WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends

WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - Printable Version

+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: C-House! (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-4.html)
+--- Forum: The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-5.html)
+--- Thread: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends (/thread-23098.html)

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - chimera - 04-01-2022

I haven't read the whole thread so forgive me if I repeat any points. We did not shoot well and did not rebound well. UConn had a lot to do with both so gotta give them credit. It was a fun year and a F4 year is always a great season. I am sad for the players but for myself, I am not that unhappy. We went farther with a jury rigged guard crew than I would have guessed. So congrats to the players and coaches on a great season. No complaints here. That's just sports. Some days it just doesn't work.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs UConn Friday 6:30 pm Pac - UltimateCard - 04-01-2022

(04-01-2022, 08:42 PM)chrisk Wrote: Lexie was the difference in winning many games, but her lack of offense tonight was the biggest missing link in this game.

Lexie missed quite a bit of first half with a bloody nose, when she was fouled on a drive to the hoop. She had to come out twice (Anna took her foul shots) and the bleeding didn’t stop until after the trainer put a big nose clip on her; she probably played the second half with a wad of gauze up her nostril. UConn landed that punch and then our offense never really got going. Geno had Bueckers defending Hannah so that also limited our offense.

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - MV72018 - 04-01-2022

Live (largely) by the three, risk dying by the three (4 for 23!!!) 35% of our FGAs tonight were we from deep.

Sometimes a key excellent player has a really poor night at a most inopportune time.

In fact, the whole team stunk it up on O.

Our 3-point percentage was pathetic: 17.4% (4 for 23).

We were once again mediocre on free throws: 8 forr 13 (61%) vs. UConn's 16 for 20 (80%).

Stepping back, why did we lose this game?
-- they were much more clutch than we were
-- they got to the line a lot more than we did (almost twice as much)
-- they shot better at the line than we did
-- their coaching was better than ours, although I deeply admire Tara as a coach and a wonderful human being.
-- Stanford's heralded depth meant little tonight when the starters played so poorly.
-- an abiding issue: Tara recruits quality bigs and three-point specialists but, with rare exceptions like Candice Wiggins and Lexie Hull, we rarely recruit players who, when played tightly at the perimeter, have the skill to take it to the hoop and finish. That inability gave us several close calls during the regular season and killed us tonight and will continue to be an Achilles heel against elite defenses until we alter our recruiting.

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - treetop11 - 04-01-2022

I was concerned before the tournament about UConn, but I believed that we would win and still think we should have. But we had so many glaring problems. The loss can't be attributed to us not playing scrappy. Our players stole more balls out of hands of Uconn players as much as I have seen and no shortage of floor burns. And our typical bugaboo with TOs was not an issue. We only had 11 compared to 19 for Uconn and other than a couple of them, they weren't really bad ones.

Here's the glaring problems:

1. Lexie picked a bad time to have one of her worst games. I know that she got the bloody nose early, but still no excuse. She was way off on her shots or took crazy ones. Maybe the Hull sisters should reconsider and come back for a national title next year.
2. Other than Prechtel, probably Lacie and Jones, no other player played up to their potential. And Jone who was 20 and 11 could have done more.
3. We should have been working and scoring more in the paint. We didn't penetrate and drive as much as we should have. There were lanes open that we didn't take advantage of or too often we would drive and then stop rather than try to finish at the basket. Plus we did not feed the post enough. Considering the shortage of Uconn bigs and that they were in foul trouble all game, this was a brobdingnagian mistake.
4. Obviously, our 3 pt shooting killed us. Gawd we were awful and there were many wide open looks. Unbelieveable that our shooters who normally knock down threes were simply terrible.
5. FT shooting - I can't emphasize enough how important those freebies are. We missed five and making those or 4 more would have changed the game. OTOH, Uconn had ice in their veins and hit 80% (8 more than us) especially down the stretch.
6. We played excellent defense overall except we let down critically on Westbrook with her threes, leaving her wide open. I think Belibi was the culprit, but perhaps it was a coaching mistake not to have someone else guarding Westbrook.
7. Our rebounding was not good. We got out rebounded and I noted several times where our players should have had the rebounds but messed up.
8. You have to give credit to Uconn for their defense, but their D wasn't defending our FTs or wide open looks from 3. That was on us. Uconn defense was actually best around the basket where they challenged everything.
9. Our ball movement was poor. Too often, we got locked into going one on one and our lower number of assists reflect that.
10. Really surprised how poorly Anna played (and through most of the tournament). Tara sat her a lot because she was so ineffective. She used to be money on a good percentage of threes, but that shot disappeared. And I was surprised Tara had her shoot Lexie's FTs because Anna has been poor at the line and sure enough she only made one of two.
11. Finally, I don't want to use the word choke or even wilted because everyone takes those as perjoratives and I don't mean to convey that kind of negative tone, but the mindset or emotions of our players didn't seem right. It wasn't a matter of not hustling, being aggressive, tough, or play with energy. They were fine and maybe even better than usual. Perhaps it was the pressure or expectations of winning and going after a repeat title that caused them to do things uncharacteristically or not be confident. The body language and demeanor just seemed off. Maybe somebody else who agrees that we were not ourselves can better describe what I'm trying to say.

