Stanford Women's Basketball is Your National Champions!

For the first time, since 1992, Tara VanDerveer and the Stanford Women's Basketball won the National Championship!

 You can almost call it the COVID bowl, as Stanford wasn't necessarily the best time, but they were the most resilient, and had a deeper bench then familiar foe and fellow Pac-12 school, Arizona in the finals. Much was made about their "nomad" season as they couldn't practice or play in Santa Clara County due to the restrictions and had to become road warriors living out of suitcases. So much so, that the Stanford faithful loving joked they should take a drink every time the networks mentioned they plight. And really, they almost gave the semi final game away to South Carolina, up by one, yet coughing up the ball in the final seconds and letting SC get not one, but two shots at the basket. Both missed and the Cardinal moved on the final.

See the SC highlights here:

Apparently, you can see the whole South Carolina- Stanford game here:

The finals were against Arizona, a team they had beaten twice previously this year, and if there is any team you don't want to play, it is a team you have already beaten twice previously. Odds are just not in your favor to beat them three times in one season. And Arizona also had one final shot, trailing by one, and although THREE Stanford defends went after Ari MacDonald of Arizona, she still got a shot off. It hit the left side of the rim and bounced up... and bounced away. Stanford pulled of an improbable win.

Check out the highlights, it still gives me chills!

I know this blog is way late, but I wanted to get the videos in here so I have something to look back on in the years to come! Just amazing!

Congrats to the road Warriors of the Stanford Women's Basketball team!

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Tara VanDerveer ties record for career wins in the most understated way

Have you been keeping up with all of the #1 ranked Stanford Women's Basketball team's wins? They are currently 3-0. We don't blame you if the answer is no, as the scheduled changed so much in the last two weeks due to Covid. However, they finally got a third game in, one that counts in the Pac-12 standings no less, on Sunday.

The game was against Cal, of course, in Oakland as Santa Clara County, where Stanford plays and practices, still has a ban on basketball. And of course our heroes without a home prevailed, 83-38. What makes this win so special is it was career-win number 1,098 for head coach Tara Vanderveer. With this win she ties legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summit.

(image curtesy of Stanford Women's Basketball)

It was so Tara, so apropos that the win happened with no fans, no fanfare and no fuss. No standing ovations, no courtside speeches. As the final horn sounded, she waved to Cal Head Coach, and former player and assistant coach, Charmin Smith. The players also forgo the handshake line, because, you know, Covid. Never mind the players were all just out there moments ago sweating over each other. Then the PA announcer spoke a garbled announcement about the win. Her players cheered. And what did Tara do? She waved her hands and says, "All right, all right, let's go to the locker room." So, so.... Tara.

The game had it's own magic courtesy of Fran Beilibi. She got a steal, raced to the basket, and with no one in front of her, and an escort of black shirts, she lined herself up to the basket, took that special, well placed dribble, and DUNKED it! I mean hand above the rim, throw it down dunk!! Check out the video courtesy of Pac-12 Networks.

Even though Stanford won by a bunch over Cal, they still missed a lot of shots. And scoring 83 points in the third game of the season is actually a let down, as they broke 100 points in the first two games. So still some room to improve. Freshmen Cameron Brink was high scorer with 16, three-point specialist Hannah Jump had 15 (going 5-6 from behind the arc) and was followed closely by Frannie with 14 (and didn't Tara say a few years back that a slam dunk still only counts for 2 points?). Steady Kiana Williams added 11.

Tara won't be as lucky to be low key for the next game with a chance to break the record. It happens Tuesday against Pacific and ESPN grabbed a chance to film history, so yay! You KNOW they are going to have to make a big del out of it, as well they should. Just don't know if Tara will cooperate. She is a slow and steady interview, and won't have the big emotions ESPN will want from such a historic game. You can check her out during the Cal game here, courtesy of Pac-12 Networks:

If you want a little more perspective on her historic wins, listen to former Stanford players and coaches talk about some of her iconic wins (Candice, Jayne, Azzi, Chiney, Nneka, all the faves!).

Stay tuned for 1,099! Maybe they will bring back the big bucket of confetti from win #1,000. And, just for the record, we truly love you too, coach!!

