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!!!!
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