The Mountaineers’ zone defense has been a sight to see so far in their undefeated season.
West Virginia is 11th in the NCAA for turnovers forced per game and eighth in steals per game. Three Mountaineer guards, Lauren Fields, JJ Quinerly, and Jordan Harrison, are averaging 2.5 steals or more per contest, and WVU is 16th in points allowed per game.
This success is attributed to a unique zone defense that targets taking out opponents’ best possible scoring threats, coach Mark Kellogg said Wednesday.
“We have a system. We have a structure. If we defend right, we should be able to take away the three, regardless if we’re playing man or zone,” Kellogg said, adding, “We’re doing a pretty good job just giving up the threes that we want to give up and to who we want to give them up to.”
Though the Mountaineers have plans for allowing certain shots, their first course of action is to force turnovers, which they did successfully at the San Juan Invitational. The scheme is aggressive and puts as much pressure on opposing teams as possible.
“We’ve been about pressure, turnovers, and steals and just making the offense uncomfortable, taking them out of what they naturally want to do… and if it leads to those turnovers and steals then fantastic. If not then we’re gonna grind it out and finish the possession the way that we’re supposed to,” coach Kellogg said.
Players seem to be fully on board in this mission and understand what their goals are defensively. Fifth year guard Lauren Fields, who leads the team in steals per game with 3.2 and minutes per game with 30.8, spoke Wednesday on the team’s defensive scheme.
“Our press, we turn people over a lot, so there’s not as many possessions,” Fields said.
“We make people play faster, so if they’re playing at a faster speed, they’re not able to get set and take their time and get off catch and shoot three point shots, so I think that plays a big role in (the team’s defensive success).”
Fields also discussed her exact method when forcing certain shot selection from opponents. Like Kellogg, she recognizes what shots she wants to give up if she cannot force a turnover.
“I would rather you take a mid-range jump shot than a three or a wide open layup… When you look at the analytics tests the percentage goes way down,” Fields said.
The team does not come without some issues, though. According to Kellogg, the team falls down to 31st for converting turnovers into scoring due to struggles finishing at the rim.
The coaching staff will target transition scoring and proper pacing on fast breaks going forward. Kellogg said he recognizes the team’s defensive success is not sustainable at this level, but he wants to make sure that when it does force turnovers, the team is taking advantage offensively.
Overall, though, Kellogg is excited about his players’ defensive capabilities and is looking forward to carry their success forward to upcoming games. Specifically, he is excited to see how his team handles Penn State on Monday.
The team will show off their tight defense and hopefully improved transition offense at noon on Saturday against St. Bonaventure and again on Monday against Penn State at 6 p.m.
