#1 irish vs #2 huskies in clash of the top two titans in wbb tonight

[coolirish9]

top teams of our irish and UConn huskies play tonight at 7 pm at the Purcell on espn2. hope our irish win but UConn looks like they always do even though they graduated some starters from last year. I think our irish can win but they'll have to rebound better and not go cold shooting wise for stretches like in the last couple of games against the huskies or they'll lose for sure. the huskies force you to play an almost perfect game to be able to be them

 

[IrishHerb]

This year's version of the ND ladies' BB team is deep, but seems to be missing something. Their "bigs" don't seem to match up with the likes of Ruth Riley, Becca Bruszewski, Natalie Achonwa. These old time "bigs" could muscle around inside, rebound, shoot and pass. Turner apparently can defend some, runs well, shoots ok, rebounds if not beaten up inside, Westbeld seems to be more of an upper post player, Nelson just doesn't look that refined, and Thompson, out tallest girl, is still a work in progress as a senior.

Hope they do beat UConn though. Hope Muffet comes up with something that helps the team.

 

[coolirish9]

well what worries me the most IrishHerb is UConn going after turner hard early on to get her in foul trouble. Kristina nelson will have to have a big night inside to help take pressure off of turner. if arike is on shooting wise then she could cause a lot of troubles for UConn. should be a great game IrishHerb

 

[Izo]

Big Irish women's fan , but lately we always seem to be the bridesmaid never the bride . Notre Dame have been sloppy in games this year particularly on defense. And UConn coach Auriemma does not stand for that . His defense Is very good and UConn is notorious for making 20-2 runs in the beginning of 2nd halves , taking a 10 point advantage and extending it to 30 .

It is true in most team sports ,football , soccer, etc that defense wins games and ND's defense needs to really pick it up . I so far really haven't seen it

 

[coolirish9]

if our irish play the second half like the last five or so minutes of the first half then they'll have a great shot to win. they just can't have anymore stretches of going cold shooting wise like they did early on

 

[holtzonlously]

My son is a grad student, he and his friends got to the Joyce and were not able to get in. They only allowed about 200 or so students into the game, that is not right. The Joyce would be rocking with the kids there in the student section, what a shame

 

[Extirpate 6951]

My son is a grad student, he and his friends got to the Joyce and were not able to get in. They only allowed about 200 or so students into the game, that is not right. The Joyce would be rocking with the kids there in the student section, what a shame

The Admin wants the cash....screw th.e students......just like the Kelly crap show!

 

[coolirish9]

give UConn credit for playing a good game on both ends but if our irish didn't miss so many easy shots near the rim then they could've won this game. going cold for stretches has killed this team against UConn the last couple of years and did tonight

 

[Extirpate 6951]

Gino pounded Muffet again......no answers - Uconn plays D ......Muffets team plays a BVG Maginot D!

 

[Izo]

Notre Dame women need something , have a long way to go before they can compete with UConn . Very disappointing .
UConn women beat ND to the basket several times and made it look easy . Defense still has a way to go . Cuts ,backdoors . Rebounding still a problem especially against taller teams .

 

[IrishHerb]

Big differences were : (1) free throws. Upon made 95% of theirs (19-20), ND made only 50% (4-8); (2) layups ... how many makable layups did Turner miss tonight?

As I said before, ND is a good team this year, they're deep, but something just seems to be missing.

 

[zonairish]

we are not even a woman's college basketball school

 

[Izo]

Don't get me wrong Turner is very very important ,but her offense is limited, close to the basket . Can't miss shots at point blank range . Posted above,Turner did not have a good game .

Another point , Mabrey seems to be off on her shooting, no consistency on her 3 point shot this year . Up and Down .

 

[inkybd]

Izo, you are spot on with your comments. I am frustrated that MM cannot seem to teach better defense. IMO that is the big difference between the two teams. UConn had way too many easy layups whereas we had to work hard for our shots.UConn did not shoot well from beyond 10 feet.
Also, in regard to the students not getting into the game: they don't deserve it. I am a season ticket holder,and the students hardly ever come out to support the team. Dollars are not the issue---women's tickets are very cheap, which is why the team is mainly supported by South Bend families.

 

[Extirpate 6951]

we are not even a woman's college basketball school

Fencing is the last hope! Will the last athlete please flush on the way out!

