Pac-12 Play Begins

            

            Stanford tipped-off its Pac-12 season with an easy 90-69 win over Cal. The Bear's only lead came in the opening minute when a 3-pointer from McIntosh put them up 3-2.  Stanford quickly reclaimed the lead on a 3-pointer from Cameron Brink and never looked back.  By game's end, all 15 of Stanford's players had seen action for at least two minutes and 12 players spent at least nine minutes on the court.  Tara was active on the sidelines, instructing her young players and encouraging their play. 

            Haley Jones led all scorers with 21 points in only 27 minutes.  Her stat line - 21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, and 2 steals - reflects Haley's amazing "Swiss Army knife" skill set. But the stat line doesn't include the important leadership role Haley plays.  Her enthusiasm and evident joy on the floor are Steph Curry-like and infectious.  Haley makes the game fun for everybody -- her teammates and the fans!  

            Hannah Jump had the other starring role -- five threes and 17 points.  Cameron Brink scored 11 points in 17 minutes but also managed to pick up three fouls.  Her stat line would undoubtedly been more extensive (she also had five rebounds, two blocks, and two assists) if Stanford had needed her on the floor. The same is true of Kiki Iriafen, who scored 9 points with seven rebounds, an assist, and a steal in her 15 minutes on the floor.  Lauren Betts again averaged almost a point a minute, scoring nine in her ten minutes on the floor. 

            The defense was good, especially in the opening twenty minutes.  Cal's Jada Curry was held to two points in the first half. She did manage 20 points for the game, but most of them were scored against reserves with the game's outcome already settled.  

            The lighthearted-feel good atmosphere carried over into the behind the bench Q&A.  Fans were provided a holiday treat that included an appearance by juniors Cameron Brink and Agnes Emma-Nnopu. Coach VanDerveer shared her delight at having her mother Rita at the game, a rarity due to COVID.  Coach Paye noted that players were scrambling to catch flights to join family for the teams' four-day holiday break.  

 

The Second Part of the Season

 

            For a successful team like Stanford, the season can be divided into three parts.  First comes the non-conference season, then the Pac-12 season, and finally the post-season.  The non-conference season usually has two goals -- to get the team ready to compete in their conference and to establish the team's credentials for post-season seeding.  That first part concluded with the team's victory over Creighton, its twelfth.  Unfortunately, that game was only one of three against ranked teams on Stanford's non-conference dance card.  That changes with the beginning of Pac-12 play.  Four Pac-12 teams are ranked in the top 20 and there isn't a "gimmie" game anywhere.  

            One confusing thing about the Pac-12 season this year is number of familiar players on a different team.  We saw the first round of that against Cal when Peanut Tuitele, previously with Colorado, showed up on the Cal team.  In her post-game comments, Tara pointed out that Stanford is the only Pac-12 school whose roster does not include a transfer from another Pac-12 school!  That should make for an interesting season!  Given the quality of Pac-12 teams, the next 17 games will be exciting -- so get ready to enjoy the journey.

12-1 in Non-Conference Play

Get Ready to Shoot Talana

            For their final game of the non-conference schedule, Stanford defeated #21 Creighton 72 - 59.  It was a game where the final score makes the game look closer than it was. After Creighton scored to make the game 3 - 3 in the opening minute, the Cardinal led the rest of the way.  With 2:41 left in the first quarter, Haley Jones hit a 3 pointer on a pass from Cameron Brink to put the Cardinal up 20-10. After that, Creighton never trailed by less than double digits, going down by as much as 22 points late in the 3rd quarter. By the second quarter it is hard to believe that anybody not sitting on the Creighton bench (and probably not even the folks on that bench) thought the Blue Jays were going to win.

            While the outcome never really felt in doubt, Creighton kept the game from being a total blowout and outscored Stanford in the 2nd and 4th quarters.  Part of that was because the Blue Jays never gave up and their frenetic unscripted style of play allowed them to get some open looks, especially late in the shot clock. Part of it was that, with the probable outcome clear, Tara used a variety of players often in unusual combinations. Thirteen players got minutes, even though the starters got most of the minutes and scored most of the points. Four of the five starters scored in double digits -- led by Talana Lepolo's 17 points. Lepolo responded to a Creighton defensive plan that dared her to shoot by sagging off her to double team other players by knocking down 5 triples!  On a night when Stanford shot 26.9% from three and Hannah Jump came up empty, Lepolo hit over 45% from three.

