Ready, Set, Go!

A New Year -- A New ERA

 

A NEW YEAR!

 

            Stanford Women's Basketball got the 2025-26 season started with an exhibition against CAL State Los Angeles, the same team the CARD opened against last season.  Like last year, the game resulted in a Stanford win.  However, unlike last year, this game never felt close -- mostly because it wasn't.  Starting two freshmen - Swain and Somfai, two juniors - Agara and Ogden, and a senior - Lepolo,  Stanford opened up with a six point lead on three baskets from the freshmen.  By the end of the 1st Quarter, Stanford was up by 12. The Cardinal never led by less than 9 points the rest of the game. By the end of the first half the lead was 16. Stanford was ahead 31 points after three quarters and continued to outscore CAL State LA even with emptying the bench in the fourth quarter.     

 

            Coach Paye substituted freely, with the first three subs (Clardy, Stevenson, and Eschmeyer) coming in after three minutes.  The next round of subs came in after a bit less than three minutes. It appeared that Kate is committed to playing at a fast pace with subs being the key to keeping fresh legs on the floor.  Stanford's  (and the game's) two leading scorers, Chloe Clardy (20 pts) and Nunu Agara (17 pts) also had the most playing time with Chloe putting in a little over 28 minutes and Nunu paying a bit over 25.  All in all, nine Cardinal players had double digit minutes (the five starters plus Clardy, Eschmeyer, Stevenson, and Ijwoye) and four (Clardy, Agara, Swain, and Somfai) scored in double figures.  Every player got time on the floor and nobody got injured except Lauren Green -- and her injury did not appear to be serious.     

 

Problems Fixed

            Some of last year's weaknesses appear to be rectified. Point guard, a position that was iffy now appears well covered.  Telana Lepolo is back and appears healthy.  Chloe Clardy took up just where she left off with defense, scoring, and good decision making. Shay Ijiwoye still has hops and Hailee Swain, the highest rated recruit in the incoming class, is speedy and smooth.  Swain had an immediate impact Wednesday night, scoring Stanford's first two baskets and snagging an impressive steal during the opening quarter.  All four players can handle the point guard duties, giving Stanford tremendous versatility.  The lack of size that troubled Stanford last year appears to be solved by the addition of 6'5" Alex Eschmeyer and 6'3" Lara Somfai. Additionally, unlike last year when none of the returning players had previously been frontline starters, this year's team has multiple players who have been team leaders -- especially Agara, Clardy, and Lepolo. Nunu has been named to several preseason watch lists including the Wade trophy list.

 

            Bottom line, this team looked fun and exciting.  The defense appeared solid except for one brief stretch in the second quarter, holding CAL State to under 27% shooting (21.4% from three) for the game.  Agara and Clardy continued to be "stat stuffers," recording numbers in virtually every category from blocks to steals, while newcomer Somfai recorded a double-double on 13 points and 10 rebounds.  Rebounding was another strength for the Cardinal, especially in the second half.  Stanford out rebounded the Golden Eagles 60 to 30 with the Cardinal collecting 10 more rebounds than LA in both the 3rd and 4th quarters.  There were a decent number of assists - 17 on 32 made baskets (53%) - and some of them were highlight worthy.  

 

Remaining Concerns

            There are some areas of concern.  Stanford's three-point shooting was nearly absent - 3 of 18 for 16.6%!!!  Of course, given the size mismatch Stanford had with LA it is easy to understand scoring 50 points in the paint (to LA's 12) and only nine from the three-point line.  But Stanford will want to find its three-point stroke for nights when the other team has players with height. There were also too many turnovers, that will matter against better opponents.  The best news is that a team with three freshmen playing almost 20 minutes each is only going to get better as the season continues. There will undoubtedly be some growing pains but come March this team should be "back in the conversation." 

 

 

A NEW ERA

 

            This season also marks a significant point in the transition from amateur student athletes to professional/semi-professional athletes who also attend college.  With the approval of a settlement in the legal challenge against the NCAA brought by former college players, schools are allowed/required to pay their athletes.  Adding school payments to the world of transfer portals, N(ame)-I(mage)-L(ikeness) payments and the social media landscape where players earn money and endorsements from "likes" and "followers" blasts away the remnants of the amateur illusion. The House vs NCAA settlement will likely help set some limits on NIL recruitment/poaching efforts. A commission has been set up to evaluate all payments over $600.  This may reign in the activities of wealthy donors like the men from Texas Tech who (successfully) offered softball player NiJaree Canady over a million dollars to leave Stanford as there is some expectation that NIL money will be limited to "market value" for players.  That raises some questions about whether this will be good news for women athletes and all athletes in minor sports as the players "market value" may be considered lower than the value for football players and mem's basketball players. Many schools have indicated that most of the money they can pay directly to athletes will go to football and men's basketball. Regardless of what it means for women, these new rules should bring some stability to the college sports world.  The same can be said for the changes in the transfer portal rules.  The time of the portal's opening will be shorter, and athletes will again have to sit out a year it they transfer more than once.  Finally, although many of us "old timers" yearn for a return to the "old" conferences, it appears that the "musical chairs" of conference realignment is mostly over for now.

 

            How all these changes will play out at Stanford remains to be seen.  After several years of foot dragging, Stanford has embraced the need to pay players and raise NIL money.  The benefits of that decision can be seen in the team's ability to recruit top talent and hold on to all eligible players except transfer Tess Heal.  Going forward Stanford will only be able to hold onto top players and recruit top talent if women's basketball fans step up and contribute to the various funds (particularly the Home of Champions Fund and the Women's Basketball Fund) that support women's basketball.  More on that in future blogs.

 

            At this point Stanford appears less ready than other top programs to fully embrace the transfer portal.  The university still places limits on upper class transfers and grad transfers have issues in being accepted for highly competitive Stanford graduate programs.  One can hope that Stanford doesn't continue to experience talented players like Kiki Iriafen and DiJonai Carrington leaving Stanford for their last year and promising freshmen leaving after one year of development for other schools.  It may be that Stanford can expect a few players to depart for their senior years when it becomes clear that they won't ever be Stanford stars or even starters -- particularly if they are able to earn their Stanford degrees before leaving. But Stanford can't hope to be a top program if it can't hold on to its star players, or at least most of them.  The requirement that players sit out a year after a second transfer may slow down the college player free agency game.  However, we also wonder how long it will be before the WNBA starts allowing players to come into the league without the current required college stint.  That change may come as soon as the WNBA salaries reach a level that makes them desirable options for college players.  After all, a number of European players have entered the WNBA at 18 or 19 and acquitted themselves nicely. 

