Challenges Ahead!

 

A Family Affair

 

            Friday afternoon's game against UC San Diego had the air of a family affair -- with a bit of a "big sister domination" dynamic.  For openers, there were an unusually large number of family members in the stands for both sides as Stanford had hosted Thanksgiving dinner for players, coaches, and their families the previous day.  Additionally, the seriously overmatched UC San Diego team is coached by Tara's younger sister -- Heidi VanDerveer.  Following the game there was a "Behind the Bench" session with the two VanDerveers.

 

Hot Start -- Solid Finish

                  Tess Heal joined Nunu Agara, Elena Bosgana, Brooke Demetre, and Jzaniya Harriel in the starting line-up. Talana Lepolo, Stanford's junior point guard was not dressed for the game due to lingering soreness from her last season's knee injury and a mildly sprained ankle. All other players were available and all spent time on the floor.

 

                  Tess played well, scoring 13-points, on five-of-six shooting, and dishing out three assists with no turnovers. But the star of the game was Elena Bosgana who was perfect from the floor, including five three-pointers, for a career high 26 points. Elena's perfect shooting tied a school record for shooting percentage.  Her only miss was from the free throw line.  Elena also had six rebounds, four steals, three assists, and unfortunately four turnovers. That's a VERY nice stat line!  Also scoring in double digits were Nunu Agara, the CARD's season scoring leader, with 22 and steady Brooke Demetre with 12. 

 

                  Stanford began the game at a blistering pace, scoring the game's first 11 points enroute to a 32-4 first quarter lead.  In that first quarter the CARD made over 78% of their shot attempts, hit over 66% of threes, and recorded a respectable 75% of their free throw attempts.  The scoring cooled off as Coach Paye played younger players and experimented with different player combinations. Stanford "only" shot 56.9% from the floor and 40.9% from three for the entire game.  The distressing notes on the stat sheet were the 50% shooting from the free throw line and the high turnover number.  Although Stanford had 18 assists on 33 made baskets, they also turned the ball over 25 times! That level of sloppiness would be disastrous against a team that coverts a higher percentage of their possessions. Stanford still ranks #1 in the country on three-point percentage and 6th in fielding goal percentage.  But the CARD dropped to 14th in assist-to-turnover ratio. 

 

Strange Year

 

                  It is still unclear how the Cardinal will do this year.  Coming into the season, the pundits did not have Stanford ranked in the Top 25.  The CARD were ranked 7th in the ACC. Those rankings almost certainly reflected a reaction to the changes -- no VanDerveer, no Brink, no Iriafen, and no Hannah Jump.  But as we have noted, Stanford retains a collection of talented players and a well-tested coaching staff - and a proud tradition.  So far this year, Stanford has had very few (no?) truly competitive games.  There have been no real "nail biters." The only possible exceptions were the 13-point win over UC Davis and the 13-point loss to Indiana.  But even in those games it was more a matter of things "not being hopeless" than "equal chance to win." 

 

                  That seems to be true of women's hoops more generally.  Stanford's 29-point average margin of victory is only 25th in the nation! Even some of the games expected to be competitive like South Carolina against UCLA or Iowa State ended up in blowout victories.  As this is being written there are still 32 undefeated teams in women's college hoops although many of the teams highly ranked in preseason rankings are not among them.  The question remains: is this year's team a "top team" or an "also ran." The next few weeks will provide important clues as Stanford travels next week to play #7 LSU and has a Chase Center game against #11 Ohio State on December 20.  A win in either of those games would put the CARD firmly into the national conversation.  Of course, it is important to remember that the only ranking that really matters the NCAA tournament.  This year's CARD can take inspiration from the women's soccer team that didn't rank high enough to qualify for the ACC tournament will be one of the four teams playing in the College Cup. 

 

Questions

 

1.  How well will the "newcomers" mesh with the returning players?

                  Coming into this season, Stanford didn't have a true "core group" but had a core returning players with some experience and a collection of talented newcomers. This is a team that will need to be carried by teamwork not superstars.  Can the pieces come together?

 

2. When will the freshmen stop being freshmen?

                  This year's team has several talented freshmen whose talents are particularly needed.  That is especially true of Kennedy Umeh whose height and imposing frame will be essential against teams with strong post presence and Shay Ijiwoye whose speed and quickness will be important against the ACC's quick guards.  Both have shown flashes of their potential -- but both have also had moments that remind us they are freshmen...hopefully that is over by March.

