Doggydaddy's Den: Doggy's Doghouse 3/17/18

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I'm going to keep this here to remind you all to vote for UConn players!!!!!

Gabby - CLASS Award (voting ends March 19)
Gabby Williams | Women’s Basketball 2017-18 | Senior CLASS Award

Kia, Lou, Gabby, Napheesa - Hoophall Award (voting ends March 23)
Hoophall Awards

Lou, Gabby - Women's Citizen Naismith Trophy (vote March 19-30)
http://naismithtrophy.com/vote/

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Connecticut's Mikayla Coombs (4) in the second half of an NCAA college exhibition basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017, in Storrs, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill) Photo: Jessica Hill / Associated Press / AP2017

A tough ending to a tough season for freshman guard Mikayla Coombs. She will miss the rest of the season due to blood clot in her leg. Fortunately it was found by the staff and she will be fine in short order. It was thought to be best for her that she doesn't have basketball activities for a while. I'm looking forward to see how she improves in the off season.

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Some good games in the first round, but almost every game went chalk. Just a few upsets.

Two games of interest played Friday night was No. 1 seed Notre Dame and No. 2 seed South Carolina. If the left side of the bracket goes chalk, UConn would face South Carolina in the regional final and then Notre Dame in the final four semi-final game.

It was a crushing win for Notre Dame. Yes, a weird phrase, but when you lose a starter on a team with only 7 scholarship players available, it's a crushing win. Westbeld, a starting forward turned her ankle three minutes into the game and did not return. Too early to say how long she will be out pending X-Ray. When you have to play your starters 35+ minutes in a 1 vs 16 game, it's not a good sign. Fatigue can become a factor. Oh yeah, Notre Dame won this game against CS Northridge 99-81. They really did give up 81 points to CS Northridge. Another bad sign.

South Carolina struggled some against North Carolina A&T winning by only 11, 63-52. The game was as close as 8 points with 3 minutes left in the game. Wilson had her usual full box score with 19 points, 17 rebounds, 4 steals and 5 blocks dominating both sides of the ball. But she was only 6-15 from the field and had 5 turnovers. Bianca Jackson had a terrific game for the Gamecocks with 16 points going 3-5 on threes. Everyone else struggled for South Carolina and scoring only 63 points in this game is something Dawn has to be worried about.

These two teams, as currently constituted, will have big trouble against UConn if they do end up meeting.

I did pick one upset correctly (in my ESPN Bracket) with 10th seed Virginia upsetting 7th seed California. And in another 7/10 upset, Minnesota beat up a terrific Green Bay team.

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By David in Naples!!!!!

UConn will play two games over the next three days and hopefully, score lots of points. Here are the scoring milestones that the Core Four Huskies can pass with two good outings.

1. Katie Lou - KLS has 1,638 points, just 40 away from Shea Ralph and 16th place all time. Ann Strother is next at 1,699.

2. Kia - Nurse is currently 19th with 1,615 points and just 15 points from passing Barbara Turner for 18th place. Then she would have to overtake Shea at her new spot at 17th.

3. Gabby - Williams (1,510 points) is just 22 points away from Moriah Jefferson's 1,532 points and 24th place. Cathy Bochain is only 2 points beyond MoJeff. So, with just 25 more points, Gabby will be in 23rd place.

4. Napheesa - Collier is only 5 points behind Gabby at 1,505 points. MoJeff and Bochain are ahead, but Pheesa may just pass Gabby and challenge Jen Rizzotti (1,540) and Wendy David (1,552). So, watch for the neck and neck battle between Gabby and Pheesafor those 24th, 23rd and 22nd spots.

At this point, the goal is always just to win and advance. But, with the Core Four tearing up the scoring record books, it is hard not to enjoy these four special players. Given that Kia and Gabby are seniors, this is the last chance for UConn fans to watch and enjoy their incredible talents..!!

Go Huskies..!!

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