma

 

I don't think I've ever seen Geno so conflicted after a game. He wants to do what is best for his team, but Jamelle Elliott is different than any other coach he plays against. And he knows how tough a year she is having.

Geno - "I hear periodically from her. I talked to her at one point when they were struggling a little bit, But when you are winning all the time it's not like you can even say, 'Hey look, I understand.' I don't [understand]. I've not been in that situation for a long, long time. But she's a strong person."

 

Jamelle - "What can you say? It's the same UConn result, different year. Every year, they get really good players. … The good keep getting better. He does a great job and they were very generous to us early on by going to a zone. But we still weren't able to make shots."

They meet again in Hartford later this season. And it will just as painful for these two great friends.

Player of the Game 

 Saniya Chong

 

I figure that KML and Stewart cancel each other out. She might not have may chances at this award, so congrats to Saniya.

 

She had a terrific second half, scoring 11 points on 4-6 shooting and 2-2 on 3's. She drove hard to the basket and just seemed so much more aggressive. I have to remind myself that she is only a sophomore and has a lot of room to grow. I keep reading that she is not a good point guard. Well, guess what, she is NOT a point guard. On this team, she is much more of a shooting guard. And she is filling that role better and better every game.   

 

   

Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis

 

Yes, she could have easily been the POG. She is once again leading the country in 3 point shooting percentage after shaking of a mini-slump. She was 3-4 on 3's and 7-8 in total from the field for 19 points. In 19 minutes. I loved her last basket. She posted up hard in the left side and when she received the pass, she turned around and hit a little bank shot. I'll be honest. I don't think I've seen her play better in her career.
 

Moriah Jefferson 

      

After not missing for two games, she struggled a little. It might have been due to taking a tumble early in the game and having her back tighen up. She went 2-6 from the field, but still managed 5 rebounds and 2 assists. And zero turnovers!

 

I love these two pictures. The one on the left shows her in mid-move....eyes darting, ready to break the defender's ankles. And the one on the right? It's her halfback move, protecting the ball after picking up her dribble on a drive to the basket. It's amazing how she can go from that position to a layup with either hand. 

 

 

Morgan Tuck 

 
Is Morgan Tuck left handed? I know the answer, but the way she plays she looks like she favors the left. Of course, she is equally proficient with either hand, and that makes it impossible to defend her. She takes position on the right side of the basket around 15 feet away and sizes up the defender. She ball fakes and whichever way the defender goes, she power dribbles the opposite way. In this game she drove several times to the left (see picture on the right) with great success.

Not a big statistical game, but she was still able to put up 12 points,  4 rebounds,  3 assists,  1 steal and 1 block.       

 

 

 

Breanna Stewart 

Yeah, she could have been POG as well. She scored 19 points on 7-9 shooting, with 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 1 block.

She just looked really good in this game. She made some moves I hadn't seen all year. Great footwork in the post. I LOVE the 5 assists. The best player in WCBB (sorry, Rebecca it's not Loyd) is as unselfish as anyone.   

 

Kia Nurse 

 

Say goodbye to the freshman wall. She hit two three's that were so smooth, so easy....it was great to see. And she really filled the stat sheet with 5 rebounds and a team high 6 assists to go along with her 10 points. The 6 assists is a byproduct of her playing a lot of point guard with Jefferson on the bench.  

 

Kiah Stokes

   I love the picture on the left. She is looking to make a strong move to the basket. And while she only went 2-8 from the field, she was aggressive on offense. That is so important for her to play at the next level. UConn doesn't need her to score. That is just a luxury. But I do expect that sometime in the NCAA tournament, she will make a basket or two that makes a difference in a game. 14 rebounds? She just grabbed everything in and out of her area.   

   

 

 


















Gabby Williams

Even in a quiet game she is not that quiet. 7 points 6 rebounds, and 4 personal fouls. She did manage to increase her shooting percentage by going 3-4 and is was great to see her pass for 3 assists. My favorite play was not her jumping through the roof, as she does occasionally. It was her with the ball at the top of the key and take her defender off the dribble with her left hand all the way to the basket. Did I mention it was with her left hand??  

 

Courtney Ekmark

 

      I've been after her to keep shooting. But in this game, I watched her defense a few times and she is much improved. She was playing the zone to perfection, jumping out at the ball, falling back to help in the post and then finding a player to block out once the shot was taken. Another game with 20+ minutes.

Her scoring numbers were down, although she was 1-2 on threes. She drove well on a couple of attempts but the ball rolled off the rim. On top of her improved defense, she was able to snag 4 rebounds. She is getting there.    

 



Kelly Faris

 

Kelly had a great game. She defended her popcorn from the fans on either side of her. She passed the change to the person next to her from the vendor with ease, not dropping even one coin. And she remembered to bring her UConn gear and cheer with conviction. Still an All-American to me!

 

 

  

 

There is a reason these two are smiling. As should every UConn fan!!!

 

*******************************************************************************

UConn's next game is Wednesday against the 4th best team in the conference, the Eastern Carolina Pirates.

Pregame will be out Tuesday. I'll have plenty of time home waiting out the storm. Hopefully I'll have power. I can't do it on my phone.