Subscribe to Full Court PressJim Clark’s Husky Report: UConn Huskies 80 - Stanford Cardinal 68
By Jim Clark
Correspondent
If you care about the women’s college game, and you were not stuck in traffic somewhere, you watched this game on TV. So, this report is going to be more blog-like and stream of consciousness than usual.
Pre-game Thoughts
UConn will lose if:
1. Tina Charles gets into foul trouble. UConn has nobody else who can play in the post anywhere near the caliber of 6-4 Jane Appel, 6-4 Kayla Pedersen (who plays the 3) or 6-2 Nnemkadi Ogwumike. It will be tough enough for Charles to decide whom to guard, and to score through the double team. Kaili McLaren will have to play very well off the bench anyway. If she has to do so alone, the Cardinal front court will have a field day. Heather Buck is not ready for this game.
2. UConn shoots poorly from beyond the arc. The Huskies started out the season on fire from three, but the guards (plus Maya Moore) are a cumulative 4-17 in the last four games. That’s worse than 25 percent. In the miserable Iona game, these shooters were clearly gun-shy from the arc. Every coach knows to pack it in against the Huskies, and dare them to shoot from the outside. Every major surprise loss in the last 11 years has come on a poor outside shooting night. Against many teams, UConn can punch it inside anyway, or they can drive the baseline. Way too much interior height on Stanford.
Stanford will lose if:
1. The guards turn it over. Against Tennessee last week, they turned it over just 12 times. But the UConn defense is much more disruptive and organized than the Vols. The pressure is on Jeanette Pohlen to have a solid game with the ball.
2. UConn shoots really well from outside.
3. Maya Moore finally takes over a game completely. Nobody can guard Moore except Moore. She is often content, however, to let the game come to her, rather than taking it aggressively to the other team. In the Final Four, Moore played her usual excellent game (24 points, eight boards). Renee Montgomery, however, took control early and controlled the game on both sides of the court. Moore has yet to do that for 40 minutes.
This could be a game of offenses. While the Husky defense is probably the nation’s best, it is really hard to guard the three-headed monster in the paint that is this Cardinal team. The game, obviously, always goes to the team with the most points. This one may be a game where the team with the last possession wins. It sure won’t look like the last one, which UConn won easily, 83-64.
This is not the game of the century. The outcome will only determine the next AP ranking. But, as both coaches have said, it will tell each team a lot about where they stand. They stand pretty close together.
Tip-off
Not quite a sell out. But over 16,000. Tennessee at Stanford last week drew 8900.
UConn’s quickness shows early. First sequence, UConn steal, Moore missed free throw, Charles rebounds in traffic and is fouled by Appel.
UConn killing Cardinal on the baseline, Cardinal responds with great passing by the big guys.
Moore picks up her second foul (offensive) at 18:02!
Stanford cannot guard Greene or Hayes on drives to the hoop.
Seen up close, Ogwumike is a very short 6-2.
UConn defense (including blocks by Charles and Moore inside) and drives make for a 7-0 run. Stanford calls timeout at 13:41.
McLaren in for Moore; Ogwumike scores immediately.
Appel beats UConn down floor for what might have been an old fashioned three-point play. Misses free-throw, and Ogwumike puts back rebound. Make that a four-point play.
UConn is 0-4 on threes. Stanford 1-2.
Stanford comes back with a 6-0 run, as soon as Moore is out. Her absence on offense changes the entire defense.
Huskies have dropped the press, and Stanford, with more time in the offense, is looking better. But with a one-person bench (Kelly Faris), UConn can’t keep using that much energy.
19-16, UConn, at 11:48
Stanford gets its first lead on a transition Pedersen three.
Without Moore, Appel to Ogwumike is deadly. 21-23. Moore returns.
Doty on Pedersen does not work. She has nine points in four minutes. Stanford caps a 15-2 run on a jumper by Pederson, with Pederson and Ogwumike combining for 11 of the 15 points. The Cardinal now lead, 25-21. It’s the biggest deficit the Huskies have faced all season.