 

            We don't know what the future will hold for the women's basketball landscape.  What we do know is that this year's Cardinal, despite being overlooked by the national pundits, will be fun and entertaining.  Last year there were plenty of people surprised by Stanford's performance in a less than great way -- this year we suspect the surprise may go the other way.

 

 Editors Note:

Thank you for reading. It is a pleasure to begin blogging again.  My break was do to some personal health issues that hopefully will not interfere with future efforts.

 

Close Only Counts in Horse Shoes

An Encouraging Disappointment

 

            Kate Paye says there are no moral victories -- perhaps because losses no matter how close don't get you seeding in the NCAA tournament.  But Stanford's loss to 15th ranked North Carolina was close, a close score and as close as it comes to a moral victory.  The considerable improvement of Stanford's young players was on full display. Despite going down by as many as 15 points midway through the 3rd quarter, Stanford had the ball out-of-bounds on their sideline down by only two points with seven seconds to go in the game.  Unfortunately, the tying basket attempt didn't go in.  

 

                  This game also reflected another adage, basketball is a game of runs.  North Carolina used runs to pull out to double digit leads. But this year's Cardinal team did not give up. At times they "chipped" away at the lead and other times Stanford made its own runs.  In the 4th quarter Stanford used a nine-point run to tie the game at 62 but was unable to take the lead.  

 

                  Many of statistics were as close as the final score.  Stanford's first quarter was sloppy with multiple turnovers -- roughly as many in the first quarter as the CARD committed for the rest of the game -- but the CARD only lost the turnover battle by 4.  North Carolina shot 40.3% to Stanford's 41.1%, North Carolina won the rebounding battle by one (37 to 36).  However, Stanford's three-point percentage was a dismal 21.4%, disappointing for a team that has consistently been among the nation's leaders in three-point percentage. North Carolina hit an impressive 52.9%. Interestingly, despite the Tar Heels having a renown post duo, Stanford won the points-in-the-paint battle by 4, 32 to 28.  In addition to the aforementioned three-point percentage difference, the biggest statistical discrepancy was in free throws where Stanford hit 18 of 19 (94.7%) while North Carolina hit only fifty percent of their four freebies. 

 

                  This was another game where all nine of the Cardinal players who stepped onto the court made positive contributions even if they didn't show in the box score. Nunu Agara was impressive as usual, a double-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds, an assist and a block.  Chloe Clardy scored an efficient 15 points with three steals, two rebounds, and two assists in her second consecutive 40-minute game.  For the last three games Chloe has played all but 22 seconds after playing 36 minutes 54 seconds against Duke! 

                    Kennedy Umeh continued to show her value in the post.  Not only did she score eight points and grab four rebounds in her twelve plus minutes, but also Kennedy's physical presence caused problems on both ends of the court for North Carolina's post players. One particularly impressive play only shows up as a negative on the stat sheet.  Kennedy had the ball near the pinch post and was surrounded by UNC players as the shot clock was nearing zero. Kennedy managed to step through enough to throw a shot at the rim. The shot didn’t go in but Nunu was under the basket, able to grab the rebound (partly because so many of the UNC players were swarming Kennedy) and score.  

 

                  Next up for the Cardinal is a road game against national #3 Notre Dame followed by a game against Louisville on their home floor.  That's a rough road trip.  But, it is also another chance to get a signature win for the program....

 

Questions:

1.  Can the CARD get enough wins to get a bye in the ACC tournament?

Stanford currently stands 13th in the conference.  The top nine teams get a bye.  (The top four get a double bye). Only the top 15 teams participate in the tournament...up four notches gets a bye....

 

2.  How many CARD fans will step up for Lifetime Cardinal?

The first $50K of Fastbreak Club donations will be matched 100%!  Let's go fans!

Strange Game - Important win

A Much Needed Win!

 

                  Stanford got a much needed win on Thursday night against one of the few ACC teams currently below the CARD in the conference standings. It was a game where a win was good but a loss would have been devastating. In one of the strangest games played at Maples in recent years, the two teams combined for 33 points in the entire first half, going 0 for 28 on three-point attempts. Stanford shot 22.8% (8/35) and Pitt hit 23.3% (7/30) with Stanford "surging" to a five-point on Elena Bosgana's driving layup as time expired. As ugly as the first half was, this was not a totally unfamiliar result for Pitt.  Earlier this season the Panthers scored only 18 points in the first half against SMU before roaring back in the second half to score 56 points in a 48-point comeback win. Pitt has scored less than 20 points in the first half multiple times this season and has rarely scored more than 60 points in a game.  

 

                  The second half looked more a "normal" game.  Both teams had shooting percentages in the mid-forty percent range and Stanford hit over 38% (5/13) on three-point shots. Pitt continued to miss all of its three-point attempts. Interestingly, while both teams were perfect from the free throw line for the first three quarters, Pitt players missed two of their six free throws in the 4th quarter while Stanford remained perfect from the line, hitting 12 of 12 for a team record perfect on 15 out of 15 free throws for the full game. That 4th quarter perfection included two free throws by Shay Ijiwoye. Her jubilant smile and bounce after hitting the second (as well as the bench reaction) showed how hard Shay has worked to improve her free throw shooting.

 

                  This was a game in which all nine of the Stanford players with time on the floor made positive contributions.  Some of those contributions barely showed on the scoreboard -- for example Mary Ashely Stevenson and Brooke Demetre only scored two points each (although Booke also had a steal and three blocks) -- but their physical defense against Khadija Faye, Pitts’ 6'4" center, was critical to Stanford's win. Freshman Kennedy Umeh also played valuable minutes against Faye. Kennedy also scored four points on perfect shooting (1/1 from the floor and 2/2 at the line). Faye was clearly frustrated by being pushed out of her preferred deep positioning in the paint.