            It is encouraging to note that although Stanford had a total of 16 turnovers, the two primary ball handlers, Jones and Leoplo only had one.  In fact, the starters had fifteen assists and six turnovers, a respectable ratio.  As the season goes on and the younger players get more experience, those turnovers will almost certainly come down.

 

Conference Play Starts Friday

 

            For Stanford the toughest part of the schedule is coming up with Conference play.  Five Pac-12 schools are ranked in the top 20, including undefeated Utah and UCLA whose only loss was a close game with South Carolina.  Utah, with the addition of Alissa Pili, is going to be a tough team to beat.  Alissa gave the Card fits before she got injured when she played for USC, and she is having a great season.  In fact, it will be hard to find a Pac-12 game that could be taken for granted. Getting through the Pac-12 undefeated would be remarkable.

            The good news is that although considerable East Coast bias still exists, at least Pac-12 teams have gained respect. That matters because respect determines seeding in the NCAA tournament and success in the tournament -- which depends to a considerable extent on seeding -- is based on respect for the quality of the teams played.  There is a degree of circularity to the calculus.  For years, when good teams in the Pac-12 suffered from that East Coast bias, any Pac-12 losses cost Stanford dearly in the seeding equation.  

What we've learned so far

 

            The first thing that stands out about this season is that the current iteration of the Cardinal is just plain fun to watch.  Led by All-American Haley Jones' infectious joy and All-American Cameron Brink's fierce intensity, this team is both exciting and delightful.  In addition to her individual talent, Haley is a leader who makes everybody better and Cam is just plain awesome.  We 've also learned that Talana Lepolo is a point guard.  At the beginning of the season the biggest question mark for Stanford was who was going to handle the ball.  Lepolo has demonstrated that she is ready to be the answer.  She has great court vision, good handles, and can knock down her shots when asked -- or dared -- to do so.  We' also learned that this is still a young team.  Only six of the team's sixteen players are juniors or seniors.  Other than Jones and Brink, only Hannah Jump had averaged more than 20 minutes per game in any prior season.  That means, the best is still to come!!!  Let's enjoy the journey!

 

Questions

 

1.  What is and isn't a flagrant foul?

            At the beginning of the season, it appeared that anytime a player got hit above the neck, officials reviewed the tape to see if they should call the contact excessive and award a technical foul.  On at least one play, Lauren Betts got charged with a technical when it looked to fans (and the TV announcers) that her only fault was "playing basketball while very tall." Recently we have seen Cameron Brink get hit in the head so often and so hard that I keep expecting to hear she is in concussion protocol!  Yet the officials have never reviewed the tape on those hits, much less called the other team for a technical.  It's as if the new rule is that it's okay to hit another player in the head as long as they are taller than you...?

 

2.  Can there be a moving screen if a player never stops moving?

            Before the game, Coach Paye said the Creighton offense was run around like crazy until somebody gets an open shot. Watching Creighton, it often seemed as if their players got free because Stanford players got picked-off of the player they were guarding as that player passed close to a moving teammate. Given the general chaos of the Creighton offense, it is hard to argue that those were actually moving screens -- but it is interesting....

 

3.  Who will get the next solo?

            Stanford's team is sometimes compared to a symphony where each individual is part of making beautiful music and the featured soloist changes.  This season, Haley is the concert master and Cam is a "featured artist" every game -- but the identity of the other star soloist changes.  Against Creighton it was Talana's five three-pointers (and 17 points), but for another game it was Brooke's three-point barrage, and before that Ashton's.  Often it is Hannah's fabulous shooting.  So -- who is going to "go off" on Cal and will the star turn be on offense or defense?

Another Win Against Tennessee

The 1992 Championship Team -- 30 years later!

            Stanford celebrated their 1992 National Championship team this weekend -- and many of the players from that team noted that their championship run was fueled by a December comeback victory over Tennessee at Maples.  We can hope that this year's team will be similarly fueled by their 77 - 70 comeback victory -- erasing an eight-point deficit late in the 3rd Quarter to take a ten-point lead with 25 seconds to go. It is important for a team to gain confidence that they can come back decisively against a good team -- but it would have been a little more comfortable for the fans if this year's team hadn't done this particular full reprise of the 1992 team's experience.  It did make for an entertaining game.

