***********************************************
UConn 83 Xavier 32
Ok, admit it. After Paige threw that long pass and landed funny on her ankle, you thought it was over. This magical freshman season would be derailed by an injury where there was no contact from another player. The cruelest of the cruel scenarios, and he happened on a cold afternoon in Cincinnati of all places. I know I thought so. I watched her hobble to the bench, face contorted in pain, her arms pounding the seat where she was going to spend the rest of the game.
I'm thinking, how would Geno handle this devastating blow to the team? Who would pick up the slack?
Then after several minutes, the announcer says that Paige is sitting on the floor in front of the official scorers table. I thought, "nice, she is resting there".... And then I realized she was there to come into the game at the next whistle. That game break where she could head back on the floor couldn't come fast enough. And in typical Paige dramatics, once in the game, she took a pass to where she was standing outside the arc and BOOM, she calmly hit a three pointer and stayed in the game before finally leaving sometime in the fourth quarter. No limp. Nothing. Like it never happened.
Geno said in his post game interview, that when he went over to her and asked if she would be OK by the NCAA tournament, he couldn't repeat what she replied to him. Damn, she is special.
So, the game? Well, it went as one would expect. UConn didn't have the big offensive game, but on the road with a different back round on the basket, the long range shooting was way off. They still managed 83 points, but the defense was once again the big story, holding Xavier to 32 points. And several of their baskets were just prayers that went in. A great job once against by Williams, but really, just the entire team from beginning to end.
Geno is extremely pleased with the direction of the team at this time. I like how he is still using the 7 player rotation the entire first half and most of the third quarter. With fewer games, he need to get those players as much time together as possible in each game. I know fans like to see more of the bench, and maybe Mir McLean earned a few more in this game, but he knows what he is doing.
The Player of the Game to me was Aaliyah Edwards, the amazing 6'3" powerful freshman forward. She played 26 minutes and she had 16 points on 7-9 shooting, 2-2 from the free throw line (a nice improvement) and grabbed 11 rebounds for her first double double of her career. I would venture a guess it won't be her last one this year.
Christyn Williams had another nice game in her 35 minutes. She was very active and went 9-16 from the field, 2-5 on threes for her 22 points to lead the team in scoring again.
I loved Evina Westbrooks game in this one. She still can't hit the broad side of a barn from outside but she managed to score 8 points, grab 9 rebounds and hand out 5 assists. She added 3 steals and 2 blocks. And all this in only 25 minutes.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa once again had a really solid game. In her 24 minutes she had 11 points, 8 rebounds and some of the sweets assists you will see from a post player. Six of them. I'm thinking she might be the best passing center in WCBB.
And wait....who am I forgetting among the starters? Hmmmm......
Oh yeah. Paige Bueckers. Amazing that I'm mentioning her last among the starters. Just giving her a rest. Geno did only play her 30 minutes, but she was just dynamic as always. Sh struggled from deep, so her scoring was down at only 11 points, but she added 7 assists and only 2 turnovers. That 3/4 court chest pass to Williams (great catch) was just something you don't see in women's college basketball. And so accurate.
Not much to say on the other bench contributions. Griffin didn't fill the scoreboard but impacted the game in her 11 minutes. I was really impressed with Piath Gabriel. She looks good every time I see her play. She can really move for a big girl and has soft hands. I would love to see more of her. She might surprise everyone before her career is over. She has some skills.
UConn next plays Creighton on Thursday so plenty of time for Paige to get treatment and some rest on that ankle. It will probably be something to keep an eye on the rest of the season.
I'm sure I will read some fans all worried about the Creighton game. The Bluejays defeated DePaul Saturday 83-72 on the Blue Demon's court. Definitely a big surprise considering Creighton came into this game 6-8 on the season. They were just hot, hitting 8-15 on threes. The DePaul defense was just non-existent.
Just remember that UConn's defense is not anything close to the DePaul defense and that UConn actually played Creighton earlier in the season winning 80-47. More on this rematch later in the week. But let me say my prediction won't be much different than the result of the first match up.
************************************************************
INTERVIEWS AND HIGHLIGHTS
********************************************************
Ten Top 25 games involving 13 Top 25 teams.
No. 2 South Carolina vs No. 17 Kentucky - Can Dawn get her team's head on straight after losses to Connecticut and now Tennessee? Can Kentucky be Dr. Jekyll and not Mr. Hyde in this game? Go with SC in this one. Especially at home.
No. 3 Louisville at Florida State - ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz.........Louisville. They already beat FSU by 28 points earlier in the season.
No. 4 North Carolina State vs North Carolina - Ooooo, an in-state rivalry game. Love these. The Tarheels already upset the Wolfpack 2 weeks ago. Can it happen again? Take NCST at home.
No. 5 Texas A&M at Ole Miss - Ole Miss is a tough out for anyone. But Texas A&M is tougher.
No. 7 Baylor at Oklahoma - This game could be interesting for a little while. Oklahoma's Robertson is capable of keeping it close with her three point range. But Baylor too big and strong.
