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TBBC WBB Pregame Glance: Connecticut
Charles via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
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The #6 Ohio State women’s basketball team doesn’t have much time to dwell on falling just short in their season opening loss at #2 South Carolina on Friday as things only get harder for the team as they host top ranked and defending National Champion Connecticut on Monday night. This might be the biggest home opener in OSU history in any sport; it isn’t often that you open against the defending national champ and UConn is the iconic team in women’s basketball, the team that everyone dreams of beating.
Connecticut returns 4 of their 5 starters from last season; that alone is enough to scare most people but it gets even scarier when one of those is Breanna Stewart, a 6-2 forward who is considered by many to be the best player in the country. Stewart averaged 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last season. She is a deadly shot, going 54% from the field, and can stretch defenses due to her ability to shoot from outside, she hit 31% from three point range last year.
Overall the Huskies are a very balanced team which is one of the reasons that they are so hard to beat, they don’t rely on just one or two players. All five starters averaged double digit points per game last season. Having that kind of balance in scoring requires unselfish play and the Huskies are great at moving the ball, averaging 21 assists per game last year while committing only 12 turnovers per game. As a team UConn shot a terrifying 54% from the field and 40% from outside. Defensively the Huskies only allowed opponents to shoot 31% from the field and 27% from three point range. Connecticut hits the boards hard, out rebounding opponents 44 to 31 last year and they return two players who recorded over 100 blocks last season.
Here are last season’s stats for the Huskies:
NO NAME POS Yr GP GS Min/Game FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
30 Breanna Stewart F SR 39 39 28.3 53.9% 31.3% 80.5% 7.8 3.1 17.6
3 Morgan Tuck F RS JR 39 37 25.5 59.6% 29.2% 75.0% 5.5 2.9 14.4
4 Moriah Jefferson G SR 39 39 28.7 58.7% 49.6% 84.3% 2.9 4.9 12.4
11 Kia Nurse G SO 39 36 25.0 48.6% 40.8% 72.2% 3.1 2.8 10.2
15 Gabby Williams G SO 38 0 15.6 63.7% 0.0% 46.2% 5.7 1.3 8.3
12 Saniya Chong G JR 38 2 19.0 47.0% 36.6% 74.2% 1.9 1.9 5.6
22 Courtney Ekmark G SO 28 0 9.7 32.8% 27.0% 16.7% 1.4 0.7 1.9
20 Tierney Lawlor G JR 33 0 3.9 16.7% 17.6% 100.0% 0.4 0.2 0.4
24 Briana Pulido G SR 32 0 2.5 23.1% 25.0% 0.0% 0.3 0.1 0.2
35 De’Janae Boykin F FR
51 Natalie Butler C RS SO
24 Napheesa Collier G/F FR
33 Katie Lou Samuelson G/F FR
Based on this you may be wondering if there is any hope for Ohio State on Monday. Yes, UConn is a formidable opponent and it will take a great game to beat them but they can be beaten. The Huskies lost their best three point shooter and return only 2 players who average more than 1 made three pointer per game (Moriah Jefferson and Kia Nurse); Ohio State returns three players who hit that mark ( Kelsey Mitchell, Ameryst Alston, and Cait Craft). Despite liking to go inside, the Huskies don’t get to the foul line as often as you would expect, averaging 15.5 trips to the charity stripe per game compared to OSU’s 20.2 trips per game; both teams shoot a not impressive 73% from the free throw line. Free throws were a big difference in Friday’s loss to South Carolina where the Gamecocks took advantage of 35 trips to the line to only 20 for OSU. Ohio State also has the advantage of having already faced a tough opponent this season while UConn has yet to play a game that counts.
Enough about UConn, what about Ohio State? There are several positives and negatives that can be taken away from Friday night’s game. The Buckeyes got off to a slow start and at times seemed to be caught up in the emotion of a big game, something they cannot afford on Monday. The OSU frontcourt also really struggled with Shayla Cooper and Alexa Hart combining for a dismal 3 of 22 shooting and 8 turnovers. Hart really had issues, a force on both ends of the court last year, she struggled with scoring and rebounding on Friday but did have two blocks. Now a lot of credit needs to go to the South Carolina post players who are a formidable group but UConn will present as big of a challenge inside and the OSU frontcourt will need to learn from their mistakes on Friday.
Everyone knows that Ohio State is led by sophomore phenom Kelsey Mitchell and defenses are going to focus on her all season. South Carolina did so on Friday and while they limited her in the opening minutes, they couldn’t contain her and Mitchell scored a game high 36 points, hitting shots from outside, attacking off the dribble, and getting to the free throw line. Fellow guard Ameryst Alston is also a focus for opposing defenses and she too had a great night, scoring 23 points while going 4 of 5 from outside. The ability of the two star guards to create their own opportunities despite being the focus of opposing defenses is a great sign and if they can get more help from the rest of the team, this offense could be unstoppable.