            The game was back and forth for the first half -- freqent lead changes and neither team ahead by more than five points.  Tennessee's Jordan Horston made a layup with one second left to send the game into half-time tied.  The game continued to be close in the third quarter until Stanford hit a roughly five minute dry spell and Tennessee took an eight point lead. With less than 30 seconds left in the third, Agnes Emma-Nnopu got a block to start a Stanford possession that ended the quarter with a Cameron Brink three pointer!  That cut the Tennessee lead to five points and gave the Cardinal a huge momentum swing.  The team and the crowd were electrified.  Stanford came out determined for the fourth quarter and with just under eight minutes to go, Stanford took a lead on a Brink layup (assisted by Brooke Demetre) and never trailed again.

 

Brink, Jones an' Jump

 

            This game put two basketball truisms on full display: "Basketball is a team game" and "Big-time players play big in big games." This was a team win.  Every one of the eleven players who got into the game contributed to the win -- whether it was setting a screen, hitting a key basket, getting an assist, grabbing a rebound, boxing out, a defensive play, or just giving somebody else a rest.  Some of those things didn't show up on the stat sheet -- but they mattered. Yet 59 of Stanford's 77 points and 31 of the team's 53 rebounds were recorded by the three starters with National Championship experience -- Cameron Brink, Haley Jones, and Hannah Jump.  Our preseason All-Americans Brink and Jones both had double-doubles. 

Brink wins the tip-off

Cameron scored 21 points, 17 rebounds, and tied her career high with six blocks.  Those six blocks significantly under count the number of Tennessee shots that didn't go in because of Brink.  Time and time again, Cameron's presence caused Tennessee players to change their normal shot -- and the result went awry often becoming a Stanford rebound. Haley's 19 points and 12 rebounds came while she played multiple minutes at the point -- her leadership throughout the game was obvious and important. Hannah Jump, Stanford's leading 3-point shooter, again hit the majority of the team's three-pointers while scoring eight points on baskets inside the three-point line and continuing to be perfect from the free-throw line.

 

Getting the rust off

 

            Some people wondered if the Cardinal thought Tennessee would be an easy win. But it is hard to believe that a VanDerveer coached team would take Tennessee lightly!  Especially a Tennessee team that despite a rough start to the season has the talented players who earned Tennessee a top five preseason ranking.  Once Tennessee gets its two "draft pick" transfers Horston and Jackson fully integrated into their team, we can expect to see them playing late into March. 

    This was the Stanford's first game after two weeks off for Fall Quarter final exams.  Stanford players are student athletes -- nobody is taking basket weaving -- and especially for the younger players finals time is stressful.  Even though they practiced during that time, getting back to game focus can take a little time. That is a probable explanation for the team's slow start and regression from the free throw line.  That hypothesis is supported by the free throw stats -- 50% in the first half but 71% in the second.  Those second half numbers are closer to their season norm. The second half field goal percentages also improved, although they remained below Stanford's season average.  However, in the 4th Quarter Stanford made nearly 53% of the shots they attempted and played dominating defense - leading to a solid win.

 

 Planning the comeback

            

This week's Questions

 

            With Finals over, it's time to go back to asking Fan Girl Questions, so here are a few.

 

1.  Will the team that played in the second half against Tennessee show up against Creighton? 

            Creighton just dropped a tough game to #21 Arkansas, so they are going to come in wanting to avoid the back-to-back losses that would likely drop the Blue Jays out of the top 25.  They are one of those smaller, opportunistic teams that can be difficult to contain.  Hopefully the post-finals dust is gone so another comeback won't be needed.

 

2.  Can Cameron Brink stay on the floor longer?

            Although different players step up in almost every game, Haley Jones and Cameron Brink are the team's leaders.  When the two of them are on the floor together, it can be magical.  Cameron is doing better at avoiding silly or over-exuberant fouls, but when she is on the bench the team is just not as good.  We look forward to Brink continuing her improvement in this area -- with Cam on the floor, this team National Championship aspirations are legit. 

 

3.  Will anybody show up for the CAL game?

            This team deserves a good crowd for every game.  Their last game before the Christmas break is at NOON on Friday, Dec. 23.  That is a rough time slot -- folks are running around completing holiday preparations.  Hopefully fans will show up to collect an early Christmas present from the Cardinal!  The team is running a "Warm Coat Drive" at the Cal game -- so bring a contribution for the collection bin!

FastBreak Club Interview with Tara

Coach takes time to talk to FastBreak Club fans!!

Bring a donation of warm clothing to the Tennessee game!   Be there, be loud,

be supportive of this exciting team!

