[81alum]

2006, your lineup is plausible, since from the beginning we knew that Alanna wanted to learn to play the 3 since it was felt that she would fit that position on her national team.  But in order for that lineup to work, we are going to need more consistency from Marta, Britt and Alanna for 3 point shooting.  Otherwise that lineup would be highly vulnerable to the zone cutting off penetration lanes.

I think asking questions about defense is appropriate, since Tara probably puts more stock on defense when deciding which player to put on the floor.  Remember earlier this year when she had Karlie playing the 4 with a small lineup for defense?  Sometimes she gets good defense out of a freshman--as with Kaylee when she used her for defensive rebounding her freshman year.  Alanna seems to have improved--although she still fouls more than she should, and relying for her on offense could run into issues if she has to play 40 minutes without fouling.  Is it defense that has kept Nadia out of the lineup for the second half of the season? 

The Dunning surprise?  I've worried every year about that for quite some time, and the thought crossed my mind that if Tara had pulled off the miracle and won another national championship this year, that maybe that would be it.  A couple of reporters who know her pretty well have commented this year that she has no such plans, but they cannot know what Tara herself may not yet know.  On the other hand, Tara definitely seemed to be enjoying herself this year and has outstanding talent on the way in, so I am hopeful we will keep her for a while yet.  I personally would like to see her outlast Geno, who is only one year younger

[81alum]

2006, your lineup is plausible, since from the beginning we knew that Alanna wanted to learn to play the 3 since it was felt that she would fit that position on her national team.  But in order for that lineup to work, we are going to need more consistency from Marta, Britt and Alanna for 3 point shooting.  Otherwise that lineup would be highly vulnerable to the zone cutting off penetration lanes.

I think asking questions about defense is appropriate, since Tara probably puts more stock on defense when deciding which player to put on the floor.  Remember earlier this year when she had Karlie playing the 4 with a small lineup for defense?  Sometimes she gets good defense out of a freshman--as with Kaylee when she used her for defensive rebounding her freshman year.  Alanna seems to have improved--although she still fouls more than she should, and relying for her on offense could run into issues if she has to play 40 minutes without fouling.  Is it defense that has kept Nadia out of the lineup for the second half of the season? 

The Dunning surprise?  I've worried every year about that for quite some time, and the thought crossed my mind that if Tara had pulled off the miracle and won another national championship this year, that maybe that would be it.  A couple of reporters who know her pretty well have commented this year that she has no such plans, but they cannot know what Tara herself may not yet know.  On the other hand, Tara definitely seemed to be enjoying herself this year and has outstanding talent on the way in, so I am hopeful we will keep her for a while yet.  I personally would like to see her outlast Geno, who is only one year younger