 

                  Despite the game's low score, four Cardinal players were in double digits for the game. Nunu Agara played her usual tough defense and was clearly a focus of the Pitt defense, starting with an early play were Nunu's lip was split in a collision with a Pitt player. Nunu's 10 points came mostly from free throws. Nunu shot and made half of Stanford's 12 free throws. Chloe Clardy is beginning to look like Stanford's current version of an Ironman.  She played for full 40 minutes.  In Stanford's last three games, Chloe has been on the floor for all but three minutes of play! Some of this reflects the limited availability of other guards, but it also reflects Clardy’s continued improvement. Her 14 points were tied with Senior Elena Bosgana for Stanford's game high. Another big bright spot for the CARD was Courtney Ogden's continued emergence as a go-to player.  Courtney scored 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, barely missing her first career double-double.  

 

Questions:

1. How will Stanford respond to facing North Carolina's starting guard Indya Nivar?

                  Indya played her freshman season at Stanford, departing in Stanford's first multiple player transfer portal loss.  Will the coaching staff's familiarity with Nivar be of use?  How will the crowd respond to her?

 

2.  Will the improving Stanford squad be able to get its first breakthrough win against a Top 25 team?  

                  Once again Stanford will have a national TV audience.  Will the CARD be able to make a better showing at home against North Carollina than they did against Duke on the road?

This team has grit!

Running Out of Time

 

            That phrase describes both the CARD's recent game against CAL and Stanford's current season. Against CAL this still developing team showed tenacity and aggressiveness as the CARD battled back from 19 down to within two points (twice) finally losing by three.  The aggressiveness was defined by a ferocious full-court-trapping-press that forced CAL into multiple turnovers and rushed shots.  

 

                  The Cardinal scoring was led by sophomore guard Chloe Clardy's 22 points on 7-13 from the floor and 8-11 at the free throw line.  Chloe drove to the basket multiple times for two points or two free throws. A perfect response to a defense that focused on stopping the three-point shot.  Stanford's sparkplug freshman guard Shay Ijiwoye had three steals and an overall excellent game marked by speed and quickness.  Sophomore guard Courtney Ogden had two steals, three assists, and was perfect in her drives to the basket. Stanford is starting to benefit from some of Courtney's considerable talent! Nunu Agara was, as usual, Stanford's leading rebounder and scored 19 points including two clutch three-pointers to keep Stanford tantalizingly close as the fourth quarter wound down. The Cardinal actually won the fourth quarter by 10 but it wasn't quite enough to overcome a 61-42 deficit from late in the third quarter.

 

                  To some extent CAL's victory was sealed when the officials chose to call a flagrant foul on Shay Ijiwoye.  In the battle for the rebound after a missed free throw, both 5'6" Shay and CAL's 5'11" Jada Noble hit the floor.  Noble had to be helped off the floor, the officials conferenced and called the intentional foul on Shay.  Not only was that Ijiwoye's fifth foul, but also it gave CAL, up by only two points, two free throws plus the ball.  Soon CAL was back up by seven points. Still the Cardinal didn't give up, pulling back to within two points on two Nunu Agara three-pointers.  In the closing seconds with CAL up by four points, Nunu was fouled.  She hit the first free throw, pulling the CARD within three and intentionally missed the second with Chloe Clardy pulling down the rebound with 4 seconds left in the game.  Unfortunately, Stanford was not able to get a shot off before time expired.  

 

Changing of the Guard?

 

                  Although Stanford started the game with the "midseason starting five" of senior Brooke Demetre, senior Elena Bosgana, sophomore Nunu Agara, sophomore Chloe Clardy, and freshman Shay Ijiwoye, over 80% of the minutes were played by freshmen and sophomores.  Bosgana and junior transfer Tess Heal were the only upper classwomen to play double digit minutes and both played less than 20 minutes.  Chloe, Nunu, Shay, Courtney, and Mary Ashely Stevenson were in for more than 20 minutes.  Some of this was about match ups, but one wonders if this also reflects increased dependence on the talented sophomore class....

 

                  One thing is clear -- the team is playing better than it did at the start of the season.  That isn't surprising as the 2024-25 iteration of the Cardinal began the season with only one player who had averaged more than 30 minutes a game in the 23-24 season, Talana Lepolo (30.5).  Seniors Brooke Demetre and Elena Bosgana had averaged 20.9 and 18 minutes per game respectively. Nunu Agara's 13 minutes per game average was the next highest.  That's not a lot of experience -- and Talana has only played in five of Stanford's 19 games this season.  She has not dressed since failing to score or record an assist in her 22 minutes against Indiana back in November.  Transfers Tess Heal and Mary Ashley Stevenson had considerable playing time at their respective schools, more than any of Stanford's returning players except Lepolo, but they are learning a new system. Teams that have started strong with rosters made up largely of transfer portal players were full of transfer players with 30+ minute per game experience -- new teams but not lacking in game experience.  That isn't where Stanford started.  Those relatively inexperienced players are more seasoned now and it shows.

 

                  The big question is does the Stanford team have enough time to play itself back into relevance -- meaning back into the NCAA Tournament bracket?  They are currently 44th in the NET with a 10-9 record, 2-8 in the ACC, and have only one win against a "Quad -1" (highly regarded) team.  There are ten games remaining on Stanford's regular season schedule, including three with nationally ranked teams.  The good and bad news about that is that a win against one or more of those ranked teams would almost certainly earn Stanford an NCAA berth, the bad news is that a 17-12 record (which would require beating every team on the schedule NOT currently nationally ranked) probably isn't good enough to get an NCAA invitation.  Stanford can still catch fire -- the fire the team showed in the last 16 minutes of the CAL game -- but time is running out.

 

 

The New World of College Basketball

 

                  It is hard not to be a bit nostalgic for the "good ol' days" when there was no transfer portal which meant coaches could plan on developing players from rough talent into polished stars and fans could invest emotionally in players they would watch for the next four years. While it seems right that players can profit from the use of their name, image, and likeness -- being rewarded for the fame they through their play -- something feels off about the rise of "collectives" allowed to directly recruit players to their schools with offers of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Unlike professional leagues where there are rules about when and how players can move, the new world of college sports has no "tampering" rules and miniscule limits on what players are being compensated for beyond simply putting on the team's jersey.  

