Doggy's UConn/Notre Dame Post Game Report

UConn 89 Notre Dame 71

In case you didn't see the game here is the full replay without commercials. 

Game Analysis

Well, that was a surprise. I did predict the Huskies to win this game by 8+ but it's always tough to win in that arena. 

It was clear from the start that UConn had the advantage in athleticism and speed. Even with the increased condition for Shepard, she still looked so much slower than the UConn players. Mabrey was able to play 40 minutes but again, other than her slithery moves to the basket, she was ineffective. Turner was not nearly as explosive as she was before her injury. Has she fully recovered? Young and Ogunbowale are very good athletes, but it was clearly not enough to slow down the Huskies.

As I mentioned in my pre-game report, it would come down to the starting five for each team. Neither team's benches are real difference makers. That being said, ONO was just terrific in this game. The stats don't really show how much she impacted the game. I'm sure Geno would have put Napheesa back in if Olivia wasn't doing the job. 

UConn didn't shoot well, but Notre Dame shot even worse. The Huskies were 45.3% from the field and 23.5% on threes. Notre Dame was 40.3% and 1-12 on threes. I think UConn just wore them out. UConn also outrebounded the bigger Irish 46-41. I didn't expect that.   

The game was both wonderful and upsetting to me. The outcome and how the Huskies came to play was just wonderful. The way Notre Dame comported themselves was very upsetting. I have more to say and show you at the end of the blog on that topic.   

Well, enjoy the highlights, interviews and my player by player analysis.  

Game Highlights

Game Stats and Box Score

******************************************************************************

Game Quotes from Geno

“We found a way to answer everything. There wasn’t anything that went down that we didn’t have an answer for. There were a couple times where we looked a little bit disheveled out there, but I thought for the most part we knew we were going to get our buckets and people took turns. Everybody made a play here and there, and that’s what we are. I don’t think we’re a team of superstars. We don’t have that Maya Moore, [Breanna Stewart, Diana [Taurasi] type player on our team so we’ve got a really, really good team that relies on each other and they learned a lot about themselves today.”

“Williams adds a really big dimension to our team. She’s fearless. You saw that. I was upset we didn’t give it to her more in the second quarter. I made a point at halftime to ask them why. ‘Did she do something wrong to you guys? Why aren’t you giving her the ball anymore?’ She was carrying our team.”

UConn Post Game Interview

Game Quotes from

Notre Dame Coach Muffet McGraw

“I thought our transition defense was poor. I thought our half-court defense was poor. Offensively, I thought our execution was poor, and then we lost our poise. And that’s unaccepted.”

“I was really disappointed to see the veterans that we have not rise to the occasion. We’re a better team than we showed. We’ve got a long way to go.”

Notre Dame Post Game Interview

UConn Player Evaluations

Christyn Williams

Well, guess who was player of the game. Not what anyone but maybe Christyn expected. This is how good she is. The more confident she becomes the more dominant she will be. I just loved her total offensive game. Driving to the basket using either hand, pull up jumpers and hitting three pointers, she was just dominant. She played the entire 40 minutes and was 11-16 from the field and 2-4 on threes. She added 4-5 on free throws for her team leading 28 points. Her future is incredibly bright.   

Kati Lou Samuelson
 

As the picture above shows, Katie Lou took a real beating in this game. An elbow to the mouth and one to the gut she was hit multiple times and kept on keeping on. She is one tough cookie and a great leader. After being shut out in the first half, she added 15 points in the second half. But for the entire game, she played her guts out with aggressive defense, tenacious rebounds and inspiring passing. Lou had a solid line of 15 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. 

Crystal Dangerfield

Crystal was the other player that played the entire 40 minutes. She is in incredible shape. Her shooting was off but she still managed 13 points, 4 assists and being the smallest person on the court, hauled down 7 rebounds. She took a beating from Ogunbowale, but never backed down. I'm just happy that her shin issues from last year seems to be a thing of the past.

Napheesa Collier

As DoggyDaddy, I'm familiar with the nickname DD, but I'm willing to pass it along to UConn's Double-Double machine. She had her 5th double-double in 7 games this season. She really had a complete game even though she only played 32 minutes she managed 16 points, 15 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks. She is just a nightmare matchup for bigs in the post. At 6'1" she just has the ability to dominate the paint.

Megan Walker

Megan had a quietly efficient game. She was solid on defense, timely with her scoring and did a great job on the boards. She has so much more to give and I think we will see her have some big games this year. Over her 35 minutes she had 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists. 

Olivia Nelson-Ododa

As much as Christyn Williams was a pleasant surprise, ONO was almost just as surprising. When Collier sat with foul trouble, Olivia was very effective in the post. She played a solid 16 minutes scoring 5 points, grabbing 5 rebounds and had one timely block on Mabrey. Man, I enjoyed that one. I loved her play outside of her stats. She looked like she belonged. Expect her to get some extended minutes going forward. She earned it.

 Final Thoughts

I mentioned the game was upsetting in some ways. Mostly how chippy Notre Dame was. We all know about the technical that Ogunbowale received for her nasty hook on Dangerfield's neck. A very dangerous play. She also intentionally hip checked Dangerfield and then tripped her on the same play. Nothing was called with the ref staring right at the play. And she also undercut Williams on one of her drives to the basket. One play like that was enough. Three? That's a big problem that Coach McGraw should address.

There was also the obnoxious complaining after every call by Mabrey, where one time she waved at the refs in disgust. Terrible attitude. I'm sure you all notices that as well.  

The last thing I want to point out is something that I don't think anyone mentioned. It was another Notre Dame unsportsmanlike play. This time it was by Jessica Shepard. I took some pictures off my TV so it's not real clear but you will get my point.

The play is Jackie Young driving on Katie Lou with a little over 1 minute left in the game. Note Shepard's arm extended toward Samuelson.  

Here is a different angle. Shepard is boxing out Walker from the play leaving a lane for Young. Note the large gap between Young and Samuelson. 

Samuelson is closing the gap as Young continues to drive. Note Shepard's arm is starting to extend as she moves away from Walker and towards Samuelson.  

Still a big gap between Samuelson and Young. Shepard's hand is now on Samuelson's back.

Shepard is clearly pushing Samuelson into Young with an extended arm. Note how much Samuelson was moved into Young when you look at this picture and the prior picture. If you watch the play you can really see how hard Shepard pushed Samuelson.  

Hey, it's a pretty clever play if the refs don't see it. But it was an injury waiting to happen and if not dirty, it's pretty slimy. Especially with 1 minutes left in a 19 point game.

I guess I can hate Notre Dame more than Tennessee now. 

                                                     **************************************

Next game is Tuesday at 7:00 on CBS Sports Network against St. Louis on the road. This is Collier's homecoming game.