The Plus/Minus: Virginia Women’s Basketball Falls to Nebraska

Plus

If I had been writing this column as the game was going on, I would have wasted a lot of time, as through three quarters, the Cavaliers were getting skunked by the Cornhuskers. But a fourth-quarter rally (8/10 from the field and 5/7 from three-point range,) fueled by impressive Virginia full-court pressure, flipped the narrative. Yeah, Virginia lost, but this counts as a moral victory, and if it serves a springboard to subsequent improvements, will have proved to be a valuable result.

Plus

I have long advocated that coach Agugua-Hamilton bring the full court pressure, if not all game, then at least more than is typical. Paris Clark is one of the best off-ball defenders in the ACC, and in the addition of Romi Levy, the perfect trapping big, Virginia has the horses to press for a full 96 feet. Virginia was trailing 50 – 69 entering the fourth quarter, but on the strength of the press, scored nine straight points to make a game of it. Twice Virginia would close to four points, which was a huge improvement to how listless the team looked for the first 30 minutes.

Plus

After a disastrous first half that saw Kymora Johnson score just two points, turn the ball over five times, go 0/3 from deep, and commit a reckless charge that forced coach Mox to bench her for much of the half, Johnson rebounded to something approximating her normal self. Kymora scored 22 second half points on the strength connecting on three of her six treys and getting to the foul line four times. She had three steals, dished two assists and had four rebounds.

Minus

Breonna Hurd didn’t make the trip to Florida’s panhandle. Presumably she’s home sick. Olivia McGhee didn’t get into the game, and she must have known it from the get-go. McGhee never took off her warm-ups. I’m not sure there is a fix for her. Her form is perfect, so it’s not like there is some tweak that can be made to her jump shot. But it is clear that coach Mox has lost all confidence in her.

Minus

Nebraska’s Britt Prince put on a show, scoring a game-high 30 points on 12/17 and 4/6 night from deep. Most of these points were scored while Paris Clark was guarding her and I expect Clark to have nightmares for a couple days.

Plus

Virginia, contrary to recent games, had a very solid night from beyond the arc, going 10/21, or 47%. Clark was 2/5, Jillian Brown was 2/2, and Romy, Raiane dos Santos and Adeang Ring combined to go 3/5.

Minus

10/21 will win you a lot of ballgames… unless the other team goes 8/19. Nebraska’s Hailey Weaver, shooting 28% from deep on the year, connected on three threes in the first four minutes of the second half to blow a seven-point lead up to a 17-point lead. Virginia never really recovered.

Minus

Like most teams, Virginia plays a zone defense against the in-bounds under the basket. Three times Britt Prince was left alone and three times she scored on wide-open jumpers off the in-bounds pass. Two were triples. I don’t care what the zonal principles are, when you are defending against someone who is playing as flawlessly as Prince was, you have to find her. Virginia is just not good enough to win games giving up so many easy looks.

Minus

Nebraska won the battle of the boards, 37 – 29. The Cornhuskers grabbed 17 offensive rebounds frequently getting better position than the Hoos under their own glass.

Plus

Jillian Brown had a very nice Emerald Classic tournament and in this game was perfect: 2/2 from three and 2/2 from the line. She had six rebounds, three blocks, and a pair of steals. Brown typically plays within herself, rarely making mistakes. She almost doubled her season high in minutes with 34.

Next Up: Virginia returns to the cupcake portion of the season hosting UMES next Sunday, November 30th. Gametime is 2:00pm and the can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.