Was at the game today. Several observations. UVA, with out a doubt, played their best game of the year. Defense was relentless, shooting great. Someone mentioned that it helps your shooting when you get a bunch of easy layups. Well, I’ve watched UVA miss tons for layups (both easy and difficult) this year. Today they made most of them. I felt like, for the first time, they played the way Tina is teaching them. Tough defense and push the ball. They’ve tried to do that all year - but are typically either not doing it well or doing it inconsistently. Bad 1stQ, good second and third, mediocre 4th is a typical scenario. Today they played 4 strong quarters! They are very young - often had 3 or 4 freshmen on the floor at the same time. Maybe they’re finally starting to get it.
On the other side, ND was really bad! Little energy, poor defense.
At the end I wondered if UVA was reacting to the fact that Sam Brunelle was playing her first “home” game. The roar when she was announced was the loudest of the game. Even when UVA went up by 40, while the fans were certainly into it, the cheers didn’t compare to that moment. Might that have motivated them?
Finally, I wasn’t overly impressed with Brunelle. Yes, she got 21 points, but on 6-17 shooting. She did spend most of her time away from the basket and didn’t seem to play much defense. Of course she is a freshman and on a typical ND team would probably be coming off the bench. I don’t know what the true story is of her UConn recruitment, but when I saw that she was the only player on the floor with gold sneakers, I thought... CD wouldn’t have allowed that!
(notice the GREEN emoji for a hint at which team you egregiously and dumbfoundedly supported-I couldn't resist).
