Pregame: Elon vs Virginia Tech 11/23/2024
Published: November 22, 2024
Elon is not a great defensive team, however they do a decent job at limiting transition 3PAs. On the other side of the coin, they can sometimes tend to leave transition rim opportunities open in an effort to limit a one away pass.
They’re extremely poor in their gaps. Their defensive FG% allowed in gap 3s is well above league average at 57.1% on the left side of the floor, and 44.4% on the right side respectively.
They can also find themselves completely out of rotation on defense when it comes to throwing a hedge and not keeping one attached. Elon likes to fake a ball screen blitz and return. Fake pressure when it has zero substance is no pressure. This type of look keeps them away from their gaps, and gives offensive players lanes and angles to attack. Fast, quick thinking guards can eat this up alive.
Elon also likes to run some zone in there with a lot of intensity. This also falls them out of position more often than not. Just not gap sound.
Offensively there really isn’t much special there. They definitely fall into a “hooping” type of category. The looks all seem about the same until they have two dueling posts, and it seems like they’re mostly just making reads out of PnRs.
Something to note is they do cut well. Sometimes the cuts can be mistimed, but too much movement is far better than no movement.
Extra point is Elon is ranked 19th in the NCAA for FT Attempt Rate at 43.2%. They also have a tendency to foul as well. Their opponent FT Attempt Rate ranks them at 316th in Division 1 at 38.7%.
Individual player highlights:
#1 Regina Walton
Very solid and effective ball handler. Decent shooter. I could expect her to play significant minutes against Virginia Tech and beyond.
#5 Raven Preston
Shooting 3.3 3s a game, and only making 15.4%. She passes the ball in to start the possession a lot and can get some sneaky looks from 3 off of that. Getting to the line a lot (6.8 FTA/G), only shooting 51.9%. Definitely a player you want to foul if she’s getting solid looks.
#10 Kamryn Doty
Not making a ton of shots, but is shooting 2.5 3s a game. Seems to be a solid enough threat. Good at driving closeouts and staying on balance.
#12 Laila Anderson
High usage, but making shots. Averaging 14 PPG. Her TS% is a really solid 62.2%. She’s getting to the line (4.0 FTA/G) and is making them at a 87.5% clip. Not a lot of data for threes, but she definitely has a tendency towards the left side of the for assisted makes.