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.