No. 1 UConn Huskies Memphis
86 46
Post Game report
It was the best of halves, it was the worst of halves. Ok...that is a little dramatic, but certainly UConn looked a little tired after having one of their best 1st quarters of the season. All seven players that saw time in the game scored, led by Jefferson's ten points. Their press was sharp the help defense was there and UConn led after one quarter 31-8.
Once the second quarter starter, UConn started to look like a team that had played three straight on the road and four games in eight days. The adrenaline seemed to wear off and there were a lot of sloppy play and unusually tentative passing. UConn still outscored Memphis 15-10, but there was no domination of play as UConn took a 46-18 lead.
Geno was extremely happy at the half with the defense. He said he had nothing but good things to say. Shocking!
The second half was more of the same but the poor play infiltrated the defense as well. After allowing Memphis to shot only 24% in the first half, they allows the Tigers to shoot 50% on 12-24 shooting. Totally unacceptable. Now, watching the game, they weren't all easy and open looks. But still, the defense was definitely weaker. Part of that was the fact that Geno went deep into the bench and without Jefferson Tuck and Stewart the defense does suffer.
Overall, it was a good win on the road for three games. It's not easy for any team and UConn will be better off because of the long trip.
Game Stats and Box Score
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Game Quotes From Geno
“Maybe we need to lose a couple of times just to let everybody know it’s not as easy as we make it look,”
"Come March, the teams that haven’t grown up — the teams still playing girls’ basketball instead of women’s basketball __ are going to get (eliminated).”
“I’m going to be a lot fonder of my team when we get home. I’m 61; they’re 20. They don’t need any 61-year-old friends, and I don’t need any 20-year-old friends.”
"Getting off to a fast start is part of what we always try to do, it's just that sometimes it doesn't automatically happen. You just have to take what the game gives us that night. We came out more aggressive defensively [Memphis had 26 turnovers] and obviously they don't have the firepower South Florida has. It was a different night and a different group of characters."
Game Quotes from Coach Melissa McFerrin
“UConn is UConn. “I just don’t want to run up and down the floor and say we played UConn. I want to compete against them.”
"We had a game plan. And you can have the best game plan in the world, but if you don't execute the plan and allow them to do what they do well, the score gets big."
**********************************************************************************"We had a game plan. And you can have the best game plan in the world, but if you don't execute the plan and allow them to do what they do well, the score gets big."
Player Evaluations
Breanna Stewart
Stewart is clearly still in her shooting slump of the last few games. In her 24 minutes she shot 5-12 from the field and 0-2 on threes. Her last four games she has scored 12,13,12 and 11 points. All below her 20+ average which is now down to 19.3. The good news is she has 14 blocks over that timeframe and her overall play has been solid. Look for her to have a big scoring game soon.
“It was a goal that we wanted to get off to a better start,” Stewart said. “We wanted to make sure it was not a slow build up to start the game. We wanted to go out and hit them first.”
“I think the best thing about the game was the way we ran at them and pressured them and kind of made them feel uncomfortable,” Stewart said. “Especially in the first half.”
"There are good and bad elements to being away from home for this long. It's good because it's fun to get away and see different places and get out of Storrs. But sometimes you just want to be in your own room, in your own bed. But we are having fun."
It was great to see Jefferson has a huge game against Memphis after a tentative outing against South Florida, her first back from her hamstring tweak. Her shot looks smooth as she went 3-4 on threes. Much like her AA play of last year, she took over the offense in both scoring and passing adding 3 assists with no turnovers. 21 points in 26 minutes!
"I felt good [Wednesday] and my confidence started to go up. I've noticed lately that my elbow has been out [when she was shooting]. I've been working on keeping it tucked in."
“I was out (of practice) for a while so I was a little tired running up and down the floor and also using you legs when you shoot and that is a part of the hamstring (issues) so that is probably the answer. I was being timid and not really jumping like I should. I talked to Shea about it today and fixed it.”
"I felt good [Wednesday] and my confidence started to go up. I've noticed lately that my elbow has been out [when she was shooting]. I've been working on keeping it tucked in."
“I was out (of practice) for a while so I was a little tired running up and down the floor and also using you legs when you shoot and that is a part of the hamstring (issues) so that is probably the answer. I was being timid and not really jumping like I should. I talked to Shea about it today and fixed it.”
