The Georgia Tech women’s basketball team returned to the Zelnak Basketball Center around 2 a.m. Wednesday, the end of a trip that produced the first Sweet 16 berth in school history.
As of 4 p.m., coach MaChelle Joseph and her staff had yet to waste any of the time since then on sleep. They stayed up the entire night reviewing video of their opponent in Saturday’s Des Moines, Iowa, regional semifinal — top-seeded and undefeated Baylor. Chief among their objectives was devising a method to defend and score against center Brittney Griner, the 6-foot-8 favorite for national player of the year.
“The best coaches in the country have tried to figure out how to slow [Griner] down,” Joseph said. “I don’t think anyone in three years has figured that out.”
Griner, a two-time All-American and the national defensive player of the year as a sophomore last season, looms as an unsolvable riddle for the Jackets and center Sasha Goodlett, who will match up against her.
Griner leads the nation in blocks (5.1 per game) and is seventh in scoring (23.1 points per game). Thanks in no small part to Griner’s shot-making and shot-altering acumen, Baylor leads the nation in field-goal percentage (49.1 percent) and is second in defensive field-goal percentage (30.7 percent).
Griner, the only college player among 21 finalists for the U.S. Olympic team, has taken the baton from former Connecticut star Maya Moore as the headline act in women’s college basketball. On Tuesday, in Baylor’s second-round win over Florida, Griner became the second woman to dunk in a tournament game.
Asked if she had seen Griner play on television, Goodlett responded, “I mean, who hasn’t?”
Joseph and her staff certainly have. In their review of about 12 games recorded off television, what they saw was a wide array of defensive strategies intended to hinder Griner and Baylor, even quadruple teams, Joseph said. This season, nothing has worked against Baylor, which would become the first men’s or women’s team to go 40-0 if it wins four more games for the NCAA title.
“I feel like, through the years, she’s seen every defense possible,” Tech assistant coach Janie Mitchell said.
While the Yellow Jackets may borrow a couple of wrinkles, it sounded Wednesday as if they will stick with what they do, pressuring full court.
“One of the things we’re going to do is try to stretch the game out defensively, and we’re going to put the pressure on you in the backcourt,” Joseph said. “Hopefully, the ball won’t get to the frontcourt very often. That’s our plan.”
As for its offense, Tech almost certainly will need to continue its hot perimeter shooting in order to steer clear of Griner near the basket. A duplicate performance from Sydney Wallace, who exploded for 11 3-pointers in Tech’s two tournament wins after making 26 in her first 31 games, would be useful.
Joseph offered a hopeful response to Griner’s shot blocking. She said that 90 percent of Griner’s rejections have gone out of bounds, meaning that the opponent retained possession.
“She’s going to block shots,” Joseph said. “Just get the ball back and go back at her.”
That will be the domain of Goodlett, the second-team All-ACC center. At 6-5, Goodlett gives up three inches to Griner, but has size and strength. On Wednesday, the senior offered respect to Griner, but not deference.
“She’s gotten better every year,” Goodlett said. “I give her all the credit, but that night, anything can happen. It’s one night, one game.”