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Stanford Women's Basketball Routs Cal Poly, Looking Good at #2 in the Country

So we turn away from our remote, working-from-home computer to our home computer to watch the live stream of the Stanford Women's Basketball team play Cal-Poly (shh, don't tell our bosses). It's at 11AM on a workday the Wed before Thanksgiving. (And why is it being live streamed on the internet when BOTH the Pac-12 and Bay Area Pac-12 channels we pay a gazillion dollars extra for on cable are showing RERUNS of men's sports??) 

But we digress. So, we open the ESPN women's basketball scores webpage (got to get those good keywords in there!) and see the #1 team in the country, South Carolina, destroyed Charleston 119-38. Gulp! Scoring a bazillion points is not #2 Stanford's strong suite, we thought. Then Stanford played, and, by golly, the final score was 108-40!! Hot dog! 

Yes, the game was all kinds of 2020 Covid-era weird. No fans (cute cardboard cut outs, though), expanded bench with socially distanced chairs, everyone on the sidelines wearing masks, Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer utilizing a tiny plastic red bullhorn to make her voice heard through her mask. Time out huddles were huge, the end of the game high five line was air high fives.... One Cal Poly player ran in the game from the bench with her mask, then belatedly took it off. Later we saw another Cal Poly player playing with a mask... 

Photo: Tony Avelar, AP

All so strange, although we understand this is all done with the players, coaches, staff and official's health in mind. And Stanford was lucky they got to play as it was estimated over a quarter of Women's games did not happen this week. I mean look at poor UConn, with a positive Covid case, they have suspended activities for 14 days and will miss up to 4 games.

It's funny, part of the joy in this blog is we can be humorous and not take anything seriously. And normally, we LOVE to make fun of UConn and give them a bad time. However, these strange times are no laughing matter. As we reread that UConn sentence, we are aware it comes off snarky even if we didn't mean it that way. We don't know how to shut the snarky filter off, we guess.

Anyway, back to Stanford and their won, which puts Tara VanDerveer 3 wins away from tying legendary Pat Summit for all time career wins as a coach. Now four will gives her the record (fun fact, UConn coach Geno Auriemma is hot on Tara's heels, being three wins behind Tara and now that UConn is not playing, Tara should get there first...I swear we didn't mean that to sound as snarky as it did... well maybe a little!).

Anyhoo, back to the Stanford game, the thing that stood out the most was the impressive play of the freshmen. Cameron Brink scored 17 points and 9 rebounds, almost a double double in her debut, coming off the bench. Jana Van Gytenbeek had 9 points and 4 assists, including some great, long fast break passes. Agnes Emma-Nnopu had 8 points (she is the second Australian recruit behind Alana Smith!). 

But C and R would be remiss if we did not give some Stanford love to the returning players. Haley Jones, coming back from an injury that cut short her season last year, looks like a new and improved version of, well, Haley Jones. She did get a double double, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. The always steady Kiana Williams scored 13, and Lexi Hull got a game high 21 points. Hannah jump, our three-point specialist scored 13, and shot 3-7 from behind the arc. In fact, as a team, Stanford shot roughly 53% from the field. Starter Fran Beilibi, while not scoring a bunch (2 points and 3 rebounds) looked sharp in her passing game, much improved over last year where she would put her head down and just try to make it to the basket. She was credited with 3 assists.

The only quibble we have is free throws (free throws, free throws, free throws)! Stanford shot 58% from the free throw line. Come on, in the age of Covid where you can't do a whole lot of contact drills, free throws should be where you excel! Hope to see that improve.

looking forward to game #2. As Tara VanDerveer said in preseason, the best ability is availability. All the players dressed got to play, and let's hope they all stay healthy! 

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Stanford Women’s Basketball beats Coach’s old team

This was a game of numbers. First, the Stanford Women’s Basketball team took on Idaho, for the third time in program history, but first time for Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer. Why is that important? Idaho gave Tara her first head coaching job forty years ago and according to my trading card I got at the game, she was 42-14 in those two years.

Stanford won handily, 115-71, and no, the 115 is not an infamous misprint, Stanford really did break 100, the first time in two years, and fifth highest total since 1994, when they scored 122. And this was a three-ball affair.