UConn now 0-5 on threes.
Moore hits first three. Neither defense is stopping the other. Exchange of baskets .
UConn 1-7 on threes. Connecticut in the bonus with 6:24 left. Cardinal have only four fouls. Moore and Greene each have two personals.
UConn 1-8 on threes.
UConn 1-9 on threes.
UConn 1-10 on threes.
Score has been 34-35 for a long time. Turnovers mounting on both sides.
UConn 1-11 on threes.
Pedersen ties it again with an open three, 38-38.
UConn 1-12 on threes. Stanford is 3-7.
UConn 1-13 on threes.
Halftime: UConn 38, Stanford 40.
It’s the first time the Huskies have trailed at the half since their 2008 loss to—the Cardinal. Could there be an upset in the making?
Charles has played wonderfully, holding Appel to 7 points and two rebounds. Meanwhile, Charles has already scored 12 points, and grabbed eight boards.
Halftime featured the induction into the Huskies of Honor wall of the 1999 2000 National Championship team that went 39-0 and beat Tennessee in the final in Philadelphia. Present were such rarely mentioned names as Marci Czel, Kiersten Walters, Temeka Johnson and Christine Rigby. Others in attendance were: Sue Bird, Ashja Jones, Svetlana Abrosimova, Kelly Schumacher, Stacey Hansmeyer and Paige Sauer. Tamika Williams (coaching at Ohio State) and Swin Cash (overseas) were not present.
UConn is now 1-14 from long range, and Hayes’ first attempt of the half was not within two feet of the hoop.
Charles has blocked Appel twice in the first four minutes. Connecticut continues to score on drives to the hoop, where their superior quickness is obvious.
Tied 44-44 at 15:52.
Moore’s three-ball makes it 49-44, and 2-15. JJ Hones, left open, responds with one of her own. The guards for Stanford now have 10 points.
Hayes makes it 2-16.
Moore makes it 3-17.
Charles gets away with a one-arm clear-out of both Appel and Ogwumike for an open two, making it 56-47. Stanford calls timeout.
It’s still definitely the competitive game we had hoped for, but UConn is on a 18-7 run at 12:22. The crowd is very loud, and deeply into the game.
The Stanford guards are looking concerned, as UConn has now pressed for nine minutes. Can they keep it up, playing just five players? Steal on a trap, missed layup, and Charles offensive board and score makes it 58-47.
At this point in the game, there is no question who will be the No. 1 pick in this year’s WNBA draft. Charles is a monster, Appel is neutralized.
Doty picks up her fourth foul at 10:43. Faris in, not much of a difference. Faris immediately jumps on a held ball. She is wearing a face-mask due to a nose broken in practice.
Hayes makes it 3-18.
Moore blocks Appel from behind. The fast break makes it 65-49, and I cannot remember the Civic Center (XL Center, now) this loud. Ever.
Appel is breathing hard. Charles looks like it’s the first half. Charles commits her first foul at 9:12.
UConn has way more energy. The Stanford guards are demoralized. Hayes, beaten off the dribble by Hones, blocks the ball from behind, Faris flings it down court, and Greene finishes off a great pass from Moore. 67-50. Stanford uses its fourth timeout, leaving just one, with 7:50 to play.
Faris has two deflections and a held ball in just three minutes on the court.
Pedersen has been held scoreless for the second half. Ogwumike has four in this stanza. Doty’s fifth foul puts Ogwumike down on the court for 45 seconds (not seriously injured). UConn now down to five players for the remaining 6:31.
Lorin Dixon makes her first appearance of the season at 4:51 with the Huskies leading by 22. Charles picks up her second foul.
Gold-Onwude, seven inches taller than Dixon, hits a three right over her.
Charles picks up her third on Appel, who completes a three-point play. Dixon is out quickly. Hayes immediately scorea on a drive.
Appel responds with great position hoop. Connecticut burning clock, up 18.
Officiating has been excellent. Thank you Dee Kantner, Eric Brewton, and Cameron Inouye.
