Just the Facts, Ma'am: The first five minutes were competitive, but UConn pulled away fast and hard to cruise to their eighth title, crushing Louisville 93-60. Breanna Stewart's 23 points led five Huskies in double figures; she also had nine rebounds, three steals, and three blocks. The Huskies shot 53% from the field overall and hit half of the 26 three-pointers they took. Sara Hammond had 15 points for Louisville.
For the end of the road, badly timed congestion, dramatic debuts, and suitable finishes, join your intrepid and airborne blogger after the jump.
Adding to the list from yesterday and today: Santa Barbara, San Jose State, Army, several Washington players (real Huskies wear purple, woof!), Phoenix Mercury, Drury, Nevada, Bowling Green, Green Bay, South Florida, Evansville, Kansas, USC-Aiken, Pepperdine, Liberty, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Towson, Southeastern Louisiana, Dillard, Montebello, Northwestern, UNO, Butler, CCNY. (And at the very last, Cincinnati. I'm 70% sure the woman in the airport with the Cincy backpack was Jamelle Elliott.)
We've made our choice and picked our side. We're in the lobby of the Sheraton New Orleans, where Louisville fans are already starting to gather for the pep rally in an hour. Some uncomfortably lost UConn fans have wandered through. (I may be a St. John's fan, but I'm not lost. I'm wearing red and white.) The woman next to us is hoarse from cheering in Atlanta. The guy across from us is completely sacked out. There's a woman with a Louisville pocketbook, which is awesome. Looks like the rest of the band came in from Atlanta. This is going to be good. And it was amazing. Got some side-eyes from Louisville fans for my St. John's gear, but it's amazing how quickly they became friendly when the magic words "anyone but UConn" were uttered. Shelby Harper came down and mixed with the fans for a while. Two different people had Louisville bottle cozies.
Two different security people had issues with the laptop that I got in on Saturday and Sunday with no issues, but they called a supervisor, so there was no need to get angry, because no one likes me when I'm angry.
Seriously, this coaching milestones video is all the awesome. Some amazing coaches up there.
We got our seats upgraded for the final through a friend who had to leave town after the semis. It's awesome.
The all-time Final Four coaches video is very cool, especially when they go back into the history.
Dear NCAA, why did you have to inflict Kym Hampton on us? It's bad enough Lib fans have to hear her increasingly cracked rendition of the anthem every year, but come on. Can't you go find Tari Phillips?
It was 11-7 Louisville at one point. It's 48-29 UConn at the half. Breanna Stewart has been fantastic. Louisville has been extremely disorganized.
They're doing a fantastic presentation on the AIAW at the half, with some true legends out there. I'm so glad the NCAA has decided to acknowledge the AIAW history (now can we acknowledge the AIAW records, maybe?). I have yet to detect a flaw in Lynette Woodard.
If you want to beat UConn, you have to come at them without fear but with discipline. You can't let them run out ahead and expect to come back. You can't throw up fast, wild shots; you can't slack on defense; you can't let UConn have open threes. I mean, really, how many times can you leave Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis or Kelly Faris beyond the arc and expect to not get your butt handed to you?
Shelby Harper was sort of a spaghetti move in the first half, briefly coming in and jacking a three before going back to the bench. She returned when the game was utterly out of hand. That's pretty much when Megan Deines got her time, too. Monique Reid played like an idiot. On back to back possessions she didn't bother following her shot, then slapped Stefanie Dolson in the face. Or maybe that was the stupid foul when Stewart hit the three-pointer. I forget which bout of idiocy that was. Jude Schimmel kept committing stupid fouls, though she got her shot together in the second half when UConn got less intense on defense.
Sara Hammond played like one of the only Cardinals who actually wanted to win the game. You can't miss the open shots that she did, but she was going hard in the paint and fighting for rebounds. Antonita Slaughter was covered pretty closely, but she also got the job done. She's going to be the steal of the 2014 draft. Sheronne Vails hit one off a pretty feed from Bria Smith, but that's about all I remember her doing- that, and being the recipient of a lot of feeds underneath because the UConn defense wasn't interested in her. Smith made a lot of stupid mistakes regarding the dimensions of the court and the position of the UConn defenders when she got into her passing game. I like her aggression, but not her judgment. Shoni Schimmel played out of control. She's always wild, but that seemed more prevalent than usual. I think they needed her to show a little more judgment.
