DoggyDaddy's UConn/Baylor Post Game



 

No. 3 UConn Huskies                                 No. 2 Baylor

72                                                                  61  

  Post Game report

As my buddie Gomer used to say "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise". When you listen to Kim Mulkey in her post game interview, she actually sounds a lot like Gomer!

Personally, this had to be one o f the most satisfying win for me to watch. From the beginning, this team for days was considered the underdog. Fans were dropping off the bandwagon like the sweat off of Dangerfield's forehead. "Baylor is so big", "UConn barely beat FSU who was without their best player Romero".....reason after reason with very little out there on the message boards showing any confidence in this teams ability to compete with the Big Bad Bears. Now, as you know, I did pick UConn to win by 4, so I might have to adjust my thoughts on this team as well. They are creating their own personality.

Right off the bat, starting with Gabby Williams's block of the 6'4" Mompremier's shot, UConn showed that Baylor's size advantage was not going to be the determining factor in this game. If you have watched basketball for as long as I have, you know there are countless examples of smaller teams taking on bigger teams and coming out ahead. This was just one more.

The game was a back and forth affair for most of the 1st quarter with Baylor taking an 11-10 lead with 3 minutes left in the quarter. UConn then went on a 9-3 run to take a 19-14 lead led by two big Dangerfield three point jumpers. What I loved about those jumper were the confidence that she showed in taking them. No hesitation and they weren't the "foot just behind the line" type. They were LONG jumpers with a lot of arc. I had seen these in highlight film of her game in HS. But to take those in a game like this? Whew!q

UConn took their first big lead with a 4-0 burst to start the second quarter 23-14 but Baylor showed they were not going to go down without a fight, outscoring the Huskies 12-2 to take a 26-25 lead on a Kristy Wallace (I told you I don't like Australian guards...lol) three pointer with 4:20 left in the half. The rest of the quarter, UConn outscored Baylor by 7-3 to take a 32-29 halftime lead.

UConn got some nice help from the bench with 10 points from Dangerfield and 3 points and 5 rebounds from Natalie Butler. At the half, Geno said he liked the way they fought Baylor. He thought defensively they did an "incredibly good job". But he added "our offense? I don't even understand it." He just wanted them to stay with the offense. To me that is a sign of a young team finding their way.

Baylor started the second half with a purpose, getting two quick baskets from their posts, Mompremier and Brown. It was the first time that I can remember Nina Davis not starting a half and Baylor going with the two bigs was a surprise. After Jones hit a three pointer, Baylor had their biggest lead, 36-32 off of their 7-0 run. It was then UConn's turn to go on a run, outscoring Baylor 18-5 over the next 5 minutes to take a 50-41 lead with 2:49 left in the third quarter. This run was a lot of Dangerfield as she had several assists and then she hit another big three to punctuate the run. Baylor wasn't done yet as they closed back to three, 52-49 behind the two Alexis, Jones and Prince before another nice assist from Dangerfield and a jumper by Samuelson gave UConn their 54-49 advantage.

Baylor had one more run in them to start the fourth quarter, tying the game 54-54 with Brown and Jones leading the way. Then, it was over. UConn turned on the defense, with Dangerfield using her quick hands to create two turnovers and UConn went on a 16-2 run to take a 70-56 lead and it was over. Stunning. The final was 72 -61 with Jones scoring two late baskets to make it closer.

What a great game and a great TEAM effort by this very young and inexperienced UConn team.    

 Game Stats and Box Score

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  Game Quotes From Geno

 

"I think we learned this understanding that this is the way it is going to go. We are only in game two and they have already been through experiences that you sometimes don't go through in an entire season."

"Relative to last Monday night, we really earned it. We were good tonight. We were good when we had to be good."

"With Crystal since day one it’s been a show me what you have and show me why you came to Connecticut type of deal. It took a while and we are still not there yet, she has a long way to go. But she was one of the best guards in the country coming in and were she goes from here will be fun to watch."

"Both positively and negatively, I am really struggling with what the expectations should be for this team. It has been a headache enduing thing for me because I have no idea where expectations should be. Those last seven minutes they surprised me in a good way."

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Game Quotes from Coach Kim Mulkey

"I think Kalani (Brown) getting in foul trouble early took us out of a rotation and things that we wanted to do. But again, we have to go back and look at the film and figure out why we got so few post touches. We're a team that has five post players that can play and four seemed to be the magical number tonight. I think they each only had four shot attempts. I think we have to ask ourselves was it foul trouble, was it not demanding the ball, was it the guards not being able to deliver passes, was it Connecticut's defense? So we'll go back and look at the film and get better."

"I knew they could shoot it really well, I knew they ran a lot of stuff. They did exactly what you expect them to do. I thought in the first half our turnovers and their ability to get offensive boards was critical. In the second half, I thought our turnovers and our inability to get post touches and late in the shot clock when we were on defense they hit big shots."

