Apparently, a full half was required to shake off the rust and lethargy from 13 days of inaction. If one had missed the game and only saw the final score, it would appear to have been business as usual. But a 52-9 blowout in the 2nd half is pretty crazy.
A rare instance to be rooting for U$C is for them to miraculously upset USC (1-seed South Carolina). There have been plenty of blowouts and a noticeable lack of big upsets like in the men's tournament. It seems the women's brackets are much easier to predict, and maybe all of the 1-seeds will be able to reach the Final Four this year (last year that could've been the case if it weren't for JuJu suffering her catastrophic injury).
The women's game still doesn't have the parity of the men's. It's getting better. You also don't get many players leaving early. Upsets can happen when the mid major team has more experience. That might change with the new WNBA contract.
Right before tip-off, the BSPN camera was focused on a frontal shot from about the waistline up on Lauren, and she had this look on her face like a "deer in the headlights." Her level of stress was palpable as she seemed to be using some breathing techniques to calm herself down.......This was surprising to me given her experience (senior 4-year starter), her talent (Big 18 Offensive AND Defensive Player of the Year) and the opponent (16-seed). It's not the kind of focused confidence I expected to see from this player.......sure enough, she started poorly and was sat down after just 3-minutes.
Now, I've watched her, off and on, over the past several years, and have marveled at her dominance over lesser as well as premiere talent, in both regular season and critical playoff-style games.......but I haven't followed her closely enough to get more than a top surface knowledge of her as a player. So, i have a question for those who know her well...........Does she have anxiety/confidence issues? I've known both athletes and students like that, who, despite their talent or brilliance, have to consistently battle with themselves to cope with the stress of gametime or tests.......I'm not asking for someone to violate HIPPA or anything like that, just whether or not this has been a topic of discussion before as to Lauren given what I noticed in the first quarter of this opening game (obviously she dominated as usual after she calmed down).
Wow.....thanks G2B. I had no idea she put this out there....sports can be a mental health challenge without coming into it with issues......there is such a stigma for any top athlete to show vulnerability or weakness........it is incredibly courageous for her to share her experiences....I always thought she was special just based on skillset, but this......the most elite athlete in women's college basketball....opening the discussion of mental health and to potentially provide a roadmap for others who may be suffering in silence, takes her to another level of respect and admiration far beyond the game itself....
There are only 9 players on the roster. There has to be at least one starter on the floor. I agree that with a big lead, you should not be putting in multiple starters. So which starter do you leave in the game? Close couldn't even get one walk-on?
The Lancers hit some unreal 3s in the first half, the second half was a textbook case of live by the 3 die by the 3.
Apparently, a full half was required to shake off the rust and lethargy from 13 days of inaction. If one had missed the game and only saw the final score, it would appear to have been business as usual. But a 52-9 blowout in the 2nd half is pretty crazy.
Go Lady Bruins!
A rare instance to be rooting for U$C is for them to miraculously upset USC (1-seed South Carolina). There have been plenty of blowouts and a noticeable lack of big upsets like in the men's tournament. It seems the women's brackets are much easier to predict, and maybe all of the 1-seeds will be able to reach the Final Four this year (last year that could've been the case if it weren't for JuJu suffering her catastrophic injury).
The women's game still doesn't have the parity of the men's. It's getting better. You also don't get many players leaving early. Upsets can happen when the mid major team has more experience. That might change with the new WNBA contract.
Right before tip-off, the BSPN camera was focused on a frontal shot from about the waistline up on Lauren, and she had this look on her face like a "deer in the headlights." Her level of stress was palpable as she seemed to be using some breathing techniques to calm herself down.......This was surprising to me given her experience (senior 4-year starter), her talent (Big 18 Offensive AND Defensive Player of the Year) and the opponent (16-seed). It's not the kind of focused confidence I expected to see from this player.......sure enough, she started poorly and was sat down after just 3-minutes.
Now, I've watched her, off and on, over the past several years, and have marveled at her dominance over lesser as well as premiere talent, in both regular season and critical playoff-style games.......but I haven't followed her closely enough to get more than a top surface knowledge of her as a player. So, i have a question for those who know her well...........Does she have anxiety/confidence issues? I've known both athletes and students like that, who, despite their talent or brilliance, have to consistently battle with themselves to cope with the stress of gametime or tests.......I'm not asking for someone to violate HIPPA or anything like that, just whether or not this has been a topic of discussion before as to Lauren given what I noticed in the first quarter of this opening game (obviously she dominated as usual after she calmed down).
Check the comments of other posts. There have been several stories about Lauren Betts. This article was written by Betts and been posted by others: https://www.theplayerstribune.com/lauren-betts-ncaa-basketball-ucla
Wow.....thanks G2B. I had no idea she put this out there....sports can be a mental health challenge without coming into it with issues......there is such a stigma for any top athlete to show vulnerability or weakness........it is incredibly courageous for her to share her experiences....I always thought she was special just based on skillset, but this......the most elite athlete in women's college basketball....opening the discussion of mental health and to potentially provide a roadmap for others who may be suffering in silence, takes her to another level of respect and admiration far beyond the game itself....
There are only 9 players on the roster. There has to be at least one starter on the floor. I agree that with a big lead, you should not be putting in multiple starters. So which starter do you leave in the game? Close couldn't even get one walk-on?