The biggest cheer from the UConn fans (and a few non-affiliated fans like your intrepid blogger) came when Heather Buck got the steal and the fast break lay-up; my memory is that it turned out to be the last basket for UConn, which is appropriate. Kiah Stokes also got in near the end of the game, but I think she missed her opportunity to score when UConn was milking the clock near the end. I'm really starting to think Morgan Tuck intentionally takes that one bad three per game just to remind everyone what number she wears. I still like her physicality, though. Moriah Jefferson showed off her speed a fair bit in the second half. She's a lot of fun to watch. Bria Hartley was all right- not great, with some dumb mistakes, but efficient when she wasn't making mistakes.
It's a good thing this was Caroline Doty's last game, because it's become clear that she's terrified of making a move. She dodged taking at least two shots that were within her game. She was okay, defensively, though. Kelly Faris was all over the place, and she did a great job getting open beyond the arc, both off the dribble and with help from her teammates screening for her. Stefanie Dolson looked more for her shot in the second half, but was always on the boards and looking to help her teammates get in position. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis was rock-solid. She's blossoming into the superstar she was expected to be. And so is Breanna Stewart. I wasn't impressed with her at the start of the season, and I'll happily get in line to admit that I was wrong, that the Stewart I was seeing in the first part of the season wasn't the Stewart that Geno recruited. She has such beautiful touch beyond the arc, yet can get inside and hit tough shots in the lane with a gawky sort of grace (it makes sense in context, I swear). She needs to get a little tougher about taking contact, but she's a freshman, she's got three more years to learn that, one of which will likely be spent getting smacked by Dolson in practice and all of which will probably include Tuck getting physical with her.
It took the officials enough time to call the elbow by Doty, but they did do it. Of course the UConn contingent objected to it, but if an elbow connects to a face, a foul is likely to be called, so they're just going to have to deal with it. Other than that, the refereeing was unremarkable. I think the crew showed great restraint in not calling the technical on Jeff Walz that he so dearly seemed to be asking for in the second half after Reid's idiotic foul on Dolson. You could almost imagine Denise Brooks telling Walz that they didn't want to humiliate him any further.
The UConn band was really loud. We were hearing them better than the Louisville band in front of us. (Though it was a relief not to be behind the UConn band for the first time in six possible chances.) The Louisville fans tried to get their chants going during some of the UConn musical segments; of course, the UConn fans got their call and response going at pretty much every opportunity.
Credit to the UConn fan with the ever-changing collection of signs on neon paper. I don't know how many of them she had, but they were plentiful.
We didn't stay for the official outdoor trophy presentation. Not for nothing, but I've been to more than my share of UConn love-ins. I think I'll pass.
UConn threw the haymaker early, and Louisville was unable to recoer. They beat Louisville at the game that had gotten Louisville into the championship game, while Louisville seemed to have been doing the bulk of their preparation by studying Cal's defense on them. How many times can you sag off Kelly Faris before you realize she might be having a good shooting night? Louisville did't know how to prepare and they should have known how to prepare.
But congrats to UConn. They played a phenomenal game, and got what they needed when they needed it.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
April 9th, 2013: Louisville at Connecticut
Monday, April 8, 2013
April 7th, 2013: Louisville at California
Just the Facts, Ma'am: Louisville came back from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Cal 64-57. Antonita Slaughter had 18 points on 6-10 3-point shooting, while Bria Smith added 17 points and six rebounds. Layshia Clarendon led Cal with 17 points.
For bricks, pride, tiny banners, and total exhaustion, join your intrepid blogger after the jump.
Teams spotted today: Akron, Louisiana-Lafayette, Ohio State, West Virginia, Duquesne, Montana, Central Florida, Spelman, Pittsburgh, Iowa, Mississippi State, Prairie View, Oregon State, Vermont, TCU, Marshall, Oklahoma, South Dakota State, Sacramento Monarchs, Atlanta Dream, Arkansas State, St. Francis (PA), Princeton, Clemson, Georgia, Carson-Newman, UTEP, UCLA, Purdue, Yale, Miami, Murray State, James Madison. Lots more Baylor fans today. Gotta shout them out.
The pitch of the arena makes our seats better than you would expect. The anthem was done by a local artist. She was okay, but not great.