Another Win -- and hopefully another lesson learned

Basketball Is a Team Sport

 

            It is no secret that this year's Stanford team does not have any universally acknowledged superstars - none of the current players were rated in the top five of their recruiting class, none were preseason All Americans.   There is no player who can be expected to "put this team on her shoulders" and create victories against top teams. But this team does have a strong core of talented players, including McDonald's All Americans Brooke Demetre and Courtney Ogden and Jordan Brand Classic All Americans Nunu Agara and Chloe Clardy.  All the players who played high school ball in the US were highly rated by the various talent evaluators.  Many of the players have been on age-group National teams and Elena Bosgana is on the Greek National team. In a nutshell, basketball isn't tennis -- it’s a team sport and this team -- as a team -- has the pieces to compete with anybody.  The question is, can they play team basketball?

 

                  For this year's Cardinal, the challenge of playing as a team is made more difficult by the lack of experience in being a core group.  The 2024-25 team lost last year's top three scorers, top three rebounders, and three of last year's top assist makers. Of the returning players, only Talana Lepolo was the leader (assists) or in the top two (three pointers made) for any statistical category -- and Talana is still recovering from surgery to deal with last season's knee injury.  The task isn't about plugging one or two newcomers into an existing core nucleus -- it’s about virtually developing a new team.  Establishing team cohesion while continuing individual development is what the preseason needs to do.  Hopefully, on Monday night against Cal Poly this team took another step in that process.

 

                  Lacking the size to dominate in the paint, another obvious fact about this team is that its offense is going to come primarily from outside shooting and drives to the basket -- with a few well-chosen midrange jumpers in the mix. It is hard for opposing teams to prevent both.  Concentrating of running shooters off the three-point line usually opens drives to the basket.  The task for Stanford players is to recognize what's open and take advantage.  Good teams will make that task more difficult by switching up their defense -- sometimes doing one and sometimes doing the other rather than employing the same strategy all game.  

 

Monday Night

 

                  Although Stanford led wire-to-wire in the game against Cal Poly, it was a tale of two halves.  In the first half Stanford's offense didn't do a good job of moving the ball or taking advantage of what the defense allowed.  Offensive possessions were often marked by several players standing around while ball handlers tried to figure out what to do -- ending in rushed or poor shots. As a result, Stanford only led by eight points at the half. The game had the feel of one that could get "stolen."  In timeouts, normally positive Coach Paye was visibly and vocally angry with the team.  

                  In the second half, Stanford played like a team -- recognizing open driving lanes which then opened up three-point opportunities.  This more aggressive play resulted in Stanford dominating the scoring in the 3rd Quarter by 12 points and making the game into a rout in the 4th. The scoring was led by Brooke Demetre -- a senior starting to show her potential both as a player and a team leader.  Brooke is one of three Stanford players currently averaging double-digit points, along with fellow senior Elena Bosgana and Stanford's scoring leader, sophomore Nunu Agara.  

 

 

Questions:

 

1.  What will we see on Friday?

Against UC San Diego, another overmatched opponent, will Stanford demonstrate lessons learned from the Cal Poly game or will they revert? 

 

2. When will Stanford get respect?

Despite its long tradition of excellence, Stanford opened the season unranked while Iowa State, a team Stanford defeated in the NCAA tournament, opened the season ranked 8th.   Thus far this season Stanford has recorded blow-out wins against five teams, one 13-point win over a good UC-Davis team, and one loss to Big 10 Indiana.  After a brief entry into the Top 25 at 24, Stanford has fallen back into the realm of the unranked.  Iowa State has recorded blow-out wins over some of the teams they have played, a two-point win over two-and-four Drake, and a 12-point loss Missouri Valley Conference Northern Iowa.  Iowa State is currently ranked 15th.  As the season plays out, we'll see if the pundit world continues to sleep on Stanford.

November is for Learning

 

Two Games, Two Different Results

 

                  The Cardinal had two games this past week, one was a road trip to perennial powerhouse Indiana. The other a home game against the MECA Conference's Morgan State.  The results couldn't have been more different.  The game against Indiana resulted in a 14-point loss that ended Stanford's brief first appearance in the national Top 25. The game against Morgan State was a 42-point blowout win that sent Stanford into Thanksgiving week with lots to be thankful about. The most important thing about both games is that they provided valuable lessons -- that's the most important thing in November basketball.  

