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Well, if you are playing a team for a third time in the same season, I guess you could call it a rivalry. It's just not a competative rivalry. UConn beat St. John's at Gampel in the first match up 94-62 on February 3rd and then two weeks later beat them on their home court 77-32. I'm pretty sure you won't see much different in this game in regards to victory margin. But the two games were very different in how they played out. I'm going to save myself some keystrokes and cut and paste what I wrote after each game. It should give you a good idea of what to expect on Saturday.
UCONN 94 ST. JOHN'S 62
The starting lineup was different in this game. Christyn Williams was on the bench with an ankle injury and Aubrey Griffin was moved to the bench. So two freshmen started instead, Nika Muhl and Aliyah Edwards.
Paige Bueckers had 18 points in the half hitting 7-9 shots and 3-4 on threes. She also had 4 assists. Muhl added 4 assists and 3 steals. She was all over the court. And Edwards had a nice half as well with 8 points and 4 rebounds. UConn's defense let up a little but the offense was solid outscoring St. John's 29-23 to take a 73-47 lead after three quarters. At one point late in the quarter Saylor Poffenbarger came in for Evina Westbrook. I really didn't make too much of it. I was glad to see Poffenbarger come in so early in the game. Someone said to me the other day that she would see only mop up time. The third quarter is NOT mop up time. So, play continued and all of a sudden I realized that there were five freshmen on the court for UConn. FIVE. That is just so amazing to me. I don't think I've seen Geno trust freshmen like he trusts these kids.
Geno in his post game conversation said "4 freshman and a high school kid"...lol. And he couldn't say enough about Edwards and Muhl. He loves their toughness. I guess Muhl sprained her ankle the other day and Geno said "She taped it up a bunch and played anyway. She's a gutsy kid, a real gutsy kid".
Final stats? Well, Paige had 32 points on 13-20 shooting. She was a remarkable 5-6 on threes and had 7 assists. If there is a better player in the country I haven't seen her. Edwards showed she needs to keep getting a lot of time on the court. She had 22 points and 9 rebounds. Muhl is showing how ready she is to contribute. She was outstanding in this game. Much more under control. She had 11 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. And she was 3-4 on threes. Westbrook was (turn you head away) 1-9 from the field and 0-6 on threes. She clearly is better when no one is guarding her as she was 6-6 on free throws. So 8 points but she added 7 assists and 3 steals. McLean had 7 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. A really solid game for the freshman. UConn shot 53.8% from the field and 45% on threes. And they had 27 assists and only 11 turnovers. Much better.
What you saw in the first half against St. John's was a championship performance. Great offense, great defense. You couldn't ask for a better performance. Hey, getting some rest and good practice time really helps.
The big three, and yes, it's the big three and not the big ONE, were terrific in this game.The two juniors, Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Ododa answered the question on who will be the scorers after Paige Bueckers. Williams was 8-11 from the field, 3-4 on threes, 2-2 from the foul line for 21 points. She just looked really comfortable in the offensive flow. And her defense was outstanding. Geno couldn't say enough good things in the post game interview. He said it was the best she has played all year and her defense on Correro was just outstanding. Nelson-Ododa was also 8-11 from the field and she hit her only three pointer for her 17 points. She added 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. A real solid performance. And finally the one and only Paige Bueckers. She was just her usual amazing self. 8-10 from the field, 2-3 on threes, 2-2 from the foul line for her 20 points. And she added 9 assists and only 1 turnover. Wow. Freshman Aaliyah Edwards was also in double figures with 10 points going 5-7 from the floor. She just looks so good running the court.
And it wasn't like the others didn't contribute, even if they didn't score much.
Muhl had 5 assists and only 1 turnover.
Westbrook had 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals.
Griffin had 4 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.
This was just a total team effort. They shot 64% from the field and 50% on threes. And they handed out 26 assists on 33 baskets. Amazing.
And I didn't even mention the defense. Let me do that now.
I never give the UGGY trophy to a team that plays UConn. I just don't think it's fair because we know how good the UConn defense is most games. But I'm going to make an exception. It wasn't that St. John's is such a bad offensive team, but UConn played some hellacious defense. The help defense was as good as I've seen all season and better than what I've seen in a few years. This team is getting it. They held the Johnnies to 32 points. They held them to 29.2% from the floor, 2-13 on threes, and forced 21 turnovers. UConn also outrebounded them 34-21.
Just a great job the the ladies on both sides of the ball.
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Olivia Nelson-Ododa (UConn)
Elissa Cunane (NC State)
Aliyah Boston (South Carolina)
Charli Collier (Texas)
Elizabeth Kitley (Virginia Tech).
Congrats to UConn's ONO, a great honor to be a finalist!!
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Georgia Tech vs Clemson
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Tournament starts 3/8
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Tournament starts March 11
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Tournament starts 3/9
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No. 11 Arizona vs No. 9 UCLA - very late game
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No. 14 Tennessee 77 Ole Miss 72
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UConn heads into this weekend's Big East tournament with no seniors and three juniors. Because they have been at UConn their whole careers, Christyn and Olivia are rising in the All Time scoring and blocked shots category. Christyn is currently #42 all time with 1,234 points. Next up for her are #41 Kris Lamb only 10 points away and Megan Walker just 17 points away. Morgan Tuck is #39 with 1,298 points. That is only 64 points away.
Olivia is currently #9 on the Huskies all time list with 194 blocked shots. Next up for her is #8 Maya Moore at 204 blocks. That difference of 10 blocks will probably be hard to beat in the Big East tournament. Hopefully, 3 games in the BE tourny and a few in the NCAA will be enough. Go Liv..!!
The third junior is Evina. She is currently scoring 9.5 points per game and has 114 rebounds. That ties her with Aaliyah for 2nd place on the team. Hopefully, she is rested and back to 110%.
Go Huskies..!!
Olivia is currently #9 on the Huskies all time list with 194 blocked shots. Next up for her is #8 Maya Moore at 204 blocks. That difference of 10 blocks will probably be hard to beat in the Big East tournament. Hopefully, 3 games in the BE tourny and a few in the NCAA will be enough. Go Liv..!!
The third junior is Evina. She is currently scoring 9.5 points per game and has 114 rebounds. That ties her with Aaliyah for 2nd place on the team. Hopefully, she is rested and back to 110%.
Go Huskies..!!
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Regular Season Games
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