Georgia Tech dressed only 7 players.  Virginia was missing Taylor Valladay, Carmryn Taylor and Eleah Parker.  Tech had two of their past three games postponed, while Virginia hadn’t played since December 19th.  Such is life in the pandemic.

 

Virginia                     31
Georgia Tech            67

 

Positive

This game was played.  Virginia was always going to suffer after such a long layoff, and it was evident quickly that the Cavs didn’t have their sea legs.  Even though the Wreck only suited up seven players, they pulled away in the second half.  Baby steps, though, for Virginia.  You have to start re-building stamina at some point.  Might as well be today.

Positive

Virginia was competitive in the first half.  While the men held a lead vs UNC for just 16 seconds on Saturday, the women doubled that.  They led for 30 seconds after McKenna Dale hit a three early in the second quarter.  The Cavs held Georgia Tech to 3 – 15 shooting from three in the first half.  Lots of things would have to break right in the 3rd quarter… Maybe Georgia Tech would tire…  But a seven-point half time deficit didn’t necessarily seem unsurmountable.

Negative

Good feeling gone.  The Cavaliers were simply eviscerated in the second half getting outscored 41 – 12.  Georgia Tech’s ball movement was sublime in the first half, but they settled for shooting the three.  In the second half they completely abandoned that and feasted inside.  They just had too much size with 6’4” Lorela Cubaj and 6’5” Nerea Hermosa.  Virginia’s tallest player was 6’3” Meg Jefferson and she lacks the athleticism to match up with Cubaj, who has the handle of a guard.  The announcer claimed that Cubaj and Hermosa are the best pair of passing bigs in the women’s game, and after this viewing, I would completely agree.  It didn’t matter how many defenders were in the paint.  Cubaj and Hermosa could always find each other, and they would always be open.

Negative

With starting point guard Taylor Valladay out, Kaydan Lawson took over point duties.  You could tell she really wanted to step up her game and fill in the void, and she’s a useful bench player, but after a good first quarter, she was frequently out of control and head coach Tina Thompson reverted to having Amandine Toi run point for the fourth quarter.

Positive

Meg Jefferson acquitted herself well.  She’s maybe 9th on Thompson’s depth chart and she hasn’t played much the last three or four games, but with Carmryn Taylor and Eleah Parker both missing, Jefferson got the start.  She had three of Virginia’s six offensive rebounds and she displayed a deceptively quick first step.  The women, like the men, simply need more players who can score.  Last year Jefferson started out going 17 for 22 in her first three games before getting injured.  Maybe she could give Virginia a boost off the bench.