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!
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.
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.
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!
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!
Hidey ho, sports and Stanford fans. Apologies all around, C and R have been SO remiss in our blog writing. With the season practically half way over, and Pac-12 play just around the corner, we thought we would make an attempt.
First, let’s back it up. C and R treated themselves to a great Thanksgiving Holiday and took themselves down to warm sunny Cancun, Mexico to see Stanford play in the Cancun Challenge. We thought, sunny warm weather, on the ocean, all inclusive, all you can eat, and watching women’s basketball games, how can we not go, plus we would be surrounded by ALL of our Stanford friends. Well, most of it came true. It was sunny warm, C went in the ocean every day, R did yoga on the beach, but not many Stanford fans came down.
So C was most excited about talking to Stanford player Shannon Coffee. Shannon went to high school in Dayton Ohio. C went to high school in Dayton Ohio. The only difference is C went to high school 30 years before Shannon.
So when C and R went to the first game against Northeastern (in Boston, we had to ask, too), we looked for all the fans. We saw two distinct groups. So shout out to the Kaylee Johnson family and who else was there? The Coffee family! Oh joy! However, come to find out, the Coffees are from the affluent side of Dayton Ohio and Shannon went to the fancy high school and C lived in the unincorporated side of town and went to the “gritty” high school. C’s high school didn’t even have AP classes, so Stanford was never a possibility! But I digress.
So our small party of Stanford supporters sat in the stands and Stanford was winning handily against Northeastern. So C and R hit the all-inclusive, all you can eat, all free food bar. Suddenly Stanford was only up by 10. So C and R began chowing down on chicken wings and Stanford started to pull away. The nice thing about it is head coach Tara VanDerveer played al a lot more of her bench and C and R got to see a lot more of players we don’t usually see, including the freshies. Final score 74-45. Box Score here.
The second game was against Wichita State, which we can’t report on because we were out seeing one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Chichen Itza. A bus came and picked us up promptly at 8:40 AM. And five hours later, we still hadn’t seen any Mayan Ruins. Most of the trip was designed to see how many American dollars they could get out of us. Finally in the sixth hour, after navigating a gantlet of t-shirt vendors and knick-knack providers (of which we did partake on the way out), we saw it, the famous El Castillo, Spanish for "the castle", also known as the Temple of Kukulcan, is a Mesoamerican step-pyramid that dominates the center of the Chichen Itza archaeological site in the Mexican state of Yucatán, sez Wikipedia. Two times a year, the sun would light up triangles on the stairs until they touched a large snake head. Incredible. How did they know how to do that?
But was most impressive was the “ball court,” where special games were played four times a year on the solstice and equinox days. Two rings were embedded high in the stone walls, one on each side. Underneath each rings were raised platform, and then the rings were separated by a huge grass court, similar to a soccer field. Supposedly two teams would propel a ball in the grass court (debate if it was hiops and shoulders only, not feet or hands) up to their captain on the raised platform and the captain would try to get the ball through the hoop. It was so hard to score a goal, so the game would end when the first goal was scored. Then, and this is also much debated, the winning captain had the honor of being scarified to the gods and so was beheaded. Or the losing captain, which even you believe. Well, someone was beheaded, that is for sure. Carved in the stone was someone getting beheaded by another guy with a machete, so someone was getting beheaded because of this game. Have we progressed much in our sports culture?
So long story short, Stanford beat up Wichita State, C and R were amazed by the ancient sites, and everyone got to play. Final score 87-39, box score.
The third game was the game C and R really wanted to see, Purdue v Stanford. Purdue played a zone offense, probably having watched a lot of game film on Stanford. Stanford’s offense is not very well designed for zone. Stanford offense is about setting screens and quick ball movement to get players an open look, especially threes. Throwing the ball to the middle is definitely a second priority. So Stanford had a hard time scoring. All we remember, in between our trip to the all you can eat buffet, was thank goodness for Brittany McPhee. She was only of the few who could drive in create her own shot. We also saw flashes of that from freshie DJ Carrington. Purdue lead most of the game, until Stanford finally caught on that driving in resulted in points or fouls. Once they got some foul calls in the closing minutes, it was all over. Final score 78-69, with the game being MUCH closer than the score indicates. Box score.
