Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 11/29/17

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New haircut and new sneakers!!!

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Interesting game in Nevada. UConn ran out to a big lead after one quarter and pushed it to a 53-26 margin at the half.

But when Geno stopped the full pressure defense, this Nevada team played UConn even in the third quarter and was only down four points in the fourth quarter. Now, I am one to give credit where credit is due. The Wolf Pack did a great job running their offense in the second half when they weren't facing UConn's intense pressure. I'm sure some fans are saying things like "they better not play this poorly against Notre Dame on Sunday". Don't worry, they won't. I'm sure you will see the first half Huskies against the Irish and Geno won't be taking his foot off the accelerator.

So, a quick look at the positives, and there were many.

Kia Nurse, who I have said runs hot and cold was on fire. I mean BLISTERING hot. She lead the team with 27 points and was 8-8 on threes. No, I didn't mistype. That little hop step jumper on working! As much as that impressed me, I watched her run down an opponent after a teammate lost the ball in the second half. I mean, she put her head down and ran as hard as she could. All season long I've seen player on other teams jog back in that situation. It's what makes Kia and UConn special.

Azure Stevens had another big game with 17 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. She is just fitting into the team better and better every game. It's okay that she takes the occasional three point even though she is missing most of them. I still believe she has to take them to keep the defenses honest. And she will hit some at a higher rate soon. I do believe that. In the meantime, she is playing BIG in the paint, making herself available for entry passes. And boy, can she finish!

Napheesa Collier didn't have her best offensive game, but she is improving as promised in her over game, specifically passing for assists. She had 5 in this game. It makes UConn that much harder to defend.

Crystal Dangerfield did not have the scoring game we have seen recently, but her first half defense was terrific with 4 steals. She had two great drives with a teardrop finish for the basket. I love that move!!

Hometown girl Gabby Williams did herself and her family and friends proud. She played so hard and was incredibly disrupted on defense with 5 steals. She had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Nice job!!!

The game drew 7,815 fans - the most in state history for a women's game.

That's all for now. Great game and can't wait until Notre Dame!!

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Working hard on the Notre Dame Pre Game Report. Waiting until ND plays Wednesday night to finish.

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By David in Naples!!!!!

Five games into the season, UConn has some surprise stats leaders. For example, the leading scorer is Crystal with 75 points. Anyone think that would be the case? She also leads the 3 point shooting with 14 threes and a 52% accuracy rate. No surprise that Napheesa is 2nd with 72 points and Kia is 3rd at 70 points. The top rebounder is Gabby at 45 total boards with Azura right behind at 43. Megan Walker is a surprise 4th with 20 rebounds, behind Pheesa in 3rd with 38.

Kia has played the most minutes with 161 or 32.2 per game. She also has the most made free throws at 13. Amazingly, Katie Lou is 2nd with 11 made free throws in just 46 minutes. Most assists, Crystal with 27 and Gabby tied for 2nd at 16 with Kia. Napheesa has the most steals with 16, but Gabby is close behind at 14. Blocked shots are what you would expect with Z at 8 and Collier nearby with 5. Unfortunately for Gabby, she leads the Huskies with 22 turnovers, more than twice Kia's 10. Crystal, with only 7 turnovers, has an assist to turnover ratio of 3.85. (27 divided by 7)

Katie Lou being out has led to Z starting and everyone else playing more minutes. The Nevada game should pad many of the individual and team stats.

Go Huskies..!!

Part 2 -

Duke, 5-1 & ranked 14th in the country on the basis of cupcake wins, faces two certain loses in the next five days. Thursday, the Blue Pansies play #8 Ohio State and Sunday #5 South Carolina. Through the first six games, Duke is scoring an average of 73.5 points per game. Let's see how well they put points on the board against real teams. Defensively, they have held opponents to 56 points per contest. That will go up...