Belibi Me, it's March Madness for College Woman's Basketball

March Madness is officially here for Women's Collage Basketball. And by officially here, I don't just mean on the calendar. This year, for the first time, the Women's game can use the words "March Madness!" For those of you that remember last year at this time (I know, it's been a long year), that the men got a full weight room and the women got a few yoga mats and a pyramid of dumbbells your granny would use. BTW, it was Stanford athletic trainer Ali Kershner who first brought the issue to light. I love looking back at this and seeing how the NCAA tourney officials responded the next day saying there was a lack of space and Oregon's Sedona Prince filmed ALL THE SPACE that was there. Ah, the power of social media to still keep fighting for something that should have happened in 1972 with the passing of Title IX.

But I digress.

For C and R are here to talk about the first round of the Stanford Women's Basketball team's win in the first round of 64 (now 68, with 4 play in in games, just like the men's) over Montana State. As you can expect, when a number 1 seed plays a number 16 seed, there will be a blow out (except for that one time...). Heck, South Carolina earlier in the day beat Howard by almost 60 points. Stanford doesn't typically blow out teams like that, with the final score in their game being 78-37, but they did do something historic. In the first quarter, they held Montana State scoreless. In fact, their first points didn't come until 9 minutes in the second. That was the first time Stanford has ever held an opponent scoreless in any time period, and you know Stanford has a lot of history. That was impressive.

But that wasn't even the most impressive thing that happened that night. The most impressive thing that happened that night was Fran Belibi's dunk! Well, a dunk is always amazing in the women's game, but she BLOCKED a three point shot first, corralled the ball, ran down court and then took two long, long strides and dunked, above the rim! Here see for yourself:

FRAN BELIBI WITH THE BLOCK AND DUNK 🔥 @HighlightHER

(via @StanfordWBB)pic.twitter.com/IhtEp8BdR0

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 19, 2022

Check out the bench reaction at the end of the video!

Did we mention it was above the rim?

She got a 30 second standing ovation from the home crowd!

And yes, we all wanted to faint!

The bench reaction to Fran Belibi's dunk 😂

🎥 @StanfordWBBpic.twitter.com/fjaXUgaS72

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 19, 2022

We love this quote from an ESPN article: "Thinking back on plays people don't remember, 'Oh, it was a really cool 3-point shot' or 'It was a great shot.' People remember the dunks," added  Lexie Hull. "I remember every single one of Fran's. To be right there was super cool and definitely a memory I'll have forever."

It's not the first dunk in women's NCAA tournament history. The first belongs to the peerless Candace Parker, followed up by Brittney Griner in 2013. It is the third but no less thrilling. Fran said later in an interview she was getting grief from her teammates because she had not dunked in a game this year so she was itching to do it. Fran dunked twice last year, but that being the Covid year, no one was in the stands to see it, let alone cheer for it.

"I went for it"

Fran Belibi on her dunk against Montana State 😤@MarchMadnessWBB | #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/iOZe8NdzDh

— FanSided (@FanSided) March 19, 2022

This time she got her standing ovation and love from her home town crowd. Plus trending on Twitter. Something special to remember for a first round game! 

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Tara VanDerveer gets 1099 wins to pass Pat Summitt

Well, she got it. And she aptly got it in the style she was probably most comfortable with, no fanfare, big speeches or packed fans hanging on her every word. We, or course, are talking about Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer setting the all time career women's basketball wins, surpassing the legendary Pat Summitt.

In an empty gym at the University of Pacific, albeit televised on ESPN2, the Stanford Women's Basketball team beat UoP by the score of 104-61 (making this the third time this season they have broken 100 points). With this win, she now has 1099 (and counting), passing Pat's record and just a handful of wins ahead of still active UConn coach Geno Auriemma.

And wasn't it serendipitous that UConn had their first two weeks put on pause due to Covid concerns that allowed Tara to sprint ahead and beat Pat first and hold it for a little while? Yeah it was! Glad everyone up in the frozen north is healthy, mind you, but the basketball gods wanted Tara to have this, to have her be the one that surpasses Pat.

When she tied the record, the story Tara kept telling about Pat was the one that happened when she came out West to play Stanford, after just receiving her diagnosis of early onset dementia. They met courtside, and Tara said to Pat, look what you built, sweeping her arms to the packed and raucous Maples crowd. And Pat Summitt turned to her and said, "Tara, I love you." Tara then describes how, in that moment, it took the wind out of her sails because she wanted to maintain a fiery edge and just beat her...The fact that is the quote she remembers and shares with the world is not what we expected. 

So much has been written about this historic milestone, and better than C and R could ever spit out, (Ann Killion has a great article) but take a listen below. Tara over the years has been described as dry and understated, in a slightly negative light, to analytic and even-keeled in a somewhat positive light. But in the video with her addressing her team, she tells her players she loves them. And that everything she does is because of that love for them. And yes, the message sometimes gets lost in translation, and that "Sprint back" doesn't seem like love, but it is, Tara style. Have a listen yourself and get a feel for this unique, one of a kind coach.

And, in typical Tara fashion after she broke the record, she thanked the ADs that hired her, her coaching staff, her family (even though she often trots out the quote her Dad said when he said "basketball will never take you anywhere," which, if you understand Tara, was more of a challenge then the end of a conversation), and every single player that has ever played for her. She also says she is looking ahead to the next game, and how her current team can improve. Typical Tara.

We love you too, coach!

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Stanford Women’s Basketball wins First Game of the Season!

We know it is only the first game of the season, and we know it was only Eastern Washington, and we know preseason rankings mean nothing and we know it is way too early to tell and we know this is a run on sentence and that R would totally make me rewrite it if she hadn’t already gone to bed, but…. (drawing a big breath)… the Stanford Women’s Basketball team looks Goooooood!!

photo courtesy of C

Stanford was still feeling the high from their great showing against Team USA in exhibition, holding them close in the first three quarters before the big girls pulled away 95-80. I love that Stanford Head Coach Tara VanderVeer let the freshmen Fran Belibi jump against “Big Sly” Fowles (And won!). See the photo that I took, so I didn’t have to “borrow” anyone else’s!

So back to the first official game. The final score of the Stanford- Eastern Washington game was 92-27. Freshmen Ashten Prechtel (pronounced Pretzel by the announcer, well not really, but that is what my ears hear so she will forever be called that for the next four years) led all scorers with 15 points and went 3-4 from the 3-point line. Freshmen Fran Belibi had 12 points and 15 rebounds and freshman Hannah Jump hit four consecutive 3-pointers and scored 12 points! Veterans Kiana Williams added 11 points and Lexie Hull had 10.

