University Athletic Association

[Wydown Blvd.]

Agree with you jaybird... Can't believe I skipped Anda's name in my brief recap. I was way too excited. From walk-on freshman to major minutes a sophomore. Incredible development already. She is quite an athlete and gets better every time she steps on the floor.

Was pretty disappointed that there was no video for this one... Would have loved to see Cusworth and Anda play the post against Snikkers and hold her to such a low shooting percentage. Amazed she shot so many three balls (even before desperation time late) instead of pounding inside against the two power forwards. Her stat line (23-9) was definitely respectable as always, just surprised with the number of three balls. Wish I could have seen it 

Brianne Monahan may see time next week against Thomas More. I don't remember too much from the WashU v Thomas More matchup from last year other than the Thomas More center getting hurt early. While Berger hit a big three late against Hope, I expect her to show up bigger next week. I can't imagine back to back cold games from her.

Another week for the UAA!

[jaybird44]

I agree with you regarding Bri...I suspect that she and Monson both will get substantial minutes if Sayers and Rettig are hampered by their injuries next weekend.

I would have liked a video feed, too...I just followed the Live Stats while making dinner, and I wondered if Berger had an off-night, or if she was tagged by the Hope coaching staff as the person that would not beat them under any circumstances.  Not a bad ploy, considering the Hoovers were not offensively aggressive when the Bears faced Hope early in the season.  But, that sister act is clearly not afraid to carry a lot of water for the team if Berger is shut down.

I also wanted to see what was making Snikkers take so many 3-point shots.  Was she not wanting to mix it up inside?  Was she being double-teamed and pestered by smaller guards?  I would think, as a senior, that Snikkers would gleefully want to take on a sophomore (Sayers) and freshman (Rettig)...compared to what she faced in the title game last season (Jaimie McFarlin).  Snikkers could have elicited a lot of fouls, and made hay at the free throw line...and the rest of the team could have benefited by getting bonus free throws early in each half.  That, IMHO, would have produced more points that Snikkers' 3-point shots, and perhaps could have given Hope a win.

Just my two cents, which was trading at 1.8 cents when the market of public opinion closed on Friday...

[Wydown Blvd.]

Just did a quick look back at last years stats against Thomas More. Both Berger and Hoover were extremely impressive. Berger with 25pts 11rebs and Hoov with 16pts 9assists and 0 turnovers. If they come close to duplicating those numbers, it'll be great for the Bears.

I really don't know anything about Greensboro College. They don't look very deep... (Only 6 players had legitimate minutes against Juniata) but Danielle Duncan, their leading scorer at 22ppg, put up 28 pts and 10 boards against Juniata in their buzzerbeater-style victory.  They have a pretty undersized roster, esp relative to the size we usually see in the UAA. Only two 6' post players on the roster (one being a freshman F/G). They still out-rebound opponents by an average of 10 boards.

The mix of styles will prove interesting in the sweet sixteen matchup. Even without using the d3hoops rankings as a guide, Chicago is probably the favorite in that one. imho. I see them dominating the glass and capitalizing on the nineteen turnovers that GC averages. Also think Simpson and/or Herrick will have a field day against an undersized roster perhaps putting Greensboro's best player in foul trouble. Chicago is used to solid post play and will keep GC's leading scorer under control (if they pursue that strategy). Or have decent enough backcourt defense to lock down on GC's other options.

Very excited for the upcoming weekend and the possible UAA matchup.