At halftime, it's 37-27 Cal, and it could be more if Cal would stop throwing the ball out of bounds and if they could hit their free throws. They're 1-6 from the line. But they're owning the boards, and Louisville isn't hitting their threes. Monique Reid took a very hard tumble on a Cal drive, and she hasn't come back into the game yet. She did later in the second half, though, which is kind of reassuring.
What a heartbreaker- well, if you were rooting for Cal like I was. To see them come so far and then lose it all I think I'd be even more disappointed if Cal hadn't been so clearly outcoached in the second half of the second half.
It's a lot harder to see the fine detail from up here, so I apologize in advance if the notes are not as doomy as usual. Megan Deines played briefly in the first half and came in right at the end of the second to help give the stars their curtain call. Jude Schimmel complemented her sister well off the bench (though from up here, it's kind of hard to tell 21, 22, and 23 apart). Monique Reid got a lot of run in the first half, but much less in the second half. We'll see how available she is for the championship game.
Would someone please guard Antonita Slaughter at some point in the near future? You would think a coach from Brown and a team of players smart enough to go to Cal would have figured out that guarding the woman who hit three threes in the first half would be a plan for success. Instead, they let her get three more open threes. You do not sag off someone who has hit five threes. Honestly. Shoni Schimmel was distributing well in the first half, then got her shot going a little in the second half. That pass to her sister was a thing of beauty. Sara Hammond continued to be tough in the post. I don't necessarily like her, but she got the job done down low, especially in the second half. Sheronne Vails got the start, but with Louisville sometimes I get the sense that Jeff Walz picks a name out of a hat for that fifth starter spot. Bria Smith was very efficient and absolutely ruthless. She broke a pretty little fast break that got the crowd going.
Lots and lots and lots of red in the stands, in groups and singles.
Eliza Pierre's defense is scary. She was all up in her player's business (usually Shoni Schimmel) and gave them no room to operate. I love to watch that kind of thing. Mikayla Lyles played very late, when Cal was sort of throwing spaghetti at the wall. Reshanda Gray had an up-and-down game, and tended to make stupid mistakes right after making good plays. She needs to be more consistent.
Layshia Clarendon is amazing, and East Coast bias can do anatomically impossible things to its metaphorical self that I haven't seen her before this year. Stupid Pac-12 Network and its stupid disagreement with stupid DirecTV. She had ice water in her veins during the attempt to come back. And she has awesome hair. Talia Caldwell muscled up well in the post. Brittany Boyd made a couple of great plays- when she hit the three, I thought they had a shot. Afure Jemerigbe gave the announcer a lot of chances to get her name right with points and fouls. Gennifer Brandon rebounds like she has springs in her legs (and from overhead looks a little like a gazelle when running), but that shot... almost too strong for an offensive rebounder.
Cal seemed to get flustered in the second half. The perils of not having been there before, perhaps- they started throwing up bad shots and bad passes. The exceedingly nosy guy next to me (no, sir, you cannot borrow my computer, please stop staring at my screen) kept complaining that Cal wasn't dribbling the ball up. He had a little bit of a point, since Cal's passing was not sharp, but I don't think dribbling into the traps would have helped much.
The woman all the way at the end of our row hooked us up with nifty Cal cheering stuff. It was really nice of her. Signs! Tiny banners! A streamer for Moooose!
I'm very surprised that Cal doesn't seem to have done anything to address their abysmal free throw shooting. That was painful to watch.
I was rooting for Cal, but I wanted whoever won this game to take the title, so on Tuesday I'll be in red and white and cheering for Louisville. Anything to avoid another UConn coronation.
April 7th, 2013: UConn at Notre Dame
Just the Facts, Ma'am: UConn ended the first half on an 14-3 run to break open a close game and maintained control through the second half in their 83-65 win over Notre Dame. Breanna Stewart had 29 points, five rebounds, and four blocks for the Huskies. Kayla McBride led the Irish with 16 points, but on 5-20 shooting. Notre Dame shot 29.7% as a team.
For bricks, flurries of offensive rebounds, competitive spirit, quick exchanges, and Breanna Stewart's debutante party, join your intrepid and sore blogger after the jump. (Mama may need a chiropractor after this one.)
The second game is now settling in. The UConn and Notre Dame fans have deigned to join us for this one. They took their sweet time showing up for the first game, which is one of the things I detest about both fan bases- they both tend to make double-headers look really bad. I do love the coaching milestones they're showing here.
