Game Analysis
I posted in my blog yesterday that Jamelle was on the court right behind Katie Lou as she was shooting, yelling to distract her. I thought that was in poor taste. But I was hoping I was seeing something that wasn't happening. Well, here is proof. Her mouth isn't open but she is doing exactly what I said. The young woman on the right is certainly screaming. Not cool.
And it wasn't just Katie Lou she screamed at. She did it here when Kia was taking a three pointer in front of her. She really needs to stop doing this.
Game Highlights
Game Replay
Commercial Free
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Game Quotes from Geno
Coach Jamelle Elliott
Post Game Interview
"Our fans? I thought our fans were great. The response of our team was kind of like 'eh' we had stretches where we played really well and we had stretches where we didn't play well at all so I guess that is sometimes to be expected...I thought the third quarter was really good and half of the first quarter was really good."
"Crystal being out takes away one more perimeter player so we can spread the floor out as much, we need Napheesa to take shots then if that happens, which she kind of did in the first half. Napheesa, Z, and Gabby all prefer to be in the lane. I thought Kia and Lou were really good and Kyla came in and gave us some great minutes."
"The play where Kia ran back on defense, she deflected and we got a steal and outran everyone coming the other way and got a lay-up. I thought that pretty much typifies Connecticut basketball. I think some of our other guys would do well to emulate that. That was about as good as a play that I have seen in a long time and that is how she has been since the day she walked on campus. She is a great competitor and I'm not surprised she has scored 1,500 points."
"Crystal being out takes away one more perimeter player so we can spread the floor out as much, we need Napheesa to take shots then if that happens, which she kind of did in the first half. Napheesa, Z, and Gabby all prefer to be in the lane. I thought Kia and Lou were really good and Kyla came in and gave us some great minutes."
"The play where Kia ran back on defense, she deflected and we got a steal and outran everyone coming the other way and got a lay-up. I thought that pretty much typifies Connecticut basketball. I think some of our other guys would do well to emulate that. That was about as good as a play that I have seen in a long time and that is how she has been since the day she walked on campus. She is a great competitor and I'm not surprised she has scored 1,500 points."
Post Game Interview
Game Quotes
Coach Jamelle Elliott
"Well you never know, every time you play the game you hope it is going to be the one. You know we had the opportunity to beat them. Every time we play we have the opportunity to beat them, but it is going to be a tough one. It is hard to beat a juggernaut. You almost have to play a perfect game so, you know I am proud to be a part of this coaching tree. Hopefully [Geno] will coach so he can continue to give his coaching tree a chance to beat him."
"We are just trying to take all the positives. We scored a lot of points against the number one team in the country. You know, we gave up a lot of points, but we scored a lot of points and there was a lot of positives that came out of the players that we have out on our team that don't necessarily play a lot. They came in confident and gave us a lot of good minutes."
"I think Shanice set the tone, I think she set the tone with her outside shot. She kept us in it for a little bit in the first quarter. I thought Antoinette Miller came out in the second half and made five threes. You know any play that you make against UConn in a situation like this you got to be happy with the confidence you can take out of that game."
When asked what is the goal for the rest of the regular season she answered "To win every game."
Player Evaluations
Kia Nurse
No doubt in my mind at this point. Kia deserves to be an All-American this season. I can't think of a more complete guard. As Geno mentioned, the play where she defended the ball and tipped it away and then ran out to lead the break for a layup was pure Kia. In this game she had a team leading 32 minutes, sliding into the point guard position while Crystal was out with her shin splints. She had 23 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals going 5-10 on threes as she continues to lead the nation on 3 point percentage. Great game Kia!!! And great interview below. Love this kid!
"When I came here I wouldn’t have been able to say that I think I’m going to be a 1,500 point scorer. I’m really grateful for the opportunity and how much I’ve been able to grow since I’ve gotten here thanks to the help from all the coaches and teammates who have come before me."
"Playing the point is my old stomping grounds. I’d say thank you [sophomore guard] Crystal [Dangerfield] for that. But, you know, when you’ve been here for four years and you run pretty much a similar offense all the time, part of my job being an older player is to know where everybody needs to be when they need to be there. So, kind of just making sure we’re at the pace that we want, running offenses that we want and defensively we know what we’re doing so it was nice."
