[Griffins78]

I surely didn't like the foul by Ariya Cook on Bonnie with 2:35 left in the game.  Bad sportsmanship.

That was a very dirty play. Bonnie was just running to the other side and Cook dropped off her player and purposely backed into Bonnie's path and then stuck her hip out and gave her a hockey hip check that sent Bonnie sprawling and unable to continue playing and Tara had to call a time out.

This is indicative of what I have seen our opponents doing lately starting with the first UCLA game. They are more than just physical... they are shoving, pushing, grabbing, holding, hacking, and generally fouling until the referees call the fouls and they foul out. Their plan is to physically beat us up and disrupt our movement and slow our scoring down. Unfortunately, it has been effective so they keep doing it and other teams copy.

The good thing is that this is probably what we'll see in the post season dance and we're going to have to figure out how to deal with it. Having a guard that can penetrate and either dish or stop and pop a short jumper has been one of the key factors for how well we handle that kind of aggressive, physical defense and how well we do in the tournament. Having BOTH Amber and Lilli on the floor at the same time has been an important weapon for us. And they can both hit from 3. Want Lilli to be healthy as we make the stretch run. Its amazing to me that Lilli and Briana are Freshmen and handling the ball and the defense so well.

On the defensive end - our strategy of sagging off players that don't shoot well from outside to clog the middle to deny the pass and double on their BEST player makes a lot of sense. Some times those opposing players get hot and start making 3 point shots (which they did making 4  for 4) and we were far below our average. If you just take those stats it accounts for most of the difference in the beginning of the game.

[Griffins78]

I surely didn't like the foul by Ariya Cook on Bonnie with 2:35 left in the game.  Bad sportsmanship.

That was a very dirty play. Bonnie was just running to the other side and Cook dropped off her player and purposely backed into Bonnie's path and then stuck her hip out and gave her a hockey hip check that sent Bonnie sprawling and unable to continue playing and Tara had to call a time out.

This is indicative of what I have seen our opponents doing lately starting with the first UCLA game. They are more than just physical... they are shoving, pushing, grabbing, holding, hacking, and generally fouling until the referees call the fouls and they foul out. Their plan is to physically beat us up and disrupt our movement and slow our scoring down. Unfortunately, it has been effective so they keep doing it and other teams copy.

The good thing is that this is probably what we'll see in the post season dance and we're going to have to figure out how to deal with it. Having a guard that can penetrate and either dish or stop and pop a short jumper has been one of the key factors for how well we handle that kind of aggressive, physical defense and how well we do in the tournament. Having BOTH Amber and Lilli on the floor at the same time has been an important weapon for us. And they can both hit from 3. Want Lilli to be healthy as we make the stretch run. Its amazing to me that Lilli and Briana are Freshmen and handling the ball and the defense so well.

On the defensive end - our strategy of sagging off players that don't shoot well from outside to clog the middle to deny the pass and double on their BEST player makes a lot of sense. Some times those opposing players get hot and start making 3 point shots (which they did making 4  for 4) and we were far below our average. If you just take those stats it accounts for most of the difference in the beginning of the game.