For the second time this season, UConn women’s basketball fell on the road to a top ten opponent. After 17 straight victories for the Huskies in their series with Louisville, dating back to 1993, the Cardinals finally snagged another one, 78-69.
Some takeaways following this rare Husky loss:
Geno Auriemma pointed out the absurdity of calling this an upset
“In a normal world, why would this be a big story?,” Auriemma said at the postgame press conference. “Home team ranked third in the country beats the second ranked team in the country by 11 for their first win in 17 tries. In the real world, that’s not that big of deal is it? But because it’s UConn, it's a big deal.”
While the Huskies’ loss isn’t a reason to panic, it did shine some light on some key things for this team going forward.
This team doesn’t have a hero, and they probably aren’t going to get one — but that’s okay
Postgame, Auriemma pointed out that the game really got away from them during a five-minute stretch in the third quarter. He also added that this year’s team doesn’t have a go-to person to pull them out of a tough stretch, a Maya Moore, a Diana Taurasi. But, that isn’t the problem, according to Auriemma.
The Huskies run into trouble when any of the starting five tries to become that player. It might work in AAC play, but when Napheesa Collier, Katie Lou Samuelson or Crystal Dangerfield tries to go one-on-one with a top-tier opposing defense, they are going to fall short. They need a full team effort to get back in their groove.
“We are our best when we are working together,” said Samuelson after the game - and she is absolutely right.
UConn demonstrated just how good they can be on that front in the final three minutes of the game. They got open looks, they got defensive stops, and they operated the way we all expect UConn to operate, even if the comeback fell short.
Auriemma had high praise for the Huskies’ effort in those three minutes, noting that “that was probably the best we’ve looked in a long time against this kind of competition”.
If the Huskies can find a way to extend that team execution to forty minutes of basketball, they’ll be in much better shape come March.
How do the Huskies get going when they can’t get out in transition?
What makes UConn one of the best offensive teams in the country is how deadly they are in transition. However, when the Huskies can’t do so, it disrupts their game plan and often leaves them cold on the offensive end. We saw this against Baylor when UConn posted their lowest field goal percentage in twenty years after failing to force turnovers or get out running.
It happened again Thursday night. The Huskies turned Louisville over just six times and had zero fast break points. Without the transition opportunities, they finished just 38 percent from the floor, their second-lowest field goal percentage this year.
It all again comes back to executing their game plan. The Huskies don’t need transition opportunities to run their usual beautiful offense, they just need to get everyone involved. This in large part comes down to involving Megan Walker and Christyn Williams, and presents an opportunity for Dangerfield to step up. Dangerfield had assists on just 11 percent of UConn’s baskets tonight. If she can distribute the ball more for the underclassmen in the big games, the offense will likely look more balanced and in rhythm.
Heading into February, the Huskies still don’t have a reliable option off the bench
The depth of this team has been a concern from the start, but March is approaching and UConn still has not found a sixth weapon. Olivia Nelson-Ododa played decent minutes in the first half. Despite only putting up two points, her length, part of a big lineup from Auriemma, at least disrupted Louisville’s game plan. But, in the second half, the Huskies desperately needed an offensive spark as the starters struggled. Coach Auriemma tuned to Nelson-Ododa, Kyla Irwin and Mikayla Coombs, but none of the them could deliver.
In a perfect world, the starting five would always play seamlessly and the need for a sixth option wouldn’t be a huge problem. However, with two newcomers in the starting lineup and no bench production, UConn gets in a bind when someone - especially one of their upperclassmen - struggles from the floor. If someone off the bench can’t step up, it could be deadly for the Huskies come tournament time.
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