Monday, November 20, 2023
The Captains Lead the Way!
Friday, November 17, 2023
Basketball is a TEAM Sport
Basketball is a Team Sport and this is a FUN Team
Showing the Team’s Depth
Duke and National TV up Next!
Autograph Time!
Questions
1. Can Stanford keep up its high scoring offense?
2. Will the CARD hit the century mark in a game?
Sunday, November 12, 2023
Early Test: Passed with Flying Colors!
“We’re Still Here!”
Battle of the All Americans
Running Hard and Raining Threes
The Tree-o’s Continue to Impress
Questions
1. Can this team avoid a let down?
2. How much better will they get?
Thursday, November 9, 2023
First Game - First Win
Kiki Showed the Way
Expectations Confirmed
One Answer
Questions
Thursday, November 2, 2023
WOW!
The Exhibition
Expectations Confirmed
This is a talented team
The Next Leaders
Questions and maybe Answers
1. How will the team do against stronger opponents?
2. How many times will multiple players hit double-doubles in the same game?
3. Are we closer to knowing who is this year’s pleasant surprise?
Sunday, October 29, 2023
The Season Begins Soon
Time to Go!!!!
Fans of Stanford women’s basketball had two chances to see the 2023-24 team in action before their season opening exhibition against Dominican, Wednesday, November 1. First there was an open practice followed by a student athlete panel and a reception on Monday night. Then, season ticket holders were invited to a scrimmage on Saturday morning.
Impressions from the Open Practice
Red and White or Black and Gray?
Confirmation
How good will this team be?
Next Up: The Exhibition Game
Questions:
Who will be the Fifth Starter?
It seems pretty clear that at least for the foreseeable future, this year’s starters will include Captains Brink, Jump, and Iriafen along with point guard Lepolo. It also seems extremely likely that the fifth starter — again for the foreseeable future, will be either Demetre or Bosgana. Harriel, a redshirt sophomore, has served primarily as a backup point guard and may well play that role again this year. The presence of sophomores Green and Papadaki on the “Scout” squad for the scrimmage strongly suggests that neither is likely to break into the starting lineup (although Green’s play suggests that she is another individual for whom hard work can pay big benefits). That leaves the freshmen and, well, they are freshmen. While it is likely that Agara’s strength under the basket will earn her key minutes as a reserve, she is highly unlikely to replace either Iriafen or Brink in the starting lineup. The situation is less clear for the other talented members of the Treeos, Clardy and Ogden. The 6’1” Ogden was the highest rated of the Stanford freshmen (10th nationally by Hoopgurlz) and maybe the strongest candidate to break into the starting lineup by the end of the season. Clardy is also a talented player but at 5’9” is more likely to be slotted into the point guard role, competing with Harriel for the job of backup to Lepolo.
Who will be the biggest surprise?
Thursday, October 12, 2023
Heading for the “BEST Year Ever”
A lot has happened since Stanford played its last game last season and I posted my last blog - the good, the sad, and the ugly. The good included gold medals with USA Basketball for Brink and Lepolo, international experience for Bosgana, some great incoming freshmen, and several verbal commits from top recruits. The sad was the loss of three talented players to the transfer portal. The ugly was the slow motion train wreck otherwise known as the unraveling of the PAC-12 Conference. For an alum who has spent over 55 years cheering for Stanford against PAC-8, PAC-10, and finally PAC-12 foes in a variety of sports, the end of the PAC-12 was depressing. I can only imagine how it feels for people intimately involved in those sports. But, now isn’t the time for dissecting the end of the conference. It is about celebrating the Stanford women’s basketball journey through the upcoming season. The past can’t be changed but the future can be shaped. The one silver lining for the new alignment will be that Stanford will be playing games that East Coast sports writers actually will need to watch….
At the final PAC-12 Women’s Basketball Pre-Season Media Day, Tara VanDerveer described the team’s goal this year as making it the best year ever. For a program that has won three national championships, 26 regular season conference championships, and 15 conference tournaments, having the best year ever is a lofty goal. Of course, Tara’s measuring stick has never been just about the wins — it is also about has each woman on the team been able to develop as a player, as a woman, and as a leader. Perhaps that larger frame is why Stanford teams have been so successful in the win column. But, now isn’t the time for nostalgia or philosophy — it’s the time for excitement about the upcoming season — the PAC-12’s last.
