The Plus/Minus: UVA Women’s Basketball falls to Syracuse, 90-72

Minus

The Virginia Cavaliers had four players in double figures, led by Camryn Taylor and London Clarkson with 20 and 16 points respectively. Virginia was an extremely efficient 7-13 from three (that’s 54%) and did well enough at the foul line, going 9-13. And yet they still lost by 18 points.

Minus

Syracuse’s Dyaisha Fair channeled her inner Caitlin Clark and put on a show in front of the home crowd. Fair made eight three-pointers en route to scoring 36 points. She was a perfect 6-6 from the line, had five assists and five rebounds, and threw in three steals for good measure. She had 19 points in the fourth quarter alone, scoring at will against what was a demoralized Cavalier team.

Plus

Camryn Taylor was a monster down low and she twice ignited runs — one in the second and one in the third — that kept Virginia in the game. But we didn’t get to see as much of Taylor as we needed to because…

Minus

Taylor fouled out. Again. That is three times in the past four games, and the fifth time this season. She is aggressive, and the team needs that, but some of her fouls are just bad, like Mamadi Diakite in his redshirt freshman year bad. Taylor’s fifth foul was emblematic of her night. As the shot clock buzzer was sounding, she fouled Syracuse’s Georgia Wooley. It was a great defensive stand by the ‘Hoos and Wooley’s shot was off-balance and rushed. It would have been a bad foul even if it had been her first.

Minus

For the third time in four games, the team was short-handed. Against Boston College, Taylor Valladay was suspended for the game by Coach Agugua-Hamilton. Last time out against Notre Dame, Sam Brunelle was suspended as a result of her ejection from the Florida State loss. And on this night, Kaydan Lawson was suspended by Coach Mox. With the season-ending loss of Mir McLean, this was already a thin team.

One of the more remarkable aspects to this season’s turnaround is the who’s-got-next mentality of these women. Every single player has scored in double figures at least once and seven different players have led the team in scoring. But the ‘Hoos are simply not good enough to win ACC games with a Kaydan Lawson sitting and a Camryn Taylor fouling out.

Plus

McKenna Dale had another fine game, notching 11 points on 3-5 shooting from deep. She’s a very solid piece to have coming off the bench for Coach Mox’s squad.

Plus

Yonta Vaughn is continuing to grow. She started for the first time in her collegiate career, hit a pair of rainbow threes and had a career high eight assists. She’ll have Dyaisha-Fair nightmares for a couple nights, but Fair was raining fire tonight. There was nothing Vaughn could have done.

Minus

This was a statement game, as in, both teams needed to make one. Virginia had lost five of six, and this was maybe the breather before the Cavaliers face Virginia Tech and UNC, both teams that they have already lost to. Syracuse was returning home on a three-game skid that had seen them embarrassed. Two teams both needing a win, and it was the Orange who made the statement. Syracuse was much faster in transition (25 points off turnovers) and they pounded Virginia on the boards, out-rebounding the ‘Hoos 38-31.

Plus

Coming in, the game had a coaching-tree reunion storyline. First-year Syracuse coach Felisha Leggette-Jack coached Agugua-Hamilton at Hofstra, and Coach Mox later joined Leggette-Jack’s staff at Indiana for three years. After this initial encounter, it’s Master 1, Student 0. Fortunately for fans, there will be more to come.

Next Up: Virginia returns home playing a Sunday evening game against the Hokies on January 29th. Game time is 6:00pm and the game will be featured on the ACC Network.