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Hayes emerging into a vocal leader
Lorin Dixon, who played a key role in UConn's 68-63 win over Georgetown, let it be known which of the Huskies took the lead during the second-half huddles.
After the UConn coaching staff addressed the team during timeouts, the five UConn players would gather and it was junior Tiffany Hayes who emerged as the vocal leader.
It was not the first time Hayes spoke up around her teammates this season but with senior Maya Moore being more of a leader by example and the most vocal experienced player being the injured Caroline Doty, Hayes was thrust into a leadership role more on Sunday than at any point in her college career.
"I was basically trying to keep the intensity up and make sure I got Coach (Geno Auriemma's) point across after he left the huddle to make sure they didn't forget," Hayes said. "That is what you huddle for, you keep everybody together. I think somebody has to do it in the last six minutes. I took it upon myself to do it.
"I think that was the most I did it in a game. I've done it before but not as intense as that."
DUKE GETS ANOTHER SHOT AT HUSKIES
A loss like the 87-51 hurting UConn put on Duke can sabotage a season but the Blue Devils said the opposite was true. Rather than feeling sorry for themselves, the Duke players said they learned their lessons.
"I think we got blown out by 40 points so I am pretty sure we learned a lot of lessons from that game," senior forward/center Krystal Thomas said. "Defense, offense, the whole game was a great teaching point for us."
Duke did stumble a little bit after the loss, the first of the season for the Blue Devils, losing by two points at North Carolina and by 22 at Maryland but seemed to have rediscovered their game in the postseason winning the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title and advancing to the Elite Eight for the ninth time in the last 14 seasons.
"We definitely learned from it," Duke senior guard Jasmine Thomas said. "We are moving the ball, playing inside/out better than we had back then. It is definitely something we got better at. I think we are excited for the opportunity and the team has definitely grown a lot since then, It is going to be fun for us, we are going to play as hard as we can and it will be a good game."
After the UConn coaching staff addressed the team during timeouts, the five UConn players would gather and it was junior Tiffany Hayes who emerged as the vocal leader.
It was not the first time Hayes spoke up around her teammates this season but with senior Maya Moore being more of a leader by example and the most vocal experienced player being the injured Caroline Doty, Hayes was thrust into a leadership role more on Sunday than at any point in her college career.
"I was basically trying to keep the intensity up and make sure I got Coach (Geno Auriemma's) point across after he left the huddle to make sure they didn't forget," Hayes said. "That is what you huddle for, you keep everybody together. I think somebody has to do it in the last six minutes. I took it upon myself to do it.
"I think that was the most I did it in a game. I've done it before but not as intense as that."
DUKE GETS ANOTHER SHOT AT HUSKIES
A loss like the 87-51 hurting UConn put on Duke can sabotage a season but the Blue Devils said the opposite was true. Rather than feeling sorry for themselves, the Duke players said they learned their lessons.
"I think we got blown out by 40 points so I am pretty sure we learned a lot of lessons from that game," senior forward/center Krystal Thomas said. "Defense, offense, the whole game was a great teaching point for us."
Duke did stumble a little bit after the loss, the first of the season for the Blue Devils, losing by two points at North Carolina and by 22 at Maryland but seemed to have rediscovered their game in the postseason winning the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title and advancing to the Elite Eight for the ninth time in the last 14 seasons.
"We definitely learned from it," Duke senior guard Jasmine Thomas said. "We are moving the ball, playing inside/out better than we had back then. It is definitely something we got better at. I think we are excited for the opportunity and the team has definitely grown a lot since then, It is going to be fun for us, we are going to play as hard as we can and it will be a good game."
Labels: Lorin Dixon, Tiffany Hayes
posted by Jim Fuller at
7:23 PM
2 Comments:
Are the UConn male practice players Slower and Less Physical than the Georgetown women? Why did the Georgetown women give the Huskies so much trouble in UConn's 3 wins? Are the male practice players not guarding the UConn women quickly and aggressively? The media talks about UConn seeking perfection on every play in rigorous practices. So why do the UConn players have difficulty against pressure defenses and physical defenses?
If UConn loses to Duke, be prepared for Joanne P. McCallie to lecture everyone about how underappreciated she and her players are.
Maya Moore obviously has had a great career, whether or not she reaches 3000 career points.
Brittney Griner has 1476 points, 578 rebounds, and 391 blocked shots in 71 games. Unless she suffers a serious injury, her 4 year career statistics should be at least as impressive as Maya’s.
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