ILLINOIS GAME DAY THREAD

[Red Don]

WHEW!!!    

 

Husker Ladies WIN!!!!   57-53!  A Close Game Right Down To The End!

 

Final Stats:

 

 

https://fightingillini.com/sidearmstats/wbball/media

 

 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Red Don

[KarlHessEatMy....]

Cayton

[Merlin]

Cayton brings some nice defense. She won’t be popular with other teams:)

[mwm89]

WHEW!! Nothing pretty, but we'll take it.  Yes, some big defensive plays at the end, and Haiby hitting both free throws to seal.  Got a few threes when offense wasn't really there.  GBR!!

[12dozen]

Noticed Bella and Sam joining Issie, while walking off. All smiles.  Looks like a close knit group.

[NUtball]

Ugly game, but great and much needed win.  If you're going to finish in top portion of standings, can't drop many games against teams below you.

 

Except for the 3-pointer that brought Illinois back within 1, thought they really clamped down defensively in the last 4-5 minutes.  Illinois played very good defense most of the game as well.  Cayton adds a level of athleticism that is much welcome.  Hopefully she can develop into another offensive threat after shaking the rust off.

 

In all honesty, of all the games I've watched NU since they've joined the mathematically challenged Big 10 (any sport), this is one of the very few times that I can say that NU was not on the short end of seemingly conference-dictacted zebra bias.  That was refreshing and hopefully it continues going forward.

[HB]

Amazed we got some of those calls and non-calls on the road.  Been waiting 50 years for that 

[Red Don]

 

[whoopdeedoo]

Severe and Benning this morning: Benning couldn't disagree more with Haiby NOT taking the layup. make it a four point game. he would rather take the easy two than bank on making two free throws. his point is better odds at making a layup than two free throws. have to admit, i was thinking the same thing at the time.

watched the replay a number of times and if haiby would have taken the layup, it looked like huskers would have been up 4 with probably 6.8 to 7.2 seconds left. 

had a caller and they all agreed cayton should have been called for a foul. i was surprised she didn't watching it. glad to see huskers get a break though.

Edited January 26, 2021 by whoopdeedoo

[Tom Jones]

something else to consider about Sam's decision to dribble out instead of taking the layup ..... what if she had attempted the layup and missed?  It does happen, and remember she had missed several close in bank shots earlier. That might have been on her mind.  Didn't nearly this same thing happen to Whitish (I think it was Whitish) a few years ago?  I recall her saying in the post game interview "the game was ours but I missed a bunny shot".

 

If Sam attempts the layup and misses, then if Huskers don't get the rebound, they have to play defense.  Might go to OT or even lose.  I like the decision Sam made.

Edited January 26, 2021 by Tom Jones
added another thought.

[whoopdeedoo]

no doubt arguments for both sides. 

as a team, huskers are shooting free throws at a .705 clip

haiby shooting .779%....so, as far as that goes right person shooting 

i definitely see Bennings point though...odds are much better at making a layup than making two free throws---however, the time clock is also in play at this point of the game.

even if haiby makes one, puts huskers up by three and who knows....not sure if illinois had timeout left. 

Edited January 26, 2021 by whoopdeedoo

[12dozen]

I was hoping for the layup.  Even if she missed, I like Sam's odds of getting the rebound.

 

Also, I think we had 2 or 3 fouls to give before putting Illinois in the bonus.  I think Cayton was going to use one on the steal, to kill some time.  But, to our benefit, the Ref didn't call the foul.  Entertaining game, loved the "W".

[mwm89]

I think the decision concerning Sam's steal is mostly a push.  As coach said, she probably thought she could kill more time dribbling out than what materialized.  If a foul was going to occur one way or another, the right person had the ball.  Great that it all worked out.  I think everybody on here made some really good observations about the situation.  Let's get another W at Wiscy!  We need to win the games we are considered favorites, as someone else said.  GBR!! 

[Fastbreaker]

57 minutes ago, mwm89 said:

I think the decision concerning Sam's steal is mostly a push.  As coach said, she probably thought she could kill more time dribbling out than what materialized.  If a foul was going to occur one way or another, the right person had the ball.  Great that it all worked out.  I think everybody on here made some really good observations about the situation.  Let's get another W at Wiscy!  We need to win the games we are considered favorites, as someone else said.  GBR!! 

The Wiscy game is in Lincoln not Madison

[HUD]

Nice to see Issie not wearing a boot.  She has 2 days to heal before the next game and then 6 days more before a two game road trip where we will really need her.  It may turn into a one game road trip with the number of games Rutgers is postponing.