 

                  Stanford, which has always prided itself on "doing it right" and having student athletes who are truly students, was slow to embrace this new world.  There is now a collective -- Lifetime Cardinal -- and the school is working on making it easier to accommodate athletes through the transfer portal.  But the school is still trying to find ways to maintain both the academic side of student athlete and Stanford's status as an elite athletic institution.  The process is on-going.  So far Stanford's sophomore class hasn't lost any players to the portal and next year's incoming freshman class is loaded with top talent.  Let's hope that Stanford is able to adjust to the new day -- and that includes fans adjusting to the need to support Lifetime Cardinal.

 

Missing the PAC-12 and even the PAC-12 Network

                  In addition to the loss of familiar foes and more convenient travel, the smaller size (twelve) of the PAC-12 compared to the 18 team ACC meant the teams mostly played a true round-robin format with a chance to see teams both at home and on the road and a conference tournament that included all the teams.  With the ACC teams only play one rival (usually a traditional rival -- for Stanford that's CAL) on a home and home and the conference tournament only includes the top 15 teams.  There were never more than six PAC-12 games on any day, making it easier to schedule a greater percentage of the games on TV. With the ACC network, most of Stanford's games end up with streaming only if available at all.  That means watching on a computer and no recording.  For this column, it had been my habit to watch games more than once -- mostly not possible now.  That and the limited involvement of Stanford in the national conversation mean there is less opportunity for the analysis this column has attempted to provide.  For example, the only team statistic where Stanford is in the top fifty nationally is Stanford's third place in three-point percentage. The only Stanford player currently in the top 50 on any individual stat is Nunu Agara who is tied for 40th in double-doubles. 

Questions:

1. Will the new look team turn the corner in the win column?

Stanford outplayed CAL over the last 15 minutes of their game. Will they continue to show that same fire?

2. Will players start driving to the basket more consistently?

When Stanford players drive strongly to the basket it opens up the three point line.  Chloe, Shay, and Courtney all have shown they can get there.  Will they keep it up?  That also takes a bit of the load off of Nunu. 

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?

 

Maples Magic

First ACC Win

 

            Fans who missed Stanford's ACC Home Opener against Florida State University missed an encouraging and exciting game that ended with Stanford's first ACC victory!  The 8-6 Cardinal returned from a road trip that was both disappointing and encouraging -- with close losses to SMU and Clemson.  Before that trip this column wondered if the young Cardinal team had grown up enough to be truly competitive this year.  Against FSU the answer was a resounding yes.  

 

                  The revised starting line-up with Chloe Clardy and Shay Ijiwoye replacing Tess Heal and Jzaniya Harriel led a high energy team capable of competing!  This line-up was first used in Stanford's overtime loss to Clemson, a game not available on TV (due to the CW replacing it with a religious broadcast and a paid eyecare infomercial). The change was foreshadowed by the energy surge those players provided in the closing quarter of the SMU game -- turning a game that had been almost painful to watch into a winnable game.

 

                  On paper FSU looked like a sure winner.  They were 13-2 and undefeated in the ACC and ranked 22nd in the NET. But Stanford led from just before the 6-minute mark when the CARD went up by one on the first of Brooke Demetre's five three-pointers. They CARD held national scoring leader and national player-of-the-year candidate Ta'Niya Latson under her scoring average.  Stanford senior Demetre (24 pts on 9/15) matched Latson's offensive output (24 pts on 8-22) on much more efficient shooting. Overall, Stanford's offense was more efficient than FSU's. The CARD shot over 50% from the floor and 40% from three while holding FSU below 39% overall and below 29% from three.

                  Demetre's  24-point mark was a career high for her. She was joined in double figures by Elena Bosgana (21 pts), Nunu Agara (17 pts) and Tess Heal (14 pts).  Bosgana had a double-double before half-time, finishing with 21 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and a block.  An impressive stat line. As a team, Stanford out rebounded FSU by 17 (52 to 35). That was important because the CARD also committed 12 more turnovers (18 to 6) than FSU - a testament to FSU's aggressive defense.  That aggressive defense resulted in FSU being called for eight more fouls than Stanford (23 to 15) -- an impressive difference since the ACC officials appear to be slow to use their whistles. 

 

                  Sparkplug freshman Shay Ijiwoye had seven points and could have been in double figures had she hit more than three of her eight free throws. Going forward Shay will need to further improve her 37.5% free throw shooting as it almost appeared that FSU was employing a "hack-a-Shay" tactic in the last minutes of the game. They fouled Shay four times in the last four minutes, twice in the last minute. Nonetheless, Shay's speed, energy, and quick hands were a huge factor in Stanford's victory. The most indelible image from the game was Ijiwoye's leaping interception of FSU's inbounds pass at the end of the game with Stanford clinging to a four-point lead! Shay's exuberant leaping dribble as the clock ticked down perfectly embodied the excited energy she brings to the team.

                  

The Changing World of Women's Basketball

 

            The Stanford model has always been recruiting talented student-athletes who value a Stanford degree and develop their skills over four years.  Freshmen almost never started at the beginning of the season and some standout seniors didn't really get their shot until their senior season. Recruitment was essentially over once the student athlete had formally "committed" to a program.  Coaches could comfortably assume that the effort they put into developing a player with potential would translate to the win column in future. 

 

                  The transfer portal and the rise of direct recruiting by booster "collectives" has changed that. Coaches are piecing together teams from the transfer portal -- in some cases adding a missing piece in others replacing the team that transferred out.  Florida State had ZERO freshmen on its roster and nearly half of their players were transfers.  Stanford has two transfers -- Tess Heal and Mary Ashly Stevenson.  Four players -- Kiki Iriafen, Agnes Emma-Nnopu, Indya Nivar, and Laureen Betts -- who spent at least one season at Stanford are now playing on other nationally ranked teams.  

