Game 5: Gophers visit Virginia (11-26-22)

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dailyprogress.com

Virginia women's basketball team holds off Minnesota, improves to 7-0

For all the scoring Camryn Taylor did Saturday, the most critical play she made came on the defense, and the tenacity she showed in doing so ensured UVa remained unbeaten.
dailyprogress.com dailyprogress.com


Taylor, who poured in a team-best 22 points, said she recognized what the Gophers were trying to do on that possession when UVa was clinging to a 71-70 advantage.
“Defensively, we’re always working on gaps,” Taylor said, “and making sure where we’re supposed to be. But [Minnesota guard Katie Borowicz] was on the left side of the court and I was supposed to be in my gap, so I was there.

“And so, I was like, ‘If I can get a hand on it and stop her, then boom,’” Taylor explained, “because I knew that player — from our scout — that she really liked to get downhill and get shots off. And so, if I could get [the ball], then I get it and I made a play.”
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Here are the video game highlights.

A condensed version of the game will likely be up soon.

 
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I agree that the offense seems to operate better with Battle running the point. Katie B seems to play more out of control this season compared to her first. Maybe it’s the just games on the road?
 

Virginia was not making 3's and so had to shoot inside. That doesn't mean the Gophers were always pourous inside.

In these pictures are good defending inside by the Gophers:

The shot by Virginia goes to the net.

The Virginia player to the middle right charges to the basket to get the rebound.

Minnesota blocks out all three players close to the basket nicely.

The charging Virginia player is stopped and blocked from a rebound.

In fact, for all five players the Gophers are positioned between the basket and the other player.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5.



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Virginia showed how defense is offense.

When you can make the other team turn the ball over you generate points.

Defense is offense. Defense is more important than offense because if you lag at defense you also lag at potential offense.

Smart team effort makes a big difference on defense. Offense is more about skill. A team can get more on defense by smart team effort.

All five starters for Virginia had 2 steals.

I think Minnesota likes to be an up-tempo team and has players for that. Last game Minnesota showed that transition game. I think as the defense gels we can see more potential for defense creating offense.



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I like
 
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Katogopher said:
I agree that the offense seems to operate better with Battle running the point. Katie B seems to play more out of control this season compared to her first. Maybe it’s the just games on the road?
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even the game against Presbyterian Katie only took 1 shot.. and 4 TO's.. just seems like she is pressing trying to do to much.. Amaya just runs the offense and doesn't just launch bad shots..
 



Gophers112233 said:
even the game against Presbyterian Katie only took 1 shot.. and 4 TO's.. just seems like she is pressing trying to do to much.. Amaya just runs the offense and doesn't just launch bad shots..
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Shes just trying to do too much, I like her playing off the ball with Amaya playing pg, Shes a good shooter but when shes handling the ball she keeps getting into bad spots and turning it over.
 

whalenfan said:
Shes just trying to do too much, I like her playing off the ball with Amaya playing pg, Shes a good shooter but when shes handling the ball she keeps getting into bad spots and turning it over.
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100% and it seems like she looks for her shot more then the teams best shot in the offense right now.. and some of her passes are not great right now..
 


"Turnovers and offensive rebounds," coach Lindsay Whalen said. "I mean, 22 turnovers. That's tough. It's hard to play against that many off-player rushes going the other way. We have to do a better job of taking care of the ball [Sunday]. We have to box out. But taking care of the ball is top of mind."

In their first game this season against a team from a Power Five conference, the Gophers had their chances and their issues....

"It was not for lack of grit, though, the Gophers lost. Mara Braun...."

www.startribune.com

Gophers hurt by turnovers, rebounding in 73-70 loss at Virginia

The Cavaliers went on a 20-0 run in the second quarter and managed to hold on to the lead until the end.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com
 



Mara Braun had a double-double.

 
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Both Cayton and Gradwell shot better this game after trending below their average earlier this season.

Battle had 6 assists, good.

For the point guard one key stat to watch is assists to turnover ratio, and unfortunately Battle like others today had turnovers.
 

Look at this eye-popping stat list for Virginia. SEVEN players had at least 2 steals. Wow.

That's what we want to see Minnesota doing.