At halftime, UConn is up 10, and you would pretty much have to be a Boneyarder to have expected this. UConn put on a burst near the end of the first half that was reminiscent of what they did to Kentucky and Maryland. This halftime video about Louisianans giving back to the community is nice, but it's sort of funny when you realize Barbara Farris just left that high school. (But I love Barb. Anyone who considers not having an absentee ballot to be sufficient emergency to use frequent flier miles to go home and vote is awesome in my book.)
Okay, seriously, if you expected this, you are a passionate UConn fan and I salute you. UConn brought it. Bria Hartley was a little shaky, but she looked better than she had for most of the season, and she seemed to gain confidence from her teammates. Moriah Jefferson gave decent minutes, but not quite what she had been doing in the regional rounds. Morgan Tuck does seem to be possessed by the memory of Tiffany Hayes once a game, and I like her physicality in the lane. Heather Buck was the official victory cigar, along with Kiah Stokes. I was surprised that she didn't play more, but maybe her back was flaring up.
Caroline Doty got the start, but that's about it. Hartley played the starter's minutes. Stefanie Dolson got in the middle and made herself an encumbrance to the Notre Dame offense, but a lot of passes went off her hands- I think she got tagged with more than she deserved, looking at the box score. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis was solid, in more ways than one- I've mentioned this before, but she seems to have taken it to heart that people were just tagging her as a three-point shooter and has whipped out a whole arsenal of offensive tricks. I continue to be impressed by her development (or is it re-development?). And Breanna Stewart seems to have decided that she doesn't want to be considered overrated or anything like that. She just took over all over the court. And she looked like she was enjoying herself, which is always nice to see.
Geno got mad at a couple of dumb mistakes- blown assignments, bad passes (at one point it was pretty clear how he wanted Dolson to inbound the ball, and then she blew the inbounds pass), that kind of thing. It's sort of hilarious to watch him blow his top.
A lot of Notre Dame players went into the game in the last couple of minutes, when Muffet McGraw wanted to give her star players their curtain calls. I don't remember who most of them were. Madison Cable got a lot of run in the first half, with a little offense and an eye for the three-ball (even if she didn't hit it), but she looked a little like she was in over her head. Markeisha Wright was solid off the bench, including one pretty make on a feed from Natalie Achonwa. Kaila Turner got some first half minutes, but the rotation tightened up in the second half until it was clear-the-bench time.
Kayla McBride really looked like she was pressing, as if she felt she had to live up to that tournament average she'd been putting up. Nothing was falling for her. Jewell Loyd had slightly better luck, but not much. Ariel Braker pretty much tried to sit on a UConn player's legs in the first half, and she ended up fouling out- oh, dear, I wonder why. Natalie Achonwa was solid but unremarkable. She was okay on the boards, though. Skylar Diggins couldn't get her shot to fall, but she had some beautiful passes to set her teammates up. I like how she goes after loose balls, but she needs to follow her shot more often.
Notre Dame, would you please stop with the lime green? The Cal fan on my left looked at you all when you ran out of the tunnel and said, "I'm cheering against the green team." It is an unpleasant color, it really is.
The officiating got interesting, but it got interesting on both sides, so it's hard to complain. Notre Dame got the free throws in the first half; UConn got more calls in the second half. The game got very physical at points, because these two teams don't like each other much and they know it was likely the last time they were going to play each other.
Both fan bases showed out for their game- just not the first game. The chants came thick and fast, on each other's heels, over each other's music and All-American highlights. I really don't think these teams and their fans like each other for some reason.
Right at the end of the first half, UConn went on a tear that I think was the end of the game for Notre Dame. It's the kind of haymaker that took all the air out of Kentucky, and I didn't expect Notre Dame to fall prey to the same very UConn tactic. If the Huskies are on this kind of roll, it's hard to imagine anyone but UConn cutting down the nets on Tuesday.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
April 6th, 2013: Final Four Super Saturday
Your intrepid and verbose blogger hits New Orleans, and New Orleans hits back.
I'm not used to things opening an hour and a half before things are supposed to start. The gates opened at 9:30, and it's quarter past ten, and I'm expecting things to be happening already.
