The Plus/Minus: Virginia Women’s Basketball Mauls Pittsburgh

Plus

A win is a win is a win. There is nothing quite like getting Pitt at the JPJ to break a two-game losing streak. This is not a good Pitt team – at the bottom of the ACC and with a win only over Boston College, another bottom dweller – and it showed. They were 3/13 from deep and shot under 30% from the floor overall. Pitt must have had a half-dozen air balls and some of their turnovers, well, they looked like high schoolers at times with how well they protected the ball. Virginia scored 16 points off Pitt turnovers, and had the Hoos not missed a couple of bunnies in the first quarter, that number would be a lot higher.

Plus

Caitlyn Weimar shot an ultra-efficient 8/9 from the floor and was 4/4 from the charity stripe. Her footwork is amazing. Monica Czinano, a teammate of Caitlyn Clark at Iowa, was famous for making it through entire games – and mind you, she was a career 15 point per game scorer – without ever dribbling the ball. Other than a fast break finish where she dribbled the ball from the top of the key, Weimar may similarly not have dribbled the ball at all tonight. Would that Blake Buchanan possessed Weimar’s understanding of where she is on the court.

Plus

Kymora Johnson scored 17 points (3/8 from deep) and dished out nine assists. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She does this all the time. No, what impressed the most was Johnson’s on-ball defense, easily the best we’ve seen from her this season. She had five steals and forced a sixth, all of the poke-the-ball variety. She looked every bit the second coming of Hannah Hidalgo out there.

Minus

This Pitt team looks like the second coming of Boston College of recent years. And I don’t mean that in a good way. BC was wildly entertaining to watch: Dontavia Waggoner and Teyana Tidberry, even Taina Mair before she transferred to Duke. All were fun players who had serious holes in their games and BC languished at the bottom of the table. Point guard Theresa Hagans has handle and a burst to the rim. Fatima Diakhate is third in the ACC in double-doubles so far. Both are freshmen. There’s potential there, but both were seriously outclassed by their Virginia counterparts.

Plus

After starting 1/7 from deep, Virginia exploded by converting six of their next seven en route to an 8/20 night. Amazing how hitting 40% of your treys makes everything else easier. For comparison, Virginia shot 10/41 from beyond the arc their past three games, two of them losses.

Plus

After a three-game stay in coach Agugua-Hamilton’s dog house, Gabby White had her second straight game with more than 15 minutes. She had nine rebounds and six assists in 17 minutes. Adeang Ring, after no minutes the last two games, got 15 minutes. I don’t understand coach Mox’s rotations at this point as Ring got all her game time down low in the post after seemingly carving out a role as a wing.

Minus

Injuries suck. In the middle of a 10 – 2 run to scratch back to a two-point deficit, Pitt lost Amiya Jenkins after she tripped over Breona Hurd and hit her knee hard on the floor. Her screams could be heard on the stream. Pitt, which had finally made this a game, never recovered as Virginia went on a 16 – 2 run to close the half and turn the game into a rout.

Plus

The game plan was to pound the ball down low to Tabitha Amanze. It took her four times to score as she was well defended by Diakhate. (And yes, that name does look very similar to that of Mamadi Diakite.) Amanze finished with just eight points on an abysmal 4/14 shooting performance. But you have to love it when it’s the bigs who are diving on the floor for loose balls, especially in the middle of a rotten shooting night. Amanze did that three times in the first half, winning a jump ball on each occasion.

Minus

With three minutes left in the first quarter, Pitt switched to zone. This is a good move against Virginia. All season long, when teams switch, the Cavaliers are slow to react, usually taking two to four possessions to get back on track. Good idea, right? Did I mention that Pitt is just really bad? Well, twice as Pitt was going back and forth between man and zone, the Panthers left Johnson alone for wide open threes. Johnson made them pay.

Plus

28 assists on 34 made baskets. Unreal.

Plus

Virgina was 8/10 from the line which is excellent even without considering that Virginia on the season has been mediocre shooting free throws. White knows that point guard that can’t convert at the line is of limited utility in close games, is certainly working on this aspect of her game as she’s changed her shooting motion. We’ll have to see how this tracks as the season progresses because she was just 2/4 on the night.

Next Up: The women are due to host NC State on Sunday, January 25th at noon. The men have moved up their Saturday game to noon (and delayed the ceremony to name the court after Tony Bennett) to avoid the snow that’s coming. It’ll be interesting to see if the women get their game in. The game, if it is played, will be on the ACC Network.