Quarterfinal Previews by Rob Clough
Game 5: Virginia (4) vs Georgia Tech (5), 11am
Players to Watch:
Virginia: Sharnee Zoll, Lyndra Littles, Monica Wright
Georgia Tech: Janie Mitchell, Alex Montgomery, Chioma Nnamaka
The Skinny: The Jackets avenged an earlier loss to Miami by pounding the Canes
in the "screamer game". They held Miami to 3-22 shooting from the three point
line and took complete command of the game within ten minutes. It didn't help
the Canes that their star guard Maurita Reid got into early foul trouble and
wound up fouling out. The blowout allowed the Jackets to play their deep
reserves a bit, though obviously the Hoos will have an advantage. The two
squads recently engaged in a spirited double-overtime classic in
Charlottesville that Virginia eked out a win in. It'll be interesting to see
what adjustments are made in the span of a week. The key to this game will be
foul trouble. If any of Virginia's starting five gets into serious foul
trouble, the Hoos will be vulnerable to the athletic Jackets. If Tech's
Mitchell winds up in foul trouble, it'll be hard to keep Virginia off the
boards. Otherwise, these are two evenly matched clubs that can score a lot of
points and love to run. Both teams will try to force the other to hit some
jumpers and attempt to stop penetration. The post presence of Aiaha Mohammed
for Virginia could wind up making the biggest difference, as her combination of
upper-body power and quickness provide a matchup that Tech may not be able to
counter.
Game 5: UNC (1) vs Clemson (9), 3pm
Players to Watch:
UNC: Erlana Larkins, LaToya Pringle, Cetera DeGraffenreid
Clemson: Lele Hardy, D'Lesha Lloyd, Whitney Hood
The Skinny: Clemson pulled an upset over an NC State team that had trounced
them
a week earlier through the use of a sticky matchup zone, an uptempo offense
that
ran whenever possible (10 fast break points), clutch foul shooting (8-8 in the
overtime alone) and a surprisingly effective post game. The latter factor
baffled State coach Kay Yow, who couldn't understand why Clemson's normally
ineffective bigs were able to get the ball exactly where they wanted it for any
number of great-looking shots. The Tigers started the game on a scoring run
against a State club that was clearly looking past them to Carolina, and the
young Tigers (just one senior) made them pay. Even when NC State tied the game
and took a small lead in overtime, Clemson didn't crack and Lele Hardy made
several crucial defensive plays. Her 11 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 5
steals and 2 blocks were the difference for the Tigers.
After a grueling, emotional game like this, Clemson likely won't have much of a
tiger in their tank for the Heels. UNC will come out and try to bury them
early with defensive pressure, pounding the boards and getting Clemson's bigs
in foul trouble. Clemson will have some early adrenaline on their side, but
that won't be enough to put much of a dent in the games of Erlana Larkins and
company. Look for UNC to go deep into its bench in an effort to keep everyone
rested for
the tougher games in the tournament. Look for Italee Lucas in particular to
get
a lot of minutes, as one can see the lightbulb finally going off over her head
in much the same way that it happened for Jessica Breland last season. While
UNC doesn't want to overlook anyone, they have to be delighted that they don't
have to deal with NC State again.
Game 7: Maryland (3) vs Boston College (7), 6pm
Players to Watch:
Maryland: Crystal Langhorne, Kristi Toliver, Laura Harper
Boston College: Carolyn Swords, Stefanie Murphy, Ayla Brown
The Skinny: Boston College came out and took a big early lead against a
lethargic-looking Virginia Tech squad in one of the least interesting halves of
basketball I've ever watched. Ayla Brown scored the first 9 points of the game
for the Eagles, immediately stretching VT's defense. Sloppy play from the
Hokies doomed them, as they were outscored in points off turnovers 21-5. This
will be the key to the BC-Maryland matchup, as the Terps twice beat the Eagles
by 27 thanks to getting lots of easy baskets off of turnovers. This has been a
problem all season for the young BC team, and the fact that they only coughed
it
up 10 times against VT was the biggest key to their victory. The Terps will
simply have too much firepower for the Eagles, who go through long scoring
slumps. BC's size will be negated by Maryland's own post power. If either
Swords or Murphy get into foul trouble, then the game will get very ugly in a
hurry. Only by taking care of the ball and slowing things down to a crawl can
the Eagles hope to stay competitive.
Game 8: Duke (3) vs Florida State (6), 8pm
Players To Watch:
Duke: Chante Black, Abby Waner, Wanisha Smith
FSU: Tanae Davis-Cain, Shante Williams, Jacinta Monroe
The Skinny: Our preview has more information on matchups, but FSU was awful on
offense in eking out a win over Wake. The Deacs actually led at the half and
traded leads in the second half before FSU made just enough of a run to hold
them at arm's length and then hold them off down the stretch. Davis-Cain was
the difference, making several key shots with the shot clock winding down.
Williams also made some veteran plays. They'll have something to prove against
Duke after they were humiliated in their first meeting (without Davis-Cain),
and
the Devils can't afford to look past them even though four Seminoles played
over
30 minutes. As long as Duke keeps Davis-Cain under control, they'll be in good
shape.