 

                  This year's Stanford squad is a young team.  The only truly experienced player, Stanford's starting point guard for the last two seasons Talana Lepolo, is still recovering from the knee injury (that required surgery in the off-season).  As a result, her availability and minutes have been limited. The team's two seniors both had experience as starters on last year's team, but they only averaged 6.7 (Bosgana) and 6.3 (Demetre) points per game and were fifth (Demetre) and sixth in total minutes. Of the remaining returning players only red-shirt junior Jzaniya Harriel had any experience as a starter (two games). Stanford's sophomores three sophomores all saw significant action last year, but none averaged more than 14 minutes per game.  The two transfers on this year's team, junior Tess Heal and sophomore Mary Ashley (MA) Stevenson, both have significant college experience but are new to the Stanford system. Finally, the team's three freshmen are obviously lacking in both college and Stanford experience.  With such a young team the number one task for the preseason is team and player development.  That is the lens through which this week’s games should be viewed.

 

 

First Road Trip: Forgot to Pack the Three-Point Shot

 

                  The Indiana game was about as difficult a challenge for a young team's first road trip as one could imagine.  Assembly Hall holds over 17,000 and is routinely packed with screaming fans.  The Indiana team was incredibly motivated, first by having suffered back-to-back ugly losses in their two prior games and additionally by having suffered a 32-point blow out loss to Stanford last season.  Absent vastly different talent levels, basketball games are won by the team that plays with the greatest intensity and physicality. That is how Indiana played against the CARD. Stanford simply didn't match Indiana's level of physicality and intensity.  That difference really showed up in the three-point shooting -- with Stanford hitting two-of-eleven from three-point range while Indiana shot over 47% from three. There were some positives, mostly in the way multiple players contributed and the CARD's continued effort to the end.  Nunu Agara continued to score well, but her efficiency was down. Overall, the game was most significant for the opportunities to learn what needs to get better. 

 

Back Home!

 

                  Against Morgan State the Stanford team had plenty of opportunities to recover.  The CARD came out with intensity, scoring the first 11 points of the game in route to a 26-6 first quarter lead.  Despite having 31-point lead, the CARD came out with that same intensity to start the second half, scoring the first 13 points on their way to a blow-out win.  Brooke Demetre and Elena Bosgana provided senior leadership both vocally and with their play on the court.  Brooke was the game's leading scorer with 15 points, including three-of-four from three.  Elena also scored in double figures and was the game's assist leader with six assists and ZERO turnovers.  Brooke is one of those dependable players -- never flashy (except when her three-point shot is on fire) but always good for a solid contribution to the game even when her three-pointer doesn't fall. Elena is another solid player -- but what is most impressive is the transformation of her game from her freshman year, when she seemed to think that pass was not only a four-letter word but a dirty one, to her current status as one of the team's assist leaders. The Greek National Team is going to be happy to have her back when her Stanford days are over.

 

Memorable Moments

 

                  In addition to being a satisfying win, Friday night's game against Morgan State had some especially memorable moments.  Freshman Kennedy Umeh, in what is almost certainly a glimpse of things to come, recorded the first double-double of her Stanford career.  Kennedy had 11 points and 10 rebounds (along with two blocks) in just over 10 minutes of playing time.  The 6'4" Umeh is the only true center on Stanford's roster.  Her continued development will be important for Stanford's play in March.  

 

                  The other big moment was when junior Lauren Green scored the first field goal of her college career.  Lauren's career is an inspirational story.  Accepted to Stanford academically, she convinced Coach VanDerveer to allow her to participate as a walk-on. She is never going to play professionally or get a big NIL deal.  But her dedication, determination, and love for the game show up every day in practice where she is a tenacious defender and a competent three-point shooter.  That kind of hard work should inspire any player who thinks limited minutes are an excuse to "take it easy" in practice. Lauren only gets to play in blow-out games. She took only one shot per season, both three-point attempts, in the first two years of her career. Prior to Friday's game, her only points were from the free throw line where is a perfect two-for-two.  Against Morgan State, it appeared that Coach Paye called a play for Lauren to get an open shot under the basket and Lauren delivered!  The bench and the entire crowd went wild! Players jumped up and down while fans joined in the celebration!

