The Plus/Minus: UVA Women’s Basketball Can’t Keep Up with Boston College

Virginia recorded four turnovers before they scored a point and were never really in the game, falling to Boston College 72-57.

Virginia Athletics

I’ll label my bias: I really enjoy watching this Boston College team.  They are scrappy and play harder than anyone else in the ACC.  They have two scorers in T’Yana Todd and Teya Sidberry who can explode at any time, and Dontavia Waggoner is the most impactful non-scorer in the conference.  But the team was gutted when point guard Taina Mair bolted for Duke and Maria Gakdeng transferred to UNC.  But liking the Eagles doesn’t make it any easier to watch them dismantle the Cavaliers, as they did on this day.

Minus

The Virginia Cavaliers committed four turnovers before they scored a single point. They had eight in the first five minutes, cleaned it up a bit in the second frame with just three, but then lost all semblance of ball control with another 11 in the second half.  Boston College turned those 22 TOs into 29 points.  The Eagles had problems with ball security of their own, committing 21 turnovers on their own; but Virginia was only able to covert those into 17 points.

Minus

While I’m on the subject of turnovers, there had to be eight or nine traveling calls made against the two teams.  Three or four of those were legitimate calls, the player took three or four steps.  But the rest?  Men always get away with that first step before putting the ball down because they are more explosive, but when women do the same, they get called.  It’s a travel in both sports, true, but the women shouldn’t be penalized.  The ACC seemed to be more lenient that last two years, but if this first game is an indication of renewed interest in the part of the league, it will make for a slower, sloppier game.

Plus

Latasha Lattimore had her best game as a Cavalier scoring 23 points (just two shy of her career high) on 10/12 shooting and she grabbed nine rebounds.  She hasn’t been a great free throw shooter this season, but she went 3/3 from the line.  More importantly, she played 39 minutes which she could only do because she wasn’t in foul trouble.  The first marker for greatness is availability, you gotta be in the game to make a difference.  Lattimore has also corrected her early-season tendency to try and bring the ball up court herself.  She’s been consistent in finding a guard to give the ball to when she grabs the rebound.  She’s also a terror defending the in-bounds.  She’s long and tall and uses her height to great advantage.

Plus

Edessa Noyan returned after seven games.  She looked rusty but she did can her first three-pointer.  And for a team that struggles at the line, she was 2/2 from the charity stripe.  It was good to have her back.

Minus

But on the negative side, Paris Clark was out again.  Since coming back for the three games of the Puerto Rico Shootout, she’s missed the last two.  Coach Agugua-Hamilton uses the full court press sparingly, but Clark’s presence elevates the press from nuisance to weapon.

More troubling was Olivia McGhee’s absence.  She didn’t play, though she was fully dressed out and sitting with the other active players.  Postgame Coach Mox, when asked if she was available or if she had an injury, simply replied that “she’s healthy.”  Presumably this was a disciplinary issue because McGhee was moping on the bench and disinterested in the team huddles.  Twice I caught Clark pulling McGhee into the huddle when the coach was talking, and that was what I could see on the broadcast.

Minus

2 for 23. 

Hard to win games shooting 9% from beyond the arc.  The “best” shooters on the day were Noyan (1/4) and Payton Dunbar (1/5.)

Minus

Virginia came out with their “new” 1 – 2 – 2 zone and I thought this was a good thing.  It had proven effective in slowing down Auburn mid-week, and having the ability to toggle between man-to-man and zone defenses can only be a good thing.  It’s still very much a work in progress as the back of the zone lost T’Yana Todd bigtime (at least three times) as she was 4/5 from deep in the first quarter alone.  Todd had 14 of BC’s 22 first quarter points, and that five-point lead was basically the ball game.  A 12-3 run, courtesy of another Todd bomb, early in the second quarter gave the Eagles a double-digit lead they never surrendered.

Plus

In many ways, Virginia had their best outing playing in transition today.  The execution was poor  -- 2/23 from deep will do that to you – but Virginia did much better at getting wings and guards to run to the three-point line, and thereby leaving more space at the lane.  Also, Virginia looked to pass the ball cross the half-court line more, and that makes the break faster.  Again, the execution was poor, but if Coach Mox want this team to be a running team, more space and pace is needed.  Hopefully the team can learn from this.

Pushing the PACE 🏎️#GoHoos 🔸⚔️🔹 #GNSL pic.twitter.com/8GzBboWIBF

— Virginia Women's Basketball (@UVAWomensHoops) December 8, 2024

Plus

Coaches always talk about a next-one-up mentality.  The team has had it’s share of injuries and Coach Mox likes to play her entire bench so there hasn’t been anything like a regular rotation thus far.  But freshman Payton Dunbar clearly has the green light.  After registering two DNPs the past two games, it took Dunbar just two minutes to hit the following:

Dunbar dials it up from distance! 📞#GoHoos 🔸⚔️🔹 #GNSL pic.twitter.com/zq6l2bU5SP

— Virginia Women's Basketball (@UVAWomensHoops) December 8, 2024

That’s a confident stroke.  Payton hasn’t been overly successful from deep – 4/20 on the year – but I love the confidence.

Next Up:  It’s exam break and the Cavaliers won’t see the court til Tuesday, December 17th as they host University of Maryland Eastern Shore.  Game time is 7:00pm and the game is on ACC Network Extra.