Not The Ending We Wanted!

A Rough Ending Against a Tough Team

 

            Stanford's season ended tonight -- not the ending we expected or wanted.  Certainly not the way the Funky Four wanted to end their Stanford career.  Stanford battled back from what looked like certain defeat to give themselves a chance to win but came up short.  I will leave it to the professional pundits to dissect the game, beyond saying that when a team has five more turnovers than made baskets, it is remarkable to only lose by five points. There were too many layups that didn't fall -- including some that were halfway down and came back out.  This incredibly talented team won't play again this year.

 

            There is a reason this Blog is called the Stanford Fan Girl -- because at the end of the day -- I am a fan.  Like, I suspect, most of the team and its fans, I am in shock. So, beyond these few comments, I will say that I will be posting again later in the week.  That post will be a summary of the year and, even more, a tribute to the Funky Four -- an amazing class who leave an incredible legacy.  The most difficult thing, for me, is that this loss means that we will never see those four amazing women together in Stanford uniforms. Hannah Jump - the only member of the Funky Four who wasn't a McDonald's All American is coming it for her COVID year--and that is FANTASTIC.  But, it looks like this was the end for the rest of the Funky Four.

 

            For now, it's hold your head up Cardinal -- you are amazing on the court and off!  You are warriors!

Jump sets a record

 

Hannah's Mom celebrates her daughter!

Round #1: Stanford 92 - SHU 49

 

            Stanford took the floor for the first round of the NCAA Tournament without All-American Cameron Brink.  As one of the ESPN Analysts said in the half-time show, "No Cameron Brink, no problem."  Stanford had too much talent and too much height for a gallant but over-matched Sacred Heart team.

          SHU scored the game's first basket and played the CARD basically even for the first eight-and-a-half minutes. But by the end of the first quarter the CARD was up by five. Defense ruled for the first four minutes of the second quarter, with Stanford's first basket not coming until nearly three-and-a-half minutes had passed.  But once Haley Jones took the lid off the basket, scoring on a beautiful pass from Talana Lepolo, the CARD was off to the races, scoring 22 points in the quarter while holding SHU to only 8. By the end of the first half, Haley had 17 points -- on seven of ten from the floor including several highlight reel layups.

 

            Stanford dominated in all areas - rebounds, scoring percentage, assists, steals, blocks, and points-in-the-paint. But a big part of what allowed the CARD to run away with the game was turning up the defensive intensity.  Sacred Heart got here by turning teams over and scoring off those turnovers.  But in this game, Stanford only turned the ball over seven times (resulting in four SHU points) while scoring 19 points off SHU's 11 turnovers. The only stat category where Sacred Heart came out ahead was free-throw percentage. Without Cam's nearly perfect contributions from the charity stripe, Stanford regressed to a 57% mark. 

 

            One of the big side moments of the first half was Hannah Jump's three-pointer with three seconds left, assisted by Talana.  Hannah's two three-pointers in the first quarter had moved her into a tie with Karly Samuelson and Jeanette Pohlen for the three-pointers in a season.  That buzzer beater gave Hannah 97 for  the year and sole possession of the season record.  Another big moment came when Sacred Heart star 5'3" Ny'Ceara Pryor thought she had a layup and Lauren Betts just stuffed the ball. Pryor went down and the ball went out of bounds off her. 

 

            With the game under control, all available players were able to get minutes on the floor. Only point guards Talana and Indya Nivar played more than 20 minutes -- 23 for Talana and 21 for Indya. Additionally, five players (Haley, Hannah, Fran, Indya, and Lauren) scored in double-figures while Kiki Iriafen and Elena Bosgana both had nine.  Twelve players participated in pulling down Stanford's 57 rebounds, with only Fran reaching double figures in rebounds, part of the CARD's only double-double for the game. Ten CARD players recorded assists, led by Talana's seven assists with no turnovers!  Hopefully this team win has the CARD ready to make a run in the tournament.

 

Next Up: Ol' Miss

 

            It is unlikely that Stanford's next game will be as easy.  Eighth seed Ol' Miss dominated nineth seed Gonzaga, winning 71-48.  That margin suggests that Ol' Miss is seriously under seeded.  This is, after all, the other team that has taken South Carolina to overtime!  They are fast, physical, and aggressive.  They play the type of physical defense that can give the CARD trouble.  They play team basketball.  In the win over Gonzaga, nine of the ten players who entered the game scored.  Stanford's size and talent should be enough to carry the day -- but it promises to be an intense game.  How the CARD handle this matchup may tell us a lot about how the tournament will go.  

 

            See you SUNDAY.  Let's show up big to cheer the Funky Four in their last game at Maples!!! ESPN has the game at 6:30!

 

 

            

March Madness

FEAR THE TREE

            On Friday night the Stanford Women's basketball team will take the floor in the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament for the 35th consecutive year! It's MARCH MADNESS time!  For the last two years women's basketball teams have been officially included in that "March Madness" designation, a privilege the NCAA had previously reserved only for the men's tournament.  But for women's basketball fans March has always been exciting! Given the number of upsets in conference tournaments, this year may be even more exciting than usual.

