01-02-2016, 03:53 PM
Overview:
We had three teams that beat us last year lined up in a row on this year's schedule, and we just took revenge on the second. It is becoming clear that Tara's team this year is competent offensively but very good defensively. How good will be determined after we face a more talented offensive team. But tonight we held Arizona to 21% shooting--and many of their successful shots came late in the game against the third string. Meanwhile, offensively we had a very different look today--whether by necessity or design--McPhee with 21 and Smith with 16 were most of our offense, and we may have had an early glimpse of future years.
Flow of the game
The story of the first half was our defense and scoring from the bench. We held Arizona to 18% shooting. I saw a lot of trapping on the perimeter and when Arizona penetrated we had three bodies on them in the paint. Superb team defense. On the offensive end, Brittany McPhee got hot, with 14 points from all parts of the court--a couple of treys, layups, and free throws. Alanna Smith had 8 on 3/4 shooting. Karlie and Lili both picked up two fouls in the first half and had to sit for minutes on the bench.
The second half was not as sharp as the first. Our offense in the third quarter seemed very stagnant until McPhee and Smith reentered the game. We scored 4 points in the first 8 minutes of the quarter without those two in the lineup, and 7 points in the last 2 minutes with them. The fourth quarter was somewhat sloppy and defensive as more players got a chance to play, with the only scoring again by Smith and McPhee.
Performances
This was not a career high for McPhee, but this was by far her best game of this year. She was 3/6 from three point range, 3/4 taking it to the basket, and 6/8 from the free throw line. If we could count on McPhee to be this accomplished in every game, alongside Lili and Erica, we could be a final four team again.
Alanna Smith was our second leading scorer--and the only other player in double digits. She was an astounding 4/5 from three point range and was shooting with more confidence--including some semi-contested shots. At 6'3" she is the same height as Bonnie and could be equally hard to defend from the three point line. But better, once when she was closely defended at the three point line, she brought the ball down and took it all the way to the rim. She was 2/3 from in close. She did pick up 3 personal fouls, though.
Offensively, there is not much more to talk about. Erica had 6 points--all in the first half. Lili had only 4 for the game. I'm not sure if they really had off nights or if it was simply the Arizona scheme to take them away. Erica was 3/4 but never got to the line--it could have been refs who were allowing too much contact under the basket. Lili's shot was not on--she was 1/6 and 0/3 from three point range, and she also had 6 turnovers to 4 assists.  For whatever reason, it was surprising to watch a blowout in which Erica and Lili were not significant offensive contributors.
Rebounding was scattered with no one in double digits. There just were not so many shots that anyone could pad their rebounding totals.
On defense, we had 9 blocks--scattered among 6 blockers. We out rebounded Arizona 45 to 29, and as I mentioned, while we shot 44%, they shot 21%. This game was mostly about defense.
Conclusion
So far so good. An encouraging start to the Pac 12 season for us. This year's trip to Arizona was a whole lot better than last year's trip. And fun to see the offensive prowess of two future stars. A little troubling that Erica and Lili were rather emphatically shut down, though. Monday's game at Arizona State will be a very good test--a better test than today's game--and we shall see how improved we really are. ASU swept us last year. It would announce our re entry into contention to get a win in their place.
We had three teams that beat us last year lined up in a row on this year's schedule, and we just took revenge on the second. It is becoming clear that Tara's team this year is competent offensively but very good defensively. How good will be determined after we face a more talented offensive team. But tonight we held Arizona to 21% shooting--and many of their successful shots came late in the game against the third string. Meanwhile, offensively we had a very different look today--whether by necessity or design--McPhee with 21 and Smith with 16 were most of our offense, and we may have had an early glimpse of future years.
Flow of the game
The story of the first half was our defense and scoring from the bench. We held Arizona to 18% shooting. I saw a lot of trapping on the perimeter and when Arizona penetrated we had three bodies on them in the paint. Superb team defense. On the offensive end, Brittany McPhee got hot, with 14 points from all parts of the court--a couple of treys, layups, and free throws. Alanna Smith had 8 on 3/4 shooting. Karlie and Lili both picked up two fouls in the first half and had to sit for minutes on the bench.
The second half was not as sharp as the first. Our offense in the third quarter seemed very stagnant until McPhee and Smith reentered the game. We scored 4 points in the first 8 minutes of the quarter without those two in the lineup, and 7 points in the last 2 minutes with them. The fourth quarter was somewhat sloppy and defensive as more players got a chance to play, with the only scoring again by Smith and McPhee.
Performances
This was not a career high for McPhee, but this was by far her best game of this year. She was 3/6 from three point range, 3/4 taking it to the basket, and 6/8 from the free throw line. If we could count on McPhee to be this accomplished in every game, alongside Lili and Erica, we could be a final four team again.
Alanna Smith was our second leading scorer--and the only other player in double digits. She was an astounding 4/5 from three point range and was shooting with more confidence--including some semi-contested shots. At 6'3" she is the same height as Bonnie and could be equally hard to defend from the three point line. But better, once when she was closely defended at the three point line, she brought the ball down and took it all the way to the rim. She was 2/3 from in close. She did pick up 3 personal fouls, though.
Offensively, there is not much more to talk about. Erica had 6 points--all in the first half. Lili had only 4 for the game. I'm not sure if they really had off nights or if it was simply the Arizona scheme to take them away. Erica was 3/4 but never got to the line--it could have been refs who were allowing too much contact under the basket. Lili's shot was not on--she was 1/6 and 0/3 from three point range, and she also had 6 turnovers to 4 assists.  For whatever reason, it was surprising to watch a blowout in which Erica and Lili were not significant offensive contributors.
Rebounding was scattered with no one in double digits. There just were not so many shots that anyone could pad their rebounding totals.
On defense, we had 9 blocks--scattered among 6 blockers. We out rebounded Arizona 45 to 29, and as I mentioned, while we shot 44%, they shot 21%. This game was mostly about defense.
Conclusion
So far so good. An encouraging start to the Pac 12 season for us. This year's trip to Arizona was a whole lot better than last year's trip. And fun to see the offensive prowess of two future stars. A little troubling that Erica and Lili were rather emphatically shut down, though. Monday's game at Arizona State will be a very good test--a better test than today's game--and we shall see how improved we really are. ASU swept us last year. It would announce our re entry into contention to get a win in their place.
