Terps too much for Wahoos

Ron Bailey, Publisher

Adjustments drove Maryland's victory.

January 17, 2011 - When Virginia traveled to Maryland for an ACC Women’s hoops game on Monday, the Cavilers had a solid game plan, one that seemed predicated on using their three guard, flex-based offense to free up interior shots and wing jumpers, while also generating turnovers through consistent use of a 1-2-2, ¾ court press backed by a matchup zone that morphed between 3-2 and 2-3. It worked for around half of the first stanza, with UVA leading 16-15 with 10:52 to go in the period.

Unfortunately for head coach Joanne Boyle they would not lead again, eventually falling 68-61 to Brenda Frese’s Maryland Terps, before an announced crowd of 3,897.

What happened? First off, Maryland solved UVA’s open court pressure.

Laurin Mincy was on the attack.

“They had a really, really good game plan, came in and made us play their style of play” said Frese afterward, referring to the 1-2-2. “It thought it took us awhile to get the rhythm and feel of the game”. Ultimately the Terps were able to neuter UVA’s pressure by finding center outlets, or as Frese noted “get better flashes into the middle of the floor”. She also lauded her team for “being a little bit more aggressive in breaking” or clearing that defense.

Also impacting UVA’s defensive pressure was fatigue; Boyle’s team is short on backcourt performers, really only having three. ““Fatigue did set in, we tried to use some timeouts accordingly” acknowledged Boyle, who followed “But once you get some stops, it reinvigorates us”. She also revealed “going away from it for awhile” and returning to the 1-2-2 towards the end of the game.

Sophomore guard Ataira Franklin on leading the 1-2-2, having a short backcourt, yet pressing as much as she and her teammates do: “It’s something we work a lot on in practice. When we’re in the game, we can’t say anything, I can’t say anything (complain about fatigue). Coach Corey (McNeil), he’s really on me about – it starts with me. I have to set the tone up there. All I can do is go a 100% for as long as I can, and get a sub when I can, get some water when there’s a timeout. That’s pretty much all I can do.

“But in a game like this, you have to leave it all on the court. So I can’t worry about the next break or the next media (timeout)”.

Only six UVA players logged double digit minutes, while Maryland enjoyed nine with the same status. That depth was also key in the Terps handling Virginia’s matchup zone, according to Frese, who indicated her team was able to “wear them down” in addition to getting “inside-outside touches” when attacking that scheme. Maryland’s fast break action – constantly pushing the rock – impacted UVA’s fatigue level as well, even if they were only officially credited with four fast break points.

Add the Terrapins’ use of a switching, sagging defense in the second half as a factor, one that greatly limited the looks of UVA’s frontcourt players. “I definitely thought that made a big difference” opined Frese of that scheme. “I thought our post defense was solid tonight”. Boyle described it as challenging, hence her uses of ball screens, since “they want you to play east and west, and you have to play north and south”. Early in the game she thought UVA functioned better against it, than later on.

The numbers bear out Maryland’s effectiveness inside defensively, as the only ‘big’ that scored in double figures was senior Chelsea Shine with 12 points. Junior forward Telia McCall contributed eight points and seven rebounds. UVA only shot 39.1% overall, 33.3% from three point land.

Sophomore guard Laurin Mincy led all scorers with 20 points, and added five dimes for the Terps. Lynetta Kizer, a senior forward, notched 10 points and 10 boards for Frese’s bunch, now 17-1 overall and 4-1 in the ACC, all while being ranked 8th nationally. The Terps completed an impressive 43.9% of their overall shots, half (5-10) from three point land.

UVA (14-5, 2-3) saw junior Lexie Gerson contribute 15 points, Franklin followed with 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and four swipes, while senior point guard Ariana Moorer notched 10 points, three rebounds, five dimes and a steal. Moorer, Franklin and Gerson – the team’s backcourt – played 37, 39, and 37 minutes, respectively.

The Wahoos host Miami Thursday, while Maryland welcomes Wake Forest. Both games tip at 7p.