The Plus/Minus: Virginia Women Capitulate to Pitt
Four days after making a statement in a 91-87 victory at then-No. 15 Florida State, Virginia followed that up with a big step back as the Cavaliers suffered a massively-disappointing 56-52 loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Val has the Plus/Minus to break down the defeat.
Minus
Virginia stumbled out of the gates as Pittsburgh jumped out to a 15-4 lead. The women fought back, because of course they do, and lead 26-23 at the half. Virginia was doomed coming out of the locker room as they put up a 6-point third quarter, maybe their worst quarter of the season. Threes by Olivia McGhee, Cady Pauley and Sam Brunelle, and a strong performance at the line brought Virginia back into the game, after having been down 14 in the third. It was too little, too late.
Plus
Kaydan Lawson has been the victim, minutes-wise, of the arrival of McGhee, Paris Clark and Jillian Brown, but after Virginia laid an egg in the third, Lawson’s energy and defensive intensity sparked the Cavaliers back to life. I’ve written many a time over the past three years that these women do not give up. It certainly looked like they did in the third, however. Lawson changed that, but as I’ve already written, it was too little too late.
Minus
56-52 looks like a Tony Bennett rock fight, doesn’t it? That score would reflect the kind of pace Bennett wants to play at. For these women, who want to run at every opportunity, though, this score just reflects how poorly the teams performed overall. Virginia was 28% from the field and 26% from deep while Pitt was 37% and 21% respectively. The two teams combined for 42 turnovers with Virginia averaging a turnover a minute for the first seven minutes of the game. The two teams combined for 24 offensive boards, yet only recorded 13 total second-chance points. Each team was called for a five-second in-bound violation. Two teams at the bottom of the ACC are going to put up these kinds of numbers.
Minus
Yonta Vaughn missed her second straight game due to concussion protocols. Sam Brunelle is still hobbling around on one good leg. Camryn Taylor left the game for good after banging knees early in the second quarter. Virginia is not going to win many games with Taylor only playing nine minutes.
Plus
Paris Clark had a monster defensive performance with three steals, a block, and at least four deflections out of bounds. Over three consecutive defensive possessions, Clark blocked a shot and then recovered the ball before it went out of bounds. Had a steal falling out of bounds that she shoveled to Edessa Noyan before landing over the line. And she deflected a pass that she had no right getting to. It is weirdly appropriate that for one year she attended the same high school as Ryan Dunn. They can both be defensive stoppers.
Minus
All of Virginia’s bad habits on the break came back to haunt them. Clark and Alexia Smith, two times each, tried to finish 1 v 3s at the rim. Clark was called for a charge and a travel. Smith was bailed out by the refs. One time she tripped herself, I think, and once she got a blocking call that on any other night would have resulted in a charge. Kymora Johnson was looking to spread the wealth on her fast breaks, but she got too deep into the lane before passing it to a wing. In four or five cases there were four to six players inside the restricted arc. There was no way that some of the passes Johnson attempted were ever going to make it to their targets. It would be nice if those wings would push wide and set up for inside-out corner threes. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a team this consistently bad in transition.
Minus
The last three minutes of the game with Virginia down by just four points, the teams combined for four timeouts and there were two official reviews. So lots of time for Coach Agugua-Hamilton to devise in-bounds plays. I don’t know if Coach Mox drew up some stinkers or if the players were just too tired, but those were three of the ugliest plays I’ve ever seen. Virginia had converted 3/7 from deep down the stretch to get back into the game. Virginia had a chance, but ye gods, these in-bound plays were awful.
Read: Matt's take is here.
Minus
Olivia McGhee had a rough night going 2/9 en route to five points. She has a good mid-range game, but it is giving her the confidence to make bad decisions on the court. Three times she pump faked her defender at the three-point line only to step inside the arc to take a long two. That is about the worst decision you can make in basketball – trading a three for a two that is just a foot or two shorter – and how fast she learns to either keep her feet planted or take a step to the side will go a long way to determining future success for the Hoos.
Minus
Virginia just lost, at home, to the worst team in the ACC. The glow of beating Florida State over the weekend is gone.
Next Up: The women host UNC on Sunday, January 28th at noon. I will be at the game as me and 15 other alums will be jointly celebrating, this, our 60th birthdays. I’m hoping we get Florida State energy rather than Pitt energy.
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