Gabby Williams
Another wonderful game for Gabby and if she played more minutes she'd have a triple double! In her 24 minutes she had 13 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. She added 3 blocks and 1 steal. Whew! She just makes it look so easy out there. On one of the message boards they were discussing how she would do in the WNBA. Trust me, she will be a star.
"I think this is when teams are most vulnerable after big wins like that because you kind of get a lot of confidence, a little bit too much or you kind of let your guard down a little bit. So I think this is the time that we notice that and we have to recognize that and know that we need to move forward."
"The 21-0 run was just defense and just overall energy and I think the focus turned up a little bit."
Kati Lou Samuelson
I could write the same thing I wrote about Kia, Gabby and Napheesa. Katie Lou has turned into a complete player. Her defense has been outstanding, she is rebounding better, passing SO much better and she is not just a long range shooting star. She played 26 minutes and I didn't see one sign of her ankle issues. That was great to see. She didn't let the Cincinnati bench yelling at her in the first half bother her shooting either. Great concentration. She had 18 points, 3 rebounds (I counted more), 7 assists and one steal. She had a few other tipped passes. Great game Ms. Samuelson!
Crystal Dangerfield
Crystal sat out this game to rest her shin splints. Hopefully it was a one game issue. UConn still scored 106 points but you could see that at times, the offense was a little stalled. Can't wait to see her play again!
Napheesa Collier
Another great game for Collier. She is looking more and more like the player we saw all of last year. She has improved her three point shooting to 35.7%, not far from her 40% from last year. Her jump shot has better arc and she is just playing so well right now. Collier played a solid 29 minutes scoring a team leading 25 points, adding 8 rebounds and a sign of her improved passing game, had 5 assists. She also had 2 blocks and 2 steals. A complete player. I love the picture I used from this game with her dribbling hard on the break. With her left hand.
"Crystal can see the floor so well so you know if you’re with Crystal and you’re running with her she’s going to get you the ball. She doesn’t even have to look at you to give it to you."
"We get a lot of assists just knowing who you’re passing it to and where they like to get it also helps a lot so the fact that we play a lot together I think helps a lot."
Azura Stevens
She is a puzzle wrapped in an enigma for sure! At times she just dominates on the offensive end. She grabs offensive rebounds (3 in this game) and knows how to finish when she does. In her 28 minutes she had 20 points and 10 rebounds for another double-double. She added two blocks as well but defensively she still had trouble guarding her man. She got plenty of minutes in this game, but I don't think Geno will continue that when Dangerfield comes back. Until she improves her 1-1 defense, 20 minutes is around what she will get.
Kyla Irwin
I'm so happy I was there to see her have what was clearly her best game of her career. In her 18 minutes she had 5 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. She showed me that she can play and contribute when on the floor with 4 starters. I'm hoping Geno continues to give her minutes like that and not just at the end of each half. She deserves it! I'd love to know what happened for Geno to start her in the second half instead of Stevens? Something she did well? Or something Stevens did poorly? Who knows?
Megan Walker
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For me, this might have been the most disappointing game for Walker. She played only 6 minutes and had 1 assist. All zeros across the board on the box score other than that one lonely assists. It figures that the only picture I can find of her was the shot she hit after the buzzer went off in the first quarter. I really hope she figures it out. A very up and down season for the talented freshman.
For me, this might have been the most disappointing game for Walker. She played only 6 minutes and had 1 assist. All zeros across the board on the box score other than that one lonely assists. It figures that the only picture I can find of her was the shot she hit after the buzzer went off in the first quarter. I really hope she figures it out. A very up and down season for the talented freshman.
Molly Bent
Batouly Camara
Lexi Gordon
Well, Molly got her shot blocked and the defender went nuts after doing it. That was the highlight of her game. She did play 18 minutes, but she really needs to contribute more while on the court. She was scoreless and had one rebound. She did have two steals. Now, that being said, she wasn't a negative factor while playing. She played within the offense and played solid defense.
Batouly Camara
Yeah!!!! No knee brace. She only played 6 minutes, but I thought she looked pretty darn good. She was 1-2 from the field for her two points and also grabbed a couple of rebounds and an assists.
Lexi Gordon
I'm no expert but I'd like to see her change her shooting form. I'm sure she releases the ball higher than this picture shows, but I think she starts it too low. But it was nice to see her get in the game and play double digit minutes. Too bad she was 0-4 from the floor and 0-2 from three. At least she wasn't shy about shooting!
Final Thoughts
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