WCAC Clash: The Mustangs Storm The PAC

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bishop McNamara visited PVI in a matchup of two of the premier teams in the DMV right now. This game was everything people thought it could be, and it was highly entertaining. It was scrappy and competitive throughout, and McNamara was able to pull out a 2-point win after blocking a PVI layup at the buzzer. Here are some of my takeaways from this game.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Two elite defenses that contrast in styles</strong> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>PVI's defense was excellent in this game, as it always is. They ran their zone to perfection and often gave McNamara an illusion of space that they were able to close down quickly. They played this zone the entire game, forcing McNamara to take a lot of threes instead of letting them get into the lane. Oftentimes, with a zone, you see teams struggle to box out, but PVI overall did a solid job on the defensive glass. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>While PVI's defense thrives in the half-court, Bishop McNamara is the opposite in the sense that they give you pressure the length of the court. McNamara's athleticism is a huge part of why this defense works, and the ball pressure they put on your guards is suffocating. PVI doesn't play a traditional PG, so as talented as they are, having a primary ball handler would have limited some of the trouble they had with the press. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Both offenses were carried by one player.</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>PVI had a couple of players knock down shots early, but as the game wore on, [player_tooltip player_id='579891' first='Demi' last='Gilliam'] felt like this team's offense. Not only as a scorer, but it felt like she was by far the best decision maker they had. She had a couple of nice seals that she was able to finish over defenders. Demi is as good as anyone in the state when it comes to finishing with her left hand, and the level of difficulty on some of her shots was high-level. Her work as a defender and rebounder was of note as well. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --> <!-- wp:list-item --> <li>On the other side, [player_tooltip player_id='864319' first='Jaylah' last='King'] had a great game. [player_tooltip player_id='787978' first='Qandace' last='Samuels'] had probably the worst game she has ever had in terms of just making open shots from all over the court. Jaylah picked up the slack. She had a few good drives and hit some open shots. She finished through contact well, one of them being a tough and 1 a little after half time, which gave McNamara their biggest lead. She was sharp all game and her team's biggest source of offense by far.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bishop McNamara's offense was the barometer of the game</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It felt like the effect Bishop McNamara's offense had was the biggest part of the game. Obviously, the more points you have, the better chance you have to win, but for McNamara in this game, I think it was two-fold. When McNamara was able to make shots and set their press up, PVI's shot quality went way down, and that's assuming they didn't turn the ball over. They were able to get points off that press by turning PVI over. But then on the flip side, when they were missing shots and PVI was able to get past half-court without being hounded, it heavily changed the looks PVI was able to get. That was the story of the game to me. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Additional Takeaways </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='838920' first='Nyair' last='McCoy']&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='838920' first='Nyair' last='McCoy'] is a superb defender, and what she is able to do defensively is paramount to why McNamara's press is so good and why their defense is so good overall. Nyair is one of the smallest players on the court, but she plays like she's a lot bigger. Every elite defender has something that sets them apart from the pack. Nyair's is that she plays defense with her hands better than almost anyone I've seen this season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='752090' first='Katherine' last='Maroulis']&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='752090' first='Katherine' last='Maroulis'] has impressed me when I've watched her recently. Katherine is a good interior defender and does a good job on the glass. She disrupted a lot of shots at the rim and was in the right spot on offense. She can step out and knock down a three here and there, and she took a lot of the minutes at center in this game, even though [player_tooltip player_id='815660' first='Lyla' last='Ames'] got the start there as she usually does. I loved what Katherine did in the second half of this game, and she is a huge piece off the bench of this game.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->