Tara Vanderveer spoke after the game and said Idaho is known for hitting threes. Yes indeedy. They hit 15 of ‘em (way to go, Ida-ho!). That’s okay, Stanford hit 16 of ‘em, tying a program record. Idaho has two players that have over 300 made threes in their career. And Stanford actually stopped those two! It was the other two they didn’t know about.


Photo courtesy of Bob Drebin/ISIPhotos.com
More numbers:
• Stanford outrebounding Idaho 46-20, including a 17-2 edge on the offensive boards
• Stanford had 34 points in the paint
• Idaho made 63% of their threes
• Stanford’s Alanna Smith had 19 points and 9 rebounds
• Kiana Williams, also of Stanford, also had 19 points and 9 assists
• Stanford freshie Lexie Hull, starting in her second game has 17 points and 5 rebounds, although it seemed like more
• Stanford’s Nadia Fingall had 16 points
• Stanford’s Maya Dodson and Anna Wilson each had 10 points.
• Lexie Hull and Kiana Williams combined to go 9 of 15 from three-point land

Stanford plays San Francisco at home, against Coach Molly Goodenbour, a former player under Tara VanDerveer. Old teams, old players, doesn’t matter, Tara just mows then down. San Fran will be fun, then Stanford welcomes Ohio State on Sunday, Nov 18. See ya at Maples Thursday and Sunday.

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Stanford WBB wins Pac-12 Tournament

C and R will admit, it did not look good for the Stanford Women’s Basketball team in the championship game. They made it to the finals of the Pac-12 Tournament, after losing to Oregon State in the regular season to lose a share of the regular season title, and wanted some redemption. With some good luck bouncing their way in the tournament, Washington losing in the earlier round, they breezed through Washington State and held off a pesky Oregon team to be here in the big lights. And their opponent? None other than the Oregon State Beavers, the team that had their number, beating them twice in the regular season (although it took double over time in the first match-up).

So when the tip off happened, and Stanford faced the Beavers, Stanford found themselves quickly down, 16-3. This did not look good. Stanford did the same to the Cougars two nights ago, and they could never recover. Stanford was down 12-22 at the end of the first quarter. This match up was billed as two defensive-minded teams facing each other, but 12 points?

Then, Alanna Smith to the rescue. The sophomore Aussie came off the bench to help Stanford slowly claw their way back in to this game offensively. She had 12 points for the half, and some good boards and blocks. Stanford found themselves *only* down 29-23 at the half. That score was somewhat misleading as OSU’s prolific score, Sydney Wiese, hit a crazy, banked-in three at the buzzer, even with Bri Roberson’s hand in her face.

Okay, let’s talk defense for a moment. OSU had 29 points at the half. But they scored 22 in the first quarter. Stanford’s defense held them to just seven points in the second quarter, and Syd Wiese to just five points for the two quarters. Take away that crazy three and OSU is really hurting.

Coming out of the locker room, after a quick peptalk/anger management session with their Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer, the defense rose up again. Alanna got the start and Stanford tied it at 34 all with 3:24 to go on the third. The third quarter ended with OSU hanging on to a 36-34 lead.

Let’s do some more math shall we? Oregon State only scored SEVEN points in the third quarter. That is not de ja vu. Or maybe it is. Let me rephrase, that is not a typo!! Stanford’s defense again came up big, holding OSU down, and Sydney Wiese to just eight points through three quarters.

Fourth quarter, and it was all Stanford. But C and R you say in a high, falsetto voice, isn’t this where OSU’s scorer, Sydney Wiese makes her presence known and takes over the game? Isn’t this where she knocks down threes?

Sure, C and R answer, she hit a three. ONE three. One three for the quarter. It was Oregon State’s ONLY field goal of the fourth quarter. They only scored SEVEN points in the fourth quarter. Of a CHAMPIONSHIP game!! The Beavers went 4-for-24 from the field over the final 20 MINUTES! And now I broke my cap lock button.


Coach Tara VanDerveer hoists the Pac-12 Tournament trophy
Photo by Eric Evans
Defense wins championships. Of which Stanford now has 12 of them. Pac-12 tournament titles. Of which is the most in conference history. And gets the Pac-12's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. And C and R continue their streak of incomplete sentences.