Senior Leaders
New “old faces” on the Coaching Staff
Twelve Players
Questions:
Who will be the Fifth Starter?
How good will this team be?
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
About the Final Four
Dear Stanford Fans,
This post isn't the tribute to the Funky Four I promised after the Mississippi game. That commentary will happen but it has been delayed due my travels to Seattle for the Regionals and Dallas for the Final Four along with the illness and death of a beloved animal companion. What I am sharing today is a letter I wrote in response to Ann Killion's April 3rd commentary on the National Championship game in the San Francisco Chronicle.
Dear Ann Killion,
The flaw in the Final Four was the racism in the media's treatment of the largely Black teams from South Carolina and LSU versus the treatment of the almost totally White team from Iowa (which only had one woman of color on its roster). You - and the rest of the media -- were distraught over the 37 fouls called in the National Finals (18 on LSU and 19 on Iowa). But the media was totally silent about the 38 fouls called in the Semi-Final game, 20 on South Carolina and 18 on Iowa. In Iowa's two games there were 75 fouls called -- 37 against Iowa, 38 against Iowa's opponents.
Egged on by the media's questions, Lisa Bluder bemoaned how "unfair" it was that Czinano's career ended with her on the bench having fouled out. But nobody cried about how unfair it was that Bree Beals ended her career the same way or that South Carolina's historic season ended with a loss in part due to Aliyah Boston spending most of the first half on the bench due to early fouls. Big Ten fans all know that Catlin Clark -- undeniably a generational talent -- often uses a quick shove to get free for her stunning three pointers. That move is a foul, but Clark rarely gets called for it -- perhaps due to her quickness, perhaps due to "All-star deference," perhaps due to something else.
Social media blew up over Angel Reese making a gesture at Catlin Clark as time ran out on Iowa in the Finals -- but nobody had called out Clark for making the same gesture towards Boston as time ran out on South Carolina's historic season. In fact, Reese says she only did it because of Clark's actions towards Boston. Clark's trash talking and, some would say disrespectful, encouragement of cheers from the crowd is called passionate. But when Black women do similar things they are called "low class" or worse.
Iowa's play is called "physical" while South Carolina's is called "street fighting." This is a slightly toned-down modern version of Imus's 2007of description of the Rutgers team coached by C. Vivian Stringer. There seems to be a special problem for the media when a largely Black team is coached by a Black woman.
This isn't just about Iowa. In the 40 minutes of game time, Kim Mulkey had both of her feet inside the court boundaries for at least 30 minutes, but she is allowed to do that even though the rule book says she can't. On at least one occasion an official ON the court had to run around Kim Mulkey and didn't call the technical. Can you imagine Dawn Staley being allowed to spend virtually the entire game with her feet firmly planted INSIDE the court and never being called for the technical foul that behavior deserves?
It is disappointing that a commentator who often notices the racism of our culture got sucked into this racist narrative about the Final Four. Yes, foul calls have an impact on basketball games. And, yes, foul calls are particularly difficult for a team that doesn't have a deep bench, and Iowa didn't. But this issue was alive and well throughout the entire tournament -- indeed throughout the season. It shouldn't suddenly be the lead story just because the media darlings didn't win. I thought you were better than that.
Sincerely,
Nancy Baker
Stanfordfangirl.blogspot.com
Sunday, March 19, 2023
Not The Ending We Wanted!
A Rough Ending Against a Tough Team
Stanford's season ended tonight -- not the ending we expected or wanted. Certainly not the way the Funky Four wanted to end their Stanford career. Stanford battled back from what looked like certain defeat to give themselves a chance to win but came up short. I will leave it to the professional pundits to dissect the game, beyond saying that when a team has five more turnovers than made baskets, it is remarkable to only lose by five points. There were too many layups that didn't fall -- including some that were halfway down and came back out. This incredibly talented team won't play again this year.
