No. 1 UConn Huskies Central Florida
106 51
God Bless America
GAME HIGHLIGHTS!!
Post Game report
Post Game report
Morgan who? Just kidding!!! But UConn didn't miss a beat without their Ms. Steady. Gabby Williams started and was just incredible. She was just dominating the game before leaving with an injury. I'll be honest, my mind raced to the rest of the season without Williams, Tuck not coming back, Chong struggling game to game, and on and on. When Gabby limped to the locker room and slammed her hand against the wall in the hallway, I'm thinking she hurt her knee. I mean, she knows what it feels like to hurt that knee and that this was it.
Thankfully, my paranoia was just that. A minor ankle sprain that she had hurt in practice and tweaked again was all it was. Whew!!! It was great to see her back in the game after getting re-taped.
I don't think anyone wants to read a quarter by quarter review in this one. UConn dominated having a 60 point lead with 4 minutes left. I felt for sure my 65+ point prediction was right on. Then Central Florida decided to make every shot they took for the final 55 point margin.
Read on for the individual performance evaluations.
Game Stats and Box Score
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Game Quotes From Geno
“We always want to make sure we don’t have to depend on one or two people all the time. I wish our guards would shoot the ball more consistently; we have stretches where we shoot great and make every shot, and then we have stretches where we struggle a little bit. Tonight, the only downside was that we didn’t shoot the ball well from the perimeter. But everything else, everyone that played did something well.”
“There’s a pattern to the way this works. When kids come in as freshman, they really do think that four years is a long time because there are so many more games than they’re used to playing in high school. It’s incredibly fast to process, even more so than they think. For us as coaches, we try to give them many opportunities to be cognizant of the moment because there aren’t many moments left. We hope that we can help them maximize and enjoy it, as opposed to the fear that comes with, ‘it’s ending,’ which is going to set in at some point. Between now and the end, I want them to really enjoy it, and it seems like they are.”
“Each week that goes by I think Gabby gets more comfortable knowing ‘when do I shoot it? When do I pass it? Defensively, when do I take this chance? When do I take that chance? She is finishing around the basket more, ”.
"When Morgan is out, it's not ideal, obviously. She's probably the most solid individual on our team as a player and a person… Not having her in the lineup is going to take some adjustment. …But it [Wednesday] was an opportunity for some individuals for the team to grow up and improve."
"You've got to keep your eye on the bigger prize. There's a bigger prize out there [the national championship]."
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“There’s a pattern to the way this works. When kids come in as freshman, they really do think that four years is a long time because there are so many more games than they’re used to playing in high school. It’s incredibly fast to process, even more so than they think. For us as coaches, we try to give them many opportunities to be cognizant of the moment because there aren’t many moments left. We hope that we can help them maximize and enjoy it, as opposed to the fear that comes with, ‘it’s ending,’ which is going to set in at some point. Between now and the end, I want them to really enjoy it, and it seems like they are.”
“Each week that goes by I think Gabby gets more comfortable knowing ‘when do I shoot it? When do I pass it? Defensively, when do I take this chance? When do I take that chance? She is finishing around the basket more, ”.
"When Morgan is out, it's not ideal, obviously. She's probably the most solid individual on our team as a player and a person… Not having her in the lineup is going to take some adjustment. …But it [Wednesday] was an opportunity for some individuals for the team to grow up and improve."
"You've got to keep your eye on the bigger prize. There's a bigger prize out there [the national championship]."
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Game Quotes from Coach Joi Williams
"They're long at every position. We didn't do a good job of taking care of the basketball. I told our team that it’s hard to pass over them, so you have to take care of the basketball. We did not do a good job of that. I think their length gives people problems."
"[Gabby Williams] Outstanding. I thought she was very good. She can be a dominant player for them. She's aggressive to the ball, she rebounds well and can take you off the dribble. I was really impressed with her."
"They've got great balance. Morgan Tuck being out tonight, they didn't miss a beat. I thought they were very good. Again, they're long. They can do a lot of things to hurt you. They can switch defensively at every position because they're agile. I think they have every weapon. It's tough place to play."
