What A Weekend

This Conference is Loaded 

                 The refrain all season long has been that in the PAC-12 there are no guaranteed-win games.  That reality was on full display this weekend.  Stanford began the weekend with a two-game lead over USC and Oregon State and games against Arizona (6-8 in conference play) and Arizona State (3-11 in conference play).  Winning both games would give Stanford at least a share of the PAC-12 regular season championship.  Of course, four of  Arizona's losses were one-possession-losses by a total of eight points. 

 

The starters against Arizona

                  Against Arizona on Friday night Stanford was without Cameron Brink, out with the flu.  Nonetheless, Stanford was in the lead for almost the entire game.  Kiki Iriafen had an All-American worthy 21 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks, four assists, and a steal — despite being leveled by very aggressive fouls, including one frightening moment when she went down due to being undercut while in mid-air for a rebound. Hannah Jump went 3 of 5 from the 3-point line. Brooke Demetre, in her second start of the year, scored 15 points, grabbed five rebounds, and had 2 blocks.  With under four minutes remaining Stanford had a nine-point lead on a Demetre three-pointer. But Stanford only scored three more points in the game while Arizona scored 19, taking their first lead of the game with less than two minutes remaining.  Arizona's lead grew in the last twenty seconds as Stanford was forced to foul and Arizona hit their free throws. 

 

                  It was a performance reminiscent of the game at Washington where an exceedingly aggressive defensive team turned a 7-point deficit with two minutes remaining into a tie.  It almost appears that the CARD takes their foot off the gas, making sloppy passes and unnecessary fouls.  Stanford was able to turn that tie into an overtime win against Washington.  But against Arizona the CARD couldn’t take the lead back or even force overtime, losing 61-68.  Postgame, Tara acknowledged being disappointed but noted that the CARD was still in first place in the PAC-12 standings.  Unfortunately, that lead was down to one game with three games remaining.  Stanford couldn't secure at least a share of the PAC-12 championship with one win unless red-hot USC and Oregon State both lost. 

 

Senior Day

Gathering before the Senior Day Game

 

                  Cameron Brink was back on the court for Senior Day, although she was visibly less than her normal self.  After the game she described herself as being about 60%, although the only place that really showed up on the stat sheet was in Cam's free throw shooting.  Brink, a 90% plus free throw shooter on the season, hit less than 50% from the charity stripe, while scoring 14 points, collecting 9 rebounds, dishing out seven assists, and blocking five shots.  Fellow Senior Day honoree Hannah Jump scored 11 points, including 3 three-pointers, four assists, and a block.  Kiki had another All-American level performance, with 22 points, 20 rebounds, and four assists.  The impressive cooperation between Brink and Iriafen was on full display in the clogged-up paint -- often finding each other for easy buckets. It is sad to think that this could have been the last regular season game these two play together!

 

On the Maples bench together in a regular season game for the last time

                  For the Arizona State game point guard Talana Lepolo was the unavailable player.  Most of Talana's normal minutes were covered by Jzaniya Harriel. "J," as she is often called, scored 12 points all on three-pointers.  Harriel's ball handling was generally impressive.  Against a solid defensive team, she had only one of Stanford's 12 turnovers, but she also only had one of Stanford's 19 assists.  Bottom line, the CARD took care of business for Senior Day.  Five players were in double figures, eight players scored, and every player in for more than a minute had a rebound.  

 

Something Extra for Senior Day

                  

                                                             We are Conference Champs

                  The Stanford staff has done a great job preparing for celebrations this year -- and there have been some special ones.  Sunday was no exception.  Not only did Stanford take care of business on Senior Day, but also Oregon State and USC got caught by the "there are no easy games in the PAC-12.”  With word that Washington had defeated Oregon State (playing without an injured Raegan Beers) and Utah holding onto a five-point lead over USC with time running out, the staff put the Utah-USC game up on the video board and brought out plastic containers.  Once Utah secured that victory (which took a while because USC kept fouling) Stanford was assured at least a share of the final PAC-12 regular season championship. Those containers were opened and the staff started handing out blue PAC-12 Championship t-shirts and white PAC-12 Champions hats.  So, the CARD had photos taken in front of a PAC-12 Champions banner and spent the Senior Day celebration in those Championship t-shirts and hats.  

 

                  Senior Day was special and emotional!  Cameron Brink went first.  She was escorted by her parents and her Godmother, Sonja Curry.  Her player introduction was by Brooke Demetre who talked about what a wonderful person Cam is. That theme was repeated over and over, particularly in comments about her leadership.  The joy that this team plays with is a tribute to the team captains starting with Cameron Brink.  Cam's mother told us about a moment in Cam's youth she was devastated because a pediatrician told her she was only going to be 5'10.  Cam shared with the crowd that she is still undecided about whether to come back for her COVID year or declare for the WNBA draft.  In the postgame press conference, she also spoke about her special friendship with Hannah Jump who had been her roommate during that Freshman COVID year.

 

                  For Hannah Jump there is no decision...there is no sixth year of eligibility.  Hannah was escorted by her parents and her aunt who came from England for the game and ceremony.  Her player introduction was by Talana Lepolo.  Her father spoke about her and entertained the crowd with stories about Hannah's competitiveness and determination.  