And, for the Buckeyes:
Nbr Player Pos Yr GP GS Min/Game FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
3 Kelsey Mitchell G SO 35 35 37.1 41.5% 37.8% 83.5% 4.2 4.2 24.9
14 Ameryst Alston G SR 35 35 37.7 45.0% 35.6% 83.2% 4.8 4.2 19.8
22 Alexa Hart F SO 35 32 30.3 62.7% 0.0% 45.6% 8.9 4.2 12.2
32 Shayla Cooper F JR 23 0 26.0 47.7% 38.1% 69.0% 7.8 4.2 10.7
13 Cait Craft G SR 35 35 34.0 32.1% 31.4% 74.0% 4.0 4.2 7.6
20 Asia Doss G SO 35 35 29.1 30.6% 23.2% 68.4% 3.7 4.2 5.4
1 Kalpana Beach F RS JR 7 3 19.6 45.2% 0.0% 55.6% 5.1 4.2 4.7
21 Lisa Blair C RS JR 35 0 9.2 53.4% 0.0% 42.3% 3.0 4.2 2.1
0 Kaylan Pugh G FR
4 Sierra Calhoun G SO
5 Chelsea Mitchell F RS FR
10 Stephanie Mavunga F JR
12 Kianna Holland G RS FR
24 Makayla Waterman F RS FR
34 Theresa Ekhelar C FR
The Ohio State-UConn game will tip at 5:30pm on Monday and will be shown on ESPN2. Tickets are still available and if you are in Columbus, please go to the game, be loud, and lets show the country that OSU is about to become a women’s basketball power.The home opener against Connecticut is going to be an amazingly tough challenge and OSU will have to play a near perfect game to win but they have the talent to pull off the upset if they play to their potential. Mitchell and Alston will need to continue to do what they do while the rest of the team will need to step up on offense compared to Friday. A key to this game will be smart, crisp passing as UConn is very, very good at disrupting passing lanes. The other key will be the inside game where Hart and Cooper will need to be effective on both ends of the court. This game will serve as another barometer of just how far the OSU program has come under Coach McGuff and how far it still has to go. No matter what, these are the types of games that Ohio State needs to be playing as it tests the players and matchups of two top ten teams are great for the fans and the sport as a whole.
The post TBBC WBB Pregame Glance: Connecticut appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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Charles via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The #6 Ohio State women’s basketball team doesn’t have much time to dwell on falling just short in their season opening loss at #2 South Carolina on Friday as things only get harder for the team as they host top ranked and defending National Champion Connecticut on Monday night. This might be the biggest home opener in OSU history in any sport; it isn’t often that you open against the defending national champ and UConn is the iconic team in women’s basketball, the team that everyone dreams of beating.
Connecticut returns 4 of their 5 starters from last season; that alone is enough to scare most people but it gets even scarier when one of those is Breanna Stewart, a 6-2 forward who is considered by many to be the best player in the country. Stewart averaged 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game last season. She is a deadly shot, going 54% from the field, and can stretch defenses due to her ability to shoot from outside, she hit 31% from three point range last year.
Overall the Huskies are a very balanced team which is one of the reasons that they are so hard to beat, they don’t rely on just one or two players. All five starters averaged double digit points per game last season. Having that kind of balance in scoring requires unselfish play and the Huskies are great at moving the ball, averaging 21 assists per game last year while committing only 12 turnovers per game. As a team UConn shot a terrifying 54% from the field and 40% from outside. Defensively the Huskies only allowed opponents to shoot 31% from the field and 27% from three point range. Connecticut hits the boards hard, out rebounding opponents 44 to 31 last year and they return two players who recorded over 100 blocks last season.
