My initial take on this:
Thank goodness Utah can't play defense like Colorado, and Colorado can't play offense like Utah.
The second game of an away series is always the hardest to prepare for. The players just have a lot fewer reps in practice to digest the scouting report. And Utah is very different than a year ago. So we came out looking unprepared and we were.
Neither Prechtel nor Belibi proved able to consistently score under the basket. Only Brink could do that. In the first half we had difficulties getting her the ball down low. Finally by the 4th quarter we solved the puzzle and she started scoring at will. She only missed 3 shots and got 7 O-boards--she might have scored each time she got the ball inside on either her first or second or third tries.
Lexie finally got her shooting touch back. And massive kudos to Wilson, who scored a much needed 12 points and usually at key moments. Lots of contributions from others.
Going forward, we must figure out how to defend the Utah three point play, which commonly involves a guard attacking the basket but then pitching back to an open three point shooter. It happened way too often. Definitely our worst defensive game of the year. Utah is the 3rd highest scoring team in the nation, but we did not know what to make of that stat with limited games. Well, it seems legit, and is the result of a really good offensive scheme and not superstar players. I admire them.
Thank goodness Utah can't play defense like Colorado, and Colorado can't play offense like Utah.
The second game of an away series is always the hardest to prepare for. The players just have a lot fewer reps in practice to digest the scouting report. And Utah is very different than a year ago. So we came out looking unprepared and we were.
Neither Prechtel nor Belibi proved able to consistently score under the basket. Only Brink could do that. In the first half we had difficulties getting her the ball down low. Finally by the 4th quarter we solved the puzzle and she started scoring at will. She only missed 3 shots and got 7 O-boards--she might have scored each time she got the ball inside on either her first or second or third tries.
Lexie finally got her shooting touch back. And massive kudos to Wilson, who scored a much needed 12 points and usually at key moments. Lots of contributions from others.
Going forward, we must figure out how to defend the Utah three point play, which commonly involves a guard attacking the basket but then pitching back to an open three point shooter. It happened way too often. Definitely our worst defensive game of the year. Utah is the 3rd highest scoring team in the nation, but we did not know what to make of that stat with limited games. Well, it seems legit, and is the result of a really good offensive scheme and not superstar players. I admire them.