25 March 2012
UConn: Elite Eight, Again
Gonzaga? Not so much. They made a run at Kentucky, but couldn't get the win.
UConn, on the other hand, had a pretty decisive win against Penn State.
Before the game, a Penn State player said: "We’re a scoring team. I don’t think they’ve played against a real, true scoring team. That’s what we do. That’s what we do best. They’re pretty much going to have to pick their poison. They’re going to have to figure out how to keep us from scoring." Since UConn won 77-59, I think they figured out how to keep them from scoring! It probably should have been a bigger margin of victory, but the Connecticut players took their foot (feet?) off the gas in the last 10 minutes or so, much to the dismay of Coach Auriemma. He promptly called a time out, yelled at them, and put (almost) all his starters in.
ESPN has a great article about the game, that is mostly an article about Kelly Faris and how awesome she is. (Have I mentioned she's my favorite player????):
"With Faris in the lineup for the first six minutes, 21 seconds of a regional semifinal, Connecticut outscored Penn State 20-8 and threatened to run its opponent right out of the Ryan Center. With the junior guard on the bench for the remainder of the half, Connecticut sweated out a 23-21 advantage."
And:
"Faris is the backbone of Connecticut's defense, and defense is the backbone of this Connecticut team."
And! A story about why Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey recruited her:
"Playing in an AAU tournament, Faris drew two charges on the other team's best player, reading the same play the same way and twice getting to the same spot. That caught Dailey's eye the same way a 3-pointer from two steps behind the line or a wraparound pass might."
Apparently they didn't recruit her too heavily at first, because they assumed she'd stay in Indiana and go to Notre Dame or Purdue. As soon as they knew that wasn't true, they told her they were interested, she reciprocated, and that was it!
The other Huskies played today, too, but they lost. Still, they had a pretty impressive run in WNIT, especially considering this was their first year with a new coach and their top scorer missed the entire season because of an injury.
UConn, on the other hand, had a pretty decisive win against Penn State.
Before the game, a Penn State player said: "We’re a scoring team. I don’t think they’ve played against a real, true scoring team. That’s what we do. That’s what we do best. They’re pretty much going to have to pick their poison. They’re going to have to figure out how to keep us from scoring." Since UConn won 77-59, I think they figured out how to keep them from scoring! It probably should have been a bigger margin of victory, but the Connecticut players took their foot (feet?) off the gas in the last 10 minutes or so, much to the dismay of Coach Auriemma. He promptly called a time out, yelled at them, and put (almost) all his starters in.
ESPN has a great article about the game, that is mostly an article about Kelly Faris and how awesome she is. (Have I mentioned she's my favorite player????):
"With Faris in the lineup for the first six minutes, 21 seconds of a regional semifinal, Connecticut outscored Penn State 20-8 and threatened to run its opponent right out of the Ryan Center. With the junior guard on the bench for the remainder of the half, Connecticut sweated out a 23-21 advantage."
And:
"Faris is the backbone of Connecticut's defense, and defense is the backbone of this Connecticut team."
And! A story about why Associate Head Coach Chris Dailey recruited her:
"Playing in an AAU tournament, Faris drew two charges on the other team's best player, reading the same play the same way and twice getting to the same spot. That caught Dailey's eye the same way a 3-pointer from two steps behind the line or a wraparound pass might."
Apparently they didn't recruit her too heavily at first, because they assumed she'd stay in Indiana and go to Notre Dame or Purdue. As soon as they knew that wasn't true, they told her they were interested, she reciprocated, and that was it!
The other Huskies played today, too, but they lost. Still, they had a pretty impressive run in WNIT, especially considering this was their first year with a new coach and their top scorer missed the entire season because of an injury.
Labels: college basketball, UConn basketball
# posted by mamurd @ 9:47 PM 
