Doggydaddy's Den: DoggyDaddy's Dailies 3/8/16

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Stewart tried to put a championship hat Coach Daily's head and it was the first time Monday night that she wasn't able to do what she wanted on the basketball court. I believe Chris said "I don't wear hats".

UConn put a hurting on USF after another slow first quarter. The Bulls took the game right to UConn, taking a 9-5 early lead before settling in on a 14-13 lead after one quarter. UConn missed a lot of shots they usually make, but that wouldn't last long.

The Huskies took over with great defense and excellent execution on offense. It was still close, 17-17 at the 7 minutes mark, but a Stewie jumper and free throw started a UConn 15-2 run punctuated by a Katie Lou three pointer. USF's Ferreria came back with a tough three pointer of her own, but a great offensive rebound and put back by Gabby Williams  with three seconds left in the quarter gave UConn a 36-24 lead at the half.

The third quarter was clinic in overall play. They hit over 70% from the field for the quarter, with several steals that led to easy baskets. They just looked at the top of their game and there was nothing USF could do about it. The Huskies pulled away to a 19 point lead on a Nurse three 4 minutes into the quarter and it looks like UConn would pull even more away. But Courtney Williams finally woke up, hitting two tough threes, the second after stripping Stewart of the ball to help USF close to 13 with four minutes left in the quarter. But UConn wouldn't let them get any closer. Samuelson hit a big three, Tuck and Stewart hit nice layups and Stewart capped the quarter off with a left wing three pointer to push the lead to 59-40 after three.

UConn pushed the lead to 28 with a 12-3 start of the fourth quarter and Geno started subbing in the bench to finish the game. Not a lot of scoring at that point and UConn ended up with their 77-51 margin.

UConn only went 6 deep in this game, as Geno played his starters all over 34 minutes except for Nurse, who had 27 minutes. Williams had 18 really effective minutes off the bench. All six players did well and contributed in their own was.

Jefferson was like a women possessed in denying Courtney Williams the ball with her face-guarding defensive effort. She held her to 1-6 shooting in the early going and it really set the tone for the UConn defense.

Tuck was dynamite on the offensive end, finishing strong and driving hard to the hoop. She even made a three points. Nurse was really solid in her effort as she added 9 points. She his a key three and her defense was as usual - outstanding.

Katie Lou was terrific. I love that it doesn't matter when she misses threes early. She was 0-3 and then hit her next three. But her defense, rebounding and drives to the basket were very unfreshman like. She is really getting it.

Gabby off the bench was a terrific spark whenever she came into the game. She skied for rebounds, hit putbacks, hit a nice jumper and defended like crazy against Courtney Williams when Jefferson needed a break in covering her.

But it was Stewart again who dominated the game. Her long arms were a factor in almost every USF offensive possession. She blocked seven shots and is now only one behind Rebecca Lobo to the most blocked shots at UConn and that record should be Stewie's sometime in the next game. Breanna won the tournament Most Outstanding Player. And well deserved.

Now, the Huskies get a lot of rest before playing their first NCAA tournament game. As we all wait for the Selection Show, just remember that there is only 6 more games to see Stewart, Jefferson and Tuck play together. It's been something special and I'm hoping there is a great ending to this wonderful Class of 2012-16!!!!

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In the Big 12 final, Baylor looked really good in beating up on Texas. Alexis Jones, the Duke transfer was outstanding in this game, as well as Nina Davis. Their freshman big, Beatrice Mompremier, was outstanding throughout the game, playing tough defense and gave Baylor an offensive option down low to free up Davis.

Baylor is going to be a handful for any team in the tournament, including UConn and Notre Dame.

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From David in Naples

Going into tonight's AAC tournament final against USF, Breanna Stewart has 100 blocked shots and 122 assists. That is noteworthy because it is such an odd combination. Big players block lots of shots. They don't normally get lots of assists. Stewie is not your average big player. Last year she had 104 blocks and 122 assists. Two years ago Stewart had 110 blocked shots and 122 assists. That is not a misprint, Stewie has had 122 assists in each of the last 3 seasons..!! Of course, that average will go up this season with seven more games possible.

Stewie now has over 400 assists and 388 blocked shots. That was an NCAA record back when it was 300/300 assists and blocks. Oh yeah, she also has 140 made three point shots, 170 steals and 1,110 total rebounds. And then there is the 2,532 points.. Yeah, Stewie is no ordinary big...