No. 8 UCLA vs Oregon State - Oregon State just doesn't have it this year and UCLA has been on a roll. Go with the Bruins.
No. 11 Michigan vs No. 15 Ohio State - Hard to care about this game considering OSU is disqualified from any post season play. Michigan wins at home.
No. 13 Oregon at USC - USC could surprise in this one. More likely Oregon prevails. It is at USC so under double digits.
No. 18 Arkansas at LSU - Hot shooting vs tough perimeter defense? I'll go with the shooters but a close game for the Tigers at home.
No. 21 Tennessee at No. 22 Georgia - Tennessee coming off a big home win. Can they carry the momentum into this game on the road? I think (sadly) that the Lady Vols are for real. A win over the Bulldogs is in the cards.
********************************************************
No game impacted by Covid-19.
As the cases go down nationwide, the postponements are going down too.
**************************************************
By David in Naples
Under most circumstances, it would be hard for Xavier to beat UConn in a 40 minute game. The X ladies spotted the Huskies 20 points in the first 10 minutes and never recovered. Here’s the formula Xavier used to lose before the 2nd period even started.
1. Shoot 3-18 from the field, 20%.
2. Commit 4 turnovers.
3. Go 0-3 from outside the 3 pt arc.
4. Let UConn shoot 60% from the field on 12-20 shooting.
5. Get out rebounded 14-6.
6. End the quarter down 26-6.
Against UConn, that makes for a long day and a 51 point loss.
Go Huskies..!
1. Shoot 3-18 from the field, 20%.
2. Commit 4 turnovers.
3. Go 0-3 from outside the 3 pt arc.
4. Let UConn shoot 60% from the field on 12-20 shooting.
5. Get out rebounded 14-6.
6. End the quarter down 26-6.
Against UConn, that makes for a long day and a 51 point loss.
Go Huskies..!
***************************************************
No. 9 Maryland 94 Minnesota 62 - Ashley Owusu scored 24 points with eight assists and No. 9 Maryland completed a season sweep of Minnesota with a 94-62 victory Saturday. Diamond Miller added 20 points with three steals and Katie Benzan finished with 17 points for the Terrapins, who have won five consecutive games by an average of 35 points. Maryland stifled Minnesota with its pressure and scored 23 points off 13 turnovers. Kadi Sissoko led Minnesota with 16 points and seven rebounds. Sissoko has scored in double figures 12 times this season. Chloe Bibby added 10 points for the Terrapins, who shot 55%. Maryland played up-tempo and a layup by Benzan provided a 33-13 lead midway through the second quarter before Minnesota’s Jasmine Powell scored and Sissoko responded with back-to-back field goals. Two free throws by Miller gave the Terps a 49-25 lead at the break. A 3-pointer by Taisiya Kozlova gave Maryland a 70-37 lead late in third quarter and Frese was able to freely rotate the lineup. The Terrapins took advantage of their size and outscored the Golden Gophers 44-26 inside the paint and outrebounded them 33-28.
No. 12 South Florida 78 Tulane 69 - Bethy Mununga scored 17 points and grabbed 17 rebounds and No. 12 South Florida pulled away from Tulane for a 78-69 victory on Saturday night. Sydni Harvey scored 16 points and Elena Tsineke 13 for South Florida. Arsula Clark made a pair of free throws to bring the Green Wave within 69-65 with 2:48 left. But Harvey sank a pair of foul shots and Elisa Pinzan and Mununga made layups in consecutive possessions and the Bulls were never threatened again. Tulane led 21-18 after the first quarter, but Shae Leverett scored three layups in four possessions to start the second and the Bulls never trailed again. After a 30-all tie at intermission, Tsineke sank a 3-pointer and South Florida led the rest of the way. Jerkaila Jordan scored 29 points for Tulane. Clark scored 20 points and made all 12 of her foul shots. Dynah Jones had 12 points.
No. 16 Gonzaga 69 San Diego 47 - Jill Townsend scored 16 points, Kayleigh Truong added 13 and No. 16 Gonzaga bounced back after its first loss in more than two months with a 69-47 win over San Diego on Saturday. Townsend scored just three points in a 61-56 loss to BYU on Thursday but had 12 points in the first quarter when the Bulldogs raced to a 23-10 lead. Gonzaga hit 10 of 17 shots shots in the first quarter, including three 3s. Melody Kempton had 10 points for Gonzaga (19-3, 14-1 West Coast Conference), which has won 10-straight in the series. Jenn Wirth had 12 rebounds. Steph Gorman had 13 points for the Toreros and Myah Pace added 11. Second-leading scorer Jordyn Edwards did not play and forward Kendall Bird left the game midway through the first quarter with an injury and didn’t return. Edwards and Bird had started every game. San Diego, which allows 58.5 points and is second in the nation with 14.1 steals a game, only forced Gonzaga into 14 turnovers, seven of them steals.