The UConn autograph line is already packed, and UConn doesn't sign until after 12. Good Lord, people. Cal's line is pretty much empty.
Teams spotted so far: Monmouth, Texas, Southern Miss, Wyoming, Southern, Louisiana Tech, Drew, New Hampshire, Texas Southern, Marquette, San Diego State, UConn (of course), Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico, North Carolina State, North Carolina (and I think she might have been Charlotte Smith, but we're currently having a philosophical debate as to whether known affiliation allows for a double count for Elon), Oakland, Cal State Dominiguez Hills, Sam Houston State, East Carolina (though they were here for the combine, so maybe that doesn't count?), Boston College, LSU, Ole Miss, Allegany, Moravian, West Chester, Vermont, Washington, VCU, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, Memphis, Cal (of course), Tulane, Louisville (of course), Notre Dame (eventually, of course), Michigan, Colorado State, Maryland (who are really showing out- fear the Turtle!), Wichita State, Baruch (CUNY up in here!), Arizona State, Oregon, NYU, Georgetown, Wake Forest, Richmond, Rutgers, Stanford, Detroit Mercy, Regis, Niagara, Quinnipiac, Texas A&M, Cal State Northridge, Baylor, St. John's (not us), Buffalo, Minnesota, Michigan State, Duke, Missouri State, Syracuse, DePaul, Delaware, Navy, Tulsa, Alabama, Nebraska, Illinois State, Marist, Temple, Middle Tennessee, Texas Tech, Florida State, Rock Valley, Harvard, Wisconsin, Emory, Maryville, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, one very nifty Canberra Caps Ardossi jersey, Seattle Storm, Minnesota Lynx, and Connecticut Sun.
I love marching bands! I love traveling fans! I love the tournament atmosphere! Boom de yada! Boom de yada!
I think ESPN is doing a piece on Shoni and Angel, because, well, Angel just wandered through, hair all slicked back and pretty.
The trophy is in the building. I got a picture. I have taken many pictures. I will take many more pictures.
The Golden Bears have rolled out, and so far the practice seems fairly serious, at least until the band starts up and the tuba stands alone. They're pretty loose, though. I'm not sure what my favorite part about Cal being in the Final Four is, the pleasant surprise or the Straw Hat Band. But this is so much fun, and they have more beads! Shiny things! The Cal players were really hyped about seeing their fans- I think some of the people behind us may be serious boosters.
Louisville's band is AWOL, presumably in Atlanta with the boys, so they're borrowing part of the Tulane band. They're doing basic stretching first, and Monique Reid is biking to nowhere. Seriously, someday someone's going to hook a generator to those bikes and reduce energy bills in arenas by something like 5%. The Dark Angel herself appears to be the Cards' special guest for this. I guess she's supposed to inspire them or something. Louisville is taking this practice dead serious- one of the grad assistants is handing out a practice schedule. Good Lord, that's neurotic. And the band came out late, so they are here. A bit disorganized, but here. And rocking the heck out of "Stayin' Alive" and the Ghostbusters theme. Louisville players are helping throw the beads now. Shelby Harper has no arm. Cortnee Walton does.
WBCA All-American team about to be announced. Elena Delle Donne, Skylar Diggins, Stefanie Dolson, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Griner, Kayla McBride, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, Chiney Ogwumike, Odyssey Sims, Alyssa Thomas. Delle Donne gave a little speech. Pictures were taken. Plugs were made. Alyssa Thomas immediately went to find the Maryland staff and Laura Harper (who just ran off to glomp someone)
Notre Dame's turn to practice. They have names even on their practice jerseys. They are really committed to that gods awful lime green. :( Niele Ivey is gorgeous, though. Absolutely breathtaking. Jewell Loyd had a fantastic tip-in from a very defensive drill. The band started taunting declaring their intent to beat UConn. And then Diggins and McBride danced with pom-poms.
Capital One is sponsoring a contest in which all the shots have to be banked in, which is a little ridiculous, but both of the contestants managed it, which is awesome.
UConn's open practice was mostly three-shooting. I took pictures, but that's about it.