Still a great season and other teams (besides those obviously there) would be absolutely thrilled to make the FF. The team gave us a great deal of excitement, fun, entertainment, and fan pleasure throughout the year. So despite the brobdingnagian disappointment and the glaring problems in this game, IMO our team and our players are total winners. Thanks to all of them for a very enjoyable season and all their very hard work to get to the FF!

P.S. - I'm not kidding about wanting the Hull sisters to return. Don't know if it's even possible or realistic, but I sure would love seeing it happen and take us to a NC next year.

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season endsr - BostonCard - 04-01-2022

They got to the line because we were fouling them on purpose to stop the clock. We had a free throw advantage through three quarters. They had 12 free throws in the last two minutes of the game.

They did a lot to win, and their clutch free throw shooting (they made 11 of those 12 free throws) iced it, but they had largely won the game when Stanford still had an advantage in free throws.

BC

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - BillBradley - 04-01-2022

Still have the game zooming around in my head, so wanted to post some thoughts now so maybe I can sleep tonight.
- Interesting move by Geno to start the game in a zone. I thought that was very risky, but it paid off.
- I have a theory on Lexie's game...she did an awesome job defensively on Bueckers. Holding her to 14 points was tremendous. Sometimes that sort of defensive assignment ends up taking all your focus and energy. She just couldn't seem to find her rhythm on offense. I so wish her 3 would have gone in to cut the lead to 2 with 45 seconds left!
- The offensive foul on Haley with around a minute left...half of Edwards foot was over the charge line. Why didn't that get reviewed? That was a pretty big call. Haley would have gotten 2 shots and instead they got 2. The inconsistencies in instant replay review drive me nuts. They'll spend forever looking to see who's fingernail hit it last or how many tenths of a second to put on the clock, but they won't look at a foot on a line?
- My two keys to the game were met: 1) Keep Bueckers under her average (check, average 14.8, held to 14) 2) Don't let Fudd go off from the 3-pt line (check - she made zero and only had 2 baskets before making free throws in the end). They only had 39 points as a team after 3 quarters. If you would have told me that would be the case before the tip (and we only made 11 turnovers and they made 19), I would have thought the game was in the bag. Guess I didn't think there was a universe where we shot that poorly.
- Big time credit to UConn for winning the game at the line. 16-20 from the line and 15-17 in the 4th is big time.
- How about Lacie's game. 9 boards, 2 steals, 0 turnovers in 40 minutes.
- I didn't like the sub to put Kiki in for Cam to start the 4th. Why? Did Cam need a rest? She only had 2 fouls? Kiki's been sitting cold on the bench all game - it's just such a tough spot to be in to have to go in and guard a UConn big in the heat of a Final Four battle, and for a freshman to boot.
- Loved Emma coming in at the end for the press and what a play she made!
- I think it was a mistake to play Hannah so much in the second half in Anna's place. She wasn't being that effective on offense. The one thing about Anna is she makes plays and she's a winner. I think she needed to be on the court in the 4th.
- When they played with only one big in the first half and we went with our big lineup of Hulls, Haley, Cam, and Fran, it didn't work because we couldn't guard them on the perimeter. Give Westbrook credit for hitting those 3's. Those were brobdingnagian for them.
- Happy to see Prechtel give some solid minutes and can a couple shots.
- Felt like the refs did a reasonable job tonight with the foul calls. Still a few I would have let go, but 32 is way better than 46.
- I know they won, but I still think we are better. Just not our night.

Obviously a tremendous year for the team. I am going to really miss this group of seniors.

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - BostonCard - 04-01-2022

Lexie basically said she wasn’t coming back in the post-game interview in our elite eight win. She will graduate with a Master’s degree and probably a future in the WNBA.

It’s too bad her last game was a loss, but she’s had four great seasons and gave it her all.

BC

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season endsr - MV72018 - 04-01-2022

(04-01-2022, 09:56 PM)BostonCard Wrote: They got to the line because we were fouling them on purpose to stop the clock. We had a free throw advantage through three quarters. They had 12 free throws in the last two minutes of the game.

They did a lot to win, and their clutch free throw shooting (they made 11 of those 12 free throws) iced it, but they had largely won the game when Stanford still had an advantage in free throws.

BC

Point well taken.