Well, good news is that they almost won even with those bloopers. Learn to keep those down and the Gophers are in business.
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Bfan said:
Both Cayton and Gradwell shot better this game after trending below their average earlier this season.

Battle had 6 assists, good.

For the point guard one key stat to watch is assists to turnover ratio, and unfortunately Battle like others today had turnovers.
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on the season

Battle has 26 assists and 11 TO's
Katie B has 14 assists and 19 TO's

Battle's A/TO ratio is 2.36
Katie's A/TO ratio is 0.74

also Battle is our 2nd leading rebounder with (36), 7.2 RPG
 

Gophers112233 said:
on the season

Battle has 26 assists and 11 TO's
Katie B has 14 assists and 19 TO's

Battle's A/TO ratio is 2.36
Katie's A/TO ratio is 0.74

also Battle is our 2nd leading rebounder with (36), 7.2 RPG
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Right. You make a good point. Battle is definitely a great point guard in the making. That's a tough spot to master and in process.

I'm just reporting some stats and not criticizing Battle.

Battle I think is the ultimate point guard prospect to direct the offense system and be unselfish at times to help others.

Borowicz really is a shooting guard who is supposed to come in and shoot and steal.

Being cavalier has an upside and a downside. The upside is it creates great plays. The downside is that sometimes you need to not go there because it will be a mistake.

Michael Jordan was amazing at making bold plays, and sometimes at the last moment he would change his decision because it would have been a mistake. It takes time to be bold and know when to not be.
 

It’s clear they want Battle coming off the bench. She is clearly ahead of Cayton, but that is who they started when Braun was out.

One thing I like about today is having Maggie play more at the 4 spot as a sub for Heyer. I have no problem with a 4 guard line up when the guards are as tall as Minnesota has right now.

Borowicz….it’s not an effort thing, but she definitely over plays. Yet when she doesn’t Minnesota is a better team. She needs to keep working on that balance.

This team is improving. They will get a couple of upsets this year.
 

I'm not sure what to make of this. I didn't watch the game.

The leading rebounder for Virginia by a wide margin was a guard.

Maybe it's just their system where the guard storms in.

Or more likely the guard was repeatedly cutting into the defense for layups and then rebounds.


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Belzx009 said:
It’s clear they want Battle coming off the bench. She is clearly ahead of Cayton, but that is who they started when Braun was out.

One thing I like about today is having Maggie play more at the 4 spot as a sub for Heyer. I have no problem with a 4 guard line up when the guards are as tall as Minnesota has right now.

Borowicz….it’s not an effort thing, but she definitely over plays. Yet when she doesn’t Minnesota is a better team. She needs to keep working on that balance.

This team is improving. They will get a couple of upsets this year.
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Battle is the future but it's a complicated position to learn. It's the quarterback.

I think Battle is the starter and the future -- after she has enough time to learn.

Train her the right way along a progression.
 

Amaya Battle is an ultimate prospect at point guard. That needs to follow a smart period of preparation.

For her welfare, it would be a mistake to rush that. She deserves a smart training progression to help her be a great point guard ahead.


 

Battle vs. Kate B? We need both. In an up tempo style, a point guard can't play 40 minutes. And, we can't play both at the same time much because one has to be rested enough to spell the other. I think it boils down to if you need to inject energy into the team, you play Katie B at point guard. And, if you need to get things more under control, you put Battle at point guard. It may turn out well to have two different options depending on the situation.
 

Bfan said:
I'm not sure what to make of this. I didn't watch the game.

The leading rebounder for Virginia by a wide margin was a guard.

Maybe it's just their system where the guard storms in.

Or more likely the guard was repeatedly cutting into the defense for layups and then rebounds.


View attachment 22101
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Defense and rebounding takes all five players. Not just the center and power forward.

The first rule of rebounding is to keep the other team from getting the ball. That is blocking out.

This stat makes me wonder about a break down in the Gophers rebounding defense.
 

OK, the game video is up now in condensed form.

 

Bfan said:
The Gophers look pretty good in that video, I thought.

Turnovers leading to easy offense for the other team really hurt the Gophers.

All teams turn the ball over, throw bad passes, make mistakes. Here are some turnovers for the Gophers that led to easy offense scores for the other team.