Battle of the Bands needs to stop being decided on crowd noise, because UConn fans would cheer for their band if they just farted in a vague sense of rhythm. Notre Dame's male cheerleaders did a remarkable worm stunt six deep. Cal was musically the best. Louisville was outmanned and stood no chance, though the flip on top of the pyramid was awesome. UConn's band took direct aim at Notre Dame- both of them played "When the Saints Go Marching in". UConn's was technically better, but they lost me when they decided to throw in "Who dat say dey gon' beat dem Huskies?" You do not steal the "who dat". And then they decided to take an encore they weren't entitled to. That stuff gets you thrown out of band competitions in some places. Musically, I think it was close between UConn and Cal, but Notre Dame was good and had great stunts. But UConn fans... sorry, guys, but stop with the blind loyalty and get some musical taste.
High-schoolers have taken the floor. Tamika Catchings and Swin Cash are the honorary(?) coaches. What is with the neon green on ALL the things this year? Seriously. I recognize a few more of the high schoolers this year.
Tulane band was very disappointing. I assume that's not the whole band, but they hit several sour notes.
Purple starters: Jessica Washington, Saniya Chong, Jessica Jackson, Diamond DeShields, Stephanie Mauvinga. Black starters: Kaela Davis, Alexis Brown, Kendall Cooper, Mercedes Russell, a young lady named Harper whose first name I didn't catch. (Linnae?)
I didn't really follow the game, because I wasn't interested, but it looks like Arkansas got a nice little shooter in Jackson, and maybe Rutgers fans have reason to be excited about Scaife.
Coda: after we adventured on Bourbon Street and found it not to our liking, we wound our way back to Canal and public transit through a side street. Suddenly I hear "Rebecca!" We turn around, and there's Shenneika Smith. Of all the places, and all the people, and all the times... it put a wonderful capper on the day. We chatted about Jeopardy! and the WBCA team, and it was good.
Monday, April 1, 2013
April 1st, 2013: Kentucky at Connecticut
Just the Facts, Ma'am: It was a close game for nine minutes, then UConn outscored Kentucky 61-30 and won 83-53. Breanna Stewart led four Huskies in double figures with 21 points, and the Huskies forced 21 turnovers out of Kentucky. A'dia Mathies had 14 points for the Wildcats.
For blues, goosebumps, drives, fundamental flaws, and the shame of leaving early, join your intrepid and chilled blogger after the jump.
Don't worry, you've only got three more games of me after this, then you'll get a six-week break from long blocks of text, irrelevant parenthetical asides, and occasionally inaccurate analysis.
All things considered, there are a fair amount of people here so far, given that it's 6:19 and tip is around 7:30. The band and cheerleaders are getting ready to go- we're at UConn's end, which makes me a bit frustrated, but what can you do? Maybe we'll get enough elevation to see over the band pits.
This game was tied at 22. Heck, Kentucky had a 23-22 lead. And then UConn remembered that one of their other staples is stifling defense, and a UConn game broke out. Kentucky got scared, as if they'd suddenly forgotten how to play offense against stifling in-your-face defense, even though you'd think they practice against it every day. UConn broke loose down the lane. At least maybe I'll make the 9:38 train back to NY.
I decided I was making that 9:38 no matter what, so for the first time in close to five years, I left a game early. I don't enjoy doing that- I feel guilty, as if not getting my money's worth, but not getting my money's worth is not worth shivering my way through an hour on a Metro-North platform and getting home at 1 in the morning. It was the under-4 when I left, and I believe it was a 27-point game; the only frustrating part is that I don't have a personal complete box score.
Azia Bishop played briefly, but after a hard moving screen, she got sat down, and I don't think she went back. Mitchell didn't seem happy with her after that foul. Bria Goss got the same teaching moment treatment after a stupid foul. Though at least she was a little more effective in the first half. She got a lot of time because Kastine Evans was hesitating, Jennifer O'Neill was making some stupid mistakes, and A'dia Mathies was in foul trouble. Jelleah Sidney tried to get the defense on, but she got into foul trouble in the first half, and I don't think that helped Kentucky's cause. I know, understatement of the year, but I think that got into their heads a little too. I thought it was interesting she got more aggressive on offense- might be a good sign for them for the future. I don't remember Bernisha Pinkett doing anything of note other than committing a foul so egregious in the paint that even I could call it half-obscured by the stanchion. Janee Thompson gave decent minutes; they definitely could have been worse, all things considered.