“Toughness. Just flat out toughness, taking balls away from posts when they threw it in there. A turnover here or there, just cuts for them on offense. Just toughness - that's all it was."

"Dangerfield? She just kicked our butts tonight"

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Player Evaluations

Crystal Dangerfield

PLAYER OF THE GAME!

Well, that didn't take long. Dangerfield showed all her stills in this one. Long range shooting, breaking any pressure Baylor applied, making excellent post passes, pull up jumpers off the glass. I could go on!!! There is no doubt she is ahead of where Jefferson was as a freshman and her play changes everything for this UConn team. 

“I loved it. Especially the introduction and the banner coming down. I think the home crowd helped the game go along, with their energy, their excitement with every shot, (overall) everything.”

“I knew sooner or later that the coaches would know that I am capable of it and they want to see it and they expect it so I just have to go out there and do it.”

Kia Nurse 

Kia started out slow in this game, a carry over from the poor play in the FSU game. A quick 0-5 and it looked like we were in for another uneven game from the starting guard. But she was hot in the middle of the game, going 3-4 at one point and while she was only 3-12 from the field, many of those were excellent shots that rattled around the rim. And she didn't let that poor shooting bother the rest of her game. She added 6 assists and only 1 turnover. Certainly a game for her to build on. And she was fired up as always!!  

 Katie Lou Samuelson 

In a game dominated by Dangerfield, Katie Lou just went about her business. She played tough post defense when asked, hit a few threes, and was 6-6 from the foul line. She let the game come to her and that is what she needs to do all season long.

“I think just the fact that we are going to put up a fight every game and nobody is going to be able to just take us out and think like ‘oh they are just going to lose this game’. We are going to be ready to fight every single game we go into and we know it’s going to be difficult each game, but we know that we want to be in this situation and we just showed that every single night we can have a different person step up and be a big key to our win."

Napheesa Collier  

One of many double double's that she will have during the season. She played tough in the post against the much bigger Baylor players. She just has a knack and nose for the ball. I love how she positions herself for rebounds and with those long arms can get to balls outside of her area. She did a wonderful job of boxing out as well. On the offensive end, she didn't score as much, but her baskets in the final 16-2 UConn run were huge! 

Gabby Williams

I just love the play in one of the pictures above where Gabby was able to take the 6'7" Kalani Brown to the basket. It's not the size of the player but the size of the heart of the player. I would like to know how the heck did she go an entire game without a rebound. Wow...crazy stat there! After a tough first half, she was just solid in this game outside of that rebounding issue.     

“I am definitely disappointed as far as how the first half went especially because I told myself I was never going to be in that position again and to be in it in the next game was really frustrating for me, but I was really happy how I came back from it.”

“We can fight, you know, we can push back and I think we kind of showed the rest of the country that it is not going to be as easy as you think it is going to be to beat UConn this year. We wanted to make that statement and it was good to see multiple guys, almost everybody that played, showed some fight and some fire in them.”

Saniya Chong

Not the best game for Chong and her minutes were limited based on the amazing play of Dangerfield. But while her stats didn't stand out, there will be more good play in the future for the senior guard. 

   Natalie Butler

Can we stop worrying about the post play now? Butler was just terrific in going against the Baylor bigs. She didn't look overwhelmed and in fact, outplayed both Mompremier and Brown in the first half. I can see her improving plenty as her confidence grows. Another 20 minutes in a game against a top team. Excellent. 

Molly Bent

I loved that Geno put her in a close game at the end of the first half. She will see plenty of playing time in the easier games. 

Kyla Irwin

Found an action shot of Kyla with Molly in the backround. My comment about Molly holds true for Irwin. More PT to come!

Tierney Lawlor

  

Not a game that Lawlor would see any minutes, but she is so intense on the sidelines. And the best three point hand slapper on the team!

 Final Thoughts

Well, I'm a happy camper!!!! Not much more to say.....lol.

So, the big topic on the message boards is whether or not Dangerfield should now start instead of Chong. I'm stunned with how many people are ready to throw Chong under the bus. It was one friggin' game, people. ONE. And it's not about starting, it's about minutes. And Dangerfield will get plenty. Geno won't bench a senior player for a freshman based on one game. It's just not going to happen. 

Shocking how the play of Nina Davis has regressed. Mulkey was asked if Davis was injured. She looked surprised and said "not that I know of". I hope not and I hope Davis shakes off whatever was bothering her.

Watch the post game interview I have with Mulkey. Is she on drugs? What a strange lady. She must not have heard the questions as she didn't really answer them...lol. 

I love this team. Any of the 7 player rotation can score double digits (yes, even Butler) and they will only get better and better. Over the last few years, you knew what you had. This year there is so much more room for improvement!

UConn plays LSU next. They played last year where UConn hammered the Tigers 86-40. More to come one that game later. I need a rest!!!