One thing that was really cool was meeting and talking to all the players not on Stanford teams. We met a local Palo Alto girl who went all the way to Boston to school. We met an Idaho State player’s aunt and grandmother, and although the player had suffered TWO ACL injuries, she was getting a bachelor’s and two masters degrees for free. We tried to trash talk UCLA, who was in the other division, but they were all so nice it was hard. Really enjoyed talking to an UCLA assistant coach and hearing how her role is different than a head coach’s role (She can be more buddy-buddy where the head coach has to lay down the law).
However after the Stanford game, Purdue was SO dejected. We told them to keep their head up, however, they were in control of that game (and had over 200 fans cheering for them), so to lose it in the final minutes hit especially hard. They truly believed they would win. We don’t normally get to see the other team after a Stanford loss.
After five days of being waited on hand and foot and stuffing ourselves to the gills, plus time in the ocean every day to see real gills, it was hard coming back to the chilly Bay Area. But jobs and mortgages await.
Stanford also rolled on, having games to play. They traveled to Bakersfield to play against Stanford player Erica McCall’s dad Greg. He coaches Cal State Bakersfield. Erica was extra-special hyped up and scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds and Stanford won handily, 77-59. Highlights here.
The next game was UC Davis at home and Stanford won 68-42. Box score .
Then came Tennessee, and although Stanford jumped out to a 15-4 lead, which we did not see because the SEC channel was still showing a men’s game, thank you very much, Stanford stopped scoring (read what we said about Purdue, Tenn went to different zone looks), and they lost 51-59. Box score.
They continued their trip to the East Coast with a win over George Washington, however Stanford again built a big lead and watched it slip away when GW clamped down in a zone and the threes weren’t following. However they came back late in the 4 th on a 13-2 run. Don’t like seeing them squander big leads. Oh, Erica McCall joined the 1,000-point club. Final score 71-52. Box score.
Still, despite the loss to Tenn, some good things in the first half of the season. The emergence of Bri Roberson at guard. Although she is not a prolific scorer, her quick hands on D help her stay in the lineup. The ability of Brittany McPhee to create her own shot, as we mentioned. Didn’t see much of it last year. The more confident Erica McCall on scoring down low and rebounding. There is a glint in her eye we have not seen before. And of course, love the pure post play of freshie Nadia Fingall. She makes her presence known and will be good in the post in the years to come.
Next game is against Yale, battle of the brains, then starts Pac-12 play, and believe you me, C and R, this is not going to be a cake walk like past years. Just ask undefeated Cal, Washington’s Kelsey Plum, who just broke Chiney Ogwumike’s Pac-12 scoring record and Oregon State's Sydney Wiese, who just broke Candice Wiggins’ Pac-12 three-point shooting record (dang, what’s up with Stanford records falling?). The Pac-12 is a good league this year! And is anyone’s for the grabbing. Stanford will have their work cut out for them.
Women’s Basketball is back, and even though UConn is supposed to have a “down year,” they still remain queens of the hardwood. But what about the Stanford Women’s Basketball team?
After a rousing exhibition win over UC San Diego (and Stanford’s head coach Tara VanDerveer beating her sister Heidi at the helm for San Diego), the regular season started with a bang. Here are small synopses of the games:
Cal Poly
Playing at home at Maples Pavillion, Stanford handily beat Cal Poly 83-55. The nice thing about this win was we got to see a lot of the freshmen, and for the first time in a long time, we can say there is not a huge drop off when we go deep in the bench. Everybody scored, almost, Shannon Coffee being the lone active player with zero points, and freshie Anaa Wilson was injured and not suited up for the game. See all the points scored in the box score here:
Texas
This was a huge test, as then No. 11 Stanford beat No. 8 Texas 71-59. How did they do it? Stanford drove inside. The score was actually pretty even until midway through the third quarter. Stanford found their groove and drove to the basket, in particular Brittany McPhee and Erica McCall. Stanford also benefited from the very bad “hand check” rule, where if an opposing player puts her hand on the player with the ball, it gets whistled as a foul. Never mind that the hand does not push or shove or alter the dribbling player’s trajectory at all. It is a bad rule, as bodies go flying on drives to the basket and on rebounds and nothing gets called, yet the refs have to whistle for the hand check. Once Stanford got their confidence in going inside, and Texas was on their heels, forget about it. Hats off to Brittany McPhee with a career-high 28 points, and Erica McCall with 17 points. Erica had six blocked shots, one off her career high. