[CompSci87]

Quite a chess match between Kate Paye and Nell Fortner with both squads playing at a high level. Really impressed with our offense - got off to a fast start and then kept it going against a mix of defenses, at least a couple of zone defenses and full court pressure at times. The coaches and/or players recognized and attacked (i.e., did not wait till late in the shot clock to put up a desperate heave). IIRC, GT made their first comeback on drives and kick-outs to open shooters on the perimeter and their second on pick-and-rolls; it took a few possessions to adjust but we did eventually. And we got stops at the end - their only basket in the last 3.5 minutes came off a steal at mid court; otherwise six misses. A great game on Senior Day - shows how much progress the team has made in a challenging year! Things are coming together just in time for the conference tourney!

I think your "chess match" analogy is perfect.  In the presser, MAS says that they were scheming all game long to find a way to shut down the pick and roll.  They seem to have done just barely enough, but they never really solved it.

I was impressed at how GT ball handlers used their screens. They got super close to the screener so that fighting through without fouling was very difficult. The screeners did commit a couple of moving screen offensive fouls, but mostly the screens were set cleanly.

[CompSci87]

Quite a chess match between Kate Paye and Nell Fortner with both squads playing at a high level. Really impressed with our offense - got off to a fast start and then kept it going against a mix of defenses, at least a couple of zone defenses and full court pressure at times. The coaches and/or players recognized and attacked (i.e., did not wait till late in the shot clock to put up a desperate heave). IIRC, GT made their first comeback on drives and kick-outs to open shooters on the perimeter and their second on pick-and-rolls; it took a few possessions to adjust but we did eventually. And we got stops at the end - their only basket in the last 3.5 minutes came off a steal at mid court; otherwise six misses. A great game on Senior Day - shows how much progress the team has made in a challenging year! Things are coming together just in time for the conference tourney!

I think your "chess match" analogy is perfect.  In the presser, MAS says that they were scheming all game long to find a way to shut down the pick and roll.  They seem to have done just barely enough, but they never really solved it.

I was impressed at how GT ball handlers used their screens. They got super close to the screener so that fighting through without fouling was very difficult. The screeners did commit a couple of moving screen offensive fouls, but mostly the screens were set cleanly.