Heyer inbounds the ball into the defender's hand leading to a quick score off the turnover. That's giving easy offense to the other team -- a layup.

View attachment 22123

Micheaux throws the ball to #33 of the other team for a quick score for the other team off the turnover. That's giving easy offense to the other team a layup.

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Battle throws a long pass to the other team that turns around and quickly scores. That's giving easy offense to the other team.
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Borowicz has the ball for a potential game winner. The 2nd Virginia player comes up and pokes the ball out.

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Heyer gets the rebound off the misses free throw but loses the ball out of bounds.

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The other team then forces a turnover on Braun.

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The Gophers played well.

Virginia scored a huge number of points off turnovers.

Gophers need to generate their own offense of defense and cut down on turnovers leading to easy offense for the other team.

Last season the Gophers repeatedly folded under that kind of pressure. They need to win that aspect of the game.

This has been happening for years.

Gophers need to be the ones winning at that, not losing at that, like Ohio State does and Virginia did in this game.
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Hey BFan

I really mean this with respect. Can we maybe slow down on the posts? Or at least consolidate to like one or two longer ones. 18-19 posts on a thread makes it hard to even see what other people are saying. I'm not saying dont post but like in this one, a lot of photos, videos about PGs etc. that don't need to be on here making it look messy. I'm here for opinions, but not constant photos or "rambling" posts that are not even on the topic of the tread. I am not trying to be rude but simply asking as it makes it harder to wanna scroll through when it 8-10 posts of photos or stuff not related.

Thank you
 

bball_craz_31 said:
Hey BFan

I really mean this with respect. Can we maybe slow down on the posts? Or at least consolidate to like one or two longer ones. 18-19 posts on a thread makes it hard to even see what other people are saying. I'm not saying dont post but like in this one, a lot of photos, videos about PGs etc. that don't need to be on here making it look messy. I'm here for opinions, but not constant photos or "rambling" posts that are not even on the topic of the tread. I am not trying to be rude but simply asking as it makes it harder to wanna scroll through when it 8-10 posts of photos or stuff not related.

Thank you
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Yes that is a good opinion. Will do.

In my other sports groups the content from people is extensive to browse through so my goal has been to create content to check in for. Agree disagree ignore... So that is the goal. OK thanks again.
 

Bfan said:
Yes that is a good opinion. Will do.

In my other sports groups the content from people is extensive to browse through so my goal has been to create content to check in for. Agree disagree ignore... So that is the goal. OK thanks again.
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not sure that's an opinion.. he he truly just asking to stop posting so much random screen grabs and videos that don't relate to the post. People come onto THIS message board to post their thoughts and comments about the team.. not to look at screen grabs of random stuff..

we just come here to talk about the team and players and our thoughts.. please keep that in mind when you post so often and just crowd up the thread..
 

Bfan said:
What I feel is unfortunate, when it happens, is when a team is leading or very close but not able to close out a win many times in a season. The production is probably 49%-51% for team but instead show 0-6 for those efforts.

Have to get that win-loss ratio closer to half-and-half over the coarse of the season or better.

(As of now, won Lehigh and lost Virginia).

Let's check back on this dynamic later in the season.

"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." -Vince Lombardi
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I'm not sure what you are referring to with the 0-6. On the season in very close games wouldn't they be 1-1 (Lehigh, Virginia) or 1-2 (Lehigh, Virginia & NDSU) at worst in this metric?
 

bball_craz_31 said:
Hey BFan

I really mean this with respect. Can we maybe slow down on the posts? Or at least consolidate to like one or two longer ones. 18-19 posts on a thread makes it hard to even see what other people are saying. I'm not saying dont post but like in this one, a lot of photos, videos about PGs etc. that don't need to be on here making it look messy. I'm here for opinions, but not constant photos or "rambling" posts that are not even on the topic of the tread. I am not trying to be rude but simply asking as it makes it harder to wanna scroll through when it 8-10 posts of photos or stuff not related.

Thank you
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For my 2 cents, I enjoy the posts and all thoughts people have especially if they are more than one sentence. If these thoughts come with visual aids all the better. I like that these threads don't seem to get diverted by tons of posts with people trying to make jokes or coming in with gun blazing to be mean spirited like in other gopher forums.
 

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