Defensive adjustment:
Tara adjusted to slow down Jordan Horsten in the fourth quarter. Jones started the game on her and not only could she not defend her, she also picked up two quick fouls trying to do so. Emma-Nnopu was the only player who could really stay with her, and I think that was the key to holding Tennessee in check in the 4th quarter. Horsten was 3/10 in the second half. Toward the very end of the game Tara was subbing offense for defense--Lepolo for ball handling and Emma-Nnopu for defense. It has been a long time since I have seen that from Tara, and it seemed to work. On the other hand, it makes it clear that we are not a great defensive team this year, and Lepolo had to come out of the game when Tennessee subbed matchup problems in for her.
Offensive stagnation:
We knew, from the chalk talk, that Tennessee plays a close man defense and we were going to have to get some back door cuts to punish it, and we needed to score in transition. We did get a few, but not nearly enough--and Tennessee limited our transition points too. Scoring from the half court was difficult--it was frequently difficult to pass the ball inside, and we got some turnovers trying. Furthermore, Jump was closely guarded on the perimeter the whole time and rarely got an open look. We were most successful when someone drove on the basket and either scored or passed--no passes from the perimeter were going to work. As a result, we had only 14 assists on 27 made baskets.
Are we really so deep?
Katy said at one chalk talk that we were the deepest team in America, but in these tight games we play fewer players than our opponents. We had 7 players in double digit minutes, while Tennessee had 9. There was a similar pattern against South Carolina. Our bench scored only 6 points on 2/17 shooting.
Rebounding prowess:
Tennessee always hangs its hat on rebounding, and this was a point of emphasis for us. We convincingly outrebounded Tennessee. O-boards were especially helpful to us, we had 17 to their 14, and partly as a result we scored 42 points in the paint to Tennessee's 34. Basically, we out-Tennesseed Tennessee. Cam had 17 rebounds in 23 minutes of play. Jones had 13. Two double doubles.
Where are the screens for Jump?
Jump was 3-7 from three point range, but fortunately she was 4/5 from closer in, often being the recipient of a pass on a back door cut. But she was closely guarded at the perimeter, and we need a way of helping her get more regularly open.
Blockathon
Brink with 6 blocks. Only one of her fouls was caused by trying too aggressively for a block, I thought, and it was near the end of the game when she knew she had a foul go give. Without those 6 blocks we probably lose.
Spectacular Fourth.
It would be nice if we played that well the whole game, but a 24-12 fourth quarter was just what we needed. And it was Jones and Brink who supplied most of it.
Tara adjusted to slow down Jordan Horsten in the fourth quarter. Jones started the game on her and not only could she not defend her, she also picked up two quick fouls trying to do so. Emma-Nnopu was the only player who could really stay with her, and I think that was the key to holding Tennessee in check in the 4th quarter. Horsten was 3/10 in the second half. Toward the very end of the game Tara was subbing offense for defense--Lepolo for ball handling and Emma-Nnopu for defense. It has been a long time since I have seen that from Tara, and it seemed to work. On the other hand, it makes it clear that we are not a great defensive team this year, and Lepolo had to come out of the game when Tennessee subbed matchup problems in for her.
Offensive stagnation:
We knew, from the chalk talk, that Tennessee plays a close man defense and we were going to have to get some back door cuts to punish it, and we needed to score in transition. We did get a few, but not nearly enough--and Tennessee limited our transition points too. Scoring from the half court was difficult--it was frequently difficult to pass the ball inside, and we got some turnovers trying. Furthermore, Jump was closely guarded on the perimeter the whole time and rarely got an open look. We were most successful when someone drove on the basket and either scored or passed--no passes from the perimeter were going to work. As a result, we had only 14 assists on 27 made baskets.
Are we really so deep?
Katy said at one chalk talk that we were the deepest team in America, but in these tight games we play fewer players than our opponents. We had 7 players in double digit minutes, while Tennessee had 9. There was a similar pattern against South Carolina. Our bench scored only 6 points on 2/17 shooting.
Rebounding prowess:
Tennessee always hangs its hat on rebounding, and this was a point of emphasis for us. We convincingly outrebounded Tennessee. O-boards were especially helpful to us, we had 17 to their 14, and partly as a result we scored 42 points in the paint to Tennessee's 34. Basically, we out-Tennesseed Tennessee. Cam had 17 rebounds in 23 minutes of play. Jones had 13. Two double doubles.
Where are the screens for Jump?
Jump was 3-7 from three point range, but fortunately she was 4/5 from closer in, often being the recipient of a pass on a back door cut. But she was closely guarded at the perimeter, and we need a way of helping her get more regularly open.
Blockathon
Brink with 6 blocks. Only one of her fouls was caused by trying too aggressively for a block, I thought, and it was near the end of the game when she knew she had a foul go give. Without those 6 blocks we probably lose.
Spectacular Fourth.
It would be nice if we played that well the whole game, but a 24-12 fourth quarter was just what we needed. And it was Jones and Brink who supplied most of it.