Other notables, Alanna, the hero, had 18 points, including one 3-pointer for Stanford. Karlie Samuelson had 14 points, and made two 3-pointers. Erica McCall struggled under the basket, and OSU paid a lot of attention to her, and she ended the game with eight points and eight rebounds. Brittany McPhee also looked off and had six points and six rebounds, as Stanford must like square numbers. Syd Wiese for OSU finished the game with 13 points, below her average. C and R admired how she handled the handshake line, giving Stanford lots of respect, so we gotta respect her back. They will be in the NCAA tourney, for sure.

After the game.
Alanna was named to the all-tournament team, and Erica “Bird” McCall won Most Outstanding Player. Stanford gets the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, although Stanford fans (such as C and R) don’t get to see them play locally as Maples Pavilion is hosting the Pac-12 gymnastics championships. Huge Bummer. Home field advantage is huge, and Stanford tends to play better at home. Looking forward to the March Madness!

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.

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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 Whips the Washingtons

After a four game road trip, the Washington Schools came to town and the Stanford Women’s Basketball team enjoyed playing on their home floor. Lili Thompson, in particular, likes playing at Maples.

After scoring 27 to help Stanford beat Washington 69-53, two days later she scored a career-high 30 points to beat Washington State 69-52. Don’t get C and R wrong, though, these games were very different, and the WSU game was much closer than the score indicates.


Lili Thompson scored 57 points in two games.
Photo courtesy of Stanford Official site.
However, C and R would be remiss if we did not point out Stanford’s defense in the first game. Washington had the leading score in the country, Kelsey Plum, and Stanford limited her to seven first half points. Granted, she got loose in the second and man, can she create her own shots, ala Steph Curry, and she had 23 for the game. However, Stanford held her four points under her average. In that game, Stanford got hot early, thanks to Lili and enjoyed a double-digit lead from the first quarter on.

Contrast that to the Washington State game. Stanford was down by two at the half, 27-25. A little birdie told us WSU was filled with international players and they definitely did not back down. They certainly were not afraid of Stanford and never gave up hustling. WSU was very aggressive, especially in the defense. Stanford had to earn every basket. Curious, WSU used full court pressure in the fourth to rattle Stanford, yet inexplicably backed off of it. Stanford traditionally is not good with full court pressure.

One thing that saved Stanford in this game was the rebounding, Stanford had 46 boards to their 26. Kaylee Johnson regained her rebounding mojo by pulling in 19, with Erica McCall hot on her heels with 14. Erica added 11 points for another double-double, her 12th of the season. Karlie Samuelson added 10 points, including two three-pointers. However, it was Lili who helped Stanford build a second half lead with her 30 points in 33 minutes, 24 of them in the second half. She was 5-11 from the three-point line.


Kaylee Johnson had 19 rebounds vs WSU.
Photo courtesy of Stanford Official site.
Again, the defense came through, limited WSU’s leading scorer Borislava Hristova to nine points, half her season average. Lili Thompson drew that assignment and it was just the third time the Bulgarian native has failed to score in double figures this season.

Next game…Cal at home and away!

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Stanford Glad to be Or-e-Gone

The Stanford Women’s Basketball team (ranked #11) split two in the state of Oregon. First they played unranked Oregon, were trailing the whole game, and barely won 64-62. Then they played #12 Oregon State, built up a huge lead, and then couldn’t score in the fourth to lose 58-50. Two very contrasting games.

Oregon
Stanford was without their tall tree Erica McCall, who was “not feeling well.” However they held Oregon’s lead scorer Jillian Alleyne to only three points in the first half and five total points. Stanford’s defense is often overlooked.

Kaylee Johnson got the start and made the most of it, and scored in double figures, finishing with 16 points. In fact, Kaylee looked like a different woman out there, hustling, yes, but so sure and confident, really going up strong when she got the ball, or an offensive rebound. We have not seen the type of swagger in her one and a half years on the farm.

What happened in the game, quite simply, Oregon was beating Stanford with threes. They connected on 12-21. Hats off to Karlie Samuelson for making a few herself (4-5) to keep it close. The fourth quarter started with Stanford only down by four.

In the fourth, after trailing the whole game, sometimes as much as nine points, Stanford got it within one with four minutes left, trailing 61-60. That score stuck around until Oregon’s Jillian made a free throw with 53 seconds left.

