As the year winds down it is a good time to step back take stock of the Stanford Women's Basketball team. First term classes, grades (and final exams) are in the books, the preseason is over and ACC conference play is about to start in earnest. It begins with a tough road trip to play North Carolina State and North Carolina on their home floors.
The Cardinal currently sits at 12 -2, with wins over Washington, Oregon, and conference foe Cal on the resume. The two losses were, in their own ways, both embarrassing and instructive. They serve as a reminder that it isn't how you start the season; it's how you finish it. In Candice Wiggins' senior year the CARD took on UCON in a Thanksgiving tournament and was beaten badly. That same CARD team defeated UCON in the National Semi-finals. That team had learned what they needed to do to defeat a top team -- and they did it.
This season’s first loss was a four-point loss to a not terribly good Florida Gulf Coast team the day after Thanksgiving. That game was marked by both a lack of intensity and unusually bad officiating. The lessons to be learned were that one can't take any team lightly and one can't be thrown off by bad calls -- excuses don't erase losses. The second loss was to a good, nationally ranked Tennessee team where despite committing THIRTY turnovers, Stanford led at the start of the fourth quarter and was tied 62-62 with eleven seconds left in the game. The lessons from that game were about the need to finish strong in the face of defensive intensity and to TAKE CARE OF THE BALL. Stanford coaches report that in the wake of the Tennessee game the team and coaches reviewed the game tape and found only three turnovers that had been the result of Tennessee "took the ball" -- the rest were the result of unforced errors or mistakes like dribbling into crowds.
BREAKING FOR EXAMS
After taking a break for first quarter exams, the CARD returned to the floor for a trio of games against former PAC-12 teams. First up was CAL -- the PAC-12 team that joined Stanford in traveling to the ACC. The CAL game could be headlined as the Courtney Ogden coming out party. Ogden, a five-star talent, has struggled with injuries and confidence during her first years at Stanford. But this season she is beginning to have a Kiki Iriafen like "junior-year-coming-into-her-own." Against CAL Courtney scored 25 points on 10 of 12 shooting (and four of five free throws). Since that game Ogden has scored in double figures in every game -- she leads the team in shooting percentage among all players with more than ten shot attempts (meaning everybody except Carly Amborn, the Kate Starbird like shooter who is 7 of 8 from 3 and 2 0f two from inside the arc for the season). Courtney has a team high 58.7% shooting percentage -- and the enviable position of having her coaches urging her to shoot more. Ogden's pull up jumper is a thing of beauty. Of course, the CAL game wasn't just the Ogden show -- three other players were doble digit scorers and Lara Somfai had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Even better, the CARD had only six turnovers. In fact, the CARD has not lost the turnover battle since they lost to Tennessee.
BEATING A RANKED TEAM
Next up was University of Washington. Playing without Nunu Agara, the CARD started slowly. The team was down at the end of the first quarter, tied at the half, and down by nine at with just under six minutes to play in the third. At that point Stanford came alive, scoring 25 points. It was a tense back-and-forth affair -- but the CARD showed that they had learned the lesson of how to close out a game, ultimately winning by 5 after a 25 point fourth quarter. The freshmen came up big in this game with Somfai leading the CARD in scoring while Hailee Swain joined Ogden and Clardy in double figure scoring.
ANOTHER GAME THE PUNDITS THOUGHT THE CARD WOULD LOSE
Then it was time for Oregon -in a game played at Chase Center. Arenas can be hard for college players. But this year's Stanford team played like the pros they hope to be one day. Stanford led almost the entire game, winning by nine. Although turnovers were even (16), the CARD had more assists, steals and paint points. Ogden led the team in scoring with 20, while Agara and Somfai both pulled down 11 rebounds. Somfai, Clardy, and Swain scored in double figures with Somfai picking up another double-double.
After the holiday break Stanford had a chance to get the rust off before heading out on the road in a game against a solidly over matched Cornell team. The CARD stole the ball a remarkable 17 times in this game -- including three by Shay Ijwoye whose high energy races to breakaway layups excited the crowd and the team. Those layups helped Shay to a career high 12 points. She joined Agara (19pts), Ogden (15 pts) and Swain (12 pts) in double figures. Lara Somfai pulled down a season high 18 rebounds but just missed another double-double with nine points. Carly Amborn proved that she is human, going one-for-two from three and missing her two point attempt during her five plus minutes of play.
WHAT DO WE KNOW?
Going into the full conference schedule, we know that Stanford's freshman class is "as advertised" -- which is to say very good. Lara Somfai is one of the top freshmen in the country -- as evidenced by her three ACC Rookie of the Week honors. Her five double-doubles rank her among the top freshmen in the country in that stat. Her 18 rebounds against Cornell are also tied for the most rebounds in a game by a freshman this year. Hailee Swain is quick, talented and learning the ropes of being a college guard. Both she and Somfai are working on better shot selection -- as the shots that were there in high school aren't always the best choices in the college game. But, they are coachable and learning, Swain's three assists against Cornell were a big step up. Alex Eschmeyer is on her way to being a force in the paint. She has a sweet shot and smooth moves but will be even better when she gets stronger. Carly Amborn looks like another three-point star and Nora Ezike, although slowed by injuries early, looks to be another solid player.
We also know that Stanford's returning players have picked up where they left off. Nunu Agara is the team's leading scorer and a leader on the floor. Chloe Clardy is the team leader in steals and second in scoring and assists -- remarkable for a player who comes off the bench! As noted earlier, Courtney Ogden is showing the five-star talent she displayed in high school. Shay Ijwoye, finally getting minutes on the court is still the high energy speedster she was last year -- but armed with greater maturity. Mary Ashly Stevenson has played solid minutes -- a steady player. Talana Lepolo, the senior point guard, is again a steadying force on the floor -- a real coach out there although as the younger players gain experience her role may become more limited -- especially against quicker teams.
We know this team is good enough to get back into the NCAA Tournament. What we don't know is how good it is -- and how good it will be by year's end when the freshmen aren't really freshmen anymore. There are questions yet to be answered. The upcoming games in North Carolina will begin to provide some answers.