[deiscanton]

From the March 7, 2011 edition of the Wash U Student Life newspaper:

This article by Sports editor Kurt Rohrbeck contains comments from Wash U players Dani Hoover, Alex Hoover, and Kathryn Berger on the NCAA tournament run:

  http://www.studlife.com/womens-basketball/2011/03/07/bears-advance-to-sweet-16-2

[GuyFormerlyPSBBG]

Deiscanton:

Looks like we are tied on the pick'em at 50 pts a piece 7 points off the lead


UAA Posters:

I believe there is a very good chance that UAA will face each other again in the Elite 8.  I'd like to see Greensboro there, but we are talking USASouth vs UAA.  I've watched Chicago in a few online games.  They will be a tough team to beat.  Massey has a score of 70-64 on a neutral court in favor of Chicago.   I really think Greensboro's chances are better if they play like they did against St. Vincent.  Again, I think Greensboro's speed and athleticism will be key to their chances.  What can we expect out of Chicago?

Wash U.  I really like your chances against Thomas More.  I think Thomas More is overrated and think the defending national champs will take that game.

[Wydown Blvd.]

Deiscanton:

Looks like we are tied on the pick'em at 50 pts a piece 7 points off the lead


UAA Posters:

I believe there is a very good chance that UAA will face each other again in the Elite 8.  I'd like to see Greensboro there, but we are talking USASouth vs UAA.  I've watched Chicago in a few online games.  They will be a tough team to beat.  Massey has a score of 70-64 on a neutral court in favor of Chicago.   I really think Greensboro's chances are better if they play like they did against St. Vincent.  Again, I think Greensboro's speed and athleticism will be key to their chances.  What can we expect out of Chicago?

Wash U.  I really like your chances against Thomas More.  I think Thomas More is overrated and think the defending national champs will take that game.

Just as an fyi. Along with the entire team being extremely physical, UChicago's guards are quick and athletic as well. Chicago has the weapons to chug through a slugfest or score in a high octane offense. I read on another board that they even pressed in the opening round game. I think the key to Chicago really revolves around their posts.... both Herrick and Simpson play hard every possession. They are tall enough to control the paint, but athletic enough to never really be a liability. And both can score facing up or back to the basket. Their guard play is simply consistent.

Some other UAA posters have good insight on Chicago too.

[jaybird44]

Chicago is very well-balanced, and can adapt well to different styles of play from its opponents.  The Maroons' Achilles heel may be turnovers...up until the final game of the regular season against Wash-U, they averaged 18 turnovers per game.

In that season finale, Wash-U forced 9 turnovers in the first half, but only got 8 points out of them.  For the game, Chicago had 15 turnovers, but Wash-U only got 15 points out of them. 

That trend continued last weekend...Chicago had 22 turnovers vs. Hanover, but Hanover only got 11 points from them.  Granted, that game was pretty much over at halftime.  But, Calvin forced 17 turnovers from Chicago, but only got 19 points from them. 

You're not going to reasonably get 2 or 3 points from every opponent turnover, but a team should probably shoot for 1.5 points from opponent turnovers.  If Wash-U could have achieved that, it would have had 7 extra points, making that game much closer at the end.  If Calvin gets 1.5 points per Chicago turnover, it would have had 6 extra points, and perhaps escapes with a victory.

Therein lies the rub, as the old saying goes:  you have got to get maximum points from turnovers against a team like Chicago.  Easier said than done, because Chicago doesn't give up freebies...it gets back quickly on defense to stop a lot of easy lay-ups, and then its half-court defense gets to impose its will, anchored by Simpson and Morgan Herrick.

A tough and frustrating day/night occurs as a result, at least for the last 20 Chicago opponents.

[Wydown Blvd.]

Agree with you jaybird...

As a sidenote. It's also why some coaches chart deadball turnovers separate than live ball turnovers. Some coaches put extra emphasis on the difference between an errant pass (and then steal) that leads to a fast break layup and a turnover that is a traveling violation, three-second call, or offensive foul. Bob Knight talks about it often. Good teams with more dead ball turnovers than live ball TOs will be more likely to give up less pts per turnover. Right now, the Notre Dame men really play with that mentality (even if it is just a bi-product of their deliberate offense).

[GuyFormerlyPSBBG]

I want to make note of this St. Vincent (I know not at the level of Chicago) but was one of the top teams in the country of taking care of the ball and turnover margin.  They only average about 14 per game Greensboro forced 23 in the game.