Okay, look at the top scorers. Notice anything about the top three? They are all freshmen! And Freshie Fran Belibi, of the dunking fame, had a double-double in her first official college game! High scorer Ashton Pretzel made three 3s! Oh wait, we said that already, but the big girl can shoot! It’s also worth noting that the Eagles did not have a player who broke double digits and at one point, Stanford’s defense held them at 19 points for 9 minutes!

What stood out most for me, though was the depth of the bench. In past years, when it was a blow out game, the subs would come in and let the foot off the gas a little and the other team would pad the score so it would “only” be a 20 point or so win. Not this time. Everyone wanted to score and everyone was very focused and driven on what they were supposed to do. Stanford as a team was 13 of 28 from 3-point range.

And the next game? Well, it’s with the University of San Francisco, and probably not much of a test either, even though coached by Stanford Alum Molly Goodenbour, but it is in the new Chase Center, in San Francisco, which is the Warriors new digs, and this will probably be the only time C and R will step inside due to the high ticket prices, but oh, how far have the Warriors fallen, and R is right, I DO write run on sentences. Whew! Looking forward to it and more. See you there, Stanford fans!

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Stanford Women’s Basketball Season Starting

Hidey ho Stanford Women’s Basketball fans! It’s the start of a new women’s basketball season and C and R are pumped! The good news is Stanford is ranked #3 in preseason polls. The bad news is Oregon, for the first time, is ranked #1. Oregon State comes in at #7, UCLA is #11, and Arizona State is #20, so nobody will be sleeping on the Pac-12 this year!

The second reason to be excited is that Stanford was busy in the off season, scoring the number two recruiting class, including NATIONAL player of the year Haley Jones. She is a local recruit, from nearby Santa Cruz who played at Mitty. This allows her parents to easily get to games at Maples and we met her De-lightful ,with a capital D, mom, Monique Jones. We want to be invited to Thanksgiving and just sit around shooting the breeze with her, she is amazing with great energy (We said we would put her in the blog! Hi Mama Jones). Haley was held out of the first exhibition game of the season as a precaution, but we should see her in action against the next exhibition game vs Team USA (with Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, and our very own Nneka Ogwumike) on Nov 2.
But back to basketball…oh, did we tell you one of the freshies can dunk?


Photo courtesy of Stanford Women's Basketball
Stanford opened with an exhibition over Beijing Normal University, and in warm ups, just as C and R were stowing their coats, Fran dunked, so we missed that one, but many more to come (We hope). Also in the freshmen class is 6-5 forward Ashten Prechtel and Hannah Jump. We are going to need Ashten’s height, as Stanford seems to be a whole lot of speedy guards and forwards and not a lot of tall folk, as Beijing’s large center seemed to score whenever she got the ball near the basket.. Plus, when the announcer says her last name, our ears hear Pretzel, so that is her new nick name from us and we are going to be visiting the soft pretzel stand a lot this season!

Okay, back to the one game they have played, which was an exhibition against Beijing Normal University. The game opened with the two team’s national anthems and an exchange of gifts. It was neat to finds out that one of Stanford’s male practice player stood in as translator between the two teams when they meet before the game.

For the game itself, we are happy to report that five players scored in double figures, with Stanford shooting better than 63 percent in the 100-58 victory.

It was funny, when the game started, junior and returning starter Allyson Jerome was all over attacking the basket and running the fast break. She was lead scorer at the half. Freshie Fran got in the game and had a slow start in the first half, only to come on strong in the second. We were surprised she was high scorer, with 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Alyssa Jerome just missed with 16 points but didn't miss any of her seven attempts from the floor. Sophomore Lexie Hull added 14, Ashten had 12 and senior Anna Wilson added 11. It rained threes, with the team hitting 8-of-11 (.727) from 3-point range and the team also made 10 of its 13 free throw attempts (.769) on the night, which was a huge sore point last year.

Looking good, Stanford! Can’t wait for the season to start!

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Three ball from Bigs Beats Baylor

Hidey ho Stanford Women’s Basketball fans. Just a quick blog to tell you that the Stanford Women’s Basketball team, ranked 11th just beat the number 3 ranked team, Baylor.

Yes, the score will show a final of 68-63, however it was more of a beat down than that. Stanford was up 41-25 at the half. Yes, you read the right.

Baylor has two bigs, 6-7 Kalani Brown and also very tall Lauren Cox. What if we told you they held Lauren to TWO total points, and Kalani Brown to five? Lauren and Kalani each had two in the first half!

I will say this, give Tara VanDerveer enough time, in this case about two weeks, to prepare for a team, and she will figure out how to beat them with lesser players (no offense, Stanford starting five!). She will key on your two best players, Brown and Cox, and make you beat them with your third or fourth option. This disruption to the super stars who are used to scoring is usually hard for teams to handle, as Baylor witnessed this game. Baylor did get a nice game out of NaLyssa Smith and Chloe Jackson, each with 15 points, but it was not enough.


Photo courtesy of Stanford Women's Basketball
Then came Coffee

We have to give major props to Senior Shannon Coffee, for my home town of Dayton, Ohio!! She has been a bench player and was called on this afternoon to guard Kalani Brown, due to her 6’5 size. And she did a good job on the the afore mentioned five points of Brown. However Shannon is not known for her offense. However again, she made three 3-pointers, chipping in nine points to the cause. They were especially timely in the fourth, when Baylor mounted a comeback from that disastrous first half, and got within seven.

Tara-ism at its best:

"Shannon has been someone that has been a role player for our team and a lot of times she's led the cheers on the bench," VanDerveer said. "Today people were cheering for her. She made some big shots. Her defense was really good. It was really exciting for her to have such a big game in a big game."

Some fun facts:

• Our two tallest players, Allan Smith (lead Stanford scorer with 21) and Shannon Coffee were 8-of-13 from deep.
• Seven of Shannon’s 12 career 3-pointers have come against Baylor, including three this Saturday!
• Baylor had more turnovers (15) than assists (13)
• Brown had a season-low five points on 2-of-7 shooting

Some not so fun facts:

• Stanford was 9-21 at the free throw line. Maybe with all that scheming, Tara forgets to have the team practice free throws?

Next up is Tennessee on Tuesday at ol’ Rocky top. See ya there (or on the SEC channel if you get it!)

More Stanford Goodies at the original C and R's Stanford Women's Basketball Blog

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Stanford closes out regular season in a tie for Second in the Pac-12

Going in to the last weekend of regular season basketball, The Stanford Women’s Basketball team controlled their own destiny. They had two games left on the road in Oregon (or as my sister-in-law likes to say, Or-E-gone). A win against the Oregon State Beavers in the second-to-last game would guarantee them first place in the Pac-12 league, a shiny trophy and the number one seed in the Pac-12 tournament, where winner gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tourney. You couldn’t write a more perfect script.