 

[wicker]

Is the boycott over? Nobody said anything

 

[South Bender]

-Irish D is very suspect.
-Mabrey is just off this year.
-Westbeld gets playing time because she's a senior. She has shown nothing on the court to deserve starting.
-Instead of trying to "control" Ogunbawale, Muffet needs to turn her loose. She's wild at times, but she can score and create like no other. She's instant offense and gets the crowd on their feet.
-Allen needs to look for her shot more often and not look to pass as much.

 

[twalsh]

I kind of felt like Mabry and Westbeld were not quite ready for this level of defensive intensity. The game seemed to be going too fast for them. Maybe having played only one ranked opponent in the first 8 games didn't help that. Turner's stats say she had a very good game, but she missed some very easy shots. Last minute of the first half and last minute of 3rd qtr were awful, like we were trying to get to the horn and forgot to play it out. All that said, I won't be the least bit surprised if we play this team again in March. We are very good, just not UConn good yet.

 

[ivan brunetti]

There are no "top two titans". One sole titan, and then the pack.

 

[DieHard_Irish]

Mike Brey is the most formidable coach on campus, and way under appreciated. MM is a very good coach, elite coach, but the woman's competitive landscape is just not comparable

 

[Izo]

Watching ND women , they play sloppy .They go into games knowing they are going to win against lesser opponents and don't elevate the level of play , sometimes waiting till the last 10 minutes before putting away a team . On the other hand Auriemma won't stand for it and wants a lot of intensity by UConn women .

As far as defense , Notre Dame's defense was consistently beaten on drives to the basket . The announcers mentioned that Auriemma wanted to contain Ogunbowale and didn't want her driving to right and force her to go to her left.Meanwhile the Notre Dame women were allowing UConn to drive with their strong hand to the basket,not forcing them left ,plus the cuts to the baskets and backdoors .


Mabrey has not been consistent this year scoring 17 one game and 3 the next. Turner has to play close to the basket and although she missed a lot of shots at point blank range ,but , she works hard to get rebounds and gets little help .Thank God for that . I thought Westbeld would help out with rebounding this year especially against taller teams ,but no. She has some trouble passing from the high post to Turner in the low post.

This team has to turn it up a notch and play intense defense no matter who they play .

Notice that Jackie Young is getting more playing time . Hope that McGraw plays Erin Boley a lot more ,we will need them come tournament time .

Defense,Defense . Get in the habit every game ,the difference between ND and UConn

 

[South Bender]

Make no mistake - there are two titans in womens basketball. And ND is one of them.
They are by no means part of the "pack" of others.

UND is head and shoulders above the rest of the pack teams.

However, UCONN is head and shoulders above UND. Take it for what it's worth.

Hence, pretty closely matched games between UND and UCONN, and continual 30-40 point wins when UCONN plays anybody else.

 

[Roady]

Very, very close game between FSU and UConn.....FSU was shooting for the win and missed as time ran out.

UConn 78-76 when FSU missed the three pointer in last seconds.

 

[coolirish9]

There are no "top two titans". One sole titan, and then the pack.

don't tell the Baylor coach that because she'll rip off her suit coat and wanna slap you lol. I have to laugh at her going totally nuts next to the bench in games and ripping of her suit coats and showing them on the floor

 

[Izo]

McGraw's offense seems a little disjointed one on one, while UConn runs an offense where players have open shots

The announcers mentioned that UConn has a short bench and I think ND has a better bench .Repeating myself !there are games where bench players ,Young , Nelson , Boley can get a lot of playing time .Ali Patberg?

Going to watch ND against # 16 DePaul ( Completely routed by UConn last week 91-46) Saturday .
And wonder if it is going to be a close game

 

[NDAyers]

give UConn credit for playing a good game on both ends but if our irish didn't miss so many easy shots near the rim then they could've won this game. going cold for stretches has killed this team against UConn the last couple of years and did tonight

ND is all about IF. IF Brian Kelly was a good coach they would've been in the playoff in 2015. IF UConn didn't exist ND would be yuuuuuuge.

 

[ivan brunetti]

Make no mistake - there are two titans in womens basketball. And ND is one of them.
They are by no means part of the "pack" of others.

UND is head and shoulders above the rest of the pack teams.

However, UCONN is head and shoulders above UND. Take it for what it's worth.

Hence, pretty closely matched games between UND and UCONN, and continual 30-40 point wins when UCONN plays anybody else.

I dunno. Seems to me like a Clemson fan claiming that the Tigers are "one of the two titans of college football".

 

[twalsh]

I dunno. Seems to me like a Clemson fan claiming that the Tigers are "one of the two titans of college football".

