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Happy 10th Birthday to my beautiful granddaughter Mya!!!
She is so special!!!!
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No. 2 Notre Dame pulled away from No. 19 Marquette early and never took their foot off the accelerator in winning 87-63. The Golden Eagles played great in the first quarter and actually had an 18-17 lead going into the second quarter. But behind Ogunbowale and Turner, the Irish turned it on and took a 13 point lead at the half.
No. 13 Minnesota stayed undefeated by beating up on Rhode Island 91-71. One of my favorite players Lindsay Whalen is their coach and has done a great job with the players she inherited. If she can do this with those players, can you imagine when she gets her recruits on the roster? Her tough mindset and aggressive play is rubbing off on her players. They got to the line 40 times in this game. That is no accident. I'm not sure their talent level will let them go too far this season. But don't underestimate Whalen's ability to motivate. I have a feeling she is the next great coach in WCBB.
Another interesting game for the Huskies. UConn was able to beat the previously undefeated No. 14 California Golden Bears 76-66.
I'll be putting together post game report with all the details, but just a few comments now. It was not the way I expected this game to go. California did some things that were out of character for their team and that allowed them to be more competitive than I thought. David mentioned a few but since it's my blog and my writeup comes first, well...….
- They hit 6 three pointers in the first quarter and 10 for the game. They only average 5 made per game.
- They had 14 offensive rebounds. They only average 9 per game.
- They only had 8 turnovers. They average 15 per game.
These three things probably account for at least 10 points if not 20 in the margin. Hey, good for them for overachieving but let's not make anything more out of that than it is.
Playing in front of their biggest crowd (10,000+) in their history might motivate a team to play over their heads.
Bottom line. UConn won. YES!
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No. 2 Notre Dame pulled away from No. 19 Marquette early and never took their foot off the accelerator in winning 87-63. The Golden Eagles played great in the first quarter and actually had an 18-17 lead going into the second quarter. But behind Ogunbowale and Turner, the Irish turned it on and took a 13 point lead at the half.
No. 13 Minnesota stayed undefeated by beating up on Rhode Island 91-71. One of my favorite players Lindsay Whalen is their coach and has done a great job with the players she inherited. If she can do this with those players, can you imagine when she gets her recruits on the roster? Her tough mindset and aggressive play is rubbing off on her players. They got to the line 40 times in this game. That is no accident. I'm not sure their talent level will let them go too far this season. But don't underestimate Whalen's ability to motivate. I have a feeling she is the next great coach in WCBB.
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By David in Naples!!!!!
The formula for UConn’s win over California tonight had 5 parts.
1. Stay close- playing an away game, against an undefeated team, in front of a large & hostile crowd is dangerous. The opponent will be sky high, so keep the game close. Run your offense, trade baskets if you need to. Don’t try to win the game in the 1st period. Don’t panic. UConn was up 23-20 in a scoring bonanza.
2. Save your fouls - The Huskies had 2 fouls in the 1st period. One each by Lou & Crystal. Trading a foul to prevent a basket early in the game is dumb. You only get 5, save them for crunch time. Go into the half without anyone in foul trouble. Crystal had 3 by the end of the game. No problem.
3. Make your free throws - They are free, take you time and make them count. UConn was 8-8 from the line this game. Dangerfield was 4-4, with 2 to close out the game.
4. Push hard - the 2nd and 3rd periods can be hard on opponents if UConn runs & pushes the break. Use superior conditioning. Cal had 20 points in the first ten minutes, but only 26 in the next twenty minutes. Tired legs = poor shooting. Cal made 6 threes in the first period, only 4 more in the next 30 minutes.
5. Take away their best - Cal’s Anigwe was in the top five in the nation in scoring. Tonight she had 10 points on 16 shots. The Huskies doubled her and made Cal win shooting threes. They tried 30 threes, but only made 10. Fish can’t suddenly fly. UConn’s strategy worked all night.
Go Huskies..!!
1. Stay close- playing an away game, against an undefeated team, in front of a large & hostile crowd is dangerous. The opponent will be sky high, so keep the game close. Run your offense, trade baskets if you need to. Don’t try to win the game in the 1st period. Don’t panic. UConn was up 23-20 in a scoring bonanza.
2. Save your fouls - The Huskies had 2 fouls in the 1st period. One each by Lou & Crystal. Trading a foul to prevent a basket early in the game is dumb. You only get 5, save them for crunch time. Go into the half without anyone in foul trouble. Crystal had 3 by the end of the game. No problem.
3. Make your free throws - They are free, take you time and make them count. UConn was 8-8 from the line this game. Dangerfield was 4-4, with 2 to close out the game.
4. Push hard - the 2nd and 3rd periods can be hard on opponents if UConn runs & pushes the break. Use superior conditioning. Cal had 20 points in the first ten minutes, but only 26 in the next twenty minutes. Tired legs = poor shooting. Cal made 6 threes in the first period, only 4 more in the next 30 minutes.
5. Take away their best - Cal’s Anigwe was in the top five in the nation in scoring. Tonight she had 10 points on 16 shots. The Huskies doubled her and made Cal win shooting threes. They tried 30 threes, but only made 10. Fish can’t suddenly fly. UConn’s strategy worked all night.
Go Huskies..!!
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