 

The Next Big Test on the Road Ahead

 

                  Neither of the next two Thanksgiving week games against Big West Conference opponents should be a huge challenge for the Cardinal.  The schedule gets considerably tougher after that, with away games against currently undefeated LSU, Cal, and Ohio State. The only home game before ACC play begins in earnest is against University of Texas, San Antonio.  Of those games, only the LSU game will require the CARD to get on a plane -- as the Ohio State game is at Chase Center on December 20.  But the December schedule is a true gauntlet.  Winning more than half of those games would certainly put Stanford back in the Top 25.  After that, the ACC schedule will have Stanford playing home and away games alternating every other week until the regular season ends with Stanford at home on March 2 against Georgia Tech.  The top 15 teams in the ACC will then play a win-or-go-home tournament March 5-9 in Greensborough, North Carolina.  

                  

Questions:

1. Will there be a "regular" starting line up?

    To date Stanford's starting line up has been (in alpha order) Agara, Bosgana, Demetre, Harriel, and Lepolo -- with Tess Heal taking Talana's place when she is unavailable. Against Morgan State, the CARD introduced its entire starting line up as "at guard," a nomenclature that underscores Stanford's lack of a post presence.  With 6'4" Kennedy Umeh continuing to develop her conditioning, understanding of college play, and Stanford's system, will she break into the starting line up at some point -- or at least start to be an option before "garbage time?" The same question could be asked about fellow freshman Shay Ijiwoye whose speed at guard could be an important asset against some of the guard oriented ACC teams.  Shay is already seeing playing time during critical periods of games, will she stay an "off the bench" player.

2. Does it matter?

    One of the hallmarks of this season has been frequent substitution as the team has a plethora of talented players but no clearly established superstars.  Only Nunu Agara, one of the possible candidates for superstar status, is averaging 30 minutes per game. Nine players are currently averaging double digit minutes and none of them are named Kennedy or Ijiwoye. Will this team have a true "core five" or will the personnel on the floor be more about matchups?

Still Perfect In The Only Stat That Matters

 

Playing in the Mirror

 

            For the first three games of the season, Stanford had been putting on an offensive clinic and racking up dazzling, nation leading offensive stats.  Against UC Davis the stats weren't gaudy, but the most important one remained impressive.  Stanford is still undefeated. 

 

                  The coaches at UC Davis are the people who taught Tara VanDerveer and her staff the Princeton Offense. That's the offense the CARD is currently running.  In fact, both teams on the floor were running the same offense and Coach Paye thought Davis was running it better.  

 

                  The game wasn't pretty for either team.  That's what happens when everybody knows the other team's plays.  Neither team could get open often for easy threes.  Both shot under 30% from three for the game.  However, both teams had some decent looks that went halfway down before popping out. If those shots had fallen the stats would have been better. The Cardinal team that had been scoring 89 points or more in their first three games only managed 29 points in the entire first half.  That's only three points more than the CARD scored in the FIRST Quarter against Gonzaga.  Those 29 points were enough to give Stanford an eight-point lead, but it certainly wasn't the blow out lead the CARD had been establishing in previous games. Not only did Davis hang around, never getting more than 10 or 11 points down, but late in the third quarter they threatened to steal the game -- rallying to tie and finally take a one-point lead with 25 seconds left in the 3rd quarter.  

 

Gut-check time!

 

                  One of the questions about this year's team was, how would the team respond when things weren't easy.  Would they buckle under pressure or buckle down and grit it out.

Against Davis the CARD rose to the challenge.  Having been put on notice that the game could be lost, Stanford pulled away to win by double digits.  The surge began with a three-pointer by Courtney Ogdon on a beautiful assist from Lepolo as time expired in the Third Quarter.  UC Davis never led again although they tied the game twice.  By less than two-and-a-half minutes into the fourth quarter Stanford had taken a two possession lead.  The game was never closer as Stanford pulled further away.  The CARD's biggest lead came at the game's end. 

 

                  It was a team effort, but sophomores Nunu Agara and Courtney Ogdon scored 15 of Stanford's last 23 points.  Seniors Demetre and Bosgana scored the other eight.  In fact, those four scored 60 of Stanford's 69 total points for the game.  Agara was especially impressive in this one, as she had been in the tougher than expected exhibition against Cal State LA.  Nunu collected her first official double-double with a career high 25 points and 10 rebounds. She also managed two steals and an assist! Just as the Cardinal has played itself into the national conversation -- now back in the Top 25 (at 24) --  Agara is playing her way into the national conversation about top power forwards. 