Except Stanford forgot to study the script. They came out against the Beavs flat, and did not look like a team fired up to win a championship. Give OSU some credit for having lock down defense, and a scorer named Sidney Wiese, and Stanford could not get anything going offensively. OSU shut down Stanford’s three-point specialist Karlie Samuelson, as well as the rest of the team from behind the arc, and with no made threes, (0-8) and only 47 total points on offense, they did not look like a championship team. They did hold OSU to 50 points, but losing 50-47 hurts. Probably the biggest differentiator was rebounding, in that Stanford forgot how. They box score says it was OSU 47 to Stanford’s 37, but it seemed a lot more lopsided than that, nothing more frustrating as a series for OSU with FIVE O boards!

Still, Stanford could have won the regular season if Cal beat Oregon State and Stanford closed out the season with a win against the Oregon Ducks. Stanford did bounce back to get the win at Oregon, 65-59, but they still did not look like a championship caliber team. Cal, the one time we rooted for them, lost. Still, you can’t place your destiny in someone else’s hands, as more often than not you will come up short, as Stanford did.

Special shout outs to seniors Karlie with 18 against the Ducks, Erica McCall with a double double (16 points, 14 boards) and Stanford’s favorite beach player as of late, Alanna Smith with 14.


Stanford beats Oregon, ties for 2nd place in Pac-12.
Photo courtesy of Stanford WBB.
So Oregon won the Pac-12 regular season title with a 16-2 record, and Stanford tied with Washington for second with identical 15-3 records. Stanford gets the number two seed at the upcoming Pac-12 tournament, due to a tie breaker that C and R can’t figure out. Point difference in the two games vs Washington, maybe?

So, to recap, Stanford gets a first-round bye for the Pac-12 tournament in Seattle March 2-5 and will play the winner of No. 7 Washington State and No. 10 Colorado on Friday at 6 PM. Tune on to all the games, as you will witness history every time Washington’s Kelsey Plum scores. She just broke the career points scored for D1 women’s hoops, needing 54 points in the next few games. She decided to just get it out of the way and scored 57 in one game. So any more points she scores is gravy.

Once again, Stanford controls its own destiny with the start of this tournament. Run the table, win three games in a row this weekend, and they still get the shiny trophy and the Pac-12 tournament champions moniker, and most importantly, the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

More Stanford Goodies at the original C and R's Stanford Women's Basketball Blog.

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Tara VanDerveer Celebrates Special Win #1,000

We get so used to seeing wins out of the Stanford Women’s Basketball team, with Tara VanDerveer at the helm. So used to catching victory balls on the home court at Maples Pavilion after those wins. So used to cheering in the face of opposition the times we venture off campus to support the team in a road game. These wins always send C and R home with a smile. However Stanford’s win over USC on Feb. 3 was truly special.

We got to celebrate career win #1,000 for Tara VanDerveer and look back on her legendary career. Tara, in her typical understated-ness said this was pretty much like any game, and would be on to victory #1,001 shortly after. However, it was great to see the joy her players had for being part of this historic run and this particular victory.

There was Erica “Bird” McCall, all fist-pumping and fired up for hitting a three at the half time buzzer to put the team up 31-22, and running C’s streak of free pizzas (She had guessed 30 points at the half). There was the pure unadulterated glee as Erica and Karlie Samuelson caught Tara unaware as they held a huge orange Gatorade Bucket over Tara’s head, her body language prepared to be doused, only to find out it contained confetti. And the pride the three seniors had, Erica, Karlie and Bri Roberson, presenting Tara with a commemorative plaque with a Stanford jersey with “Vanderveer” on the back and the number 1,000.


Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer celebrates win #1,000.
Photo courtesy of Stanford WBB.
Final score, not that anyone cares, was 58-42, a low scoring affair for Stanford. Wonder if emotions had anything to do with it? The game was close until the third when Karlie Samuelson hit three 3-pointers in quick succession and added a jumper at the buzzer to help Stanford pull away. She would finish with a game-high 21 points. Erica added 18, and Brittany McPhee chipped in ten.

But when the final seconds ticked down, and Maples began chanting and cheering, the final score did not matter. More confetti rained down from the ceiling, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott gave Tara a commutative trophy. Former player and now much-in-demand TV analyst Ros Gold-Onwude (we said hi, she knew who we were!) summed up the night for the crowd, and finally the microphone was given to the coach herself.

Believe it or not, she, the master of dead-panned humor said she was speechless! Then in traditional Tara fashion thanked many and deflected glory. For Tara, echoed the many articles written before the game, the game is not about the victories but about the relationships. A wonderful video tribute played with so many people stating what Tara means to her, including many Stanford fan favorites of ex-players.

The night was attended by some of those players, such as Jennifer Azzi, who said more than a coach, Tara has been her friend for life. The game just happened to coincided with National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and in the lobby before the game, C and R walked by Simone Manuel and Katie Ledecky giving autographs and in Simone’s case, wearing flippers on dry land to race a young fan in a swim rely. At half time, Stanford introduced the National Champs in Women’s Volleyball, and just “a few” of Stanford’s Olympians, including Ledecky and Manuel. You know, every day people you might see in class if you went to Stanford.

So yes, it was great to make a big deal out of one victory for Tara VanDerveer, lest we forget every victory is special in its own way. Bay Area sports fan, we are lucky to have such a person who strives for success, yet puts more emphasis on watching and helping her players grow.

Follow C and R for more victories on Facebook and Twitter, too!

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Stanford WBB knocks of Washington, half way through Pac-12 Play

Well, the days, and Stanford Women’s Basketball games, fly by, with C and R barely having time to watch them, let alone blog about them, but a little more than half way through the Pac-12 regular season, and we MUST talk about this game that just transpired. (Yay, longwinded run on sentences are back, too, apparently).

Over 10,000 women’s basketball fans, including Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson in support of his lil sis Anna, who plays for Stanford, and Seattle Storm coach Jenny Boucek, scouting Pac-12 talent, came to see Stanford play Washington. And Boucek got her an eyeful of some Kelsey Plum.
Side story: Jenny Boucek was at Maples a few weeks back scouting Erica McCall and Oregon State’s Sidney Weiss, and C and R spotted her all alone in the front row under OSU’s basket. So, C and R, especially C, never hesitant to make a fool of herself, sauntered over there and starting chatting her up. She was very gracious and obviously is a huge student and fan of women’s basketball.

So the joint was rocking, Washington ranked higher than Stanford, and were coming off an insane night of 18 made threes. They quickly took it to Stanford. Kelsey Plum was 5-5 from the three-point line in the first half and had 24 points.  And this was with Stanford guarding her heavily. Although Washington executed the pick and roll pretty well.