 

                  Although some transfers are due to players (or their parents) being unhappy with the player's amount of playing time or failure to be "featured" in the team's offense -- others are about the money being offered.  In this new world even students who have "committed" to a program can change their mind and go elsewhere.  Some estimate that if Stanford wants to actually enroll the five outstanding recruits who have committed to Stanford, it will take over a million dollars for NIL money.  It will also take money to ensure that talented players on this year's team stick around.

 

                  Stanford's response is Lifetime Cardinal -- the Stanford NIL collective.  In future columns and website stories, we will be talking more about LIFETIME CARDINAL and how we Stanford Women's Basketball fans can support it.  Stay tuned.

 

Questions

 

1.  Will the Maples Magic Last?

Stanford has a bizarre "perfect record" this season -- undefeated at home and without a win on the road.  The first question is, will the Maples Magic help the CARD get another big win on Sunday when NC State -- the team that ended Stanford's season last year -- comes to Maples.  We can at least be sure that the three-point line will be both correct and consistent -- something that wasn't true in last year's Regional Tournament games.

                  

2.  Has the team "left it too late?"

It looks like this team has started to find its footing.  But it will probably take at least 19 or 20 wins to make the NCAA tournament.  Stanford, at 9-6, has 14 regular season games remaining -- five of them against teams ranked in the top 25 including road games against Notre Dame and Duke.  This team can do it -- but it will not be easy.

 

Now the Conference Season Begins

 

Has This Young Team Grown Up?

 

            The 2024-25 Stanford Women's Basketball team will end one of the longest holiday breaks in Stanford history with a very long road trip as ACC play starts in earnest. The Cardinal stands at 8-4, ranked 40th in the net, having lost all three of their games against ranked teams.  The team currently has zero wins against teams ranked higher in the NET -- the tool used to help select teams for the NCAA tournament. That's the bad news. 

 

                  The good news is that this is a young team -- and young teams have the potential to end the year a lot better than they were in the beginning of the season.  Stanford has three players averaging over ten points per game, led by sophomore Nunu Agara at 17.3 and seniors Elena Bosgana and Brooke Demetre at a tad over 12.   The team currently stands third in the country on 3-point percentage, not surprising since six players average 40% or better from three and two more are hitting above two-thirds of their threes. 

 

                  Nunu Agara is having a bit of a breakout season.  She currently leads the team not only in scoring average, but also in rebounds and assists!  Unfortunately, Nunu also leads the team in turnovers -- partly due to offensive fouls that are scored as turnovers. Perhaps the most important aspect of Nunu's stats is her improvement over last year.  Her scoring is up over 12 points from last year and her rebounding and assists are also improved.

 

                  The overall improvement from the sophomore class is quite encouraging.  Chloe Clardy, a defensive star last year has significantly improved her offense.  Despite not starting any games, Chloe is the team's fifth leading scorer, third in assists and averaging a respectable 44% from the floor.  Her quick hands are still part of her game.  Chloe is second on the team in steals.  The other two members of the sophomore class, Courtney Ogden and transfer Mary Ashley (MA) Stevenson have great upside but haven't come close to their potential.  

 

Point Guard?

 

                  

                  Two years ago it looked like Stanford's point guard situation was settled when Talana Lepolo laid claim to the position after the third game in her freshman season. Talana began her career with 11 assists and zero turnovers off the bench in her first game.  She was slowed last season by a nagging knee injury that showed up in her defense and required surgery in the off season.  So far this season, Talana has been largely absent, playing in only five of Stanford's 12 games.  In her absence other players are getting a chance to develop their point guard skills -- most notably Clardy, transfer Tess Heal, and freshman Shay Ijiwoye.  Unfortunately, all three of these talented women need to DEVELOP their point guard skills - especially their skills in this movement heavy offense.  Too often an offense predicated on ball movement seems stuck.  It doesn't help that this year's Cardinal team lacks size -- that makes the task of passing into the post a lot more difficult.  If freshman Kennedy Umeh can develop her conditioning and her comfort with college level defense assists may get easier -- but for now that is an if.  One begins to wonder if we will see Talana this year -- or will she end up redshirting for the season?  

                The point guard position will be particularly important in the ACC, a conference that features quick guards and pressing defenses.  So for Stanford has not done well when faced with pressing defenses -- hopefully they are learning but the lessons have been painful.  Additionally, many ACC teams switch defenses frequently.  That makes it even more important to have a point guard who can adjust the offense to the defensive changes.

 

Up NEXT

 

                  Stanford's next game is in Dallas against Southern Methodist University on Thursday evening.  That contest will be followed by a game on Sunday morning in South Carolina against Clemson. Neither of those teams are among seven ACC teams above Stanford -- winning will be important.

 

 

Questions

 

1. How will we do in the ACC?

The ACC is a strong conference.  As of December 29, there were seven ACC teams with a higher NET ranking than Stanford.  This will be a rough conference season -- but the season record only matters in terms of making the NCAA field and getting a good seeding.  It's how much the young team develops that will determine how this season ends.

 

2.  How many Stanford WBB fans will step up to join Lifetime Cardinal?

In this strange new world of college athletics fan financial support matters.  Will Stanford fans step up. 

 

 

 

Five Seconds Too Long

 

A Tough Loss 

 

            Thursday night's game against undefeated LSU in Baton Rouge was Stanford's first game against a Top 10/Top 5 team this season.  It was a chance to get a measure of where this CARD team is and where it might go. It was also five seconds too long. LSU last game was a 131-44 win over NC Central and they are particularly difficult on their home floor.  If somebody had told me in advance of the game that Stanford would fall to LSU by six points IN OVERTIME, I would have been pleased and relieved.  Instead, when that happened, I was disappointed but proud.  

 

                  It was a fast-paced high scoring game. Stanford led from 94 seconds into the first quarter until the final four seconds of the last quarter when LSU's Mikaylah Williams tied the game at 80 all.  As disappointing as that was, there was no quit in this team.  The CARD trailed for the entire overtime period but had the game within two points with a minute left in OT.  The Cardinal showed that they are a team -- and a team that can play with anybody.  They also showed that they had learned from the Indiana loss and are a better team than they were in mid-November.  When Indiana aggressively ran the CARD off the 3point line, Stanford had trouble scoring.  When LSU did the same thing, Stanford responded by driving to the rim. The CARD outscored the taller LSU squad in the paint 42-22.  Lesson learned. We can anticipate that the CARD will continue to get better -- including some better performance on Sideline Out of Bounds plays (SLOB). The failure to get the ball inbounds cleanly with 16 seconds left provided the opportunity for LSU's game tying goal. The decision not to apply even token pressure on the inbounds play after Stanford's last two scores, allowing LSU to roll the ball all the way to the front court without the clock starting, may have given LSU those extra five seconds.

