Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Sunday, January 30, 2005

The Fighting Irish made for a dark day in Storrs. After the guys blew it on the road, the women had their first Big East loss in Gampel since 1993. Notre Dame held off a struggling Husky squad 65-59.

Geno was underimpressed with the team's play. "We played that first half like we’ve never practiced before. It’s hard to win two against five." At times it looked like a replay of the ill-fated Michigan State game - too many quick shots, not enough teamwork. Battle summed it up nicely: "Everyone was trying to make big plays instead of making the safe plays."

The box score is kind of bizarre. Ann Strother played 40 minutes and tallied up 25 points; Charde Houston squeaked in a double-double but only shot 3 for 10. Courtney LaVere was the Irish's top scorer at 14 points, but "Energizer Bunny" Megan Duffy put in 40 minutes and went 7 for 8 at the line.

This game highlighted the Huskies' major problem this year: the lack of a good point guard. They also seem to be struggling with what I'll snarkily term "Borton-itis": great defensive play, but underperforming offense.