Meanwhile, Stanford, was 1-11 from the three-point line, the lone basket by center Nadia Fingall! Not a good time to have the three go south on you. Stanford found themselves down by 18 halfway through the second quarter. Then Stanford’s Erica McCall discovered she could move against the larger Wash center, Chantel Osahor and Erica scored a few in the post. Stanford was lucky to go in to the locker room at half time “only” down by 12.

But you know Stanford’s hall of Fame coach is a master of the half time adjustment. Number one priority was to limit Kelsey Plum. And Bri Roberson, quiet, unassuming Bri Roberson, who already lost her headband early in the first quarter, as C and R track that sort of thing in a private-joke drinking-game sort of way, akin to an Ogwumike losing a contact, went to work.

She scored all 14 of her points in the second, including three three-pointers that were always timely. Roberson also scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to pull Stanford even at 55-55 with nine minutes left. Brittany McPhee added 17, and her ability to score off the dribble and penetrate is so desperately needed. Both these players chipped away at the lead until they went ahead by one, to trade the lead four more times with Washington in the closing minutes. Erica would end up with 16 and Karlie Samuelson joined them in double figures with 10, however, surprisingly did not hit a three.

Stanford Coach Tara VanDerveer gets the most out of her players in win #999.
Photo courtesy of ESPN.
Did they stop Kelsey Plum? Well, she “only” scored 20 in the second half, and “only” hit two more three-pointers, so you can say yes. Both Plum and Erica were saddled with four fouls that limited their effectiveness in the third quarter. However Stanford had other players that stepped up and Washington did not in their stars’ absences. Stanford outscored the Huskies 39-23 in the second half.

How insane was Kelsey’s stats? She was a Curry-like 7-7 from the three-point line until a desperation heave missed with six seconds left in the fourth and the game tied. It was her only miss from behind the arc that night. She finished the game with 44 points before fouling out in the closing seconds. She scored 18 of Washington’s 24 points in the second quarter. The senior (thank goodness) moved up three spots on the all-time scoring list (she now trails Brittney Griner by 145, and Jackie Stiles by 155. C and R suspect she will do that soon). However, she did not have a good supporting cast. The rest of Washington was a combined 6-37. For the game. The seven other players only contributed 24 points.

Stanford shot some FTs near the end to win 72-68 to make it look like a respectable win, however Stanford was lucky to win this thing. Missed free throws, missed threes, and just missed shots really hurt Stanford.

Well, a win is a win, and with that win, Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer has a bunch of them, 999 to be exact. One more win and Tara will join legendary coach Pat Summit as the only two women’s basketball coaches with 1,000. Be there Friday night versus USC to see history made!

More Pac-12 madness at the original C and R's Stanford Women's Basketball Blog.

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Women’s Basketball is Back!

The Stanford Women’s Basketball team had their first practice this week and games are right around the corner. Always fun to get a sneak peak at the freshmen, yet we are missing some familiar faces, too. Senior guard Lili Thompson opted out of playing, although she is still at Stanford and is on track to graduate with her class. Kailee Johnson will forego her senior season, graduate two quarters early and pursue a career in real estate investment. Gotta strike while the market is hot.


The Stanford Women's Basketball Team 2016-17 The Stanford Women’s Basketball website also has a new look and feel (thanks to them I had to redo all my links), and here is a cool page on Cardinal Facts.

Check out their first day of practice (and why is Karlie Samuelsson wearing a cast?)


Can’t wait for the season to start!

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Stanford Season Recap

Okay, now that the sting has finally worn off of Stanford losing in the Elite Eight to Pac-12 foe Washington Huskies, we can look back at the year in review.

The season was up and down, with Stanford going exactly 5-5 against AP top 25 teams. The up was highlighted by an epic, 90-84 upset of top-seeded Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 in Lexington, Ky. And down; consider this chilling fact: This season was the first since 1999-2000 that the Cardinal did not win some form of a Pac-12 championship - regular season or tournament.


There were some post season awards for Stanford.  Erica McCall was named to both the All-Pac-12 squad and the Pac-12 All-Defensive team, Lili Thompson earned her second All-Pac-12 nod and was a Pac-12 All-Defensive honorable mention, Karlie Samuelson was picked All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention, Kaylee Johnson earned a spot on the Pac-12 All-Defensive honorable mention team and Marta Sniezek was a Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention pick. Stanford now boasts 70 all-time Pac-12 all-conference honorees, the top total in league history.

And, this being Stanford, not all awards are won on the hardwood floor. Some are won in the classroom (nerd nation).  A psychology major with a 3.53 cumulative GPA, Erica McCall was selected to the 2015-16 CoSIDA Academic All-District Women’s Basketball Team on Feb. 11. Her honor continued a run of five straight years with a Cardinal receiving academic all-district accolades, the longest streak in the Pac-12. Other players receiving academic honors: Kaylee Johnson landed on the Pac-12 All-Academic second team while Brittany McPhee, Erica McCall, Karlie Samuelson, Lili Thompson, Briana Roberson and Kailee Johnson each earned a spot on the Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention squad.

And, Stanford’s victory over Oregon State on Feb. 26 was the 1,000th in Cardinal program history.


The Stanford program won their 1000 game this season. Coach Tara VanDerveer has 828 of those victories!
But don’t worry about Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer. She is now 20 victories away from joining Pat Summitt as the only NCAA women’s basketball coaches with 1,000 career wins. And, according to sources, Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer will have loaded team next season. Did we mention we are getting three McDonald’s All-American, including Russell Wilson’s sister?

Early Preseason polls have Stanford at #10, with five Pac-12 teams in the top 25. The even better news is UConn is not ranked number one. Or even number two. They are fourth. Wow.

Having Basketball withdrawals? The WNBA just started, and the Olympics in Rio is right around the corner!

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Stanford’s Sweet, Sweet Sixteen

So the Stanford Women’s Basketball Team was playing Notre Dame in the Sweet Sixteen. No one, and I mean no one, thought they could win. In fact, for ESPN to fill the pre-game show they had to ask the analysts what Stanford could do to win the game and, well, the commentators, let’s just say, were all firmly in Notre Dame’s camp.

So, C and R asked each other what does Stanford need to do to win??

Stanford would have to take control early in the game and play lock down D and outscore ND. If we do that, we gonna win.

Have to hold ND’s Brianna Turner to zero points in the first half, then we gonna win.

Get high flying ND guard Lindsey Allan in foul trouble and send her to the bench and limit her to six points in the first half, then we gonna win.

Have Erica McCall get going early and score 19 by the half, we gonna win.

Be up by 11 at the half, we gonna win.

If Kaylee Johnson is scoring, we gonna win.

