Speaking of defending players from the suggestion they’d had an ‘off night,’ I’ll speak up for Ash. I think she played great and did exactly what Geno needs her to do.
Ash ran at top speed for 19 mins of playing time, harried opponents relentlessly on defense, got out front on the break repeatedly, and grabbed 3 tough rebounds. If that’s all she did, I’d be thrilled. She only shot 1-4 from 3. But more importantly, she was 2-3 on her signature midrange jumper. And those two came after a couple of empty possessions, effectively encouraging her teammates and demoralizing Villanova. They work like hell to get a couple stops, and then Ash pops in one of those effortless jump shots and the balance of power on the court shifts. A key part of her arsenal is that drought ending midrange jumper and I love to see it.
Also, on relentlessness, Ash exemplifies it for the freshmen every single game. They haven’t all learned to totally embody it yet, though Morgan is close. The more they get to see it in someone playing next to them, the better.
And just for contrast, I’ll praise Allie, too. She was pretty good on defense in her limited minutes. She didn’t shoot much, just the one driving layup, but she was mainly where she was supposed to be, where her teammates expected her to be. But that layup, a contested drive, is exactly what I love to see from her. Yes, when she can get open she’s a human torch from the perimeter. But she’s also a big kid who knows how to get to the rim even without a defensive lapse on the other side. This is a perfect complement to her perimeter game and I expect to see a lot more of it over the next 3 years.
