Stanford Crushes Arizona

The nice thing about playing a team that is 0-4 in the Pac-12 team is, if you do your job right, you get to rest your starters and play your bench. The Stanford women’s basketball team did their job and beat Arizona 77-47 and rested their starters.

First of all, if a drinking game broke out that ruled you had to take a drink every time someone from Stanford either missed a layup or hit the deck, you would be blotto. Stanford had on their track shoes and had a lot of fast breaks, steals and fast breaks, and pretty passes on the fast break, but a lot of uncharacteristic misses on layups. Also C and R are getting concerned about those big ol’ brains of the players and the fact they keep hitting the floor. Love your willingness to take a charge, but remember what happened to your coach.

Erica McCall scored 13 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds (Photo by Norbert von der Groeben/Isiphotos.com)

Speaking of coaches, much has been written about Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer running a guard oriented offense this year and not having the post players be as prominent as past years. The only problem was that the post players were all but forgotten. Well, not forgotten, just not finishers. At times the post play of freshie Kaylee Johnson and sophomore Erica McCall showed the right moves but just couldn’t get the ball in the basket.

That put too much pressure on the guard tandem of Lili Thompson and Amber Orrange to score. TVD must have seen the errors of her ways, or at least said we need SOME post play. Tonight Erica McCall took that to heart and looked like a woman on a mission. Early on the crowd could tell she was in to it when she missed her shot, got the rebound, put it back up ,missed, grabbed the rebound in the paint and did a 360 and put it up again. This time she did find the bottom of the basket. She found it so much that she finished with 13 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for a double-double (We think her first double-double of the season). She also had three blocked shots. That is called establishing your presence.

Oh, just saw this article that Erica cresdits her new sports googles with giving her better court vision. She wore them in the summer and didn’t like the, Now they are back on, she is feeling confident! Future’s so bright, she’s gotta wear shades!

-Shout out to Bri Roberson with 12 points, and going 4-4 from the foul line. She keeps improving with every game. She matched her career-high for points and rebounds (3) and set career bests in assists (5) and minutes played (28).

-Shout out to Lili Thompson for also scoring 12, and taking many hits to the floor.
-Shout out to the sharp-shooting Samuelson sisters (say that seven times fast). Younger Karlie Samuelson had 12 points, on 4-5 shooting from behind the line. Senior sister Bonnie has 14 points, on 4-7 shooting from behind the arc, and one great drive to the basket.

Five Stanford players scored in double figures, and nine players total scored, which is good since we are playing a very tough Arizona State on Monday. We will need all those points and all those missed lay ups better go in!

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