Get Kaylee Johnson involved in the offense, score early and have a double double, then we gonna win.

Have Erica McCall keep the scoring up and score a career-high 27 points and drain at least one 3-pointer and go 12-18 from the field…we gonna win.


Erica McCall, whom coach Tara VanDerveer calls the most improved player in the nation, led all players with 27 points. Photo: Mark Zerof/USA TODAY Sports
Cut off ND’s screen to the elbow play. Do that, and we gonna win.
Shoot 59% from the floor, we gonna win.

Shoot 55% from the three point line, including one from Marta Sniezek, only her second made three of her young career… we gonna win.

Score 11 3-pointers, we gonna win.

Have Karlie Samuelson go 5-6 from behind the line, gonna win

Have freshie guard Marta Sniezek drive in for lay ups and get in double figures for a career high..gonna win.

Heck, if Stanford gets four players in double figures, we gonna win.

Keep a double digit lead for most of the game, we gonna win.

Hold off ND when they make a run, not once, not twice, but THRICE…then we gonna win.

Have Lili Thompson give out a career high in assists, we gonna win.

Have Kaylee Johnson score 17 and gran , say 12 boards, then we gonna win.

Score 90 points… we gonna win.

And if Karlie can score 20 points and make some key baskets just when Stanford needs them…we gonna win!

Have Karlie Samuelson heave, and I mean heave a throw WELL beyond the three point line with time expiring on the shot clock, with a minute and a half to play, and have it bank off the glass for three to make it 84-78 Stanford lead and stop a ND run……WE GONNA WIN!!

WE GONNA WIN!

So that, Ladies and Gentlemen, are all Stanford needs to do to win…..and they did. They beat Notre Dame 90-84, with four players in double figures, career highs in points for Erica and Marta and assists for Lili, a double double for Kaylee, 11 threes and whatever else we said above. Next up is a familiar Pac-12 foe, Washington, on Sunday (yes Easter Sunday) at 10 AM Stanford time. This will be the rubber match, and I don’t think Tara has been beaten by Washington twice in one season since the 80s. We gonna win!

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Stanford (Lovingly) Beats USF

What to say about the Stanford Women’s Basketball team’s 29th time in the NCAA tournament? Fans all said what a shame we had to play USF, coached by the beloved Stanford alum who started it all, Jennifer Azzi. Well, you can say head coach Tara VanDerveer likes to win. Heck, Tara said it herself after her team handed Jennifer’s team their worst loss of the season (85-58): “I love Jennifer but I love winning more.”


Tara VanDerveer and Jennifer Azzi share a lot of history
Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP.
First some context. Before the game, Jennifer Azzi sat alone on the opposing team’s bench at Maples, a very different view than one she was used to, in a place where she has so many memories. In her line of sight was a list of two National Champions. The team she led in 1990 when she was a senior was listed first. Winning a national championship must hold special memories for a player. To build a program from 12 fans and no NCAA appearances, in Jennifer’s freshmen year, to a national championship with sold out crowds in her senior year, well, let’s just say not many players can claim that sort of impact. And here she sat getting ready to face the woman who got here there, perhaps the biggest influence in her life, the woman who thought so much of her that she asked her to be her emotional captain on the 1996 Olympic team that won Gold in Atlanta.

How weird was it for Azzi, coaching her first NCAA game? She said she was unsettled that her parents were at this game, not in their usual Stanford gear, but in yellow USF shirts. She and Tara shared a long and sincere hug at midcourt during player introductions. Don’t think Tara would hug Geno for that long…or at all. Afterwards, Tara’s mom, Rita, was crying for Jennifer. Even Tara had enough of the sentimentality, scolding her mom, “But I’m blood!”

About the game, Jennifer said they were not used to that level of physicality, and the rest of the NCAA field might have politely snickered, as Stanford is usually known as “the Good Girls.” Do keep in mind this is Jennifer’s first NCAA game, so if she keeps up the success and comes back, she will need to know her players will face this level of physical play, or more, in subsequent years.
And they don’t call them Trees for nothing. When USF’s 6-3 center went to the bench with foul trouble, they didn’t have anyone on the floor over 6 feet. Stanford had Erica McCall, Kailee Johnson and Alanna Smith, all 6’3. At one point Stanford had more rebounds (43) than USF had points. The rebounding total was doubled in Stanford’s favor, 49-24.

Stanford accolades:
Lili Thompson scored 17 points, Erica McCall had 14 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, plus a three-pointer for the big! Karlee Samuelson had 11, on 2-4 shooting beyond the arc, her specialty. Starter Kaylee Johnson was more aggressive going to the rim and scored 13. Add in her 9 boards and she almost got herself a double-double. Stanford will need her to score in double digits every night to advance in the tournament. It was good to see bench players Marta Sniezek and Aussie Alana Smith score as well, eight and nine points respectively. Marta had a game, giving out nine assists and hitting her first collegiate three! She’s only a freshman! Throw in Brittany McPhee’s eight and you have everyone contributing.

Speaking of our Aussie player, we thought we were hot stuff having our first international recruit from down under. Well, here Jennifer has beaten her former coach. She has seven players on her roster representing five different foreign countries: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Slovakia and Sweden.


See all the pretty Stanford assists!
Next game for Stanford is Monday night at 6PM, against the upstart #12 seed South Dakota State’s Jack Rabbits. They beat #5 Miami 74-71. C and R only caught the last 5 minutes of the game, but from what we saw, Miami played listless and with no energy, compared to SDS intensity. It didn’t hurt that they had a whole section of fans right next to the court action and were very rabid. C and R are worried those fans will be louder than the polite Stanford fans. So please get off work and come on out!

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Stanford Beats Pac-12 East Teams

The Pac-12 East teams of the Colorado Buffalos (Yes! Really!) and the Utah Utes (believe it or not, not a typo from C) came in to town this week and Stanford beat both of them to climb up to  a three-way tie for third.

The Stanford Women’s Basketball team played the Utes first, and they get off to a slow start. Both teams. And this was after Stanford’s worst scoring performance against Arizona State. The first quarter in the Utah game ended with Stanford leading by a point, 13-12. Half time score had Stanford enjoying a slight 30-28 lead. Remember C and R’s last blog, saying this was a Jekyll and Hyde team. Well, it seems like when the Cardinal remember to drive in to the basket to score or draw a foul, or when they get an offensive rebound (and this is important) put it right back up, they do well, and win. This was the case with these two games.

Stanford finally pulled away early in the third quarter against Utah using this strategy and won 72-52. Four players scored in double figures. Lili Thompson and Brittany McPhee each scored 16 points. Karlie Samuelson adding 13, hitting 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and Erica McCall added 11 points to go with her 11 rebounds. Another double-double for Erica. Brittany McPhee was the catalyst for the third quarter surge, and mostly, her ability to penetrate and draw contact. She was 6-6 from the free throw line.

