[76lsjumb]

[quote author=81alum link=topic=9533.msg83775#msg83775 date=1392227122]
[quote author=garvin link=topic=9533.msg83770#msg83770 date=1392221060]
I thought the perimeter defense was appalling -- a lot of Washington's shots, especially in the first half, were great looks by wide-open players.

In the press conference Tara remarked that "We couldn't leave anyone." That little comment is revealing.  Leaving an opposing player open is often necessary in a "scouting report defense."

This strategy does not work when "unfeatured" players on the other team are capable of scoring effectively when the defense on them sags off. 

Balanced scoring is the death of scouting report defenses, and every Washington starter scored at least 13 points.
[/quote]

Your entire post is spot-on. Scouting report defense works great for most teams. But what happens when you face a coach who scouts your scouting report defense and has an answer for your every move?

Our players looked lost when the plan didn't work and people who weren't supposed to score, scored. Over and over. That's why we have to be able to adjust our strategy to the game at hand, regardless of what we watched on scouting reports.

We sagged off Moriah Jefferson at UConn and that worked at the time, but she can now hit the three so it won't work if we meet them again.
[/quote]

Interesting.  These posts [with which I tend to agree] seem to suggest a slightly different take, perhaps, than "...we were outplayed."  Maybe more like: "...we were outcoached."?  At least, in a different universe -- that is, the men's b'ball team universe of the past few seasons -- I'm pretty sure the consensus would have been that we were outcoached.

Regarding Sara James, I had to run an errand in the middle of the game and switched on KZSU for a few minutes, during which time I thought the announcer made a comment about Sara's minutes being limited due to persistent issues from some medical procedures with respect to her legs last season.  Disclaimer:  I may have misheard, and/or the KZSU person may have misspoke, so this may be entirely wrong.

Regarding defensive intensity, a few home games back -- but I can't specifically recall which one -- Alex Green got some minutes during which I thought she played some of the quickest, most aggressive defense I've seen from any of our guards all season.  I kept wondering on Sunday why she didn't get any time until the very end [and then just for foul duty].

[76lsjumb]

[quote author=81alum link=topic=9533.msg83775#msg83775 date=1392227122]
[quote author=garvin link=topic=9533.msg83770#msg83770 date=1392221060]
I thought the perimeter defense was appalling -- a lot of Washington's shots, especially in the first half, were great looks by wide-open players.

In the press conference Tara remarked that "We couldn't leave anyone." That little comment is revealing.  Leaving an opposing player open is often necessary in a "scouting report defense."

This strategy does not work when "unfeatured" players on the other team are capable of scoring effectively when the defense on them sags off. 

Balanced scoring is the death of scouting report defenses, and every Washington starter scored at least 13 points.
[/quote]

Your entire post is spot-on. Scouting report defense works great for most teams. But what happens when you face a coach who scouts your scouting report defense and has an answer for your every move?

Our players looked lost when the plan didn't work and people who weren't supposed to score, scored. Over and over. That's why we have to be able to adjust our strategy to the game at hand, regardless of what we watched on scouting reports.

We sagged off Moriah Jefferson at UConn and that worked at the time, but she can now hit the three so it won't work if we meet them again.
[/quote]

Interesting.  These posts [with which I tend to agree] seem to suggest a slightly different take, perhaps, than "...we were outplayed."  Maybe more like: "...we were outcoached."?  At least, in a different universe -- that is, the men's b'ball team universe of the past few seasons -- I'm pretty sure the consensus would have been that we were outcoached.

Regarding Sara James, I had to run an errand in the middle of the game and switched on KZSU for a few minutes, during which time I thought the announcer made a comment about Sara's minutes being limited due to persistent issues from some medical procedures with respect to her legs last season.  Disclaimer:  I may have misheard, and/or the KZSU person may have misspoke, so this may be entirely wrong.

Regarding defensive intensity, a few home games back -- but I can't specifically recall which one -- Alex Green got some minutes during which I thought she played some of the quickest, most aggressive defense I've seen from any of our guards all season.  I kept wondering on Sunday why she didn't get any time until the very end [and then just for foul duty].