Doggy's UConn/Stanford Post Game Report

Yeah, I know the graphic above says halftime by the score. But it was the only one I could find!!!

So, another season starts and another easy win against a top 10 team. Amazing. I was wondering what would be different about this team. Would just the additions make them better? How many players improved from last season? Well, it might be too early to make a full pronouncement based on one game. But heck, that never stopped me before.

I will totally ignore the second half. It was clear they coasted, and when you coast you don't play with the same intensity. You don't finish baskets. You don't defend as hard. And when you don't pressure as much (Geno pulled back the reigns some) the other team when it's as good as Stanford is and will be, it makes a big difference in the outcome.

What I will focus on is the amazing performance in the first half. Teams improve as the season goes on. Specially teams as well coached as UConn. I can't wait to see how good this team is in March. In the meantime, enjoy the ride.

The first quarter was all Dangerfield. What an amazing coming out party for Crystal. Geno says he saw this in practice. She was 5-6 from the field and 3-3 on threes for 13 points. AND she had 3 steals. She dominated on both sides of the court. The UConn defense was dominating from the get-go. Stanford managed only 10 points on 4-17 shooting and 2-5 on threes. UConn carried that quarter 26-10.

The second quarter was even more impressive. This one was owned by Katie Lou. She had 15 points on 5-7 shooting, 2-2 on threes. And the defense was even more impressive, hold Stanford to 1-14 from the field, 0-7 on threes, 0 assists and 7 turnovers. Crazy numbers against any time, let along one ranked No. 10 and coached by Tara Vanderveer.

My player by player analysis won't include much outside the 7 player rotation as Geno didn't play the bench much. We certainly will see more from them as the season goes on. Molly Bent was the first one outside the rotation to see minutes and she did look solid. She still won't shoot but she ran the plays and looked more comfortable doing it. The rest of the bench was just working through things. Not much to comment on.    

           

Game Highlights

Game Stats and Box Score

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Game Quotes from Geno

''When you look at our team, by adding another player of her caliber and the way she plays, that changes the makeup of what we're trying to do. She's just so much more offensive minded and she creates a lot of stuff for herself and others.''

"I thought our defense in the first half was really, really, really good. The effort and the execution was good, and it led to a lot of stuff on the other end. That's kind of who we are: We try to create stuff off our defense and go from there."

"The second half was not worth mentioning. We changed our defense a little bit, and I must not have explained it properly. Because I think they thought, 'Coach said play no defense.' So I've gotta change my wording."

"We are tired. I can tell. You can feel it. This week will be better."

“When you look at our team, by adding another player of Dangerfield's caliber and the way she plays, that changes the makeup of what we’re trying to do. She’s just so much more offensive minded and she creates a lot of stuff for herself and others.”

Game Quotes from

Stanford Coach Tara Vanderveer

''I thought we did really well on the glass. Had we rebounded this way against Ohio State, that might've been a different outcome. This particular time, I think our problem was turnovers and a lack of execution on offense, but I think that will come.''

 ''Our young players are going to improve. I have a lot of confidence in them. We're going to enjoy the journey. It's a big uphill climb to play at this level, but I know our team will accept it.''

Player Evaluations

Crystal Dangerfield

Geno on Crystal

Whew....what a season debut. Breaking news is she was awarded American Conference player of the week!!!!

Hopefully you watched the video I linked about with Geno on Crystal. She is doing everything that she has been doing in practice in the game. And it made a great impression on him. And me!

In 34 minutes and was 9-16 from the field and 6-7 on threes for her 24 points. And she added 3 assists with no turnovers and 6 rebounds. AND 3 steals. A great performance.

"I was anxious. I couldn't sleep last night. I just wanted to come out here and play."

Kia Nurse

Not the opening game I'm sure Kia expected. She had been shooting the ball extremely well in the pre-season games. But she was only 1-8 from the field and 0-1 on threes in her 30 minutes. I picked a picture that showed her struggles. She played solid defense but not the offensive threat we all expected. I'm sure that will change soon. Hopefully against California on Friday. 

Katie Lou Samuelson

Katie Lou said she wanted to improve her overall game which included playing tougher in the paint, tougher overall and strong on defense. This game was a good start to that. Her defense I thought was terrific. I watched her closely defending small players on the perimeter and her defensive footwork was great. She kept her player in front of her the entire game. And her long arms got in the way of several passes. What I really loved was her drives to the basket. She scored 21 points but only 6 of those were on her 2-4 shooting on threes. Like the picture above shows, she was able to fight through contact to score. Bigger and stronger does her well!  

''When we're playing aggressively like that, we don't even need to set up plays because we can just get out in transition and run and get things off our first and second pass. And that's when our best offense is because we like to keep the game moving.'' 

Napheesa Collier

Not a great game for Collier. With Dangerfield dominating the first quarter, and Samuelson dominating the second quarter, Napheesa just seemed a little out of sorts, melding a little into the back round. She looked a little off and had 4 fouls limiting her minutes to 21. It was more than likely just one bad game. With so much talent on a team it's almost impossible for everyone to excel. This was Colliers turn with only 8 points and 3 rebounds. Look for a big bounce back game against California.        

Gabby Williams

Gabby is Gabby. She stills fills up a scoreboard. In her 25 minutes she scored 11 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, handed out 4 assists and added 1 block and 3 steals. Whew.  SO what is different about her this year? I think one thing I noticed was she was a little more aggressive to the basket on offense. And basically unstoppable. But Gabby lets the game come to her and in this case she was happy to let Samuelson and Dangerfield carry most of the offensive load. But here hands were in the passing lanes constantly and she just disrupts the opposing offense.       

Azura Stevens

It was a nice start for Stevens in her UConn career. In 22 minutes she had 8 points and 8 rebounds and added 3 blocks. She was 0-3 on threes but that will change. Azura is going to impact this team in a very special way. She made ONE play on a fast break that showed what she can do on the court, catching a pass that was way past her and taking one step and laying it in, all with one hand. She is amazingly athletic for a 6'6" player!

Megan Walker

Nothing spectacular, but Megan fit right in to the rotation. In 16 minutes she had 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. Nothing in her performance changed my mind that she will be a terrific player for the Huskies. 

 Final Thoughts

Well, one down and bunch to go. I can't wait to see this team on the court again. I have a feeling you won't see a second half letdown against California. The Golden Bears won their opener against Saint Mary's by only 7, 87-80 in a game that was much closer than that final score.

I expect a big win for the Huskies on Friday. Look for my pre-game report for details!