 

The View from Behind the Bench

 

                  Fall Quarter exams are still almost a month away, but this seems like a good time to discuss "midterm grades" for Kate Paye and her coaching staff.  Kate is different from Tara and not different.  She is on her feet more, but like Tara she works hard at coaching/teaching players throughout the game.  She is a bit more emotional, but like Tara she doesn't appear to panic.  So far Kate and her staff have an undefeated team that is fun to watch.  At least ten players have seen time on the floor in every game and only one is averaging more than 30 minutes a game -- Nunu (31). Players appear to be having fun, playing like a team, and improving.  

 

                  Another big part of the coaching staff's job is to recruit quality players.  Wednesday Coach Paye announced the first recruiting class of the Paye Era at Stanford.  If anybody had been predicting a drop-off after Tara's departure, they were wrong!  The five new players committed to Stanford for next fall, including two over 6'4”, are all rated four and five stars by talent evaluators.  They form a class that is currently ranked number two in the country!  That may change as several of the players ranked in the top 20 have not yet committed to a school. Overall, this recruiting outcome means that next year's team will remain relevant.  

 

                  The final measure will be retaining the talent already on the team.  That task is complicated by the ability and willingness of the "collectives" at some schools to dangle big money (high six or even seven figure paydays) as enticement for young women to transfer.  That is what cost Stanford Kiki Iriafen -- Lifetime Cardinal couldn't compete with USC. However, having players who are happy and feel connected to their teammates and school reduces the chances of losing players who aren't being offered lottery winner level deals.

 

Questions:

 

1.  How will this CARD team fare outside of Maples?

                  To date all of Stanford's games have been played inside the comfy confines of Maples Pavilion -- on the Tara VanDerveer Court.  That changes now.  Sunday the CARD is on the road to Indiana. December's schedule includes away games against LSU and CAL along with a "neutral" Chase Center contest against Ohio State.  Once the ACC schedule starts half the games will be on the road, often against ranked teams!  The team is unlikely to remain undefeated through all of that-- but we would like to see them continue to do well.

 

2.  What's up with the offensive fouls?

                  Against Davis the ACC refs seemed to be mostly "letting them play."  Bodies were hitting the floor all over the place with no calls. However, of the 19 fouls called on Stanford, six were offensive fouls.  Of the 13 fouls called against Davis, NONE were offensive fouls.  One must ask, were Cardinal players being more blatant with their offensive physicality or are there ACC refs having some anti-Stanford bias already...? The good news is that no Stanford player picked up more than one offensive foul -- so they showed the ability to learn what the refs were calling.

A Short Video hello from two of our freshmen

The link below takes you to a short video from Shay and Kennedy

 https://youtu.be/KMbz8oJb-QA?si=cvHVR4EJZ8YjefAY

A Tribute to a Legend: Tara VanDerveer Court

 

First -- Let's Talk about the Game and the Team!

 

            Gonzaga was Stanford's third official opponent and the first one to be part of the national conversation even if unranked.  In fact, in the Top 25 polls, Gonzaga had received more votes than Stanford. The CARD dominated in the first two games, never trailing after the opening moments of the first quarter, scoring over 90 points in each of them, and "shooting the lights out." Still, questions remained -- how would Stanford do against a quality opponent, could the CARD continue to rain threes, could the CARD continue to put up gauzy stats, could the CARD keep scoring over 90 points a game? Additionally, there was the question of how this young team would respond to participating in a "big deal" game -- like this one honoring Tara VanDerveer.

 

                  All those questions were answered. The team continued to record an impressive number of assists -- this game it was 19 assists on 30 made baskets (63%) coupled with only 5 turnovers. The CARD also continued to have an impressive number of steals - today it was 10, bringing the season's total to 29.  Stanford's three-point total and shooting percentages were down but only slightly -- but their three-point and free throw percentages were up slightly. Against Gonzaga Stanford hit 13 of 24 threes (54%) and 30 of 65 shots total (46%). All ten of the players in the regular rotation scored, led by Nunu Agara with 16.  She was joined in double figure by Elena Bosgana and Jzaniya Harriel with 12 each and Chloe Clardy with 11. Six players hit three shots. Of course, the CARD didn't score over 90 points against Gonzaga -- they only got to 89, but that's pretty darn good! To put it simply, as Kate says, "We have good shooters."