 

                  Next up for the CARD is a trip to play the Oregon schools.  It will be an unusual schedule, Oregon State on THURSDAY night at 7:00 pm and Oregon on SATURDAY at 2:00 pm.  Then it's off to Las Vegas for the final PAC-12 tournament, almost certainly as the number one seed.  That should be a special time -- tickets are still available. Stanford will also almost certainly be back at Maples for the first round of the NCAA tournament, but that isn't settled yet. 

                                        The Freshmen Celebrate their Championship on Senior Day
 

A Two GAME Lead

 Go Kiki Go

                  Friday night against CAL Kiki Iriafen had fans yelling "Go Kiki Go."  That refrain was loudest midway through the second quarter with Stanford only up by 10 points.  Kiki grabbed a CAL miss and channeled her "inner point guard" as she dribbled down the court, weaving around CAL players for a layup.  The crowd went wild. That play helped turn what had been a reasonably competitive game into a blow-out. 

 

                  So far this year, Stanford's front court star duo of Brink and Iriafen take turns with whose night it is to shine brightest.  The CAL game was Kiki's turn, as she hit 10 of 13 (77%) of her shots from the floor, including a number of midrange step-backs and pull-ups.  Kiki added three free throws, 11 rebounds, three assists, and a block in her stat-sheet-stuffing 28 minutes on the floor.  What makes that performance even more amazing is that Kiki did all that despite suffering from a nasty spider bite on her arm -- a souvenir from the Washington trip.  Maybe that spider was a Hollywood escapee and, like its pals from the Spiderman movies, capable of passing on superpowers because Iriafen was super!  Despite her minutes being limited due to some early fouls, Brink added 14 points and four blocks.

 

                  Iriafen's star turn against CAL balanced the previous week's performance when Brink scored 43 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, and had nine assists, eight blocks, and six steals in the two Washington games. Against the Washington schools Iriafen was limited by foul trouble, especially against Washington, she "only" scored 26 points and pulled down 23 rebounds over the two games.  The incredible combination of Brink and Iriafen is a big part of why Stanford has a two-game lead over the closest competitors in the PAC-12 standings (with only four regular season games remaining). Cameron Brink is an All-American and a legitimate National Player-of-the-Year candidate (although the award will almost certainly go to Catlin Clark).  Cam's play this year has been amazing.  She leads the country in blocks (90), has 14 double-doubles (only one less than Clark), is hitting over 92% of her free throws, knocking down 55% of her shots from the floor (including 30% of her threes), and is averaging roughly 18 points a game. But Kiki is right there with Cam.  The two are both averaging a double-double and trade the titles of team's leading scorer, leading rebounder, and leader in double-doubles back and forth between them.  Even more impressively, they have been racking up these stats while Stanford has been amassing the nation's second highest Net Ranking.  "East Coast bias" is the only possible thing standing between Kiki and being named an All American. 

 

Not Just Kiki and Cam

 

                  As impressive as Cam and Kiki have been, Stanford is a TEAM not just two players.  Fifth-year player Hannah Jump, Stanford's all-time leader in three pointers, has transformed herself from the three-point specialist (and defensive liability) of her freshman season to a three-level scorer and lock-down defender.  Hannah leads the team in minutes played (33.2 per game) because Tara wants her defensive intensity on the floor in any tight game. Point guard Talana Lepolo is among the nation's leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio and is the only other CARD player averaging 30 minutes or more per game.  She often makes incredibly difficult passes look easy -- and routinely has at least one pass a game leaving the TV announcers going "wow." Elena Bosgana who has started every game this year, after only coming off the bench in prior years, declares that she is trying to earn her minutes by her defense.  She also averages 6.7 ppg, 3.8 rebounds, and has 40 assists, 16 steals and four blocks to date this year. 

 

Not Just the Starting Five

                  This year's Stanford team is playing ten deep -- there are ten players all averaging over 10 minutes a game and all playing in virtually every game when they have not been held out due to injury.  Brooke Demetre, despite coming off the bench (except against Oregon State when Cam was out due to injury), has the fifth highest average minutes on the team.  Jzaniya Harriel leads the team in steals (22) and in three-point percentage (46%).  Every one of those ten players has had at least one play (and mostly more than one) that helped secure a victory, starting with Chloe Clardy's steal against Duke.  Courtney Ogden and Nunu Agara are providing valuable minutes off the bench — scoring, rebounding, and going hard. All ten regulars are shooting over 30% from the field, all ten have an assist-to-turnover ratio over 1, and all ten have hit at least one three pointer. Talana is the only player among the regulars who has not blocked at least one shot by an opposing player.  Although the final two players, Lauren Green and Stavi Papadaki, don’t see regular playing time, their positive energy and support for their teammates adds to the teams terrific chemistry.  Cam and Kiki may be the stars of this team, but the supporting cast is pretty special and getting better all the time.  