Lili Thompson wanted it! Samuel Marshall/Emerald)

Cue the music, cue lights, cue our hero, Lili Thompson. Lili drove to her left and made a very tough lay up over two defenders with 35 seconds left to tie the game. And she was fouled! And she missed the free throw. Then rinse and repeat. Lili goes left, makes a tough lay up to go up by two with 2.2 seconds left, is fouled, and misses the free throw. A timeout advances the ball for Oregon and they even got a shot off, but it missed. Stanford hangs on to win 64-62.

Kaylee Johnson with 16, Lili with 16, and Karlie Samuelson with 18.

Oregon State
Which is harder for a fan to watch, trailing all game and heart attack with 2.2 seconds left for the win, or building up a huge lead, feeling good and munching popcorn, only to watch your team slowly starve to death for points and finally lose 58-50? C and R will answer for you. The second one.

This game was not without some Stanford highlights. It was good to see Kailee Johnson (no relation to Kaylee Johnson) have a break out game, take the ball up strong against a taller post and score 14, I believe a career high. Erica McCall was back in the lineup and scored 12. Alas, Lili’s magic from last game could not save them, and she ended up with nine points, and Karlie Samuelson had seven and fouled out of the game.

Tale of Two Halves
After trailing early in the first quarter, Stanford built up a nice lead against the Beavers in the second and even held them to nine points in the second quarter with a 17-6 run. The half time score was 30-21.

Then, Stanford held the Beavs (no relation to Justin Bieber) to nine points again in the third, but only scored ten points themselves, leading 40-30 to start the fourth. Then two things happened, Oregon State went to a zone and Stanford stayed in their same offense, which was not working, and Oregon’s Jamie Weisner got untracked. Wesiner only scored four points in the first half, and ended the game with 18. Also, Devan Hunter made 5-7 threes to end the game with 19. She had only made seven all season long.

How bad was it? Oregon State went on a 22-4 run to win 58-50. Wait, our math must be wrong. Oregon State outscored Stanford 28-10 in the fourth. Yowzza. Here’s more math. This win for Oregon was the first time in 15 years, snapping a29-game losing streak. The last time they won was 2001.

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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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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 Gets First Win of the Season

Well, welcome back women’s basketball fans, after a long hiatus, C and R are back! And so is Stanford! After a very short (one game) exhibition season, which resulted in a win over The SF Academy of Art (Hey don’t make fun of artists who like sports, all of my degrees are in art!), the Stanford Women’s Basketball team opened their season on the road vs. UC Davis.

Anyhoo, hats off to IUC Davis for providing a free live stream of the game, which started 40 minutes late. Only complaint is there was no sound, and the view never showed a scoreboard. Other than that, it was great to see the game.

photo Courtesy of Stanford Basketball

Notable observations from a small, soundless, scoreless screen:

Junior guard Lili Thompson didn’t start, although she was second highest scorer last year.

Starters were freshmen Marta Sniezek at point, Bri Roberson the off guard, Karlie Samuelson (KSam), Kaylee Johnson, who lead the team in rebounds last year, and Erica McCall as the bigs.

Stanford looked faster than UC Davis and loved the quick step of guards and forwards as soon as they touched the ball, all ready to explode to the basket, instead of being flat footed.

Really love this Marta kid, tough strong, and for a point guard, decisive. Not afraid to drive it to the hoop, and on one play, took the pass off of a defensive rebound and went all the way to the hoop. Hey, if the defense doesn’t stop you…. Very crisp passer, too.

Have to change our drinking game from “when an Ogwumike loses a contact” to “when a Stanford player needs to tie a shoe.” Seriously, ever hear of double or triple knots? One of my son’s soccer coaches used duct tape on wayward laces.

Love the full court press. Except when it didn’t work.

Did not love the post player giving the guard that high screen at the three point line, as last year. They are so out of position if the guard does drive by and lays it up. Plus the opposing player can see it coming a mile away.

The game had four quarters instead of two halves, per the new rules. There are a whole bunch more new rules, but we can’t remember them and are too lazy to look them up.

So many shots rimmed out for Stanford. Someone should check those rims at UC Davis.  C and R thought they were watching a crooked carnival game.

We have no help on “D” when we play player to player (formerly man to man), which we did all night. If UC Davis blew by their defender, they blew by their defender and had a clear path to the basket.