 

Playing to Honor a Legend

 

                  Prior to Sunday's game there was a very special ceremony -- celebrating the naming of the basketball court for basketball legend Tara VanDerveer.  With her mother, three of her siblings, numerous friends, former players, current Stanford athletes and coaches, and appreciative fans many wearing shirts honoring Tara's record setting career all looking on -- the public address announcer said, "For the first time, welcome to Tara VanDerveer Court at Maple's Pavilion."  As the announcement was made, a cover was pulled off the new permanent logo. 

 

All games including volleyball and men's basketball will, from now on, be played on Tara VanDerveer Court at Maples Pavilion. This singular recognition is a fitting honor for a woman who has changed not just women's basketball but women's sports and arguably the sports world.

 

                  Tara fell in love with basketball and coaching as a young woman -- back when coaching women's sports was paid like a hobby, if paid at all.  She soaked up everything she could from Bobby Knight during her years at Indiana and took her first coaching job as an unpaid assistant at Ohio State. After two years at the University of Idaho, Moscow as their head coach, Tara returned to Ohio State as their head coach in 1981.  In 1985 she accepted the job as head coach of Stanford's women's basketball team.  A job she held until her retirement earlier this year.  During her years at the helm of the CARD, Tara presided over the rise of not only Stanford women's basketball, but west coast women's basketball.  Tara's encouragement of other coaches is another part of her legend.  Her goals always included building the game and the world of women's sports.  Most credit Tara's willingness to take an entire year away from Stanford to lead the US Women's National Team with developing the foundation for women's professional basketball in the US.  But, through it all, Tara was never about promoting herself -- always about promoting the game. Today's honor was truly deserved. 

 

 

A Torch Has Been Passed

 

            This year's Stanford team continues to be a lot of fun to watch.  Impressively, it appears to be a team that is a lot of fun for the players too.  Coach Paye has them working hard, believing in themselves, cheering in the huddle, and celebrating each other's successes.  

 

                  Good coaches win a lot of games when coaching a team full of All-Americans.  Great coaches develop talented players into the best they can be and combine a team full of talented players into a winning unit.  The current Stanford team doesn't have any preseason All Americans. In fact, the preseason ACC All Conference list didn't include a single Stanford player.  But this team is winning and the players are getting better every game.  Nunu Agara is on her way to being a star. Chloe Clarday is on her way to an impressive sophomore season.  Elena Bosgana is blossoming, Everybody cheered Kennedy Umeh's baskets and Shay Ijwoye's assis.  Ijwoye to Umeh is a connection we may hear about often for the next four years.  All of this is the mark of a special coach.  It looks like Stanford has gotten lucky in the coaching realm twice!

Two Games -- Two Wins

Second Game: Results the Same!

 

                  So far the Kate Paye Era at Stanford has been a lot of fun -- both for the fans and, from their smiles and laughter, for the players.  The team is playing with pace, scoring in bucket loads, and looking loose.  In both regular season games and their exhibition, the CARD has scored over 90 points and won by over 20 points.  That was 21 pts over Cal State LA, 65 points over Le Moyne, and 29 points over WSU. Coach Paye has said, "we have very good shooters," and the players have been proving her right. Stanford has been "shooting the lights out" from three! Against Le Moyne the CARD shot threes at 52.9% to set a school record 18 three-pointers. Against WSU Stanford only hit 14 threes but shot a blistering 70% from the three-point line!

 

                  The official slogan is that this team is a symphony, and different players will star on different nights.  So far that has been at least partly true.  Every player dressed has played in both official games. Jzaniya Harriel was the three-point star of game one with 24 points on 6 of 7 from three.  Tess Heal hit 4 of 4 from three on her way to 14 points in game two.  Mary Ashley Stevenson (MA) had 10 rebounds against Le Moyne.  But, at least so far, three players have been quite consistent scoring leaders -- Bosgana, Agara, and Clardy.  Nunu Agara and Elena Bosgana have two games both with 18 points for Nunu and 19 points for Elena! Chloe Clardy has scored 15 and 14 points on a mix of threes and two-point drives to the basket. Elena has also been a leader in this year's "theft ring," as the CARD has managed 19 steals in two games! Elena has five of them.  Nunu has been the team's leading rebounder for two of the three games -- although only one of the "official" games.  It's a bit early to be definitive about anything -- including stars, but this should be fun to watch.