 

The Nation's Strongest Conference 

 

                  As has been noted over and over, it is bittersweet that the PAC-12, in its final season, is having what is arguably its best season ever.  There are six PAC-12 teams in the nation's top 25.  Five PAC-12 teams were among the top 16 in the NCAA Tournament Committee's first reveal. Perhaps even more impressively, no PAC-12 team -- including the team at the BOTTOM of the conference standings (Oregon at 2-12 conference but 11-16 overall) has more than four losses to teams NOT in the PAC-12.  At the other end, no team - including Stanford with a conference leading 12-2 conference record - has gone undefeated at home.  All the teams except Stanford have at least four conference losses and nationally ranked Utah has five!  

 

                  The PAC-12 Tournament promises to continue to be the dogfight that the Conference season has been.  There will be at least one team, and probably two, ranked in the Top 25 nationally playing on the first day of the Conference tournament!  Given how this season has gone -- it will be hard to describe any outcome as an upset.  Washington, a team near the bottom of the PAC-12 standings, lost in overtime to Stanford, in double overtime to Arizona State, and in TRIPLE overtime to Arizona.  The PAC-12's last hurrah will be quite a show. 

 

Only Two Home Games Left

 

                  There are only two regular season home games left!  That seems impossible.  This has been such a fun team to watch!  Friday night the CARD will take on Arizona at 7 pm.  Sunday's game against Arizona State starts at NOON and will be followed by the traditional Senior Day Celebration -- honoring Hannah Jump and Cameron Brink.  

 

Questions

 

1.  Will Cam stay or go?

 

Our Senior Superstar Cameron Brink is eligible to come back for a COVID year.  For Stanford fans, Cameron's return would be WONDERFUL -- she is such a joy to watch and is such a great team leader.  Of course, a Stanford Master's degree is a great building block for an after-basketball career.  On the other hand, Brink will almost certainly be the number two pick in this year's WNBA draft -- after Catlin Clark.  I don't think there is a wrong choice either way....

The Final Washington Trip

Moving Into First Place

 

        This final season for the PAC-12 is full of "lasts." This weekend was almost certainly Stanford's and CAL's last weekend trip to play the Washington schools. It is hard to imagine that the CARD's future schedule will include a regular trip to play Washington and Washington State and equally hard to believe that CAL would be making the same trip in reverse. For the Washington schools that may well be the good news as they were swept by the two Bay Area programs this weekend.

 

            The Stanford Cardinal boarded their plane for the trip to the Washington schools in a tie with Colorado for first place in the PAC-12.  By the time the CARD boarded their plane to come home they were in sole possession of the PAC-12 lead. With only three weekends left in PAC-12 play (and only five games for Stanford), the CARD has a one-game lead over Colorado and Oregon State, a two-game lead over USC and UCLA, and a three-game lead over Utah. Not bad for the team picked to place third in the Conference. 

 

 

Two Games - Two Wins

 

        Neither game was an easy win -- especially the game against the University of Washington. Stanford started the game on a nine-zero run and appeared to be cursing to an easy win. Battling back was Washington's MO for the game, reminding us that basketball is a game of runs. With three minutes remaining in the first half, Stanford had a 14-point lead. But the Huskies battled back to cut the lead to six by halftime.  That fight from Washington was on full display at the end of regulation.  The CARD had a seven-point lead with less than a minute remaining.  What happened next is both a testament to the Huskies' grit and a worrisome series of events for Cardinal fans. The CARD struggled to get the ball inbounded. Stanford didn't score while turning the ball over three times, allowing the Huskies to tie the game.  Stanford took control in the overtime period, never trailing and never allowing Washington to tie the game. 

 

            Although the CARD survived that scare, the difficulty handling the Huskies swarming press brought back memories of leads lost in past seasons. Of course, Washington is a top defensive team, holding opposing teams to the lowest scoring total in the PAC-12. The good news is that this experience gives Stanford time to work on more out-of-bounds plays. We expect they will fix the problem.

 

Washington State Goes Down Again

 

            The game against Washington State was a short turnaround from the exhausting overtime game against Washington.  Stanford started slow, trailing by seven at the end of the first quarter. But a 27-point second quarter put Stanford in the lead at the half. The third quarter was evenly played. The Cougars appear to be figuring out how to play without their star, Christine Legar-Walker, now out with a torn ACL. Stanford had begun to pull away in the 4th quarter when a frustrated Bella Murekatete threw an elbow into Cam's chest. That foul, Murekatete's fifth, was ruled to be flagrant giving Cam two free throws and Stanford the ball.  Without Murekatete, Washington State just didn't have the ability to catch up and the CARD cruised to a 15-point win.  

 

            For Washington State the loss to Stanford must have been especially disappointing as it was the Cougars's last chance to defeat the CARD as members of the PAC-12. Washington State is now 0-74 against Stanford! Without Legar-Walker they are unlikely to repeat their Cinderella performance in the PAC-12 tournament from last year.  

 

Encouraging Signs

 

            There were a number of encouraging signs this weekend.  Cameron Brink continues to demonstrate the ability to show up big when she is needed most.  Kiki Iriafen continues to demonstrate that she is the most improved player in the country. Lepolo and Jump continue to be key cogs in the team -- they took turns being a third double-digit scorer this weekend.  What is most encouraging is that other players are starting to show that they can be important pieces of a post-season run. This weekend Courtney Ogden showed why she was a highly regarded player coming out of high school.  Her performance against Washington was critical to the Cardinal's victory.  She also made valuable contributions on Sunday against Washington State.  This team seems to have all the pieces -- and they are starting to come together.  

