[BostonCard]

At the time it was 68-67 UConn, so Carrington could have made 1/2 to send the game to overtime unless UConn scored in the last 5 seconds.

BC

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I believe this is known as "victim-blaming"...

For goodness sakes, she lost a basketball game on a foul that wasn't called; she wasn't the victim of an unspeakable crime.

Moreover, this is part of the game.  Everyone knows this.  Why do you think that Tara spoke up about the hand checking?  It had nothing to do with the game against Oklahoma State and everything to do with Louisville and our future opponents who might guard us tightly and for whom a foul call might give our guards a bit more room.  Believe me, she wasn't telling Williams to keep doing what you are doing, the Sooners will get called for hand checking; she was telling Williams to watch out, the refs aren't calling hand checking so be careful out there.  I would be surprised if Geno didn't tell his players to challenge all the Bears' shots aggressively; he's a hall of fame coach and he knows that unless it is blatant, it's not going to get called.  Likewise, I would be shocked if Mulkey didn't tell her players to expect a lot of contact.

As long as human referees make judgment calls to decide whether something happened or not, it is a fact of life that the game won't be called perfectly.  Sometimes a charge is called when it should have been a blocking foul; sometimes (or, most of the time), the refs will let a player palm the ball during a dribble, sometime the refs will swallow a whistle late in a high stakes tournament game.  The best players know what they can and can't get away with when, and are good at going up to that line.  That's as much a part of the game as being able to shoot from behind the arc or drive to the hoop.  And the best players aren't going to rely on a ref bailing them out in the circumstances we just saw.

You can claim to be the victim, or you can go on to play in the final four.

BC

[BostonCard]

At the time it was 68-67 UConn, so Carrington could have made 1/2 to send the game to overtime unless UConn scored in the last 5 seconds.

BC

---

I believe this is known as "victim-blaming"...

For goodness sakes, she lost a basketball game on a foul that wasn't called; she wasn't the victim of an unspeakable crime.

Moreover, this is part of the game.  Everyone knows this.  Why do you think that Tara spoke up about the hand checking?  It had nothing to do with the game against Oklahoma State and everything to do with Louisville and our future opponents who might guard us tightly and for whom a foul call might give our guards a bit more room.  Believe me, she wasn't telling Williams to keep doing what you are doing, the Sooners will get called for hand checking; she was telling Williams to watch out, the refs aren't calling hand checking so be careful out there.  I would be surprised if Geno didn't tell his players to challenge all the Bears' shots aggressively; he's a hall of fame coach and he knows that unless it is blatant, it's not going to get called.  Likewise, I would be shocked if Mulkey didn't tell her players to expect a lot of contact.

As long as human referees make judgment calls to decide whether something happened or not, it is a fact of life that the game won't be called perfectly.  Sometimes a charge is called when it should have been a blocking foul; sometimes (or, most of the time), the refs will let a player palm the ball during a dribble, sometime the refs will swallow a whistle late in a high stakes tournament game.  The best players know what they can and can't get away with when, and are good at going up to that line.  That's as much a part of the game as being able to shoot from behind the arc or drive to the hoop.  And the best players aren't going to rely on a ref bailing them out in the circumstances we just saw.

You can claim to be the victim, or you can go on to play in the final four.

BC