 

A Shorter Rotation

 

                  With Talana unavailable (and not on the trip), Coach Paye only played eight women.   The CARD's talented freshmen did not see any action.  Four of those eight players scored in double figures (Agara 29, Demetre 19, Bosgana 16, and Harriel 15).  Nunu showed the national audience her star power with a double-double (29-13) adding two assists and a block.  Brooke's importance to the team was also on display, but perhaps more subtly.  When Brooke begam to struggle with muscle cramps, the CARD lost some of their flow and intensity.  One of the announcers commented that she believed Brooke's limited minutes due to foul trouble was the critical factor in Stanford's loss to Indiana.  Brooke is a three-level scorer and her presence on the floor creates challenges for defenses. Nunu is a breakout star, but Brooke is the team's breakout leader.

 

Stanford Basketball

 

                  Kate Paye is the coach, but Stanford basketball is still Stanford basketball.  Coach Paye, like the head coach before her, structures her offense around the strengths of her players.  This year's team lacks a dominate post presence but has excellent shooters.  The ball movement offense stresses three-point shooting and drives to the basket when the defense gets aggressive at the three-point line.  It is an offense based on taking advantage of what the defense allows.  Coach Paye also continues the Stanford tradition of scouting report defense -- defense designed to take away the things the other team is best at doing.  In her press conference after the game, Coach Paye seemed to suggest that she should have put more pressure on LSU's Mikaylah Williams whose game high 32points were also her season high.  But, of course, with LSU as with Stanford, teams must "pick their poison." The best news of the night was that a national audience got to see that Stanford is Stanford.  That is to say, the CARD play disciplined, unselfish, movement heavy team basketball.  They also got to see that despite the departure of Brink, Iriafen, and Jump, this team has talented players who can play with anybody.  

 

Next UP

 

                  Stanford opens ACC play early with a game next Friday, December 13 against CAL at Berkeley.  The CARD's only home game for the rest of the year, UT San Antonio, follows the following Monday.  Then Stanford closes out play for the year with a game at Chase Center against Ohio State, currently undefeated and ranked 12th in the country. 

 

Questions:

 

1.  Will the basketball world stop sleeping on Nunu?

One can only hope that Agara's impressive play against LSU will get her some of the attention that the play we have seen all season deserves.  It is, after all, more impressive to have a 29 point-13 rebound performance against LSU than a 25 point-13 rebound performance in an exhibition against Cal State LA.  

 

2. Will a loss be enough to get Stanford back into the Top 25?

A loss to Indiana allowed pundits to discount Stanford's 5-1 record.  Will a close loss the #5 LSU cause them to give some respect to the CARD's 7-2 record?

3. Was that a foul?

On the critical inbounds play at the end of regulation, the LSU player threw her arm over Harriel's shoulder preventing her from catching the ball cleanly, then hooked her arm preventing her from retrieving the ball.  How is that not a foul? If Jzaniya gets two free throws instead of it being a turnover, the game ends differently.  If it hadn't been played in Baton Rouge might the call have been different?

 

4. What will happen at CAL? 

Coach Smith has CAL playing some very good basketball.  They currently rank higher in the ACC standings that the CARD and beat Alabama in their ACC-SEC Challenge game.  

Challenges Ahead!

 

A Family Affair

 

            Friday afternoon's game against UC San Diego had the air of a family affair -- with a bit of a "big sister domination" dynamic.  For openers, there were an unusually large number of family members in the stands for both sides as Stanford had hosted Thanksgiving dinner for players, coaches, and their families the previous day.  Additionally, the seriously overmatched UC San Diego team is coached by Tara's younger sister -- Heidi VanDerveer.  Following the game there was a "Behind the Bench" session with the two VanDerveers.

 

Hot Start -- Solid Finish

                  Tess Heal joined Nunu Agara, Elena Bosgana, Brooke Demetre, and Jzaniya Harriel in the starting line-up. Talana Lepolo, Stanford's junior point guard was not dressed for the game due to lingering soreness from her last season's knee injury and a mildly sprained ankle. All other players were available and all spent time on the floor.

 

                  Tess played well, scoring 13-points, on five-of-six shooting, and dishing out three assists with no turnovers. But the star of the game was Elena Bosgana who was perfect from the floor, including five three-pointers, for a career high 26 points. Elena's perfect shooting tied a school record for shooting percentage.  Her only miss was from the free throw line.  Elena also had six rebounds, four steals, three assists, and unfortunately four turnovers. That's a VERY nice stat line!  Also scoring in double digits were Nunu Agara, the CARD's season scoring leader, with 22 and steady Brooke Demetre with 12. 

 

                  Stanford began the game at a blistering pace, scoring the game's first 11 points enroute to a 32-4 first quarter lead.  In that first quarter the CARD made over 78% of their shot attempts, hit over 66% of threes, and recorded a respectable 75% of their free throw attempts.  The scoring cooled off as Coach Paye played younger players and experimented with different player combinations. Stanford "only" shot 56.9% from the floor and 40.9% from three for the entire game.  The distressing notes on the stat sheet were the 50% shooting from the free throw line and the high turnover number.  Although Stanford had 18 assists on 33 made baskets, they also turned the ball over 25 times! That level of sloppiness would be disastrous against a team that coverts a higher percentage of their possessions. Stanford still ranks #1 in the country on three-point percentage and 6th in fielding goal percentage.  But the CARD dropped to 14th in assist-to-turnover ratio. 