 

Questions

 

1.  With only five games remaining, can the CARD hold on for the final PAC-12 Championship?

 

The way the schedule shapes up it looks possible that Stanford will need to defeat Oregon State on the final week of PAC-12 play to claim the title.  Stay tuned.  Of course, Oregon will need to defeat both UCLA and USC -- as well as the Washington schools for that game to matter. And, Stanford will need to beat CAL and the Arizona schools.  Hold onto your hats.          

Split Decision!

                                                            Taking the floor agains UCLA

Best Year Ever!

 

                  For the PAC-12 Conference it is bittersweet that the Conference's "best year ever" is its last. Five or six PAC-12 teams have been ranked in the national Top 25 every week this season.  Most weeks at least two PAC-12 teams have been in the Top Five.  More weeks than not a PAC-12 team competes against one or more national Top 10 teams. To put it mildly, the conference is LOADED!  With that level of competition all it takes is an off-night to suffer a loss. Thus, it is not surprising that the best record in the conference at 9-2, shared by Stanford and Colorado, includes two conference losses. The only team still undefeated on their home floor is Oregon State, which has home games remaining against Stanford, USC, and UCLA (not to mention away games against Utah and Colorado).  

 

                  Last week it was Stanford's turn to fall on the carousel of upsets - losing to USC by a score of 58 to 67.  The game got national coverage because USC's talented freshman, JuJu Watkins, scored 51 points and collected 11 rebounds.  That is a USC record for points by a player. Watkins alone accounted for over 76% of USC's scoring and 28% of their rebounds. It is amazing that despite that performance by Watkins, Stanford outscored USC in the first and fourth quarters and was within two points (56-58) with 2:18 left in the game.  For Stanford, the big story wasn't Watkins' 51 points or even the defensive miscues that gave Watkins 19 free throws and way too many clean looks, it was the CARD failing to deliver on offense.  Against USC Stanford shot 31.6% overall and 26.7% from three.  This is a team that averages 46.7% from the floor and 35.6% from three. Hannah Jump was the only CARD who hit more than a third of her shots! In her postgame press conference, Tara VanDerveer expressed disappointment with the team's shot selection and turnovers.  

 

                  Sunday against UCLA was a totally different story.  Stanford played a beautiful game -- the ball moved, multiple players scored, and players took the shots the offense flow gave them.  As a result, Stanford blew out UCLA, leading 21-12 after one quarter, 45-27 at the half, and going up by as many as 30 points in the 3rd quarter.  For the game the CARD hit 63.5% from the floor and 62.5% from three.  The only negatives were the 17 turnovers and the relatively poor (9 of 14) shooting from the free throw line.  

 

Watching a Legend Do It Right

 

                  It was a learning experience to watch Tara handle the USC loss - it showed why she is the winningest coach in college basketball.  Obviously, we didn't get to see what she said to the team, but we can get a good sense from watching the post-game press conferences.  After the USC loss, Tara expressed disappointment and her belief that the team is "better than that."  She called out the shot selection issue and the general failure to "run our offense" but didn't call out any players specifically.  After the UCLA win, Tara expressed her pleasure at the way the team had responded to the USC loss -- that they didn't "throw anybody under the bus" and instead corrected the problems evidenced in the loss.  She blamed herself for failing to prepare the team for success.  She complimented her team leaders, Brink and Iriafen (present at both press conferences) for their leadership, and the entire team for their play and coachability.  It was classic VanDerveer.  There is a reason that the CARD players didn't throw each other under the bus -- the leadership of the coach.  Sunday's game showed that the CARD absorbed the lesson about "running our offense." It will be interesting to see if the team carries that learning through the rest of the season.  If so, given the talent on this team, the Final Four is a real possibility.

 

Questions:

 

1.  Will Kiki Iriafen get the All American recognition she deserves?

Kiki is an incredible player.  She is strong enough to score through contact yet has good touch on her midrange shots.  She is a ferocious rebounder.  She averages a double-double, she is in the top 10 of rebounders nationally and the top 40 in scorers. When the game is on the line, Kiki does not disappear. 

 

2.  Will Cameron Brink be the PAC-12 Player of the Year?

Cam leads the nation in blocks, is a top rebounder, a reliable scorer, and an amazing team leader.  She was PAC-12 and National Defensive Player of the Year last year.  Will she finally get her PAC-12 Player of the Year recognition?

 

3.  Will Stanford end PAC-12 play with at least a share of the Conference title?

Stanford has long been the winningest program in PAC-12 women's basketball.  Picked to finish 3rd, the CARD is currently sitting in a tie for 1st with Colorado, one game ahead of Oregon State.  How will the season end?  And, perhaps more importantly, how will the CARD do in the final PAC-12 tournament? 