Even though she is now a sophomore, still love this Brittany McPhee kid!

UC Davis can miss shots, too. Both teams were hovering around 30% shooting from the floor at the half way point. Stanford had a slight lead, 29-24.

Sometimes we make one too many passes. Sometimes you need to be a ball hog and just take it to the rack.

Loved the third quarter surge; five minutes into the third quarter Stanford had 17 (and went 3-4 from three-point land) and UC Davis just two points. (Head coach Tara VanDerveer is the master of half time adjustments). Remember the first half where they shoot 30% and scored 29 points? They shot 55% in the third and scored 31 points.

Really, really love the Aussie Alanna Smith. She sure knows how to move to the basket and score!
Loved Kaylee Johnson’s blocks (however she needs to score more, a problem last year, too). She had zero points.

Loved seeing my cup o’ coffee (freshie Shannon Coffee). Full disclosure, although I have never met her, she grew up in the same home town as C, which is Dayton Ohio, (except different eras) and us Ohioans got to stick together. I bet she knows about Mikela Ruef’s beaver call. She scored five points in her debut.

Loved Erica McCall’s double double, and four players being in double figures for points. Erica had 10, Bri 15, Alanna 13 and Lili 10.

Final score 74-45.

Great win, one more road game at Gonzaga, and then we get to see Stanford in person!

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What’s in a Number? Turns out, Everything for Lauren Hill

Numbers are very important to athletes. You could say they are superstitious about them, even. It is on their back and sometimes the front. It is their identity.

Now starting, number 22…

Foul on number 10…

Hey 12, good game…

Oh, did you see what number 45 just did?

I’m coming for you number 7…

Number 22 was special for Lauren Hill. At the age of 18, she found out she was diagnosed with Diffused Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a nasty, inoperable brain tumor, shortly after declaring she would play college basketball at Mount St Josephs in Ohio.  She accepted the terminal diagnosis it as best she could.

However, Lauren, after going through all the stages of grief and make a wish trips, decided she really wanted to wear that number 22 one more time. To wear it on a bigger stage, to say her time was not done. She stated she wanted to hear the roar of crowd, the bouncing of the ball, and the squeaking of the shoes, to put on number 22 one more time. “…I just can't wait to be standing on this court in a basketball uniform, with the No. 22,” she said.

Sometimes you are dealt a bad hand in life, like Lauren. Or you can look at it that you got a tighter deadline than most. What will you do with it is up to you. Lauren decided to make the most of her short time on earth. She wanted to raise awareness for childhood cancer and be a voice for DIPG sufferers specifically. Usually small children are diagnosed with the fatal tumor and don’t even get half the years she got. Maybe they never get to wear a special number on their small backs. She wanted to be their voice, raise awareness, and raise necessary money to find a cure and end this suffering. And, maybe, wear number 22 one more time.

Lauren got her wish. Doctors sad she likely would not survive until December. The NCAA moved her team’s basketball game up earlier to November. More people heard. The game was moved to an arena that housed 10,000 people. The tickets sold out in minutes. She donned the jersey. She heard it announced, she felt through her feet the floor vibrate with the applause.

She heard.

She felt.

She played.

We cheered.

We were inspired.

The other team was in on the special “layup for Lauren" play, a play that involved Lauren using her non-dominant left hand for a lay up because her right was too weak. She nailed it the first time out. The first basket of the season scored by number 22. She scored the closing basket in that game, too. By that time her plight and word of her courage had spread and she had raised just under a million dollars for the cure. She would go on to play in four games, finally wearing  number 22 on the home court of Mount St Joseph’s, the college she committed to on her 18^th birthday. She scored 10 points for the season, but for once, that wasn’t the number that mattered.

It is always said when someone young dies. We mourn their loss and the loss of their future life,
family, memories, perhaps children. Lauren Hill passed away April 9^th, 2015 at the age of 19. She lived longer than the doctors said she would. At this writing, she has raises over 2 million dollars and lived a memorable life. Her courage will not be forgotten.

Did you see what number 22 just did?

Turns out it was a lot.

Please donate to Lauren Hill’s cause, the Cure Starts Now Foundation.

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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.

Drive left and follow C and R on Facebook and Twitter, too!

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