Greensboro may be undersized but again they are athletic, one of the smaller players wilborn averages 5.3 rebounds per game.  She is also the record holder for steals at Greensboro.  As physical as a team they are 5 times players have fouled out.  I agree with the depth, think a few more players could play off the bench, but aren't quite as athletic and quick.  If Chicago does turn the ball over a bit Greensboro does a great job of forcing them (686).

I know the lack of depth will play a role but both teams foul above 16 times game.  Greensboro has shot 701 FT's! on the year, that is 113 more than Chicago.  Chicago has 7 players that go about 10+ min per game Greensboro has 6.  I would be worried about the depth of Chicago as well.

With all that said as fan, I want Greensboro to win, but I do think the chances are more than in favor of Chicago in this game  

[Wydown Blvd.]

I want to make note of this St. Vincent (I know not at the level of Chicago) but was one of the top teams in the country of taking care of the ball and turnover margin.  They only average about 14 per game Greensboro forced 23 in the game.

Greensboro may be undersized but again they are athletic, one of the smaller players wilborn averages 5.3 rebounds per game.  She is also the record holder for steals at Greensboro.  As physical as a team they are 5 times players have fouled out.  I agree with the depth, think a few more players could play off the bench, but aren't quite as athletic and quick.  If Chicago does turn the ball over a bit Greensboro does a great job of forcing them (686).

I know the lack of depth will play a role but both teams foul above 16 times game.  Greensboro has shot 701 FT's! on the year, that is 113 more than Chicago.  Chicago has 7 players that go about 10+ min per game Greensboro has 6.  I would be worried about the depth of Chicago as well.

With all that said as fan, I want Greensboro to win, but I do think the chances are more than in favor of Chicago in this game  

IMHO, I don't think UChicago is very deep this year either. The talent is very top heavy regardless of the way the minutes are spread on the bench. It is the first game of the weekend, so stamina won't be too big of a factor. However, the way the game is called might. If the refs call the game tight, Chicago could get into foul trouble and their depth tested.

[deiscanton]

From the March 7, 2011 edition of the Chicago Maroon student newspaper:

This article on Chicago's first and second round games, written by Mahmoud Bahrani, contains comments from Meghan Herrick on the Chicago v Hanover game, and comments from Morgan Herrick and Chicago head coach Aaron Roussell on the Chicago v Calvin game:

http://www.chicagomaroon.com/2011/3/7/how-sweet-it-is

[deiscanton]

The Brandeis Justice has just come out with their first edition since the February winter break.

In the March 8, 2011 edition, Sports editor Josh Asen wrote a brief article on Brandeis women's basketball's season finale at NYU.   The Judges got their 3rd ever victory at the Jerome S. Coles Sports and Recreation Center on the NYU campus that day, as well as their first ever victory at Coles Center on NYU Senior Day.

The article contains comments by Brandeis senior co-captain Amber Strodthoff on the game:

  Brandeis women's basketball wins season finale at NYU

(My comment on the season:  I would like Brandeis to make a dramatic improvement on their free throw shooting for next season.    In UAA play, Brandeis only shot 60% from the charity stripe for the season-- that is 10 to 15 percentage points below their average FT% of between 70 to 75% FT in league play.)

[martin]

Chicago leads Greensboro 43-28 at the half.  Video feed is not working.  Live stats were screwed up but seem to be OK now.

Not sure if I want to see Wash U win - has anyone ever beaten the Bears three times in one season?

[martin]

Chicago routs Greensboro 87-61. 

I think Wash U will hit Thomas More just as hard.  So look forward to an all UAA regional final.

[jaybird44]

Wash-U leads by a point at halftime, 28-27, after being down by as many as 7 points in the first half.  Claire Schaperkoetter leads the Bears with 8 points off the bench.  Alison Long leads Thomas More with 9 points.