First ACC Road Trip in the books

What A Difference a (CLAR)Day Makes

         

         Stanford returns from its first ACC road trip of the year winning one of two, a 28-point loss to unranked NC State and a six-point overtime win against 16th ranked UNC Chapel Hill! Anybody who wonders how important Chloe Clardy is to this year's Cardinal team only needs to look at those two games.  Against NC State Chloe was not on the bench due to concussion protocol. Against UNC Clardy, as usual, didn't start the game but, also as usual, she was on the floor at the end of the game. Chloe is the team's leader in steals, second in scoring and assists, and leads the team in average minutes-per-game. As ESPN analyst Debbie Antonelli pointed out Sunday, the difference between games was partly due to the difference between the defensive style of NC State and UNC -- but there is no denying that Clardy's absence or presence was a major factor. 

 

Stanford's Junior A-O-C

            In the political world AOC refers to a firebrand female politician. For Stanford AOC is Agara-Ogden-Clardy, the Cardinal's trio of junior firebrand stars. Everybody knows that Nunu Agara is a star. She was a pre-season ACC All Conference pick. Nunu led Stanford's scoring last season and is currently the scoring leader this year. She led the CARD's scoring against NC State with 16.  But Agara struggled against UNC, picking up several early fouls, including several offensive fouls. Courtney Ogden continued the star performance she began against CAL on this trip, scoring 12 against NC State and a game high 21 against UNC.  Courtney was the team leader in +/- among all Stanford players with more than 10 minutes per game for the road trip. (Although against NC State that simply meant her negative was lower.)  Ogden was Stanford's highest ranked recruit coming in her freshman year and is showing it now. Against UNC her three-pointer as the shot clock ran down in the last minute of the third quarter was one of the biggest in the game. Her 16 points in the second half were critical for the CARD. The "C" stands for Clardy whose value to the CARD has already been mentioned.  Against UNC Chloe scored 12 points and just missed a double-double with 9 rebounds.  

 

The Trio of Freshmen Stars

            Stanford's highly regarded freshman class included three five-star, McDonald's All Americans.  Two, Lara Somfai and Hailee Swain have been starters all season and they have not disappointed. Lara, a three-time ACC freshman of the week, only scored 6 points against NC State but pulled down a game high 16 rebounds along with two steals and a block! Hailee Swain hit some big shots on the road trip, showing her quickness and skill. Hailee is also doing things that don't show up on the stat sheet but absolutely matter.  For example, in the final four minutes against UNC, Hailee gave up her body going for a rebound -- her effort allowed Chloe to pull down the critical board. The third of Stanford's freshman five-star recruits, Alex Eschmeyer gave us a glimpse of her future against UNC -- scoring 10 points and grabbing 2 rebounds in a little over 7 minutes of play. That's more than a point a minute.  The freshman trio accounted for 30 of Stanford's 77 points. 

 

You Don't Need to Be Tall

            While this year's Stanford team has a lot of height, the two shortest players on the team make big contributions. Talana Lepolo, the 5'7" senior had a seven assist-one turnover game against UNC.  She continued to be perfect for the season from the free throw line, hitting four in the last seconds of overtime against UNC to seal the CARD's win.  Shay Ijwoye, at 5'6" was the shortest player on the floor (by an inch) but with her quickness and energy she managed five key rebounds against UNC.  Beyond that, Shay's presence on the floor was important. 

 

This Team is Resilient 

            Stanford got beaten badly by NC State on Thursday.  Some teams would have hung their heads against a ranked team on Sunday.  But the coaching staff had this team with their heads up. The CARD took the lead in the first quarter then lost it, as they did against NC State. But against UNC, the CARD kept it close all game and tied the game in the 4th quarter. Agara fouled out with about six minutes to play -- but Stanford didn't fold. Eschmeyer stepped up with seven points. Ijwoye pulled down critical rebounds. Stanford finally took the lead early in the overtime period and never trailed (although UNC did tie the game at the two minute mark). Now the CARD heads home with their second win over a ranked team under their belt.  

Questions

1.  Can Stanford avoid the up and down, shoot-yourself-in-the-foot performances for the rest of the year?

Because of their last season's record, Stanford opened the year out of the national conversation and out of the Top 25 rankings.  But the CARD's early play had the team edging back into that conversation.  Then came the Florida Gulf Coast debacle closely followed by the 30-turnover loss to Tennessee.  Stanford had almost worked its way back into the conversation before the blowout loss to NC State - but it was followed by the road win over UNC.  Can Stanford hold on against Wake Forrest and Duke?

2. Can Courtney Ogden continue to show her five-star talent?

Ogden's double digit scoring and heads up play continue? Ogden leads the Cardinal in shooting percentage (over 58%) among players with more than 20 attempts.  So, the real question is will Courtney listen to her coaches and keep shooting.