 

                  There are also some areas of concern.  Foremost among them the relative lack of height in the post.  Seven of the CARD's fourteen players are over six feet tall, but freshman Kennedy Umeh is the tallest at 6'4".  That isn't something that can "improve" over the season -- although there is help coming next year.  The issue will be learning to handle mismatches when other teams have greater height.  The CARD showed improvement with that during the WSU game.  WSU had five of its seven blocks in the first quarter, three by the 6'6" Covill, as Stanford players tried to drive to the basket. Covill didn't record another block as Stanford players stopped trying to drive past her and started pulling up and shooting over her.  

 

                  The biggest fixable concern is defense.  WSU shot 43.9% from the floor and 50% from three - both of which were considerable improvements over their previous game.  Cal State LA shot 44% overall and 42.3% from three.  Only the totally overmatched Le Moyne team failed to hit at least 40% of their shots. Against WSU there were a number of times where the Cougars had open shots that just didn't go down.  Not every team will miss. Defense is about effort and intensity -- improvement is possible.  Some of the problem may be that it is hard to push when the team is up by 20 plus points.  But getting into lazy habits is dangerous.

                  The final area of concern is what Coach Paye calls "running offense." It is the opposite of "going one-on-one." The Stanford system is designed around ball movement leading to open shots, not individual players dribbling their way free or forcing up a shot even when they aren't open.  Yes, sometimes the movement leads to an open driving lane -- but that is "in the system.”  It can be hard for talented players to operate within an offensive system instead of simply trying to be a star.  But, winning requires it. For coaches that presents the challenge of gently pushing the player to "run offense" without destroying the player's confidence, creativity, and enthusiasm.  Kate seems like she is up for that challenge.

 

                  The CARD’s performance in the season’s first two games has Stanford among the national leaders in several statistical categories.  Those include three-pointers per game, three-point percentage, and assist to turnover ratio.  Hopefully that continues.  We'll see after the Gonzaga game.  If the CARD wins that one, and I think they will, they should be climbing back into the top 25 where they belong.

Questions

1.  How will the team handle the emotion of Sunday’s court dedication?

    Young teams can have difficulty handling emotional situations and Sunday’s court dedication promises to be emotional. It will be interesting to see how long it takes the team to settle in to the game.

 

The First One is Done!

 

First Game is One for the Record Books

 

            In Stanford's blowout win over Le Moyne everybody "dressed" for the game and Head Coach Kate Paye earned a positive entry in the record books! Coach Paye got her first head coaching win, the team set a Stanford record for 3-point field goals with 18, players Jzaniya Harriel and Chloe Clardy scored career highs in points, and sophomore transfer Mary Ashley Stevenson grabbed double digit rebounds. Harriel and Clardy were joined in double digit scoring by rising star Nunu Agara (18), and senior Elena Bosgana (19).  Senior Brooke Demetre, a vocal leader, turned in a solid eight-point, three-rebound, three-assist, one-block performance.  

 

                  All four of the team's newcomers dressed for the game scored at least one point and pulled down at least one rebound. (Junior transfer Tess Heal was on the bench with what appeared to be an upper body injury.) The freshmen Kennedy Umeh, Shay Ijiwoye, and Harper Peterson gave us a glimpse of the talent that had them among the nation's top 100 recruits. Umeh provided a presence in the paint, recording five points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block in her less than seven minutes on the floor.  Peterson went two-for-two from three-point range in her 4:54 on the floor.  Ijiwoye put the speed and "hops" that coaches have described on display in her almost 13 minutes of playing time.  The 5'6" Shay skyed for a defensive rebound and dished out three assists while adding significant "zip" to the Card's push up the floor. 

               Talana Lepolo in her first game exposure since off-season knee surgery, and talented sophomore Courtney Ogden didn’t have big numbers on the stat sheet but each made positive contributions on defense.  Courtney demonstrated unselfishness on a particularly nice pass to Ijiwoye leading to her first basket. Even players who rarely get floor time made noteworthy contributions.  Stavi Papadaki had two assists, a steal, and an impressive block that got the bench and the fans on their feet cheering.  Lauren Green grabbed a rebound and showed off the defensive intensity that earns her respect in practice.  This was truly a team party!

 

It's the finish that matters!

 

                  What was perhaps most impressive about Stanford's dispatching of the clearly overmatched Le Moyne team was the Card's efficiency as they played with pace and ball movement.  The team shot 55% overall, 53% from three, and 69% of made baskets were assited (25 of 37).  Even more impressive, the team had more steals (9) than turnovers (6). 