The early fouls on A'dia Mathies could not have helped her confidence, but I think having to run around after Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis all night and having to be a key part of her team's offense didn't help. Kastine Evans wanted the ball, but as soon as she got it, she backed away from shots that she was taking against Delaware, even when she had space. You have to be aggressive against UConn. You can't let them get into your heads, or your shorts. You have to go at them like they're just another basketball team. They may not be, but you have to treat them as such. DeNesha Stallworth at least seemed interested in shooting the ball, though I do have to question some of her shot selection. I know she had decent luck with the midrange jumper, but I'm not sure if that was the best plan against UConn. They're pretty much okay with people shooting outside jumpers against them. Samarie Walker... I don't know if she wasn't looking for the ball or if she was defended too tightly to get the ball in her preferred spots, but 0-1 from the field and 2-2 from the line is not nearly sufficient when you want to knock out a team like UConn. She looked good on the boards, but she needed to be a bigger part of the game. Jennifer O'Neill's shot was on early, but she persisted in making stupid decisions with the ball- bad passes, over-dribbling, too much hesitation- and stagnated her team's offense.
Samarie... DeNesha... you are both fairly seasoned players starting at a top-notch SEC school. One of you came from UConn, the other from Cal, neither exactly what you would call bad or badly coached. Why am I seeing both of you have issues with taking and hitting lay-ups from the weak side?
Just in general, after Mathies hit the free throw that gave Kentucky the lead, and after UConn remembered that hey, they can play really good defense too, Kentucky seemed to forget how to play basketball, while UConn could smell blood in the water and brought everyone (well, except Heather Buck) to the feast.
I left the game before Buck got in, but I sincerely doubt she did anything. Morgan Tuck continues to impress me for a freshman, though I think the spirit of Tiffany Hayes possessed her through her jersey on that three-point shot. I like her build, and if the knee heels up so that she doesn't need the brace, she'll be a force to be reckoned with. And of course, you've got to love a big who can hit her free throws. Bria Hartley played a lot of minutes off the bench when KML had foul issues and for Caroline Doty in general, and she looked more like the player she once was, quick with her hands and breaking loose for lay-ups in transition. Moriah Jefferson put on the afterburners, and her block on Thompson had the crowd roaring in approval. She's adorable, yet terrifying in her ability to sneak under the dribble. Kiah Stokes got some good minutes; her lay-up in the paint got the crowd going.
Stefanie Dolson grabbed ALL the rebounds. Now, the placement of my seat meant that I couldn't see most of the action under the basket at either end, because the stanchion was in the way. But I remember seeing that big ol' 31 a lot. And then she bicycled her way to New Orleans- no, seriously, she was working the daylights out of that bike. Caroline Doty did pretty much the one or two things she's still capable of doing at a UConn level, then got out of the way. I didn't think she was able to go that fast anymore after all the knee injuries, but she had one zoom-zoom drive. Kelly Faris... if I have to have her on a New York team, can I draft her to the Jets instead? They need someone who can make interceptions in the open field and hard tackles like she did. She's a hard-nosed player, and I respect that, but I feel like I'm complaining about her tackling someone every time I see her play, and that's not necessarily a good thing. And she did not display that tendency not to make mistakes that so many people laud in her. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis continues to intrigue me with her increased willingness to be more than just a lethal three-point shooter- she's using that blocky build to get inside and body up on defenders. I'm starting to see a little Epiphanny Prince in her game- am I crazy in that regard? (I know better than to ask whether I'm crazy. I already know the answer to that one.) And then Breanna Stewart decided to be the player that everyone's been saying she could be, and it was kind of amazing. She made moves with both hands. She slapped the daylights out of shots. She went in. She went out. She did in fact shake it all about. She looked like she wanted to be the star.
UConn turned it up another gear. They made stupid mistakes (after one Faris pass, I thought Geno was going to flip out), but they didn't let those mistakes get to them. The difference between an Elite Eight team and a Final Four team, I guess.
Officiating could definitely have been worse, could definitely have been better, but though they let them play, it didn't go to the extremes we saw in Oklahoma City.
A rumor was going around the crowd that Kevin Ollie was in attendance, but I received no confirmation either way.
To the woman behind me, who complained twice that Kentucky wasn't letting UConn bring the ball up: that is, in fact, one of the core principles of their defense. You idiot.
I feel like I can't give a complete report, since I missed the last three minutes. On the other hand, we're on the third page of notes, so maybe I can.
See you in New Orleans, Huskies.