Has Clemson been a perennial Top 5 team for the past 15 to 20 years?

 

[South Bender]

I dunno. Seems to me like a Clemson fan claiming that the Tigers are "one of the two titans of college football".

I hear ya. Geno has 10 national titles and McGraw has one. No comparison there.
But in the last 10 years, UCONN hasn't lost a whole lot of games. But the games they have lost - the majority have been to Notre Dame.

As I said, there's a huge gap between UCONN and Notre Dame. No doubt. But you've got to agree that there is also a huge gap (maybe not AS huge) between Notre Dame and all the teams under them.

In this scenario - in the highly unlikely event that UCONN ever loses another game - who do you think is going to be the team that beats them? There's really only a small handful of teams that are even in the conversation of that pipe dream. And UND is one of them.

 

[Hofman19]

The thing that makes UConn successful is that whenever one group of players graduate, others seem to naturally ascend into great replacements...It is very rare when an elite replacement is not waiting in the wings.

I have to admit that when they graduated the #1-#3 picks in the WNBA draft, I was not expecting them to be this good...Then again, I also was not counting on the likes of Collier and Williams to have developed as much as they have from one season to the next.

 

[NDAyers]

Has Clemson been a perennial Top 5 team for the past 15 to 20 years?

It's all about the brand!!!!!!

 

[NDAyers]

I hear ya. Geno has 10 national titles and McGraw has one. No comparison there.
But in the last 10 years, UCONN hasn't lost a whole lot of games. But the games they have lost - the majority have been to Notre Dame.

As I said, there's a huge gap between UCONN and Notre Dame. No doubt. But you've got to agree that there is also a huge gap (maybe not AS huge) between Notre Dame and all the teams under them.

In this scenario - in the highly unlikely event that UCONN ever loses another game - who do you think is going to be the team that beats them? There's really only a small handful of teams that are even in the conversation of that pipe dream. And UND is one of them.

ND....Where second place is amazing!

 

[twalsh]

The thing that makes UConn successful is that whenever one group of players graduate, others seem to naturally ascend into great replacements...It is very rare when an elite replacement is not waiting in the wings.

I have to admit that when they graduated the #1-#3 picks in the WNBA draft, I was not expecting them to be this good...Then again, I also was not counting on the likes of Collier and Williams to have developed as much as they have from one season to the next.

Kind of like Bama in football. When you have top rated recruiting classes every year, there are studs waiting for their turn. Just because nobody has heard of them doesn't mean they are not studs.

 

[Izo]

ND women lead DePaul 19 -15 at end of first quarter . UConn blasted DePaul 91-46 , DePaul played poorly and by most sports analysts , UConn played lights out ,by far their best game . Even so Notre Dame has a long way to go to get at UConn 's level . When we play decent or good teams like Green Bay , Washington, Iowa , games are not decided until final 5 or so minutes . I think we play too loose .

Don't really run great offensive sets ala UConn. Ogunbowale is our best offensive threat with Turner working the boards and Allen running point.

I know McGraw works on defense and it has got to really get better or we may not make the Final 4

I also know UConn squeaked by FSU ,but since then they are rolling.

 

[Izo]

Half time ND 33,DePaul 27. One ugly game . K. Nelson 1 for7 , M. Mabrey 1 for 5 .

 

[coolirish9]

Johnson had a big cond half off the bench for our irish as they pulled away late and won by 14 pts. DePaul is always hard to beat and this was a good bounce back win on the road for the team. they play six straight roads before playing at home again

 

[Izo]

Lindsey Allen will wear down by tournament time .She played all 40 minutes against DePaul. . Don't we have another point guard in the wings that can give Allen some much needed rest,plus getting a point guard ready to take over next season ?

 

[IrishHerb]

Lindsey Allen will wear down by tournament time .She played all 40 minutes against DePaul. . Don't we have another point guard in the wings that can give Allen some much needed rest,plus getting a point guard ready to take over next season ?

I think Jackie Young could step in from time to time, but she was injured in the UConn game and was in a foot boot on the bench against DePaul. I also thought, Mychal Johnson was supposed to be sort of a point guard.

 

[coolirish9]

and our next true point guard is in the 2018 class named gilbert out of indy area who is highly rated

 

[twalsh]

I think Jackie Young could step in from time to time, but she was injured in the UConn game and was in a foot boot on the bench against DePaul. I also thought, Mychal Johnson was supposed to be sort of a point guard.

Is Patberg a point player at this level?