There is a reason this Blog is called the Stanford Fan Girl -- because at the end of the day -- I am a fan. Like, I suspect, most of the team and its fans, I am in shock. So, beyond these few comments, I will say that I will be posting again later in the week. That post will be a summary of the year and, even more, a tribute to the Funky Four -- an amazing class who leave an incredible legacy. The most difficult thing, for me, is that this loss means that we will never see those four amazing women together in Stanford uniforms. Hannah Jump - the only member of the Funky Four who wasn't a McDonald's All American is coming it for her COVID year--and that is FANTASTIC. But, it looks like this was the end for the rest of the Funky Four.
For now, it's hold your head up Cardinal -- you are amazing on the court and off! You are warriors!
Saturday, March 18, 2023
Jump sets a record
Hannah's Mom celebrates her daughter!
Round #1: Stanford 92 - SHU 49
Stanford took the floor for the first round of the NCAA Tournament without All-American Cameron Brink. As one of the ESPN Analysts said in the half-time show, "No Cameron Brink, no problem." Stanford had too much talent and too much height for a gallant but over-matched Sacred Heart team.
SHU scored the game's first basket and played the CARD basically even for the first eight-and-a-half minutes. But by the end of the first quarter the CARD was up by five. Defense ruled for the first four minutes of the second quarter, with Stanford's first basket not coming until nearly three-and-a-half minutes had passed. But once Haley Jones took the lid off the basket, scoring on a beautiful pass from Talana Lepolo, the CARD was off to the races, scoring 22 points in the quarter while holding SHU to only 8. By the end of the first half, Haley had 17 points -- on seven of ten from the floor including several highlight reel layups.
Stanford dominated in all areas - rebounds, scoring percentage, assists, steals, blocks, and points-in-the-paint. But a big part of what allowed the CARD to run away with the game was turning up the defensive intensity. Sacred Heart got here by turning teams over and scoring off those turnovers. But in this game, Stanford only turned the ball over seven times (resulting in four SHU points) while scoring 19 points off SHU's 11 turnovers. The only stat category where Sacred Heart came out ahead was free-throw percentage. Without Cam's nearly perfect contributions from the charity stripe, Stanford regressed to a 57% mark.
One of the big side moments of the first half was Hannah Jump's three-pointer with three seconds left, assisted by Talana. Hannah's two three-pointers in the first quarter had moved her into a tie with Karly Samuelson and Jeanette Pohlen for the three-pointers in a season. That buzzer beater gave Hannah 97 for the year and sole possession of the season record. Another big moment came when Sacred Heart star 5'3" Ny'Ceara Pryor thought she had a layup and Lauren Betts just stuffed the ball. Pryor went down and the ball went out of bounds off her.
With the game under control, all available players were able to get minutes on the floor. Only point guards Talana and Indya Nivar played more than 20 minutes -- 23 for Talana and 21 for Indya. Additionally, five players (Haley, Hannah, Fran, Indya, and Lauren) scored in double-figures while Kiki Iriafen and Elena Bosgana both had nine. Twelve players participated in pulling down Stanford's 57 rebounds, with only Fran reaching double figures in rebounds, part of the CARD's only double-double for the game. Ten CARD players recorded assists, led by Talana's seven assists with no turnovers! Hopefully this team win has the CARD ready to make a run in the tournament.
Next Up: Ol' Miss
It is unlikely that Stanford's next game will be as easy. Eighth seed Ol' Miss dominated nineth seed Gonzaga, winning 71-48. That margin suggests that Ol' Miss is seriously under seeded. This is, after all, the other team that has taken South Carolina to overtime! They are fast, physical, and aggressive. They play the type of physical defense that can give the CARD trouble. They play team basketball. In the win over Gonzaga, nine of the ten players who entered the game scored. Stanford's size and talent should be enough to carry the day -- but it promises to be an intense game. How the CARD handle this matchup may tell us a lot about how the tournament will go.
See you SUNDAY. Let's show up big to cheer the Funky Four in their last game at Maples!!! ESPN has the game at 6:30!
This TEAM Refuses to Lose!
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