Morgan Tuck
Morgan had a quiet game and was one of the guilty players with her occasional sloppy play. She put in only 22 minutes and scored 9 points on 4-9 shooting. She played a little tired, which contributed to her two really ugly turnovers.
"It's especially nice when we get a chance to visit warm places. If you're going to go away for a week, a place like Tampa is where you want to be. If we weren't here, we'd just be hanging around on campus not really doing much but practice. But here we at least get to do some fun things and see different things. Sure, we are on the road, but the coaches know to make it fun for us so that it's an enjoyable experience."
Kia had another tough shooting game. It's beginning to look like this will be the new norm for this year. Hopefully she has a more consistent offensive game going forward against the weaker AAC teams that they play over the next seven games. She did a nice job handling the ball with four assists and only one turnover. In her 23 minutes she scored 8 point and grabbed 3 rebounds.
"The first thing you think about when you look at the schedule is, 'Wow, eight days away from home.' That's a long time. A lot of different hotels, different food. But at the same time, it's good just to be able to be out of Storrs and around each other, even though we are always around each other. You deal with it, take the punches that are thrown at you and bounce back from them."
"The first thing you think about when you look at the schedule is, 'Wow, eight days away from home.' That's a long time. A lot of different hotels, different food. But at the same time, it's good just to be able to be out of Storrs and around each other, even though we are always around each other. You deal with it, take the punches that are thrown at you and bounce back from them."
Napheesa Collier
So, do you remember the time that Geno say Samuelson and only played her the last quarter against Cincinnati. It was typical Geno, using playing time to send a message. Geno say Napheesa to start the second half, brining her off the bench in the fourth quarter. Don't be surprised if she continues to come off the bench and her play becomes more aggressive. She only played 17 minutes, 8 of those to end the game. She padded her stats a little late, but she did score 10 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. I just believe that Geno thinks she has a lot more to give.
Gabby Williams
I just LOVE this picture of Gabby. Pure athleticism oozing from every pore. She put in another solid performance but was probably the most guilty of the sloppy play. She played 20 minutes and scored 9 points and snared 7 rebounds. Right around her season averages. She also had 3 steals. But she had three turnovers and a few more mistakes that doesn't show in the box score. I'd like to see more of the Gabby from the first few games of the season. The next seven games will show us more of that.
Katie Lou Samuelson
Plenty of folks are calling this her best game of the season. And she did play 23 minutes scoring 11 points, handing out 5 assists, grabbing 2 rebounds. But to me, it's just a progression that we have seen since Geno sat her for most of the Cincinnati game to get her attention. Since then, her play has been so much better and it shows in the stats.
She is averaging 11.1 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal. More importantly, her shooting percentages are much better. Over the four games, she is shooting 47% from the field, 43.4 on threes. This is just not a one game aberration. Four games is a trend.
Natalie Butler
A tough game for Butler. It was great to see her play 18 minutes, but it appeared to me that she had some trouble holding on to the ball at times. She struggled to hit her shots going 2-7 for her 4 points. She still grabbed 6 rebounds. For those who said she couldn't be as effective at UConn, if you take her 5 ppg and 5.6 rpg in 13.6 mpg and extrapolate that to the 36 mpg she played at Georgetown she would have basically the same numbers. She is going to be a great one at UConn.
Saniya Chong
No much to say here. Geno only player her 9 minutes and she made a three pointer. Hopefully we will see more of her but it's always a game to game decision.
Courtney Ekmark
She took 4 threes in her 12 minutes and those were her only shots. All open. All missed. She just didn't look relaxed with her shooting motion. She should see plenty of minutes in the next seven games.
Tierney Lawlor
3 minutes.
Brianna Pulido
3 minutes
Final Thoughts
I'm sure the team and the coaching staff is ready to spend some time at home. Four games in eight days are brutal, no matter who the opponent is. They will be coming home to play Temple Saturday.
The Owls are now 11-5 and defeated No. 20 Florida in the first game of the season. They are second in the conference at 5-1. Tonya has a great season going and has a good chance to make the tourney.
So, the big question is......did Katie Lou snag that fifth starter from Collier. I believe that Geno really likes her versatility in the lineup. Her outside shooting should free up some space for Stewart and Tuck. I like it because it gives UConn a 6'4", 6'3" and 6'2" front line. Tough to match up with.
I watched with amazement when UConn actually had 6'5", 6'4", 6'3", 6'2" and 6' on the court at the same time. It should be interesting to see if he does that again in the future.
GO HUSKIES!!!!
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