Done with the Desert

Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen are both nominated for National Starting Five Awards.  Fans can vote ONCE A DAY at 

http://www.hoophallawards.com/women

Stanford’s National Award Nominees

 

The last PAC-12 Desert Trip is Done

                  Stanford's final PAC-12 women's basketball season is half over.  Stanford has completed their final "mountain trip" and their final "desert trip" with only one conference loss. The Cardinal, picked in the preseason to finish 3rd or 4th, is currently sitting at the top of the of the conference standings - the only team with only one conference loss.  But, the next nine games are a continuation of the gauntlet that is PAC-12 women's basketball this season.  

 

                  The PAC-12, loaded with nationally ranked teams, has been a round robin of upsets.  Stanford is the only school that has not lost a conference game to a lower ranked team -- Colorado was ranked above Stanford when they defeated the CARD.  Stanford and Oregon State are the only schools that have not lost on their home floor.  

 

                  The CARD have home games coming up against a USC team that lost today to Washington and a UCLA team that lost today to Washington State.  The LA schools will be coming in angry and hungry to salvage their rankings.  After that, Stanford travels north to play the Washington schools.  Then, there will be the final three home games of the season against Cal, Arizona, and Arizona State before closing out the regular season against a nationally ranked Oregon State team and an always tough Oregon team.  Whew, not an easy schedule -- those road games will be tough.

 

The Desert Trip

 

                  By score the games in the desert were the easiest conference games of the year, with the Cardinal defeating ASU by 30 points and Arizona by 32.  But anybody who watched knows that they were not truly easy games.  Both Arizona schools played tenacious defense, including some hard fouls.  Cam had icebags on her face and leg after the ASU game and Arizona forced Stanford in to 16 turnovers.  Despite the aggressive defense, Stanford controlled both game from the opening quarter. Brink had double-doubles in both games, getting there against Arizona in the first half!  Kiki scored over 20 points in both games but missed collecting her 11th double-double against Arizona by one rebound.  In winning both games, Tara VanDerveer reached wins 1204 and 1205 for her record setting career.  

 

 

What has gone right

 

                  Underestimated by the experts in the preseason polls, Stanford has climbed into the top five (maybe higher after this week’s upsets) because of a strong team effort.  The Cardinal is continuing to play with pace -- the current average points-per-game (81.7), if maintained, would be Stanford's highest in this millennium!  Nationally the CARD are in the top four in free throw percentage, the top five in assist-to-turnover ratio, the top two in rebound margin, the top 20 in points-per-game, the top 10 in scoring margin, and the top 15 in field goad percentage defense.  The CARD are led by their dynamic duo -- Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen -- both averaging over 10 rebounds and over 17 points per game!  Hannah Jump is also averaging in double figures, plays strong defense, and is this year's "coach on the floor."  Jump set the Stanford career record for made-three-pointers earlier this year --so every three she hits is a new Stanford 

record!  

The Starting Five

 

                  Stanford is playing ten deep. Ten players, including all three of Stanford's freshmen, are playing in significant minutes and averaging double-digit playing time.  Hannah Jump (32.6 mpg) is the only player averaging more than 30 minutes a game - although floor leader Talana Lepolo (29.4) is close.  Lepolo continues to be an excellent floor leader -- her assist-to-turnover ratio ranks in the top 15 nationally.  Additionally, Lepolo has started looking for her shoot a bit more often.  She averages 5.5 ppg while hitting over 42% of her threes. The team's fifth starter, junior Elena Bosgana, is averaging 7 points and 4.4 rebounds in a bit over 18 minutes a game. She also has 35 assists, 14 steals, and 3 blocks. 

 

                  One delightful development from the younger players has been their active defense.  Red-shirt sophomore Jzaniya Harriel leads the team in steals (19) and has 26 assists, 23 three-pointers (she is shooting 47% from three), 29 rebounds, and four blocks! It is not surprising that she is seeing her minutes go up!  Chloe Clardy has 15 steals despite having missed some games due to injury.  Junior Brooke Demetre has also seen her minutes go up this year.  Brooke has responded by playing tough defense while posting the team's 4th best shooting percentage (45.6%).  

 

                  The team's other freshmen are also big contributors. Freshman Nunu Agara has the team's third highest scoring percentage (51%) behind only Brink and Iriafen, including the hitting 5 of 11 from three. Courtney Ogden has played in fewer games because of injuries but has looked good when she is on the court.  Her 23 assists with only eight turnovers complement her rebounds and steals.  Although they don't play when the game is on the line, sophomores Stavi Papadaki and Lauren Green continue to make valuable contributions -- especially on the scout team. 

The Team

 

Questions!

 

#1:   The Stanford team clearly fed off the energy provided by the crowd at a loud, packed Maples Pavilion when they defeated a tough Oregon State team for Tara's record setting win.  Can fans pack the gym for the final PAC-12 regular season games against USC and UCLA?  

 

#2:   How long will it be before Stanford University gets it right and renames the floor at Maples Pavilion the Tara VanDerveer floor?  

WOW! What a Weekend!

1203!

She never stops teaching!

