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Huskies look like the Huskies of old
The first sign that things in the rematch between the UConn and St. John's was going to be just a little bit different came from an unlikely source.
When you look down the roster of UConn players prone to emotional outbursts, you would have to go pretty deep into the list of names to come up with sophomore guard Bria Hartley.
But there was Hartley unleashing a fist pump after driving to the basket and getting fouled just 7:13 into the game. For good measure Hartley completed the free throw for the three-point play and the Huskies were off and running.
It was part of a dismantling of a St. John's team which stunned the Huskies and posted perhaps the most noteworthy win in the program's history on Feb. 18. The final score of 74-43 made it seem closer than it actually was as the Huskies advanced into the Big East final for the 22nd time in the last 24 seasons.
"We have kind of been in a fog a little bit offensively, we are squeezing the basketball so hard trying to make it go in that it has become apparent that we weren't playing, we were trying to survive, we were hoping the ball would go in and hoping we wouldn't miss a shot," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "We were playing the game like every possession was life or death and I don't know if that is a fun way to play basketball. We talked about it and challenged our guys that 'let's go' let's get back to playing like
we played in November and December and see where it takes us. They were unbelievable and I think we had St. John's back on their heels the entire game."
Stefanie Dolson led the charge with 23 points while Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 22.
"We went out there with something to prove after our loss to them and used it as motivation," Dolson said.
Auriemma said this tournament was about the Huskies regaining their confidence and swagger more than it was winning another Big East title but now UConn has a chance to do both.
"You can definitely tell from today that we are moving in the right direction," Hartley said. "We looked like we knew what we were doing on offense, we got a lot of steals got in the passing lanes and were able to have a lot of energy."
When you look down the roster of UConn players prone to emotional outbursts, you would have to go pretty deep into the list of names to come up with sophomore guard Bria Hartley.
But there was Hartley unleashing a fist pump after driving to the basket and getting fouled just 7:13 into the game. For good measure Hartley completed the free throw for the three-point play and the Huskies were off and running.
It was part of a dismantling of a St. John's team which stunned the Huskies and posted perhaps the most noteworthy win in the program's history on Feb. 18. The final score of 74-43 made it seem closer than it actually was as the Huskies advanced into the Big East final for the 22nd time in the last 24 seasons.
"We have kind of been in a fog a little bit offensively, we are squeezing the basketball so hard trying to make it go in that it has become apparent that we weren't playing, we were trying to survive, we were hoping the ball would go in and hoping we wouldn't miss a shot," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "We were playing the game like every possession was life or death and I don't know if that is a fun way to play basketball. We talked about it and challenged our guys that 'let's go' let's get back to playing like
we played in November and December and see where it takes us. They were unbelievable and I think we had St. John's back on their heels the entire game."
Stefanie Dolson led the charge with 23 points while Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 22.
"We went out there with something to prove after our loss to them and used it as motivation," Dolson said.
Auriemma said this tournament was about the Huskies regaining their confidence and swagger more than it was winning another Big East title but now UConn has a chance to do both.
"You can definitely tell from today that we are moving in the right direction," Hartley said. "We looked like we knew what we were doing on offense, we got a lot of steals got in the passing lanes and were able to have a lot of energy."
Labels: Bria Hartley, Geno Auriemma, Stefanie Dolson
posted by Jim Fuller at
12:24 AM
2 Comments:
Let's see what happens to the Huskies toughness tonight if Dolson gets called for 2 quick fouls. If I noticed how low Dolson's hands were trying to block St. John's shots last night, then Notre Dame most certainly did. Fighting Irish would be smart to go right at Dolson and let her hack away.
Think you could say the same thing is Devereaux Peters is called for going over the back twice before the first TV timeout.
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