Simply put, Stanford was better
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Good Morning from Tampa and from the UConn perspective, the season is over. Why ? Because the season finally caught up with them. There are games where the Huskies missed Kalana Greene & Mel Thomas, but managed to win. Last Night, was not the case. Stanford beat UConn at it's own game last night. Patience on offense, great ball movment and that one extra pass was made to find the open shooter. UConn was in a hurry it seemed all night long to shoot the ball. And Kalana's defense would have helped on Candice Wiggins, who hit those dagger three's after UConn got it to one at 47-46. But Wiggins got help from everyone. Jayne Appel was solid as was JJ Hones. But Kayla Pederson & Jillian Harmon were the thorns in UConn's side all night. Again, they hit big 2nd half threes to put UConn away.
In looking at some of the fan blogs, Renee Montgomery seems to be the target of frustration. And it's unfair. 35-40 minutes a game in pressure packed situations finally caught up with her. Her shot was never really there in the post season. And the 2-18 from 3 point range the last two games are evidence of that. She and Ketia Swanier have to be spent, physically and emotionally. To get UConn to this point is an achievement. And should be commended. As for UConn's Bigs ?? Well Brittany Hunter was ineffective, as was Kaili McLaren. And Tina Charles hit some first half hooks to keep it close. But not nearly enough production with points, rebounds and defense as Stanford scored more points than anyone on UConn this season. And as good as Maya Moore was this season in so many ways, defense is always the last thing a freshmen gets and she was the one who left Wiggins open on those back to back threes in the second half in the 2-3 zone.
Say what you will about this team. Considering the injuries and inconsistancies, getting to the Final Four was a major accomplishment for this group. The Seniors finally got it this season. They learned how to win. And let's hope the Huskies feed off of that next season. Another highly touted class is coming in with Elena DellaDonne, Tiffany Hayes, Heather Buck and Caroline Doty. Kalana won't be herself most likely till December or January. And as Geno siad last night, they'll be back.
I hope you enjoyed our broadcasts all season long on WTIC and the Network. Thanks to Meg for pinch hitting for Kara. And thanks to Kara for all her hard work this season. Eric Davis was a pleasure to have as our engineer. Back after a one year absense with that great smile to make a tough day brighter. And to Joe and Wayne, my big brothers so to speak for guidance always and to keep me on the straight & narrow.
Ok, time to get out of the hotel, have lunch with Sean our voice guy and then see my brother tonight. Then it's home to be husband, dad (I'll be watching alot of Coventry HS Baseball) and traiific cop for the morning show. So long from Tampa !! Where the hotel elevators are on the fritz, the wirless internet comes and goes and the shuttles are..well....lousy. Other than that, a great time had by all..... |
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