1. As with the first game, we almost completely shut down their bigs. Their forwards were a collective 2-9. Our 11 blocks had something to do with that.
2. Their speedy little guards scored 14, 15, and 11 points. We could not shut them down, but kept any of them from going for over 20 like they did last time.
3. We wound up with exactly 20 turnovers again--the same number as before. But they did not seem as consequential. Only 4 of the 20 were steals by Texas. However, in November they had 12 points off turnovers and tonight they had 15. Go figure.
4. We shot 82% of our free throws and outscored Texas 18-11 at the line. A tremendous improvement since November. Jones going 10/11 from the line was awesome. There were 46 fouls called in the game. The announcers thought that would favor Texas by making our offense be disjointed. That might be true, but the fouls also punished Texas's style of defense.
5. We were only 3/17 from three point range. I think that our three point shooters do better when they catch and shoot in rhythm, and Texas generally makes that impossible.
6. While Texas was ballyhooed as the great defensive team, our defense was better, holding them to 33% shooting, compared to 37% for us. We held them to 10 points in the 4th, and never gave them more than 14 points in any quarter.
7. Tara's insertion of a zone was brilliant not because it was terribly effective, but because it changed the whole flow of the game and Texas never got its mojo back.
8. Rebounding was a major advantage. Texas had 6 O boards, we had 12. That goes a long way to making up for our 20-10 turnover disadvantage. A 45-28 overall rebounding advantage when we were also shooting at a higher percentage was awesome.
9. Lexie is playing like a future WNBA pick. She shot 50% and while her offense has been up and down this year, this is the third game in a row she has led. What a nice performance in Spokane for the home town kid.
10. Texas's whole defensive strategy seems to be to prevent assists. Even so we had 14 assists on 19 made baskets. More of our back door cuts worked tonight than in November, I think a reflection of better timing and more accurate passing.
With Maryland and Texas I think we have had the hardest path to the F4 of any one seed. 4 down and 2 to go.
2. Their speedy little guards scored 14, 15, and 11 points. We could not shut them down, but kept any of them from going for over 20 like they did last time.
3. We wound up with exactly 20 turnovers again--the same number as before. But they did not seem as consequential. Only 4 of the 20 were steals by Texas. However, in November they had 12 points off turnovers and tonight they had 15. Go figure.
4. We shot 82% of our free throws and outscored Texas 18-11 at the line. A tremendous improvement since November. Jones going 10/11 from the line was awesome. There were 46 fouls called in the game. The announcers thought that would favor Texas by making our offense be disjointed. That might be true, but the fouls also punished Texas's style of defense.
5. We were only 3/17 from three point range. I think that our three point shooters do better when they catch and shoot in rhythm, and Texas generally makes that impossible.
6. While Texas was ballyhooed as the great defensive team, our defense was better, holding them to 33% shooting, compared to 37% for us. We held them to 10 points in the 4th, and never gave them more than 14 points in any quarter.
7. Tara's insertion of a zone was brilliant not because it was terribly effective, but because it changed the whole flow of the game and Texas never got its mojo back.
8. Rebounding was a major advantage. Texas had 6 O boards, we had 12. That goes a long way to making up for our 20-10 turnover disadvantage. A 45-28 overall rebounding advantage when we were also shooting at a higher percentage was awesome.
9. Lexie is playing like a future WNBA pick. She shot 50% and while her offense has been up and down this year, this is the third game in a row she has led. What a nice performance in Spokane for the home town kid.
10. Texas's whole defensive strategy seems to be to prevent assists. Even so we had 14 assists on 19 made baskets. More of our back door cuts worked tonight than in November, I think a reflection of better timing and more accurate passing.
With Maryland and Texas I think we have had the hardest path to the F4 of any one seed. 4 down and 2 to go.