Some bright spots in a loss

Maples Magic Failed!

 

                  For the first 15 plus minutes of the game it looked like Maples Magic might hold.  Stanford jumped out to a lead and held on to it through the first quarter and more than halfway through the second quarter.  Unfortunately, at the 3:58 mark in the quarter two, NC State took the lead and never let go.  The Wolfpack was up by eight with the ball as the first half ended.  But Elena Bosgana had a nifty steal at halfcourt, hitting a layup as time expired to pull the CARD within six.

 

                  NC State came out of halftime on fire, doubling their first half 34 points in the third quarter.  As Coach Paye exhorted her team to show no quit, the CARD battled back in the fourth quarter, but Stanford's +11 in the 4th wasn't enough to overcome NC State's +19 in the thrid. The loss was Stanford's fourth loss to a ranked team and their seventh overall.  The Cardinal's current 9-7 record has pundits predicting that Stanford will fail to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since Tara's first season on the Farm.  

 

                  There were some encouraging items in the game.  Nunu Agara recorded yet another double-double, her sixth of the year, scoring 14 points to go with 10 rebounds.  Fellow sophomore Chloe Clardy, making her third straight start, was the game's high scorer with 17, the same as NC State's Saniya Rivers.  Senior Elena Bosgana had another solid game with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals.  Finally, high energy freshman Shay Ijiwoye continued to show improvement.  

 

                  Of course, the strong performances from Stanford's sophomores, especially Nunu has already attracted the attention of boosters from other schools.  They are contacting her with offers of NIL money if she will transfer.  Although coaches are not allowed to contact players until they enter the portal, nothing in the current rules prevents "Collectives" from reaching out with big money offers.  Hopefully Lifetime Cardinal can come up with the funds to help Nunu continue her Stanford career and education.  It's hard to imagine that the portal will have any athletes with Agara's skills who can meet Stanford's admission requirements.  

 

Questions:

1. Will Stanford fans answer the call and contribute the money needed to "bring 'em back" next year?

It is estimated that Stanford fans will need to raise over 1.5 million dollars to keep our current team and current recruits.  Will we do it?

 

2.  Will the team improve enough to make the tournament?

It's going to take at least 20 wins, the CARD have 9...will Stanford get there?