                    There are several important stories from the weekend games against the Oregon teams.  Let's get the BIG story out of the way first...Tara VanDerveer is now the winningest coach in college basketball!  Even with All-American Cameron Brink going out with an injury in the first quarter of Friday night's game and missing Sunday's game entirely, the CARD got it done for their coach!  They beat Oregon 88-63, then took down Oregon State 65-56 in front of over 7000 screaming fans to provide Tara with her 1203rd win.  

                  Tara's mindboggling record was celebrated spontaneously by players and fans -- then honored by an elaborate and well-organized celebration with t-shirts (available for fan purchase on the Stanford website), confetti canons, gifts from Nike (a jacket with a hashmark for every win) and Stanford University (a jersey with the number1203), video tributes, and commentary from Ross Gold-Onwude, Chiney Ogwumike, and Jennifer Azzi. The full ceremony is available on the Stanford Women's Basketball site and the PAC-12 website (https://pac-12.com/videos/demand-stanfords-postgame-ceremony-coach-tara-vanderveers-record-1203rd-win) along with the post-game press conference and on-court interviews. It was recognition worthy of the occasion. 

 

                  Reflections on Tara's coaching achievement could fill pages -- and have in articles from the New York Times, to Sports Illustrated, all the local papers and more.  We as fans have been privileged to watch her and her teams, her positive forward-looking approach, her integrity, her ability to adapt and grow...it has always been about the team and the players -- never about her.  Such a refreshing attitude in this "me-me-me" world.  If she had not taken a year off to build interest in women's basketball with US Olympic team Tara would, of course, have even more wins (probably at least the 29 her team won during her absence).  That Olympic team played 52 exhibitions games in route to a gold medal for the USA -- and proved that there was enough support for women's basketball to make a professional league a viable proposition.  It is hard to imagine any other high-profile coach making such a sacrifice. But Tara has always been about building opportunities for women and advancing women's basketball. 

 

                  Of course, Stanford fans all knew this moment was going to happen this year.  Tara only needed 17 wins to break the record and Stanford hasn't had a season with fewer than 17 wins since 1986-87, Tara's second year at Stanford.  What made this special was that it happened in Maples, on Sunday, during women's basketball's Alumni Weekend.  The timing allowed for an occasion worth of Tara's achievement. 

 

Learning and Getting Better!

 

                  Another story worth talking about is how this team is improving!  Before this season started "experts" predicted that Stanford would struggle. They questioned whether Cameron Brink was good enough to carry this team to the Elite Eight.  There were doubts that the "supporting cast" was good enough to win without her or even with her.  Up until this weekend Stanford has struggled when Cam was not available. That difficulty was most notable in the Gonzaga game - but happened to some extent every time Brink has sat due to foul trouble.  Certainly, the team is stronger with Cam than without her.  For the Oregon games, everybody helped compensate for Cam's absence.

 

                  Coaches report that when the team watched film from the loss to Colorado, the players concluded that Colorado had been the more aggressive team and the more aggressive team wins.  Against the Oregon schools the CARD showed that they have learned that lesson.  On defense multiple players got steals and "bothers." Talana continued to be more aggressive on offense.  She scored in double figures for both games while passing out 14 assists over the two games with only one turnover per game.  That increased offensive assertiveness will portent well for Stanford's on-going success.  Becoming a point guard who distributes AND scores takes Talana to the next level. 

 

                  On Friday night, five Stanford players scored in double figures.  Hannah Jump only scored eight but she pulled down five rebounds, dished out five assists, and had a steal.  On Sunday everybody contributed with their intensity and their defense.  Brooke Demetre showed up big in her first career start.  Harriel had five critical steals while playing strong  defense. But the biggest story was Kiki Iriafen, Stanford's angelic annihilator! 

 

Kiki Iriafen -- A Star Shines Bright

An angel on fire!

 

                  The final important story of the weekend is what Tara called the "blast off" of Stanford's emerging All-American. Opening the PAC-12 broadcast Mary Murphy said that Kiki Iriafen needed a career game if Stanford was going to defeat a strong Oregon State team.  Kiki had that and more. By the end of the game Murphy said Kiki wasn't just good, she was great. Iriafen obliterated her previous career high, scoring 36 points, including the first three pointers of her career, while collecting 12 rebounds and playing strong defense against an All-American candidate. For the two games, Kiki scored 57 points, collected 27 rebounds, spent 72 minutes on the floor, nailed the first three-pointers of her college career, while displaying impressive efficiency (hitting over 60% of her shots), great defense, and terrific leadership. Not surprisingly, for the weekend's performance Kiki was named the PAC-12 Player of the Week.  

                   Earlier in the year Iriafen was most impressive powering the ball to the rim, finishing strong through contact.  More recently, particularly in these two games, Kiki showed more of her face-up game. Despite shooting from mid-range and even the three point line, Kiki continued to be a high percentage scorer.  

 

                  The Stanford game opening video ends with Kiki smiling as she blows a kiss to the camera with her hand which then dissolves into a crumbling wall.  That is Kiki -- sweet, smiling destruction!  In interviews she smiles and deflects praise to her teammates and coaches. On the sidelines Kiki giggles and smiles. After her second three pointer she ran up the floor with a huge grin.  At the same time, she is incredibly strong, fierce, and fearless on the floor.  That was obvious against Oregon State's Raegan Beers -- a beefy player who generally pushes opposing players out of her way.  Kiki didn't completely shut Beers down, but the Wade Trophy Watch List candidate was held to below her average in both rebounds and points and obviously struggled in her battle against Iriafen.  Kiki wasn't on the mid-season list for the Wade Trophy, Beers was.  After watching this game one thinks perhaps the committee needs to add Iriafen's name. 