WBCA Award Voting is OPEN

 

            Fan Voting is Open for the WBCA "Starting Five" Award

 

            Before getting into Stanford's most recent game, I want to call attention to the Fan Voting for the WBCA "Starting Five" awards.  Four of our players were nominated -- and more should have been (Hannah Jump for best shooting guard).  These awards give some weight to fan voting.  It is open NOW.  And, unlike governmental elections -- there is nothing wrong with voting early and voting often.  In fact, you can vote every day.  The link is: 

http://www.hoophallawards.com/women/vote.php

 

            Stanford Players Start Dead-Week and Fall Finals on a High Note

 

            The Stanford women's team go off into their two-week break for finals riding high after defeating 23rd ranked Gonzaga 84-63.  The much-needed rain that has been soaking the Bay Area let up to allow fans to get to the game, but inside Maples the Cardinal buried Gonzaga in a storm of threes! Stanford hit fifteen three-pointers (15 of 28 for a torrid 53.6%). The three-point barrage was led by Brooke Demetre's five and Hannah Jump's four, but six other Stanford players hit one apiece.  Over half of Stanford's 84 points came from behind the arc!  Brooke's five three-pointers and 17 total points were both career highs for this talented sophomore.  

            Tara likes to say that teams have to pick their poison when you play the Cardinal.  Gonzaga apparently took one look at the way Stanford has been dominating teams with points-in-the-paint and decided to limit inside play. That was a reasonable decision given that, on average, over 45 of Stanford's points per game had come from players who had made a combined TOTAL of SIX three-point shots in Stanford's first 10 games. They guarded Hannah Jump (the nation's leading three-point shooter) and Ashton Prechtal (Stanford's second leading three-point shooter) tight but otherwise packed the paint. What they didn't count on was Demetre.  Earlier in the season Brooke had a number of good looks from three rim out -- and both Tara and Cameron Brink say the team has confidence in Brooke's high arcing, quick release shot.  The Gonzaga game was her game to shine.  

 

            The All-American's make it Look Easy

 

            Of course, our All-American's continued to play like All-Americans.  Cameron had another double-double - 16 rebounds, 14 points, two assists, a block, a steal -- and only ONE foul. Haley scored 12 points, had five rebounds, one steal and SIX assists (and zero turnovers) while taking on point guard duty for the 13 minutes when Lepolo was not on the floor. But lots of players contributed.  Eight players had double-digit minutes, and Bosgana had nine.  Lauren Betts only played five minutes but had eight points, three rebounds and a block.  

            Gonzaga came limping into Maples on a hot streak. How can that be -- well Gonzaga had recent wins over Louisville (in overtime), Marquette, and Tennessee and blowouts of several other teams but injuries and illness left then with only 7 healthy players.  Those seven players played hard.  In the end Stanford's talent, depth, and coaching were too much for the Zags.  

 

            The Chess Match

            

            At the pre-game chalk talk, Coach Steding said that because the two teams know each other well, this was likely to be a bit of a chess match with coaches making plans and adjustments to take away what the other team does well.  Stanford did a good job on Gonzaga's leading scorer Ejim -- holding her to eight points for the game.  But Kaylynne Truong burned the Cardinal for 20 points in the first half.  She got two points in the second half as Tara's defensive adjustments worked. Gonzaga wasn't able to successfully adjust its defense as the Cardinal hit seven of their 15 threes in the second half winning that half by a 12-point margin. 

 

            In the Spirit of Finals -- Questions

            With the team hitting the books for finals, it seems like a good time to ask a few questions.

 

1.  How much better can this team get?

            Stanford isn't playing the Princeton offense this year.  One of Coach Vanderveer's hallmarks is that she adjusts what she asks her team to do based on the strengths of the players she has.  The Princeton offense is a complex guard heavy offense - it is hard to learn.   This year's team is loaded with talented POST players but has mostly young and/or inexperienced (although also talented) guards.  The flow offense Stanford is using this year doesn't require the intricate work of reading and reacting and it is easier to learn - but the team is still learning!  The puzzle pieces are AMAZING.  Each of the returning players has improved and the freshmen are incredibly talented.  The team is playing at a very high level. But they haven't truly meshed yet...!  What will it look like as the young players gain  confidence in their ability to play at this level and the entire team has mastered the new offense? South Carolina had most of the pieces back from their championship run -- yet we were toe-to-toe with them down to the final seconds of overtime.  This team will only get better, and we will have fun watching them do that.

