I had a full analysis of the game and accidentally deleted it before hitting "post reply." Sigh.
In any case, I am elated by this win. However, we should remember that we did not play especially well for three quarters, and had a simply outstanding fourth quarter. Wouldn't it be nice to capture what we did in the 4th and do it in every quarter?
So what was the difference in that final quarter?
Brink's 6 fourth quarter blocks were of enormous consequence, but I think the quarter hinged on the first two shots.
The first was a made three by Lepolo. The second shot was a made three by Emma-Nnopu. Both came after Brink blocks. But UCLA had stayed in the game on the strength of better than expected three point shooting, and finally we began to make threes. The players UCLA had decided not to defend were now punishing them, and this opened up the interior. The game was completely changed by Brink's blocks leading to those two treys.
While Brink deserves every accolade, I also think Lepolo deserves some love too. She had 6 assists to 3 turnovers, made 2/3 treys, made 2/2 free throws, and was a critical element in our defense on the speedy little UCLA guards.
Iriafen was excellent in the first half, although we did not see her as much in the second. Nine points was a lot in this defensive game, and she was efficient.
Emma Nnopu was fabulous on defense, but I think she startled people with her offense. 2/3 field goals, and 4/4 free throws--she looked like she just couldn't miss. If she can repeat that performance regularly, she should be a starter. And all that in the fourth quarter.
Jones was both the good Jones and the bad Jones. She had a poor shooting percentage--because during the first three quarters she was forced to take all the off-balance end-of-the-shot-clock shots that no one else would take. And some of her high-risk passes were way-too-high-risk passes, leading to turnovers. On the other hand, she did have 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists, and it is pretty hard to dismiss that kind of output.
As a team, we played disciplined, solid basketball for the most part. We had only 13 turnovers to UCLA's 12, even though they are great turnover artists. We had 14 O-boards to their 11 O-boards, even though that is their specialty. Fouls were even at 14 apiece. None of our players got to 4 fouls. In short, there was a lot to like about this game, except for our offensive performance in the first half.
For example, as sluggish as our offense was at times, UCLA's offense failed to score more than 17 points in any quarter, and were held to an appalling 33% for the game--they actually took three more shots that we did, although it did not matter. Also, ultimately, by the end, three point shooting wound up about even.
In conclusion, this was a fabulous win that should teach our team a lot about perseverance, rebounding and defense. I do think Jones has been a bit off for too many quarters of too many games, and would like to see her get her shooter's touch. It remains a weakness that she cannot hit a trey (0/4 today). But the team as a whole hit enough threes--eventually--to re-balance the offense and get us the win.
In any case, I am elated by this win. However, we should remember that we did not play especially well for three quarters, and had a simply outstanding fourth quarter. Wouldn't it be nice to capture what we did in the 4th and do it in every quarter?
So what was the difference in that final quarter?
Brink's 6 fourth quarter blocks were of enormous consequence, but I think the quarter hinged on the first two shots.
The first was a made three by Lepolo. The second shot was a made three by Emma-Nnopu. Both came after Brink blocks. But UCLA had stayed in the game on the strength of better than expected three point shooting, and finally we began to make threes. The players UCLA had decided not to defend were now punishing them, and this opened up the interior. The game was completely changed by Brink's blocks leading to those two treys.
While Brink deserves every accolade, I also think Lepolo deserves some love too. She had 6 assists to 3 turnovers, made 2/3 treys, made 2/2 free throws, and was a critical element in our defense on the speedy little UCLA guards.
Iriafen was excellent in the first half, although we did not see her as much in the second. Nine points was a lot in this defensive game, and she was efficient.
Emma Nnopu was fabulous on defense, but I think she startled people with her offense. 2/3 field goals, and 4/4 free throws--she looked like she just couldn't miss. If she can repeat that performance regularly, she should be a starter. And all that in the fourth quarter.
Jones was both the good Jones and the bad Jones. She had a poor shooting percentage--because during the first three quarters she was forced to take all the off-balance end-of-the-shot-clock shots that no one else would take. And some of her high-risk passes were way-too-high-risk passes, leading to turnovers. On the other hand, she did have 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists, and it is pretty hard to dismiss that kind of output.
As a team, we played disciplined, solid basketball for the most part. We had only 13 turnovers to UCLA's 12, even though they are great turnover artists. We had 14 O-boards to their 11 O-boards, even though that is their specialty. Fouls were even at 14 apiece. None of our players got to 4 fouls. In short, there was a lot to like about this game, except for our offensive performance in the first half.
For example, as sluggish as our offense was at times, UCLA's offense failed to score more than 17 points in any quarter, and were held to an appalling 33% for the game--they actually took three more shots that we did, although it did not matter. Also, ultimately, by the end, three point shooting wound up about even.
In conclusion, this was a fabulous win that should teach our team a lot about perseverance, rebounding and defense. I do think Jones has been a bit off for too many quarters of too many games, and would like to see her get her shooter's touch. It remains a weakness that she cannot hit a trey (0/4 today). But the team as a whole hit enough threes--eventually--to re-balance the offense and get us the win.