 

Going Forward

 

                  One last thing that stands out about the weekend victories was Cameron Brink's continued leadership. It's not a new story, but it should be mentioned. Some stars might have focused on their own disappointment about missing out on this historic game.  Not Cam. She was a cheerleader for Kiki and the rest of the team.  She was confident in her teammates and encouraging of their success.  That positivity from the team's Player-of-the-Year candidate can help a team go far.  

 

                  At one point Tara noted that the last time she broke a record for career wins, the team followed it with a National Championship.  That is, of course, always the players' goal.  The first steps toward that goal are winning the PAC-12 Championship and the PAC-12 Tournament.  The emergence of a new star, the continued improvement of all the players, the team's new found commitment to being aggressive, and the leadership from Brink and Jump make those achievements seem quite reachable. 

The Mountain Trip

1201....

                The trip to the mountains has been the toughest road trip for the last several years.  This two-game gauntlet requires playing both games at altitude with a plane flight in between. It was always a difficult challenge and now that both Utah and Colorado have excellent teams it is extremely rough - especially for the second game. Last year the CARD beat Colorado in double overtime, then lost a tough game to Utah. This year the CARD won a tough game against Utah then lost to Colorado.  

                  Colorado has what is probably their best team ever this year and was highly motivated to beat Stanford.  Last year's loss to the CARD was one of several heartbreaking defeats in recent years including the miracle win several years ago when Kiana Williams led a surreal comeback win in the final 30 seconds of the game.  The combination of Colorado's talent and motivation along with the physical demands of the trip was too much for the CARD.  They lost 59-71.

 

Thoughts

 

                  Given the lateness of this column, there have been more than enough descriptions of both games.  Rather than adding yet another, here are some thoughts about the games, the lessons, and the recurring themes for the season.

 

# 1:  Kiki is for REAL!!!

This road trip provided yet another opportunity for Kiki Iriafen to demonstrate her amazing talent. Against Utah Kiki had 25 points and 16 rebounds - along with five assists, a block and a steal. Against Colorado she had 19 points and 19 rebounds - along with three assists, a block and two steals.  Those are All-American stat lines, especially against nationally ranked teams. Kiki attributes her improvement to her increased confidence --but her physical strength is also a factor in her performance.  Kiki plays through contact that would leave many other players on the floor. Cameron Brink is rightfully in the conversation for National Player of the Year, but Kiki definitely belongs in the All-American conversation.  When the two are on the court together it is tough for any team to beat the Cardinal.

#2:  Officiating Continues to be an Issue 

In both games the calls and non-calls by the officials both altered the game and left people scratching their heads in confusion.  It wasn't always a case of calls favoring one team or another, just of officials impacting the outcome.  We continue to hope that somebody will figure out how to improve the overall quality of the officiating.  

 

 #3:  The End of the PAC-12 

One of the sad aspects of this weekend is the realization that this was almost certainly the last "mountain road trip" for Stanford.  With the end of the PAC-12, it isn't at all certain that the rivalry with Utah and Colorado will continue.  As long as her mother continues to live in Boulder, Tara may want to continue scheduling Colorado.  But, putting Stanford's players through the mountain trip two game gauntlet is not necessarily something one would want to continue. 

#4:  Tara is Amazing!

This is really the #1 thought -- but it is also a good place to wrap up.  With a split of the two games, Coach Vanderveer is one win away from tying Coach K's record for college basketball wins and two away from breaking it.  Both of those victories could come during this week's homestand.  We are so privileged to have the opportunity to watch this awesome coach and the incredible teams she builds.  It has been interesting to watch the various news outlets write stories about Tara recently as she reaches this milestone.  In honor of this moment in history here is a link to the interview with Tara posted last year.  The first six minutes are the most interesting as they deal with her career and philosophy more generally. The last four minutes deal mostly with last year's team and are somewhat sad given how things turned out.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9eVqmS5xUE

Wins 1199 and 1200!

Wins Against the Washington Schools

            The Washington schools came to Maples this weekend for their final PAC-12 trip. Both teams had been ranked in the nation's Top 25 during this young season. Washington State arrived as the defending PAC-12 tournament champions - hoping to get their first ever win against Stanford. Washington arrived as the team with the nation's best scoring defense, holding teams to 48.5 points per game, and hoping to do the same to Stanford. Both left disappointed.  Washington State going down 74 to 65.  Washington losing 71 to 59.  

 

Washington State and the Tale of Three Pointers

 

            Kiki Iriafen and Cameron Brink were impressive -- as usual.  Brink had a 20 point, 18 rebound double-double (with 5 blocks, 2 steals, and three assists to fill the stat sheet). Iriafen had 17 points, 8 rebounds, and three assists.  One, and usually both, of these players leads the CARD in scoring regularly.  They are, arguably, the most dynamic frontline duo in the country. The key for Stanford going forward against PAC-12 and NCAA Tournament competition will be to have a strong complementary cast. 