 

Strange Year

 

                  It is still unclear how the Cardinal will do this year.  Coming into the season, the pundits did not have Stanford ranked in the Top 25.  The CARD were ranked 7th in the ACC. Those rankings almost certainly reflected a reaction to the changes -- no VanDerveer, no Brink, no Iriafen, and no Hannah Jump.  But as we have noted, Stanford retains a collection of talented players and a well-tested coaching staff - and a proud tradition.  So far this year, Stanford has had very few (no?) truly competitive games.  There have been no real "nail biters." The only possible exceptions were the 13-point win over UC Davis and the 13-point loss to Indiana.  But even in those games it was more a matter of things "not being hopeless" than "equal chance to win." 

 

                  That seems to be true of women's hoops more generally.  Stanford's 29-point average margin of victory is only 25th in the nation! Even some of the games expected to be competitive like South Carolina against UCLA or Iowa State ended up in blowout victories.  As this is being written there are still 32 undefeated teams in women's college hoops although many of the teams highly ranked in preseason rankings are not among them.  The question remains: is this year's team a "top team" or an "also ran." The next few weeks will provide important clues as Stanford travels next week to play #7 LSU and has a Chase Center game against #11 Ohio State on December 20.  A win in either of those games would put the CARD firmly into the national conversation.  Of course, it is important to remember that the only ranking that really matters the NCAA tournament.  This year's CARD can take inspiration from the women's soccer team that didn't rank high enough to qualify for the ACC tournament will be one of the four teams playing in the College Cup. 

 

Questions

 

1.  How well will the "newcomers" mesh with the returning players?

                  Coming into this season, Stanford didn't have a true "core group" but had a core returning players with some experience and a collection of talented newcomers. This is a team that will need to be carried by teamwork not superstars.  Can the pieces come together?

 

2. When will the freshmen stop being freshmen?

                  This year's team has several talented freshmen whose talents are particularly needed.  That is especially true of Kennedy Umeh whose height and imposing frame will be essential against teams with strong post presence and Shay Ijiwoye whose speed and quickness will be important against the ACC's quick guards.  Both have shown flashes of their potential -- but both have also had moments that remind us they are freshmen...hopefully that is over by March.

Another Win -- and hopefully another lesson learned

Basketball Is a Team Sport

 

            It is no secret that this year's Stanford team does not have any universally acknowledged superstars - none of the current players were rated in the top five of their recruiting class, none were preseason All Americans.   There is no player who can be expected to "put this team on her shoulders" and create victories against top teams. But this team does have a strong core of talented players, including McDonald's All Americans Brooke Demetre and Courtney Ogden and Jordan Brand Classic All Americans Nunu Agara and Chloe Clardy.  All the players who played high school ball in the US were highly rated by the various talent evaluators.  Many of the players have been on age-group National teams and Elena Bosgana is on the Greek National team. In a nutshell, basketball isn't tennis -- it’s a team sport and this team -- as a team -- has the pieces to compete with anybody.  The question is, can they play team basketball?

 

                  For this year's Cardinal, the challenge of playing as a team is made more difficult by the lack of experience in being a core group.  The 2024-25 team lost last year's top three scorers, top three rebounders, and three of last year's top assist makers. Of the returning players, only Talana Lepolo was the leader (assists) or in the top two (three pointers made) for any statistical category -- and Talana is still recovering from surgery to deal with last season's knee injury.  The task isn't about plugging one or two newcomers into an existing core nucleus -- it’s about virtually developing a new team.  Establishing team cohesion while continuing individual development is what the preseason needs to do.  Hopefully, on Monday night against Cal Poly this team took another step in that process.

 

                  Lacking the size to dominate in the paint, another obvious fact about this team is that its offense is going to come primarily from outside shooting and drives to the basket -- with a few well-chosen midrange jumpers in the mix. It is hard for opposing teams to prevent both.  Concentrating of running shooters off the three-point line usually opens drives to the basket.  The task for Stanford players is to recognize what's open and take advantage.  Good teams will make that task more difficult by switching up their defense -- sometimes doing one and sometimes doing the other rather than employing the same strategy all game.  

 

Monday Night

 

                  Although Stanford led wire-to-wire in the game against Cal Poly, it was a tale of two halves.  In the first half Stanford's offense didn't do a good job of moving the ball or taking advantage of what the defense allowed.  Offensive possessions were often marked by several players standing around while ball handlers tried to figure out what to do -- ending in rushed or poor shots. As a result, Stanford only led by eight points at the half. The game had the feel of one that could get "stolen."  In timeouts, normally positive Coach Paye was visibly and vocally angry with the team.  

                  In the second half, Stanford played like a team -- recognizing open driving lanes which then opened up three-point opportunities.  This more aggressive play resulted in Stanford dominating the scoring in the 3rd Quarter by 12 points and making the game into a rout in the 4th. The scoring was led by Brooke Demetre -- a senior starting to show her potential both as a player and a team leader.  Brooke is one of three Stanford players currently averaging double-digit points, along with fellow senior Elena Bosgana and Stanford's scoring leader, sophomore Nunu Agara.  

 

 

Questions:

 

1.  What will we see on Friday?

Against UC San Diego, another overmatched opponent, will Stanford demonstrate lessons learned from the Cal Poly game or will they revert? 

 

2. When will Stanford get respect?

Despite its long tradition of excellence, Stanford opened the season unranked while Iowa State, a team Stanford defeated in the NCAA tournament, opened the season ranked 8th.   Thus far this season Stanford has recorded blow-out wins against five teams, one 13-point win over a good UC-Davis team, and one loss to Big 10 Indiana.  After a brief entry into the Top 25 at 24, Stanford has fallen back into the realm of the unranked.  Iowa State has recorded blow-out wins over some of the teams they have played, a two-point win over two-and-four Drake, and a 12-point loss Missouri Valley Conference Northern Iowa.  Iowa State is currently ranked 15th.  As the season plays out, we'll see if the pundit world continues to sleep on Stanford.

November is for Learning

 

Two Games, Two Different Results

 

                  The Cardinal had two games this past week, one was a road trip to perennial powerhouse Indiana. The other a home game against the MECA Conference's Morgan State.  The results couldn't have been more different.  The game against Indiana resulted in a 14-point loss that ended Stanford's brief first appearance in the national Top 25. The game against Morgan State was a 42-point blowout win that sent Stanford into Thanksgiving week with lots to be thankful about. The most important thing about both games is that they provided valuable lessons -- that's the most important thing in November basketball.  