Colorado
This game started out as a rinse and repeat game. Slow start, score tied at the first quarter 14-14. However, Stanford turned up the intensity, especially in the second half. And, they drove and rebounded, and were not afraid to put it back up, in particular our two bigs, Kaylee Johnson (why doesn’t she start) and Erica McCall.


Kaylee Johnson and Erica McCall each grabbed a double-double.
Photo courtesy of Stanford Official site.
The two trees each recorded a double-double, with Kaylee totaling 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Erica finishing with 16 points, 11 rebounds, and a game-high three blocks. Kaylee's 17 points was a career-high, and she also topped the team with four assists, a personal best. At one point in the game, she was leading in points, rebounds and assists.

This game, Stanford showed a lot of hustle and intensity, something sorely lacking in other games. Lili Thompson really wanted it, and a lot of white and red jersey hit the floor diving after loose balls. Stanford went 1-10 with their first 10 shots in the opening quarter, but the thing was they were all good shots, lay ups, put backs, etc.

The difference in the subsequent quarters was that they made those shots, and had confidence when they did take them, including those strong-to-the-basket put backs. And when Stanford drives to the bucket, good things happen. Stanford had 34 free throw attempts (!) and made 23 of them. That’s 67% for the game for those of you keeping score at home, and C and R are sure head coach Tara VanDerveer would like to see that percentage go up. Those are free shots, y’all!

Strangely, Lili didn’t score until deep into the second quarter, however she nailed a three, which also put her over 1,000 career points. She is the 36 Stanford player to reach that milestone. Congrats. Lili!
Final score against Colorado, 71-56.

Keep it going (or stick to your Mr. Hyde side!), Stanford!!

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Stanford Splits Two in the Desert

Arizona
Last year, the Stanford Women’s Basketball team lost to Arizona in Tucson in February. You better believe that head coach Tara VanDerveer has not forgotten. Or forgiven. This time, the Cardinal were focused and alert and beat Arizona 59-35.

Shining Star
The shining star in this game was sophomore Brittany McPhee. She scored a season high 21, just three off her career high. She hit some threes (3-6), as is Tara’s game plan, everyone shoots threes. However what helped her score even more was her driving to the basket and taking contact. Sometimes she made the basket, or sometimes she made her free throws (6-8) but her fearlessness to go right at it, and the other team, really sets her apart.


Brittany McThree! Photo Courtesy of Stanford Women's Basketball You know who else was a shining star this game? Our Aussie Alanna Smith. She scored 16, mostly on threes (4-5) this game. She is tall and creates a mismatch when a tall player guards her and doesn’t’ not come out to the three point line.

Third shining star: the defense. Stanford held Arizona to 18% shooting in the first half, and 15 total points. It was the fourth straight game were Stanford forced their opponent to under 23 percent shooting. Stanford’s official site recorded that “both Arizona’s point total and field goal percentage were program lows for a Pac-12 game. The 34 points allowed also tied a Stanford record for fewest allowed in a Pac-12 game, matching the same total from a 60-34 win against Washington State on Feb. 8, 2007.”

Arizona State
Last year Arizona won BOTH games against Stanford.

Stanford had a rough night vs Arizona State - Patrick Breen/azcentral sports

This year they are half way there. Wanna here some depressing numbers? Stanford only scored 31 points in their game with Arizona State and lost 49-31. They set the school record for lowest points ever in a game. The previous record was 32, against Missouri State in 1984! They had just seven total points in the first quarter and 14 at the half.

More depressing numbers: Stanford hit just 11 for 43 shots and was 1-9 from threes. Live by the three and die by the three, and boy did Stanford die a thousand deaths. When the three ball did not fall, they had nothing else to go to. No real inside game. Erica McCall would take the ball to the hoop and then…stop? She scored 4 points. Lots of players missed lay ups and put backs. What happened to Brittany driving in and drawing contact? They looked waaaay to tentative.

Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde
This was the team that lost to Santa Clara. What happened to the team that beat Tennessee? Or Arizona a few days ago?  We want to see that team for the rest of Pac-12 play.

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Stanford Crushed Cornell

Well, that was fun. It was billed as the battle of the brains, as the Stanford Women’s Basketball team took on Connell for the first time ever, and killed them 53-13…..in the first half. The final score was 93-38. The only real dram was would the Stanford B and C teams get us to 100.

Cornell learned it’s not enough to be smart, you also need to have fundamentals. I don’t know what their coach does in practice, but accurate shooting motion, boxing out and hitting free throws are not one of them, from where C and R stood. It was embarrassing for them. And we had to check, yes they are division 1. Wow. No wonder women’s basketball gets a bad rap.

Erica McCall (24) goes for a rebound . (Photo by Bob Drebin/isiphotos.com)

The neat thing about this, as we mentioned we got to see a lot of the bench players. All 14 played and 12 Stanford players scored, although all 14 grabbed at least one rebound! Five of those players were in double figures. Alanna Smith, a freshman forward from Australia, and Erica McCall scored 12 points each to lead Stanford. Karlie Samuelson and Lili Thompson added 11 points each and Kaylee Johnson had 10 points and 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Glad to see her point total up. She lost her starting spot and needs to step it up in both points and rebounds if she is to get it back.

C and R was intrigued by senior walk on Kiran Lakhian. She hit three 3-pointers on four attempts and finished with nine points. Where did she come from? A senior walk on? The mystery was solved via an SF Chron article:

Kiran Lakhian is a senior walk-on who until this year hadn’t played since her freshman season. There wasn’t room on the roster for her the previous two seasons, but this year there was, Head Coach Tara VanDerveer said.

Lakhian said she played a little rec ball in the interim, “but after playing at the college level, it wasn’t the same,’’ she said. So she played pickup ball against the varsity players in the fall, and VanDerveer invited her to stay.

Next game is this Tuesday at 2PM, against Baskersfiled, and before your scratch your head, guess who coaches the team? Greg McCall, Erica McCalls’ father. Erica calls him her single biggest influence when it comes to basketball. Stanford waited for Tuesday's game to honor McCall for helping the United States win the gold medal at last summer's World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea. Her father will make the presentation during a brief pre-game ceremony. Now you have to play hooky from work and go.

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Stanford Tops Tennessee

Well, that was a pleasant surprise. The Stanford Women’s Basketball Team came out of the gate aggressive and focused, and walloped Tennessee 69-55. (C and R are boycotting the “lady” team name). This was a VERY different team we saw that lost to #5 Texas and unranked Santa Clara.

