If I’m voting, Latson gets it. Hidalgo folded down the stretch/when she was needed most, while Latson stepped up against one of the top two teams in the conference on the road. Hidalgo’s inefficient play the last couple of games versus marquee opponents most likely cost ND the outright regular season title. She scored 26 at Raleigh, but was incredibly inefficient and really took away opportunities from her teammates in that one. She’s a great player, but I think that Latson has earned it more, considering. Take Hidalgo off of ND and I still think they’re top four in the league. Take Latson off of FSU and we’re most likely somewhere in the middle.
You could point to her team being slightly more successful in terms of wins and losses, but I would argue that the collective and CONSISTENT talent around her exceeds what Latson has. However, I’m starting to change my stance on that. Although she played less minutes than her season average last night, if Viegas can consistently contribute like she did last night, even though she is solely a spot up shooter, we’re an entirely different team. She stretches the defense and truly gives us four dangerous shooters from deep. (6 if you count Valenzuela and Dias Dos Santos, both above 30%.) That’s really tough to defend for 40 minutes.
The home finale against Duke this weekend is huge. Win it, and we can do no worse than a top 4 finish and a double bye in the ACC tournament. I just wish it was somewhere other than here in Greensboro as it’s just so tough to win here versus the NC schools.
Here’s hoping everyone stays healthy, and we can finally go into the postseason with a full roster.
Go Noles!
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