 

                  This year's Stanford squad is a young team.  The only truly experienced player, Stanford's starting point guard for the last two seasons Talana Lepolo, is still recovering from the knee injury (that required surgery in the off-season).  As a result, her availability and minutes have been limited. The team's two seniors both had experience as starters on last year's team, but they only averaged 6.7 (Bosgana) and 6.3 (Demetre) points per game and were fifth (Demetre) and sixth in total minutes. Of the remaining returning players only red-shirt junior Jzaniya Harriel had any experience as a starter (two games). Stanford's sophomores three sophomores all saw significant action last year, but none averaged more than 14 minutes per game.  The two transfers on this year's team, junior Tess Heal and sophomore Mary Ashley (MA) Stevenson, both have significant college experience but are new to the Stanford system. Finally, the team's three freshmen are obviously lacking in both college and Stanford experience.  With such a young team the number one task for the preseason is team and player development.  That is the lens through which this week’s games should be viewed.

 

 

First Road Trip: Forgot to Pack the Three-Point Shot

 

                  The Indiana game was about as difficult a challenge for a young team's first road trip as one could imagine.  Assembly Hall holds over 17,000 and is routinely packed with screaming fans.  The Indiana team was incredibly motivated, first by having suffered back-to-back ugly losses in their two prior games and additionally by having suffered a 32-point blow out loss to Stanford last season.  Absent vastly different talent levels, basketball games are won by the team that plays with the greatest intensity and physicality. That is how Indiana played against the CARD. Stanford simply didn't match Indiana's level of physicality and intensity.  That difference really showed up in the three-point shooting -- with Stanford hitting two-of-eleven from three-point range while Indiana shot over 47% from three. There were some positives, mostly in the way multiple players contributed and the CARD's continued effort to the end.  Nunu Agara continued to score well, but her efficiency was down. Overall, the game was most significant for the opportunities to learn what needs to get better. 

 

Back Home!

 

                  Against Morgan State the Stanford team had plenty of opportunities to recover.  The CARD came out with intensity, scoring the first 11 points of the game in route to a 26-6 first quarter lead.  Despite having 31-point lead, the CARD came out with that same intensity to start the second half, scoring the first 13 points on their way to a blow-out win.  Brooke Demetre and Elena Bosgana provided senior leadership both vocally and with their play on the court.  Brooke was the game's leading scorer with 15 points, including three-of-four from three.  Elena also scored in double figures and was the game's assist leader with six assists and ZERO turnovers.  Brooke is one of those dependable players -- never flashy (except when her three-point shot is on fire) but always good for a solid contribution to the game even when her three-pointer doesn't fall. Elena is another solid player -- but what is most impressive is the transformation of her game from her freshman year, when she seemed to think that pass was not only a four-letter word but a dirty one, to her current status as one of the team's assist leaders. The Greek National Team is going to be happy to have her back when her Stanford days are over.

 

Memorable Moments

 

                  In addition to being a satisfying win, Friday night's game against Morgan State had some especially memorable moments.  Freshman Kennedy Umeh, in what is almost certainly a glimpse of things to come, recorded the first double-double of her Stanford career.  Kennedy had 11 points and 10 rebounds (along with two blocks) in just over 10 minutes of playing time.  The 6'4" Umeh is the only true center on Stanford's roster.  Her continued development will be important for Stanford's play in March.  

 

                  The other big moment was when junior Lauren Green scored the first field goal of her college career.  Lauren's career is an inspirational story.  Accepted to Stanford academically, she convinced Coach VanDerveer to allow her to participate as a walk-on. She is never going to play professionally or get a big NIL deal.  But her dedication, determination, and love for the game show up every day in practice where she is a tenacious defender and a competent three-point shooter.  That kind of hard work should inspire any player who thinks limited minutes are an excuse to "take it easy" in practice. Lauren only gets to play in blow-out games. She took only one shot per season, both three-point attempts, in the first two years of her career. Prior to Friday's game, her only points were from the free throw line where is a perfect two-for-two.  Against Morgan State, it appeared that Coach Paye called a play for Lauren to get an open shot under the basket and Lauren delivered!  The bench and the entire crowd went wild! Players jumped up and down while fans joined in the celebration!

 

The Next Big Test on the Road Ahead

 

                  Neither of the next two Thanksgiving week games against Big West Conference opponents should be a huge challenge for the Cardinal.  The schedule gets considerably tougher after that, with away games against currently undefeated LSU, Cal, and Ohio State. The only home game before ACC play begins in earnest is against University of Texas, San Antonio.  Of those games, only the LSU game will require the CARD to get on a plane -- as the Ohio State game is at Chase Center on December 20.  But the December schedule is a true gauntlet.  Winning more than half of those games would certainly put Stanford back in the Top 25.  After that, the ACC schedule will have Stanford playing home and away games alternating every other week until the regular season ends with Stanford at home on March 2 against Georgia Tech.  The top 15 teams in the ACC will then play a win-or-go-home tournament March 5-9 in Greensborough, North Carolina.  

                  

Questions:

1. Will there be a "regular" starting line up?

    To date Stanford's starting line up has been (in alpha order) Agara, Bosgana, Demetre, Harriel, and Lepolo -- with Tess Heal taking Talana's place when she is unavailable. Against Morgan State, the CARD introduced its entire starting line up as "at guard," a nomenclature that underscores Stanford's lack of a post presence.  With 6'4" Kennedy Umeh continuing to develop her conditioning, understanding of college play, and Stanford's system, will she break into the starting line up at some point -- or at least start to be an option before "garbage time?" The same question could be asked about fellow freshman Shay Ijiwoye whose speed at guard could be an important asset against some of the guard oriented ACC teams.  Shay is already seeing playing time during critical periods of games, will she stay an "off the bench" player.

2. Does it matter?

    One of the hallmarks of this season has been frequent substitution as the team has a plethora of talented players but no clearly established superstars.  Only Nunu Agara, one of the possible candidates for superstar status, is averaging 30 minutes per game. Nine players are currently averaging double digit minutes and none of them are named Kennedy or Ijiwoye. Will this team have a true "core five" or will the personnel on the floor be more about matchups?