Here are last season’s stats for the Huskies:
NO NAME POS Yr GP GS Min/Game FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
30 Breanna Stewart F SR 39 39 28.3 53.9% 31.3% 80.5% 7.8 3.1 17.6
3 Morgan Tuck F RS JR 39 37 25.5 59.6% 29.2% 75.0% 5.5 2.9 14.4
4 Moriah Jefferson G SR 39 39 28.7 58.7% 49.6% 84.3% 2.9 4.9 12.4
11 Kia Nurse G SO 39 36 25.0 48.6% 40.8% 72.2% 3.1 2.8 10.2
15 Gabby Williams G SO 38 0 15.6 63.7% 0.0% 46.2% 5.7 1.3 8.3
12 Saniya Chong G JR 38 2 19.0 47.0% 36.6% 74.2% 1.9 1.9 5.6
22 Courtney Ekmark G SO 28 0 9.7 32.8% 27.0% 16.7% 1.4 0.7 1.9
20 Tierney Lawlor G JR 33 0 3.9 16.7% 17.6% 100.0% 0.4 0.2 0.4
24 Briana Pulido G SR 32 0 2.5 23.1% 25.0% 0.0% 0.3 0.1 0.2
35 De’Janae Boykin F FR
51 Natalie Butler C RS SO
24 Napheesa Collier G/F FR
33 Katie Lou Samuelson G/F FR
Based on this you may be wondering if there is any hope for Ohio State on Monday. Yes, UConn is a formidable opponent and it will take a great game to beat them but they can be beaten. The Huskies lost their best three point shooter and return only 2 players who average more than 1 made three pointer per game (Moriah Jefferson and Kia Nurse); Ohio State returns three players who hit that mark ( Kelsey Mitchell, Ameryst Alston, and Cait Craft). Despite liking to go inside, the Huskies don’t get to the foul line as often as you would expect, averaging 15.5 trips to the charity stripe per game compared to OSU’s 20.2 trips per game; both teams shoot a not impressive 73% from the free throw line. Free throws were a big difference in Friday’s loss to South Carolina where the Gamecocks took advantage of 35 trips to the line to only 20 for OSU. Ohio State also has the advantage of having already faced a tough opponent this season while UConn has yet to play a game that counts.
Enough about UConn, what about Ohio State? There are several positives and negatives that can be taken away from Friday night’s game. The Buckeyes got off to a slow start and at times seemed to be caught up in the emotion of a big game, something they cannot afford on Monday. The OSU frontcourt also really struggled with Shayla Cooper and Alexa Hart combining for a dismal 3 of 22 shooting and 8 turnovers. Hart really had issues, a force on both ends of the court last year, she struggled with scoring and rebounding on Friday but did have two blocks. Now a lot of credit needs to go to the South Carolina post players who are a formidable group but UConn will present as big of a challenge inside and the OSU frontcourt will need to learn from their mistakes on Friday.
Everyone knows that Ohio State is led by sophomore phenom Kelsey Mitchell and defenses are going to focus on her all season. South Carolina did so on Friday and while they limited her in the opening minutes, they couldn’t contain her and Mitchell scored a game high 36 points, hitting shots from outside, attacking off the dribble, and getting to the free throw line. Fellow guard Ameryst Alston is also a focus for opposing defenses and she too had a great night, scoring 23 points while going 4 of 5 from outside. The ability of the two star guards to create their own opportunities despite being the focus of opposing defenses is a great sign and if they can get more help from the rest of the team, this offense could be unstoppable.
And, for the Buckeyes:
Nbr Player Pos Yr GP GS Min/Game FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG PPG
3 Kelsey Mitchell G SO 35 35 37.1 41.5% 37.8% 83.5% 4.2 4.2 24.9
14 Ameryst Alston G SR 35 35 37.7 45.0% 35.6% 83.2% 4.8 4.2 19.8
22 Alexa Hart F SO 35 32 30.3 62.7% 0.0% 45.6% 8.9 4.2 12.2
32 Shayla Cooper F JR 23 0 26.0 47.7% 38.1% 69.0% 7.8 4.2 10.7
13 Cait Craft G SR 35 35 34.0 32.1% 31.4% 74.0% 4.0 4.2 7.6
20 Asia Doss G SO 35 35 29.1 30.6% 23.2% 68.4% 3.7 4.2 5.4
1 Kalpana Beach F RS JR 7 3 19.6 45.2% 0.0% 55.6% 5.1 4.2 4.7
21 Lisa Blair C RS JR 35 0 9.2 53.4% 0.0% 42.3% 3.0 4.2 2.1
0 Kaylan Pugh G FR
4 Sierra Calhoun G SO
5 Chelsea Mitchell F RS FR
10 Stephanie Mavunga F JR
12 Kianna Holland G RS FR
24 Makayla Waterman F RS FR
34 Theresa Ekhelar C FR
The Ohio State-UConn game will tip at 5:30pm on Monday and will be shown on ESPN2. Tickets are still available and if you are in Columbus, please go to the game, be loud, and lets show the country that OSU is about to become a women’s basketball power.The home opener against Connecticut is going to be an amazingly tough challenge and OSU will have to play a near perfect game to win but they have the talent to pull off the upset if they play to their potential. Mitchell and Alston will need to continue to do what they do while the rest of the team will need to step up on offense compared to Friday. A key to this game will be smart, crisp passing as UConn is very, very good at disrupting passing lanes. The other key will be the inside game where Hart and Cooper will need to be effective on both ends of the court. This game will serve as another barometer of just how far the OSU program has come under Coach McGuff and how far it still has to go. No matter what, these are the types of games that Ohio State needs to be playing as it tests the players and matchups of two top ten teams are great for the fans and the sport as a whole.
The post TBBC WBB Pregame Glance: Connecticut appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
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