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - FarmTeam - 04-01-2022

(04-01-2022, 09:42 PM)MV72018 Wrote: -- their coaching was better than ours, although I deeply admire Tara as a coach and a wonderful human being.

What?! How dare you question Tara the Great! It's a Stanford truism that she's a "great" coach. News flash: she's ok. Not terrible, not great. Put another way: great recruiter (in the women's game, how much of that is her versus the university though?), meh coach. The overall record is of course really good, but how many more national titles do we have if Geno is our coach during these last decades. I think a bunch. I was saying all week that I thought we'd lose to UConn because the gap between Geno and Tara is so big. Ok, I'll leave before I get tarred and feathered...

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - BillBradley - 04-01-2022

Presser. Wow, Geno at 21:33. He talks about how past years everyone knew they were the best team. He didn't feel that way this year. "Coming in, I don't think we're the best thing there. I don't think we can win even if we play our A game. We need help. We need Stanford to not play their best game. We need them to miss shots they normally make....Fortunately for us Stanford didn't have their best stuff and by some unknown miracle we're playing Sunday night."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G7kH5WyaeE

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - kat0189 - 04-01-2022

(04-01-2022, 10:15 PM)FarmTeam Wrote:
(04-01-2022, 09:42 PM)MV72018 Wrote: -- their coaching was better than ours, although I deeply admire Tara as a coach and a wonderful human being.

What?! How dare you question Tara the Great! It's a Stanford truism that she's a "great" coach. News flash: she's ok. Not terrible, not great. Put another way: great recruiter (in the women's game, how much of that is her versus the university though?), meh coach. The overall record is of course really good, but how many more national titles do we have if Geno is our coach during these last decades. I think a bunch. I was saying all week that I thought we'd lose to UConn because the gap between Geno and Tara is so big. Ok, I'll leave before I get tarred and feathered...

UConn's Bueckers, Fudd, Westbrook, Williams, and Nelson-Ododa were all at one point ranked #1 in their respective classes. Westbrook and Williams *might* be late 1st round picks, Nelson-Ododa might not make a roster at this point. I'll give Geno credit for getting great players who are not just superstars but willing to sacrifice and put the team first, which is rare these days. Geno and Tarausi made magic together but recruiting has been very instrumental to Geno's success, and he says so himself. Tara was a healthy point guard away from winning a bunch more titles herself. There are many great examples of phenomenal player development under Tara, too, all while keeping up with Stanford academics.

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - BostonCard - 04-01-2022

When someone joins in April 2022 and has one post to their name (a, shall we call it, “provocative” one), I believe the technical term for that is “troll”. It’s not even a very good job at it.

BC

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - TheFarm07 - 04-01-2022

Haley also made a couple of critical, head-scratching decisions in the 4th quarter when the game was in doubt:

At 2:45 left in the fourth quarter, she attempted a three-pointer with 20 seconds left on the shot clock. She was not that open, her specialty is not three point shooting and we were only down by 6, that was a poor decision.

At another point, Jones had an open lane to the basket but then she tried passing it to Prechtel and the ball got intercepted and turned over.

A significant reason we won last year's national semis against South Carolina and Arizona was that Jones knew she couldn't stop her in the paint with her midrange jumpers and her agility/maneuverability around the net.

While she had glimpses of it in tonight's game, she lapsed into her poor decision making choices at the worst time.

(04-01-2022, 09:55 PM)treetop11 Wrote: 11. Finally, I don't want to use the word choke or even wilted because everyone takes those as perjoratives and I don't mean to convey that kind of negative tone, but the mindset or emotions of our players didn't seem right. It wasn't a matter of not hustling, being aggressive, tough, or play with energy. They were fine and maybe even better than usual. Perhaps it was the pressure or expectations of winning and going after a repeat title that caused them to do things uncharacteristically or not be confident. The body language and demeanor just seemed off. Maybe somebody else who agrees that we were not ourselves can better describe what I'm trying to say.

I agree with all of your points but I wanted to highlight this. Especially on offense, all game long, for whatever reason, we seemed to second-guess ourselves and just was operating at less than full speed. It felt like I was watching the game on half speed sometimes. The passes weren't crisp, they were a lot of standing around and the players looked indecisive.

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - TheWildJacko - 04-01-2022

(04-01-2022, 10:15 PM)FarmTeam Wrote:
(04-01-2022, 09:42 PM)MV72018 Wrote: -- their coaching was better than ours, although I deeply admire Tara as a coach and a wonderful human being.

What?! How dare you question Tara the Great! It's a Stanford truism that she's a "great" coach. News flash: she's ok. Not terrible, not great. Put another way: great recruiter (in the women's game, how much of that is her versus the university though?), meh coach. The overall record is of course really good, but how many more national titles do we have if Geno is our coach during these last decades. I think a bunch. I was saying all week that I thought we'd lose to UConn because the gap between Geno and Tara is so big. Ok, I'll leave before I get tarred and feathered...

