Call these observations or takeaways from yours truly as we play catch up with what’s going on in the world of WBB in the Commonwealth.
Drumroll. OK, not really. Here goes:
*We start with Tech and Virginia, two teams that mystify us to some degree. Both have to be disappointed about where they stand in the middle of January. Per what’s become the usual Hokies tradition, Tech skated through the nonconference season without a blemish and appeared poised to do some damage in the ACC. But here we are, Tech having already amassed three losses in this young ACC season. Winning on the road is tough in this league, but the Hokies came achingly close in their conference opener at Miami. They followed that up with an OT loss to Syracuse in Cassell. Then the dagger, albeit an early-season one. The Hokies were destroying Virginia. A check in the ACC win column was just a quarter away, but what a disaster the final 10 minutes were last Thursday for the Hokies. Virginia scored 28. Tech scored nine. The Hokies wilted 62-59. We have to believe this team is capable, but in Kenny Brooks’ third year, Tech continues to struggle to put away league games. The Hokies nearly upset Louisville last year in the ACC Tournament. At some point, you’ve got to knock off more than Pitt and Boston College in the ACC to get to the dance. Yikes! Top-ranked Notre Dame looms on Wednesday night. How ya got, sister?
*Then there’s the Cavaliers, hurt, of course, by injuries to Toi Armandine and Felicia Aiyeotan, but even with that, Cavalier fans likely expected better under new coach Tina Thompson. This was an NCAA Tournament team a year ago. It’s just January but they have 10 losses against opponents that include Alabama, St. Louis and Clemson. NC State, which lost its leading scorer to an ACL tear a week ago, tore through the Cavs on Sunday, limiting them to 38 points. Growing pains indeed for the Cavaliers, who need to solve their offense.
*We like Radford (which also beat Virginia), even though the Highlanders laid an egg at Hampton last week. With redshirt junior Savannah Felgemacher ailing from lower back pain (she’ll be back, we understand), we’re blown away by the play from Sydney Nunley in her spot. Six straight double-doubles for the redshirt junior center and back-to-back Big South Player of the Week honors, coming off offseason knee surgery. Lydia Rivers returned to the lineup for Saturday’s victory over Winthrop. If Felgemacher can get healthy, watch out, Big South. We’d like to see the big three in the lineup together.
*As for the Lady Pirates . . . fourth in the Big South? Not sure why anyone would slot the nine-time MEAC champions that low in the preseason conference rankings. Hampton’s not buying in. This team has scorers, yes, plural, in addition to the typical pesky defenders. Surely, you know the name Mahaley Holit (our video went bonkers on Twitter when she torched the Highlanders for 32 points last week). We’re also starry-eyed over freshman point guard Laren Vanarsdale, and we haven’t even written the names Ashley Bates and Kaylah Lupoe yet. Former Hampton football coach Joe Taylor is going into the College Football Hall of Fame. How about building a shrine to David Six, doing all this while recovering from a stroke?
*If we were giving out coach of the year honors, we’d be looking at Nikki McCray. It’s not just that the Lady Monarchs are winning games, although that’s reason for optimism after last season. ODU has already won more games this season then all of last. More so, players are better today than they were at the start of the season. Player development had been a problem on Hampton Boulevard for a few years prior to McCray’s arrival. She’s largely winning behind freshmen and sophomores, good news for today and beyond. While we’re handing out kudos, how about VCU, tied for first alongside Fordham and equally surprising Davidson in the Atlantic 10? The Rams were an 11 seed in the A-10 Tournament last year. They still don’t have a senior on the roster. We’d say the rebuild is well ahead of schedule for Beth O’Boyle. (The Rams rank fourth in the NCAA in defense.) If we were buying stock in WBB teams, we’d fill up on ODU and VCU.
*We conclude with JMU. While the Dukes lacked a signature win in the nonconference, they’re the class of the CAA. Sean O’Regan has to be thrilled by how these Dukes have meshed right now, especially in light of the loss of starter Kelly Koshuta. Sunday’s win over Northeastern was something special. Check the numbers in case you haven’t (60 percent shooting from the field and 66.6 percent from 3, and to the glee of the JMU fans who braved snowy weather, nuggets!) What’s underrated (but not by us) is the Dukes’ defense, ranked seventh in the nation. The Dukes have already dismissed Drexel in Philadelphia. Key matchup coming: Towson, also 4-0 in the CAA) in Harrisonburg on Feb. 3. Now we’re not all that impressed with the 2019 CAA as a whole, Dukes and Tigers aside. But we like the motor of this JMU team, looking to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time Coach O.