What changed? Well, for one thing, Stanford Head Coach Tara VanDerveer can learn new tricks. Stanford’s player to player (wow, aren’t’ we being politically correct tonight?) defense was NOT working in past games. They could not help out when a faster player was able to beat the first defender. So Tara changed them to a zone, and boy did they help each other out, sometimes double and triple teaming the orange jersey with the ball.

Stanford Tops Tennessee (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

The fun started early when NC transfer Diamond Deshields shot an air ball. The Rose Bowl-bound Stanford football team, who was in attendance to be honored at half time, started chanting “Airball.” Except they kept remembering to chant it EVERY time she touched the ball on offense! The second time they chanted it, she scored on a drive and gestured to the whole team, “Bring it!” Yikes. You don’t gesture to a whole section of 250 pound big boys all dressed in black on the road. Who is going to back you up? The water girl? The football team kept up the chanting the whole half! Six man assist to them. Diamond was held to 12 points in the game (and also shot an airball in the second half!).

As C and R said, Stanford was more aggressive on the boards, outrebounding 42-31. Still was a little distressing Stanford only had two offensive rebounds in the first half. But the zone enabled them to box out better. Plus Tenn was not making any threes (sadly, neither could the Cardinal, both teams going 0-5 in the first half).

Defense was excellent. Stanford limited Tenn to the second-lowest point total in the series between the two teams. Stanford held Tenn to 25% FG shooting in the first quarter and nine points in the third quarter. Nine.

So we love the new aggressiveness. C and R know Tennessee plays in the rougher SEC, but they showed little body control when Stanford was in the air on offense. Even thought they were taller and more athletic, they never went straight up for the block, always reaching across and fouling. Strangely, Stanford did not take great advantage of that. When they got the ball and started a drive, it seemed as if they were afraid to take it inside on 6’6 Mercedes Russell.  However, when they did, they drew contact almost every time.  Tenn had 25 total fouls for the game. BTW, Stanford led the block party 4-2, so who’s afraid of 6’6 now?

So here is Standard enjoying this 21 point lead in the third quarter, shooting 60% or so, and feeling some new-found confidence when the second half started and Tenn pulled out the ol’ full court press. We. Cannot. Handle. Pressure. Period.

Several steals and lay ups and a rattled Cardinal found themselves only leading by 7 late in the second half. Twice. However, Stanford showed some poise. And Freshman Marta Sniezek (pronounced Sneeze-ix by the announcer, it sounded like) showed great poise and ball handling skills. Once they got it across mid-court a few times without turning it over, they settled down and then Tenn had to play the foul game. Eight FT attempts in the last minute. Card cruises to the win.

Shout outs:
Lili Thompson scored 19 points, including seven during a crucial stretch
McCall had 14 points and 10 rebounds (another double-double, we might add)
Kaylee Johnson added 10 points. Good for her after she lost her starting job
Marta almost joined the double digit club, scoring nine

Awesome! Keep it up!

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Texas Turns back Stanford

What’s the difference between a top 5 team and a top 14 team? About nine points. Also rebounding. The Stanford Women’s Basketball team lost to #5 Texas 77-69. There was not much suspense in this as C and R said, Texas kept that 9 point lead and out rebounded them practically 2-1 in the first half.

Brittany McPhee (AP Photo Michael Thomas)

How bad was it on the rebounding side? Stanford did not have an offensive rebound in the first half! In fact they go there first O-board with 3 minutes left in the third. And no, it wasn’t that Stanford was making all their shots, they were 3-11 from the 3-point line in the first before hitting 50% in the second (live by the three…). And also it wasn’t so much that Texas boxed out or out hustled them. It was mostly due to the Stanford game plan of having the post player set a high screen at the three point line. If the Stanford guard pulled the trigger quickly on the three after the screen, the post player was out of position for a rebound. Many times three Texas players would surround the ball with no black jersey in sight (love the black road jerseys, though!). The final tally of boards was 44-29, Texas.

A word about defense. Help. In that when Stanford plays man to man (or politically correct player to player) they have a very hard time helping if the opposing player gets past them. Which Texas did. Funny thing was Texas had the same problem, playing man to man and not helping if their player got past them. The only problem was not very many Stanford players did that. Our freshie guard Marta did the first few minutes she had the ball when she did enter the game, then got regulated back to the bench. Would have liked to see more of her.

Love how Lili Thompson looks for Erica McCall, and she made some nifty passes to her. However, she needs to make sure she is looking for others as well. Or one could argue that the other Stanford players are not getting open, a fair argument. A few times it looked like Lili was pressing, trying to do too much, driving even though the defense was there. However, again, it might be that other players were not working to get open.

Stanford did make a game of it going on a 9-0 run in the fourth and got within 4, thanks in large part to Mritanny McPhee’s back-to-back threes! However, Texas always seemed to have an answer, especially Empress Davenport who a career-high 23. And then Stanford had to play foul game and Texas, to their credit, made them. Twelve of 16 of them.

C and R noticed Kaylee Johnson did not start and in her place was Kailee Johnson (yes, it gives us headaches, too). However, the ESPN analysts (yes, they were on ESPN!) reported Stanford started four juniors and a sophomore, their first time without a senior in the starting lineup since 2002-03. Curious.

Shout out to those in Double figures:
-Erica had another double double (14 points and 13 boards) but fouled out in the closing minutes
-Lili Thompson led Stanford with 21 points and has now reached double figures in all eight games this season.
-Brittany McPhee had 12 points, a season high, and she was 4-4 from the 3-point line.

Next up is Tennessee.

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Stanford Wins Gulf Coast Showcase

Round 1

The Stanford Women’s Basketball team opened the Gulf Coast Showcase playing Missouri State. Stanford, coming off their worst loss in a long, long time (well, C and R don’t know if it statistically was their worst loss, but the team looked really bad in the 61-58 loss to Santa Clara). This game Stanford was rebounding and out hustling Missouri State, a welcome change from the lost. The story of this game, though, was the threes; more specifically, the 15 made threes on 33 tries. Stanford won 82-65, although it was troubling the way the other team could drive all the way to the basket for lay ups. Stanford needs more help defense.

Round 2

Stanford played Dayton, Shannon Coffee’s and my hometown. This game was saved by our Aussie, Stanford’s first international recruit, Alanna Smith. She finished the game with 22 points, including 6-8 from behind the line, doing her best Bonnie Samuelson imitation. Lili Thompson scored 15 of her 19 in the second half, after Stanford got behind by 12 in the first half. Stanford went on an 18-5 run in the third quarter and held off Dayton 74-66.

Round 3

Stanford made it to the championship game of the Gulf Cost Tournament versus Purdue, and just what is a boiler maker? At least they weren’t lady boiler makers, and we did like the Purdue announcing saying “Boiler up!”

