WBB Virginia Tech vs UNC Stats, Pics and Open Thread

Virginian Tech play UNC at Cassell on Thursday Jan 24 at 7 PM.
The game is on ACC NE and VT/IMG radio network

UNC is 10-9 overall and 1-4 ACC with a win against Wake Forest at home and losses to FSU at home and Louisville, Syracuse and Miami on the road.

Season Stats:

Stats I think are interesting are highlighted in yellow.

Starters:

#5 Stephanie Watts G 5-11 R-Jr. Shoots well overall(41.6%) and from 3(36.9%). Avg 15.6 ppg.

#1 Taylor Koenen G 6-2 Jr. Shoots 39.5% overall; 32.1% from 3 and 86% FT. Avg 10.2 pts and 7.1 rebounds

#44 Janelle Bailey C 6-4 So. Shoots 47.5% overall; 27.6% from 3 and 75.3% FT. Avg 16.2 pts and 8.6 rebounds

#0 Shayla Bennett G 5-9 Jr. Shoots 37.6% overall; 29.4% from 3 and 76.7% FT. 10.9 points/game.

#22 Paris Kea G 5-9 R-Sr. 42.2% overall; 27.9% from 3 and 79.2% FT. 14 points/game.

Others who have started:

#4 Jocelyn Jones G 6-0 R-So. Started 5 games. 53.4% overall; 66.7% from 3 and 45% FT.

#20 Leah Church G 5-8 So. Started 1 game. 33.3% overall; 34.9% from 3 and 92.3% FT.

30 Jaelynn Murray F 6-2 So. Started 1 game. 43.5% overall; 12.5% from 3 and 63.6% FT.

Random Comments:

UNC will have a height advantage on the Hokies; but this should still be a good chance to get our first ACC win. Good defense on Watts will be key; she has been playing very well against ACC teams.

Some causes for concern:

UNC staged a furious 4th quarter comeback against Miami(16-4. 4-1) last time out that fell just short. They had fallen way behind when Bailey(2018 Freshman of the year) sat out the first half. With Tech's tendency to fade in the second half, we could have real problems.

In their previous game(their only win against WF, 9-9, 0-5), they ran away in the first half and coasted to an easy win. In this game they shot 44.4% from 3 and 45.5% overall. You could argue Wake is not very good; but UNC still played very well.

The Hokies have demonstrated that they can play with anyone for short periods and sometimes for a complete game; but they just don't seem to maintain their concentration at critical times. They have 2 OT losses to ranked teams. And two come from ahead losses, where they gave up a lead late in the game. Let's hope Coach Brooks can convince them to play a full game Thursday.

The Ladies will need to shoot well from outside to open up the lane for Magarity and Baptiste. UNC's height inside will be problem if we can't be efficient. Careless passes and off-balance shots will be costly.