 

            The stories of the Washington State game -- good and bad -- really centered around guards who got hot from three.  Coming into the game, Washington State's outstanding guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, normally a three-point machine, was hitting less than 20% of her threes (11 of 59).  Against the CARD, she found her three-point stroke -- hitting 5 of 10.  Some of that was due to defensive lapses by Stanford, but much of it was likely due to Leger-Walker getting past an emotional Christmas back in New Zealand after losing her beloved grandfather last season. For the Cardinal, it was Talana Lepolo's 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.  Those five attempts combined with Lepolo's 10 three point attempts against Cal represent over 40% of Lepolo's three point attempts for the first 13 games of the season.  Hopefully this shows that Lepolo realizes that for Stanford to win against good teams, she needs to make opposing teams view her an somebody they need to guard.  If they don't, she needs to make them pay. The third "guard" who got hot was Brooke Demetre, with an efficient 12 points on four of seven shooting.  Brooke is another vital part of the Stanford rotation and a great shooter. Her scoring filled a void left by Hannah Jump's mini-slump (0 for 2 from three).

 

            The other story from this game was, unfortunately again, the officiating.  Cameron Brink got hammered over and over.  On one play it seemed as if she was fouled five different times without getting a call.  But the worst was a play where Brink was soaring towards the basket and got taken down, flattened. The refs did manage to notice that it was a foul -- but they called it a common foul -- not a flagrant foul and not a shooting foul. It was so bad that even the normally calm Tara VanDerveer stormed towards the court and had to be held back by her assistants.

 

 

Washington -- The Immovable Object and the Irresistible Force

 

            Washington came in with the best scoring defense in the country -- holding teams under 50 points while the Cardinal came into the game with one of it's highest offensive averages in decades.  The victory went to the offense, although Washington held Stanford to it's lowest total score of the season -- 71 points.  The good news is that 71 points was enough for a double-digit victory.  

 

            Washington kept it close in the first half, with multiple ties and lead changes, mostly in the first quarter.  One of the big reasons was that Cam and Kiki spent too much of the first half on the bench due to foul trouble. Drawing fouls is a big part of Washington's game plan, they are good at falling down and running in front of people -- although to be fair they are also good at standing their ground.  In the second half the officials appeared to be less impressed by Huskies hitting the deck.  To be fair to the officials, perhaps Stanford players were also a bit more careful.

 

            Stanford's offense came alive in the 3rd Quarter. Hannah Jump hit three straight threes, finishing the game with four (4 of 13) after going 0 for seven in the first half.  Like all great shooters, she is capable of continuing to shoot even when a bunch of shots haven't fallen. The Stanford inside-out offense got into a flow, overwhelming the Washington defense. The Huskies didn't roll over and play dead despite falling 19 points behind, but Stanford maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

            Some of the best news for the day was solid evidence of continued development from Stanford's freshman and other less experienced team members. Sunday was Nunu Agara's day -- as it has been several other times. Nunu was the fourth CARD in double figures. But, Courtney Ogden and Chloe Clardy also played valuable minutes.  Elena Bosgana also had a few potential highlight reel moments.  On one she had an athletic steal and streaked down court towards the basket with a defender on her heels and Kiki Iriafen pushing to catch up on the wing. In past years one suspects that Bosgana would have attempted to make what would probably have been a contested layup.  This time, she made a perfect pass to Kiki who hit the layup in stride.

 

Burying the Lead

 

            In journalism one of the marks of a poorly written story is being paragraphs or even pages into the story before mentioning the most important news - "the lead" - is mentioned.  Perhaps this column is guilty since the biggest story of the day from the standpoint of history is that with these two wins, Tara VanDerveer notched the 1199th and 1200th wins of her career.  This leaves Tara just two short of tying Mike Krzyzewski's record of 1202 wins and three short of becoming the winningest coach in college basketball history. The only defense for this journalistic faux pau is that if you were to ask Tara what was more important - her team playing well and winning without getting injured or Tara winning her 1200th game - we are all pretty sure what her answer would be.

 

Question

 

1. What will it take for women's basketball to get the quality of officiating that the players deserve?

 

Last year's Final Four and many of the games leading up to the Final Four were marked by questionable and potentially game changing calls. It sometimes appears as if the officals want to "level the playing field" by allowing smaller players to maul and bang bigger players with impunity. The physical play in some of Stanford's games has reached levels where players' well being appears at risk. 

 

Being an official isn't easy.  This is especially true in our current society where civility has all too often given way to thuggery and violence.  We have political "leaders" who encourage people to threaten violence against those with whom they disagree.  There are incidents where coaches and officials have been assaulted by so-called fans who didn't like their decisions. So, it is hard to imagine people standing in line to get a position as a basketball ref. Many fans have seen the same faces officiating games for decades -- and we can't imagine those refs are as quick and fit as they were when they were decades younger. But, the game has gotten faster and more physical.  We hope those responsible for college sports will address this issue.  But, when is that going to happen?