 

2. Is Haley Jones the best small forward in the country?

            Tara calls Haley a "Swiss Army Knife player."  She is so talented and so versatile.  She can do anything -- and does.  Haley's versatility is reflected in her stats.  She doesn't lead the Cardinal in any positive category -- but she is second in almost every category.  (Okay, Haley is third in total blocks behind Cam with 33- and Lauren with 11.)  In addition to doing everything and doing it well, the biggest thing Haley does is make everybody on her team better.  She is the personification of unselfish, a leader whose enthusiasm is contagious. Haley is on the WBCA ballot for small forward -- and in my book she's the best.

 

3.  Is Cameron Brink the best power forward in the country? 

            Cam was already a pre-season All American -- that was based on what people saw her do LAST year.  This year she is even better.  She has moved out to the wing, added a confident 3-point shot to her game and is showing an ability to drive to the basket.  Even better -- her free throw shooting has improved!  Cam has had a number of games where she was PERFECT from the line.  She is second in the nation in blocks, leads the team in rebounds, and is tied with Hannah Jump as the team's high scorer.  But she also leads the team in personal fouls. Cam has improved from last year in that regard -- but she needs to continue to reduce the fouls to truly live up to her potential.  Cam is on the WBCA ballot for power forward -- another winner in my book.

Back home...taking care of business

    After winning three games in three days and a 2400 mile red-eye flight Sunday night, the Cardinal faced off against local challenger Santa Clara on Wednesday night.  That was Stanford's fourth game in seven days. Stanford triumphed 82-69 and led the whole game except one 28 second blink-and-you-miss-it moment in the last minute of the first quarter when Santa Clara was in the lead by one point.  The CARD poured it on a bit in the second quarter, outscoring Santa Clara 20 to 10, and maintained a comfortable lead of between 7 and 17 points for the rest of the game.  

            There were a number of bright spots for Stanford, including Fran Belibi's 12 points, eight rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block and zero fouls or turnovers in 13 minutes stat line.  Her best of the year. Hannah Jump went 4 for 8 from the three-point line and continued to be perfect from the charity stripe in scoring her game leading 19 points. Haley Jones had another double-double (14 pts, 11 rebounds) as well as 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. Brink (12 pts) and Iriafen (16 pts) joined the other three in double figures while Lepolo continued to impress with a 6 assist, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and zero foul stat line in her 39 minutes of play.  She only scored three points, but her successful three pointer came at a time in the third period when Santa Clara was starting to heat up and it blunted their momentum. 

            Perhaps fatigue was a factor in the Cardinal's shooting. The team only shot 27.3% from the 3 and 44.3% overall - both numbers well below the team's season-to-date average.  If it was fatigue, then the rest between Wednesday's game and Sunday's upcoming game against Gonzaga should take care of the problem.  That team is currently ranked 23rd in the country and is coming in off a hot win streak from their Thanksgiving tournament.

 

            Shorter Rotation

 

            As in the South Carolina game, Tara used a shorter rotation. Only seven players had double-digit minutes, the starters plus Belibi and Elena Bosgana.  Interestingly, beyond the apparently set starting five (Jones, Jump, Brink, Iriafen, and Lepolo) the players who get the most minutes appear to change from game to game.  One assumes that matchups, practice effort, and game performance shape the difference.  But, it is a testament to Stanford's depth that there are so many potential pieces of the puzzle.  There are 10 players who are currently averaging double-digit minutes. This is not a team likely to be derailed by one person's off night.  

            That's a good thing because things will not get any easier from here.  After 23rd ranked Gonzaga the Cardinal take a ten-day break for Finals.  They then play Tennessee and 13th ranked Creighton before opening Pac-12 play against CAL on December 23rd.  Conference play will not be easy! The Pac-12 currently has zero teams with more than two losses, more undefeated teams (three) than two-loss teams (2), and a conference record of 65 wins to 11 losses.  Five Pac-12 teams are ranked in the nation's top 20 and there is a good argument to be made that more teams should be! It will be a real accomplishment if any team, even the talented Cardinal, can make it through the Pac-12 season undefeated.  

 

            Hawaii Memories

 

            It was a bit brutal to return from the balmy weather in Hawaii to this cold spell!  So, perhaps it makes sense to indulge in a bit of recollecting.  One prominent memory is of the joy players seemed to take from interacting with one another away from school and from interacting with the various family members present.  Here are a few of my favorite photos from the trip.

                                            Cameron and Talana's youngest sister both like dogs!

Sports Performance Coach Hayden and Communications manager Treadway off to climb Diamondhead!

Coaches in Hawaii adornments!

One last sunset!!!!