No. 19 DePaul 72 Creighton 83 - After surviving second-half comebacks by Seton Hall and Xavier in their previous two games, the No. 19/19 Blue Demons were unable to find a way to fend off the Bluejays for almost the entire game, falling 83-72. Creighton shot a season-high 58% (29-50) from the field and outrebounded DePaul 41-27, while holding the Blue Demons to their third-lowest total point output this season. DePaul now falls into a tie with Marquette in the loss column. The Blue Demons put up 26 more shots than Creighton did today. DePaul had no starter shooting less than 42% from the field prior to today's game. DePaul forced a Creighton season-high 22 turnovers, with Held (17 points) notching a career-high seven steals. Sonya Morris added 17 points and six rebounds. Three-pointers by Dee Bekelja and Deja Church cut the Bluejays' lead to 63-58 in the fourth quarter, but the Blue Demons finished the game shooting 5-15 from the field.
No. 19 West Virginia 81 TCU 78 - The No. 19/24-ranked West Virginia defeated TCU 81-78 Saturday at the Coliseum. WVU was led by sophomore forward Esmery Martinez who posted her 11th double-double of the season, with a team-high 21 points and 12 rebounds. She was followed by four double-figure performances from sophomore guard Kirsten Deans (15 points), redshirt senior guard Kysre Gondrezick (14 points), junior guard Jasmine Carson (12 points) and junior forward Karri Niblack (11 points). The Mountaineers led by as many as 14 points in the game and outscored the Horned Frogs in the first and third quarters, while holding the advantage for 31:19. West Virginia then ripped off a 13-0 run to end the first quarter, beginning with a 3-pointer from Gondrezick. WVU ripped off another run, scoring nine unanswered points beginning at the 5:16 mark of the second. WVU continued to extend its lead with a layup from Niblack and a jumper from Martinez. Martinez tacked on another triple and junior guard Madisen Smith netted a bucket of her own to extend WVU’s lead to 14 points, its largest of the game. The Horned Frogs then went on an 11-2 scoring run to cut the Mountaineers lead to five with under four minutes to go in the quarter. TCU’s Michelle Berry netted a 3-pointer for the Horned Frogs to open the final frame. Carson then netted a three at the 3:02, but TCU struck back with a jumper in the paint. Deans made a layup, but TCU continued to hang around with another score in the paint. Hemingway and Deans netted three free throws to ultimately secure the 81-78 victory for the Mountaineers.
No. 23 South Dakota State 69 North Dakota State 60 - Tylee Irwin scored a career-high 31 points on Saturday night to help shorthanded No. 23 South Dakota State complete the road sweep of North Dakota State 69-60. Irwin made 11 of 15 from the field, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and made all five foul shots. Her boost in production came in the absence of Jackrabbits leading scorer Myah Selland and fellow starter Tori Nelson. Both players left the game Friday night with apparent knee injuries. It was South Dakota State’s 16th straight win, clinching the No. 1 seed in the Summit League tournament and at least a share of the regular season title. Paiton Burckhard added 11 points. Ryan Cobbins had 16 points for North Dakota State. Kadie Deaton added 11 points and Emily Dietz scored 10.
No. 24 Northwestern 67 Wisconsin 54 - Sydney Wood and Lindsey Pulliam scored 14 points each and No. 24 Northwestern snapped a two-game skid with a 67-54 win over Wisconsin on Saturday. Veronica Burton was only 1-of-8 shooting but made all 10 of her free throws and scored 13 points with nine assists for the Wildcats. Sydney Hilliard scored 15 points with five assists for the Badgers. Imani Lewis, coming off a pair of 27-point games that included double-digit rebounds, finished with 11 points and eight boards. Both teams shot 41% but the Badgers turned the ball over 26 times, which included 11 steals and led to 21 Northwestern points. Northwestern trailed by a point midway through the first quarter then finished the period on a 10-0 run. A 13-2 run in the second period put the Wildcats up by 18, their largest lead, before ending the half ahead 37-20. The lead remained in double figures in the second half.
No. 25 Missouri State 75 Bradley 62 - Jasmine Franklin had 11 points and 12 assists and No. 25 Missouri State won its 10th straight with a 62-56 victory over Bradley on Friday night. Bradley cut the deficit to 55-53 before Sydney Wilson gave the Bears a 58-53 lead on a three-point play with 59 seconds left. That came 19 seconds after Mahr Petree cut the deficit to two for the Braves follwing a nearly five-minute scoreless drought. Lasha Petree scored on a layup with 23 seconds left the cut the deficit back to three, but Missouri State made three of its final four free throws to secure the win. Abby Hipp had 12 points and Brice Calip added 11 points, five in the fourth quarter, for the Bears. Lasha Petree had 13 points for Bradley and Mahr Petree and Gabi Haack added 10 points each.
UCONN LINKS
Sorry if some links need a subscription
********************************************
Message Boards
UConn Territory - The best UConn women's message board ever!!!
College Fans Only - WCBB board where no holds are barred
Vol Nation - Tennessee women's basketball board
ND Nation - Notre Dame women's basketball board
Rebkell - WCBB for everyone that thinks they are smarter than everyone else
I'm always open for suggestions. Just please reply to this blog or email me at:
No comments:
Post a Comment