VanDerveer brings in the subs at 2:20. The Cardinal still have two 6-3 players in the game. UConn responds with the deep bench. Stanford outplays them, a little.
FINAL: UConn 80 – Stanford 68.
Forty-nine straight victories for the Huskies, every one by double digits. Last loss was to Stanford in the 2008 semi-final game, 82-73.
Since UConn has been on a 30-6 run that spanned the two halves, the Huskies have led by as many as 22 points in the second stanza. Stanford could not manage to get it closer than 12.
Quotes and Notes
Geno Auriemma:
“In the first half, . . . as soon as [Stanford] got a bucket, we had to change our defense.” He continued that Stanford immediately recognizes what works, and repeats it unless you switch what is happening on defense.
Consider what this means: There were multiple defenses to change to. How many teams can seamlessly switch among many different defenses just 10 games into the year?
“They are the most difficult team to defend who we have played this year. That’s true this year. And it was true last year. [Pause] And it was also true the year before.”
“They have the edge if we meet in March. Same thing happened in the Virgin Islands two years ago. [Stanford lost in November by 20, then won in the Final Four.] The motivating factor and the hunger…. It’s hard to beat a really good team twice in a year.”
“We’re not going to sneak up on anybody. When Tina and Maya play great, we have a really good chance to win. And you just need somebody else to step up. And tonight Tiffany [Hayes] and Kalana [Greene] really did that.”
“What I really liked the the most [in the second half] was it seemed like whenever we shot the ball it looked like the only guys rebounding was us. . . . And that’s a sign of a team that really wanted to step it up.”
On Kelly Faris’ defense: “Defensively, when she got up on that point guard, things changed right away…. I told you she would never have a bad game at UConn.”
Tara Van derVeer:
“They were much more aggressive. Very active defensively. They really played at a fast pace. . . . We’re a step slow, and they really set the pace.”
“Connecticut didn’t shoot really well from three [to say the least], but they went to the hole and they didn’t care who was in there. . . . They are head and shoulders above us and they play at a different pace than everybody.”
Nnemeki Ogwumike:
“It’s hard to compensate for really aggressive play. . . They are faster than Tennessee.”
The Stanford and UConn players know each other really well, from USA Basketball, and from AAU.
Maya Moore, on that familiarity: “Kinda makes it more like playground. It’s like playing with your sister.”
Tina Charles on Jane Appel: “We know everything about each other. I know she really likes to go to her left hand. I’ve been playing against her since I was like 12.”
Afterthoughts
There is no longer any question of who is the best center in the country. Charles dominated Appel throughout the game. Tina Charles is probably the best player in the country right now, including Maya Moore. Just my opinion. Charles did not take a second off, and did not pick up a foul until the second half.
Charles’ line: 20 points (8-11), 12 rebounds, and credit for just one of her four or five blocks.
Appel: 12 points (5-12), several of them after it was over, four boards, but six assists.
It was generally agreed that Connecticut had a mediocre (for them) first half, and Stanford is a team that will exploit that. “I had them in the wrong defense in the first half,” Auriemma declared. When UConn played well, you had the second half: Domination over the next best team in the country. The Huskies play four of the top 12 ranked teams in the next three weeks: What are those teams thinking now?
When UConn pressured the Stanford guards, forcing the Cardinal to make plays in 15-18 seconds, Stanford had trouble scoring. When they could set up and run their half-court offense, the Cardinal were very successful. They actually shot 57 percent in the first half. The Cardinal also won the battle of the boards in that half, 18-13. In the second half, Connecticut was superior on the boards, 30-11, including 14 offensive boards! Rebounding like that cannot be defeated. And, as Pat Summitt always says, “Rebounding wins championships.”
No championships here. “We’re 10-0 and beat a really good team,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said, trying to keep it cool. “But we get no trophies, no rings, no nothing. Hopefully we get a chance to play them again in the Final Four.”
But, if nothing else, this game was a sign that there could be a few trophies, rings and championships come season’s end.
Originally published Fri, December 25, 2009
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