The game was pretty even at the half, with Stanford enjoying a 26-21 lead. About the only difference was Stanford was 3-10 from three point land and Purdue only made one, on seven tries, in the final seconds. Purdue took the lead in the third quarter and both teams traded kept trading the lead. And yes, this time Purdue was hitting their threes. The third quarter ended with Purdue enjoying a 45-44 lead. More see-saw lead changes and we had ourselves a tie game at the end of regulation, 59-59. Bri Roberson also hit her threes, going 5-6 from behind the arc and led all scorers with 26. Lil Thompson added 17, including 9-9 in free throws. Stanford hung on to win the championship 71-65.

BTW, the 2015 Gulf Coast Showcase MVP was Lili Thompson. Miss Dependable averaged 21 ppg and 6 apg. Glad to see her stepping up!


Champs! Photo Courtesy of Stanford Women's Basketball
C and R are, as always, thankful.

Stanford Going to the Sweet Sixteen

So C and R like to get prepare for Stanford games kinda like how Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer does. Study, study, study. We read anything we can get our hands on about The Stanford Women’s Basketball Team and then about the opponent (Tara does the hard job of watching tape after tape of teams).

Going into round 2 of the NCAA tourney, Stanford was playing Oklahoma University. What C and R read about them is they like to foul. Well, not so much they like to foul, but they do foul, over 20 a game. That could mean two things for Stanford. It could mean that if Stanford could draw fouls, they would get lots of free throws and free points and OU players to sit. Or if the refs did not call fouls, big trouble for Stanford.

In the first half, it looked like the latter, as the refs were not calling hard fouls. And I don’t think I have ever seen anyone tear off Erica “Bird” McCall’s super goggles, but it happened not once, but twice (Bonus drinking game, replacing when an Ogwumike lost a contact). Lots of bodies flying, and then a whistle when there was hardly any contact.

Oklahoma came out in a zone, and with their athleticism and long reach, the Stanford guards could not penetrate very well, and the three point line was well guarded. Three point specialist Bonnie Samuelson scored zero points in the first. Hats off to OU, they had quick hands and knocked the ball out of Stanford’s hands a lot. Stanford was lucky to only be down 36-32 at the half, thanks to a Lili Thompson three to make it respectable.

However the master preparer, Tara VanDerveer is also a master adjuster at the half. She found a way to get her guards some penetration and maybe OU was a little bit tired as they couldn’t get out to the three point line as quickly. Result: Stanford went six for nine on 3-pointers in the second half, eight for the game. Bonnie hit three of them, and scored all 19 of her points in the second half, including going 8-8 from the free point line when OU finally got into foul trouble. BTW, Stanford attempted 38 free throws, making 30 of them.

Speaking of the second half, Stanford played better defense and only allowed OU six points in the first ten minutes. By comparison, Stanford went on a 12-2 run to open the second half. Lili Thompson helped fire Stanford up by hitting some key threes of her own. And Stanford senior Amber Orrange will surely be missed next year, because she is clutch. Whenever Stanford needed a basket, whenever the offense stalled (as it did a lot in the first) she would hit a timely shot to keep Stanford in it (Even if most of it was drive left!).


Amber Orrange driving left!
(Photo By: StanfordPhoto.com) And what about Stanford lock down “D?” In the first half, Oklahoma's Gioya Carter opened the game with 12 points and four steals. VanDerveer put Orrange on her at the defensive end. She finished with 16 points at the half and scored just two baskets in the second half. Wow.

Couple OU’s poor shooting, especially for the 3-point line (2-14 in the second) with the toughened Stanford D, and the refs finally calling fouls for the second half resurrection. Several OU players had to sit in the second while Stanford shot. Final score 86-76.

Stanford had four players in double figures, which is great as Stanford has struggled to get everyone involved in the offense. It was so great, Stanford did not need “Tournament Taylor to help out, as Greenfield finished with only four points. Amber finished with 24. Lili Thompson and Bonnie each scored 19 points. Erica McCall added 10 and 11 boards, for a double-double. Briana Roberson provided a spark with 13 points and some tough defense. In fact, once Tara put in Bri and went to a three guard set, Roberson didn’t come out.

Next, Stanford has a date with #1 seed Notre Dame Friday. Funny, Stanford and Notre Dame have met only twice, with Stanford enjoying a 2-0 lead. And they have never played each other in the NCAA tournament.

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Stanford Spoils OSU’s Pac-12 Plans

Well, we all know the Stanford Women’s Basketball Team won’t win the Pac-12 regular season title this year, ending a streak of 14 straight, but they weren’t about to let someone else have it. Stanford, at #19 came to #7 Oregon State’s home court and beat them 69-58.

Stanford did it by doing something they have not really down all year. They took (and hit) mid-range jump shots. Credit Stanford’s Hall of Fame Coach, Tara VanDerveer for taking away an opponent’s strength. OSU has a great shot blocker in 6’6 Ruth Hamblin. Stanford tried not to get near her to let her swat. This time the screens at the top of the three point line worked, as Stanford’s speedy guards used the screen and then pulled up for the jumper before their defender could catch them, instead of going to the basket only to have their path cut off. It worked.

Stanford pulled to an early lead and then did not play good defense on Jamie Wesinar. She scored 15 in the first half with open threes and drives to the basket. She was putting a dagger thought Stanford’s heart, and Stanford ended the half only up by one, 34-33.

However, Tara always has some magic words at half time (we imagine something like if you let her get another three, you’re getting benched) because she did not score a point until 3 minutes left in the second (it was a three). She finished with 18 for the game. Stanford’s other players also played lock down defense and held OSU to 25 second half points.

The three ball. Stanford only made one in the first, and three more in the second. However, Bonnie Samuelsson hit two in a row to start the half and that was all Stanford needed to keep their lead. OSU was 6-28 from behind the arc. Wow, that is a lot of misses.


Erica had 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks
(photo courtesy of Stanford Women's Basketball) Stanford had a balanced scoring attack with five players in double figures. Lili Thompson finished with 13 points and Erica McCall and Amber Orrange both added 12. Bri Roberson and Bonnie Samuelson both chipped in 11. Erica had 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks (and did two Nnekas, where she grabbed arebound in the air and shot an dmade it….twice!) and got to talk to Stanford alum Ros Gold-Onwude.

The game was very physical with the Pac-12 refs doing their lousy job of calling hard fouls. Bodies were flying. Karlee Samuelson hit the deck and hurt her shooting hand, and did not come back in the game, so we hope she is okay. We need her for the upcoming Pac-12 tournament, where Stanford has a shot at redeeming themselves to win the Pac-12 Tournament Title.

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