 

            The collegiate basketball season has three segments: the "pre" season, the conference season - these days including a conference tournament, and the "post" season for teams that are good or lucky enough to get a "ticket to the dance." As much as every team always wants to win every game, in the first two segments a loss, even a painful loss can help a team get better - get ready for March. Now it's "exam" time -- win or wait for next year.  

 

            The good news is that the CARD players are Stanford students -- so hopefully they have learned the lessons from the season and are ready to ace this exam. Stanford has a great track record in the NCAA tournament.  In the 35 years that Tara has guided Stanford to the NCAA tournament the CARD has been to 15 Final Fours and has only failed to advance to the Sweet 16 six times.  That amazing level of sustained excellence is why in a recent confidential poll of 30 top coaches conducted by the Athletic asking who is the "best x's and o's coach in women's basketball" Tara VanDerveer came out on top -- receiving nearly three times as many votes as the next coach on the list.

 

            For fans concerned about Stanford's two losses in their last three games, it useful to look at the season's stats.  Among all D1 teams, Stanford ranks #3 in Field Goal Percentage Defense, #2 in Blocks per game, #3 in Rebound Margin, and #6 in Scoring Margin.   There is some room to be concerned about the CARD having fewer assists per game than usual (Stanford only ranks 25 -- but South Carolina is only 20th) and a lower Scoring Offense rating than usual, but that last figure reflects how difficult it is to score against the stingy defenses of the Pac-12 Conference. 

 

            Stanford will be taking on Sacred Heart, the winner of the First Four game at Maples Wednesday night.  This will give the CARD a chance to demonstrate that they have grasped the first lesson from the season:  Don't take anything for granted (4th quarter doldrums after big leads)- Don't overlook any team (U. of Washington). It will also give the CARD a chance to address an issue many pundits have made a focus -- finding a scorer in addition to Haley and Cam.  It's time to get Hannah Jump more open looks and to get our other three-point-shooters, particularly Agnes and Talana, to take more of their open threes. Frequently in the 4th quarter teams play five on three against Cam, Haley, and Hannah. The best way to stop that is for other players to hit their open shots.

 

            As tempting as it is to look ahead to the potential Regional Final matchup between Stanford and Iowa, the Pac-12 tournament tells us why we shouldn't look so far ahead.  That Stanford vs Utah rematch didn't happen.  So, this column will take it one game at a time.  See you at Maples, when Stanford takes on Sacred Heart, as we celebrate the last weekend at home for the Funky Four (Fran, Haley, Hannah, and Ash).

Upset

 

            The 2023 PAC-12 tournament has been a tournament of upsets.  There were two upsets in each round!  Unfortunately for Stanford, there were only two games in the third round and Stanford was the higher seed.  

Stanford 76 - Oregon 65

             On Thursday Stanford avoided the upset in a tight game against Oregon. Against Oregon, the CARD took the lead from the first minutes and held on to it. One of the most positive notes from the Oregon game is that all of Stanford’s starters scored at least eight points.  The team was led by Cameron Brink’s 22 points (along with 11 rebounds for another double-double) and Haley Jones’ 13 rebounds (with eight points and eight assists). Hannah Jump and Talana Leopolo also scored in double figures. Off the bench Belibi added eight points with 10 rebounds and Betts scored seven points and grabbed two rebounds. Additionally, all of the CARD’s starters were perfect from the free throw line! 

            In the Oregon game Stanford had more rebounds (56 -39), more assists (16 -11), more points-in-the-paint (30-14), and more bench points (15-11). Interestingly, although they led the entire game, the CARD won the first quarter by seven, the second by six, played Oregon even in the third, and Stanford lost the fourth by two.  This second half loss of fire pre-shadowed an even bigger second half let-down on Friday.  

UCLA 69 — Stanford 65

            Against UCLA the game started out with Stanford looking strong.  The CARD took the lead at roughly 90 seconds into the game and led the entire first half; wining the first quarter by 9 and the second by 4 to take a 13 point lead into halftime.  Several of Cameron Brink’s first half field goals were elbow jumpers, not her usual layups.  That development of her game, along with her continued perfection at the free-throw line, should be a big plus for Stanford going forward.  Many teams try to stop the CARD by clogging the paint.  The best ways to stop that are having three point shooters draw the defense out and other players hit elbow jumpers.  In the first half against UCLA Stanford did just that.

            The second half was a different story.  UCLA started to find their range in the third quarter, but Stanford continued to hold on.  The CARD only had four made baskets in the quarter, but went 6 off 6 from the free-throw line.  Stanford lost the quarter by three but still took a 10 point lead into the fourth quarter.  UCLA came out on fire in the fourth and Stanford seemed to run out of gas, at least at the defensive end of the floor.  The Bruins out scored the CARD by 14 in the fourth quarter, 29 to 15.  UCLA took their first lead with just over two minutes left to play and Stanford was unable to answer.  That inability was aided by several calls by the referees that seemed questionable at best.  One was on a Brink rebound which was ruled a jump ball while Cam was trying to call a timeout.  There were several others, in the last few minutes that hurt Stanford — but of course, it’s never a good idea to let things get so close that the referees can decide the game.  Given the five weeks Stanford has just gone through, perhaps the best news in that Sunday the CARD will be home sleeping in their own beds.