 

                  Those gaudy numbers hide the fact that for fans at Maples the opening minutes were a bit more nerve racking.  At the five-minute mark Stanford trailed by two points (6 to 4).  Somewhere around that time, a glance at the stat board showed Stanford shooting 11% from the floor.  Stanford closed the quarter with a flurry of threes (two by Harriel and one each by Clardy and Demetre) to take a 16-10 lead and bring the shooting percentage up to a respectable (but not impressive) 31%.  From there the CARD never looked back.  With the "new season" jitters settled, Stanford went on a tear, scoring 34 points in the second quarter while holding Le Moyne to 12!  

 

Going Forward

 

                  The rest of the season is not going to be as easy as the rout of Le Moyne, a team only a few years removed from Division II.  Stanford, not ranked in the Preseason Top 25 for the first time in over 35 years, faces three ranked teams in the preseason (LSU, Ohio State, and Indiana).  The next two foes for this week-- Washington State and Gonzaga -- are teams that have played the CARD tough, especially Gonzaga.  The Gonzaga game, when Tara VanDerveer Court will be dedicated, should be a real test.  If Stanford is 3-0 by this time next week, we can be confident that the CARD's performance this year will be better than the 7th place in the ACC predicted by the pundits.

 

 

Some Important Roles for Fans

 

                  As Stanford, under the leadership of Head Coach Paye, navigates the new landscape of college athletics there are several important things fans can do to help.  First is SHOW UP!  Basketball players love playing in front of packed houses.  They love it even more when the house is packed with their fans. 

 

                  In addition, this new world is fueled by money.  Part of supporting Stanford Women's Basketball is supporting Stanford Athletics.  That means not just buying tickets but also considering a donation to the Buck/Cardinal Club (originally the "Buck a Month Club). Membership requires a donation of any size. Women's Basketball season ticket holders who donate at least $500 to the Buck/Cardinal Club receive parking passes with larger donations receiving additional benefits.  Generally donations made in a current academic year receive benefits the following year. Buck Cardinal Donations: (https://give.stanford.edu/athletics?utm_source=gostanford&utm_campaign=buck_cardinal)

 

                  A new way to support the women's basketball is to give to Stanford's recently formed "Collective" -- Lifetime Cardinal.  Fans can join Lifetime Cardinal, select the sport they want to support, and select the size of their donation.  There is also a Lifetime Cardinal merch store.  Currently only players in women's basketball, men's basketball, and football receive NIL money from Lifetime Cardinal but they plan to add more sports as support grows. Lifetime Cardinal: https://lifetimecardinal.com/pages/contact

 

 

Questions

 

                  One of my favorite parts of writing this blog is the chance to pose questions for myself and my fellow fans.  Here goes with the first set for this year.

 

1. Can Kate Paye manage a smooth transition to the role of Head Coach?

                  In the past, new coaches taking over from legends have not had spectacular results. Texas took a long time to return to high rankings after Jody Conradt retired.  Tennessee hasn't been back on top since Pat Summit retired. Other less renown programs have also struggled. More recently new coaches have had better luck, especially if they have both professional experience and spent time as a coach at that school.  For example, Notre Dame has remained relevant since Niele Ivey took over for Muffet McGraw.  So, what will be Kate's story?  

 

2.  Who will be this year's stars?

                  Of course I have been asking this question already and we already have some answers.  Nunu Agara has quickly established herself as a team leader and rising star.  It's too early to know just how good Nunu can be - but we predict that she will have a great season.  Jzaniya Harriel's three-point scoring and steady guard play suggests that she may be the next rising star.  She is currently ranked near the top on three-pointers nationally.  Will she still be there next week?  I wouldn't bet against it.

                  Of course, things like All Star rankings and national prominence require more than being the best or one of the best players on your team -- it requires your team doing well enough to get media coverage.  If Stanford can shine in the ACC, our stars will shine.

 

3.  Will Stanford fans show up?

                  Women's basketball is finally getting the national attention and respect it has long deserved.  The question is, can that happen for Stanford?  Over 15,000 Bay Area residents signed up for Valkyrie tickets -- but Stanford WBB is nowhere near a season ticket sellout and too many fans are getting older...

                  It doesn't help that the CARD have lost last season's marquee players and legendary head coach.  But last year's team played in front of half empty stands despite having two All American's and the winningest coach in college basketball.  Some people may still have the memory of where Stanford was 20 years ago when good seats weren't available...or maybe it's just the peninsula.  Maybe we should all try bringing a friend to the game...I don't know.