I'm sorry, but this is kind of a $h!t post. You're an a$h@le to post that about Tara. It's fu%#ing false and you know it.

And by the way, are you happy that you were right? it sounds like you are. if so, good for you. enjoy our loss if it proves whatever point you were trying to make. I for one am heartbroken, but I feel nothing but love for Tara and the team. Unlike you, it seems.

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - BostonCard - 04-01-2022

Fwiw, neither team played its best. I’m sure UConn is looking at those 19 turnovers, many of them unforced, and thinking they could have cleaned their game up quite a bit. They know they can shoot better than 37%. So, yeah, we could have played much better, as could UConn.

The teams were pretty evenly matched, and I am not sure who would win if both teams played their “A” game. But tonight, UConn played better and deserved to move on (much as that hurt to say).

BC

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - joemontes - 04-01-2022

Congratulations to Stanford on a wonderful season where they reached their 15th Final Four, the 3rd most in WCBB and only 3 less than 2nd place Tennessee.

Disappointed with the result today, but Lexie HULL's offense was not there, and it was sorely needed.

On to next season. Lead PG issue remains to be a big question mark like earlier this season.

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - BostonCard - 04-01-2022

(04-01-2022, 10:56 PM)TheWildJacko Wrote:
(04-01-2022, 10:15 PM)FarmTeam Wrote:
(04-01-2022, 09:42 PM)MV72018 Wrote: -- their coaching was better than ours, although I deeply admire Tara as a coach and a wonderful human being.

What?! How dare you question Tara the Great! It's a Stanford truism that she's a "great" coach. News flash: she's ok. Not terrible, not great. Put another way: great recruiter (in the women's game, how much of that is her versus the university though?), meh coach. The overall record is of course really good, but how many more national titles do we have if Geno is our coach during these last decades. I think a bunch. I was saying all week that I thought we'd lose to UConn because the gap between Geno and Tara is so big. Ok, I'll leave before I get tarred and feathered...

I'm sorry, but this is kind of a $h!t post. You're an a$h@le to post that about Tara. It's fu%#ING false and you know it.

And by the way, are you happy that you were right? it sounds like you are. if so, good for you. enjoy our loss if it proves whatever point you were trying to make. I for one am heartbroken, but I feel nothing but love for Tara and the team. Unlike you, it seems.

Look at how many posts the poster has and when they registered.

Don’t feed the trolls.

Your reaction is exactly what they were going for.

BC

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - stanford22 - 04-01-2022

(04-01-2022, 11:09 PM)joemontes Wrote: Congratulations to Stanford on a wonderful season where they reached their 15th Final Four, the 3rd most in WCBB and only 3 less than 2nd place Tennessee.

Disappointed with the result today, but Lexie HULL's offense was not there, and it was sorely needed.

On to next season. Lead PG issue remains to be a big question mark like earlier this season.

Who starts next year?

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - TheWildJacko - 04-01-2022

(04-01-2022, 11:10 PM)BostonCard Wrote:
(04-01-2022, 10:56 PM)TheWildJacko Wrote:
(04-01-2022, 10:15 PM)FarmTeam Wrote:
(04-01-2022, 09:42 PM)MV72018 Wrote: -- their coaching was better than ours, although I deeply admire Tara as a coach and a wonderful human being.

What?! How dare you question Tara the Great! It's a Stanford truism that she's a "great" coach. News flash: she's ok. Not terrible, not great. Put another way: great recruiter (in the women's game, how much of that is her versus the university though?), meh coach. The overall record is of course really good, but how many more national titles do we have if Geno is our coach during these last decades. I think a bunch. I was saying all week that I thought we'd lose to UConn because the gap between Geno and Tara is so big. Ok, I'll leave before I get tarred and feathered...

I'm sorry, but this is kind of a $h!t post. You're an a$h@le to post that about Tara. It's fu%#ING false and you know it.

And by the way, are you happy that you were right? it sounds like you are. if so, good for you. enjoy our loss if it proves whatever point you were trying to make. I for one am heartbroken, but I feel nothing but love for Tara and the team. Unlike you, it seems.

Look at how many posts the poster has and when they registered.

Don’t feed the trolls.

Your reaction is exactly what they were going for.

BC

I agree that they s$ck, but doesn't it say they registered in April 2021 and they have 42 posts? or am I reading it wrong?

RE: WBB: UConn 63 Stanford 58 season ends - BostonCard - 04-01-2022

My bad. They have 1 thread, but you are right: 42 posts. As for the sign-up date, I guess my brain saw what it was expecting.

No less of a clumsy troll job, though.

BC