Player Evaluations
Breanna Stewart
Stewie followed up her terrific game against Temple with another great game. I loved her baby hook (above) in the lane. She tends to leave that shot short, but this one was a beauty. In 21 minutes she had 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Stat sheet filler!
Moriah Jefferson
The distributor!!! Love the dish above! Jefferson didn't do a lot of scoring. UConn's advantage in the paint was clear and she went in pass mode. In her 21 minutes, she was 5-6 from the field for her 10 points. She also had 5 assists and zero turnovers.
“We never know who is going to have that many points because the ball is always moving. Each game somebody else is doing something different, so it’s always exciting when you have a team that can share the ball like that.”
"There's nothing wrong with my head. I took a charge in practice. My calf hurts more than anything. But I am fine."
“We never know who is going to have that many points because the ball is always moving. Each game somebody else is doing something different, so it’s always exciting when you have a team that can share the ball like that.”
"There's nothing wrong with my head. I took a charge in practice. My calf hurts more than anything. But I am fine."
Still in her shooting slump. 2-9 from the field, 1-3 on threes. She seems to be in between a little on her shots. Do I shoot? Pass? Fake and drive? Just a little hesitant. But as I have said all season, she doesn't let that effect her level of play in all the other facets of her game. Defense and hustle as the picture above shows. In her 24 minutes she had 7 points, 1 rebounds, 3 assists and FIVE steals.
Katie Lou Samuelson
Not a great shooting night for Katie Lou, only going 2-9 on threes. But I bet Geno was happy with her play. She did have a team high 28 minutes. She is playing better and better defense. You can see her moving her feet better and not letting her man get by her as easily as before. She had six assists in the first half before ending up with 7. Ten points, five rebounds seven assists, three steals and two blocks. Nice!!
Napheesa Collier
I loved her play against Central Florida. She was all over the court, aggressive when she was on offense and played her usual great defense. In 19 minutes she was 7-10 from the floor for 14 points added 7 rebounds and her usual two blocks.
Gabby Williams
“These last few practices have been really tough. I’m glad that today was rewarding. Everything from practice transferred over, mainly defense. We’ve been spending a lot of time on defense; better ball pressure, getting in the passing lanes, everybody talking and being helpful on defense.”
“The mindset every time is to try to be a spark. I see where we’re lacking energy and I try to bring it.”
“I learned from that, that is not enough (to rely on just athletic ability. It is going to take working hard and doing other things. When you get tangled up like that (on the flurry leading to her assist to Samuelson), the defense is kind of frazzled, somebody is going to be open because everybody is watching the ball.”
Natalie Butler
I love these pictures of Butler. It shows a couple of things. One, her ups are not that bad. Certainly more than a phone book. Two, her use of her unbandage and splint-less left hand. She used it several times in the game. You could really see the difference in her play. And her stats speak for themselves. In her 19 strong minutes, she had 20 points on 9-11 shooting. She added 6 rebounds and 3 assists. And the best is yet to come for her this year. I predict Geno will get her into games earlier and more often.
Saniya Chong
Saniya played a solid 20 minutes. Like Jefferson, her job was to set up the bigs and she did a nice job of that. She only took four shots, making one. But she did add 3 assists and 2 steals. It's just good to see her pain free playing that many minutes.
Courtney Ekmark
Played 19 minutes of solid basketball. Made her only shot and had a really nice entry pass to Butler for a basket. She just doesn't hurt UConn like she did in the past when on the court.
Tierney Lawlor
I think she's figured out if she doesn't shoot, her percentage won't go down. 0-0 and still perfect!!
Brianna Pulido
I loved how aggressive she was in her few minutes on the court.
Morgan Tuck
She didn't play but boy does she look great.
Final Thoughts
This team is incredibly deep. It's been a long time since UConn has been able to interchange 10 players without much of a drop off. They certainly won't miss Morgan until the South Carolina game and the minutes that Gabby, Napheesa and Natalie before playing the Gamecock will be invaluable in preparation for that huge South Carolina front line.
Next game is Saturday at SMU (8-9). The Mustangs have been a tough out this season, losing to No. 8 at the time Mississippi State 72-70. They also beat Arizona, Kansas, Temple and Memphis. They are definitely a much improved team. Not that it will matter against the Huskies.
GO HUSKIES!!!
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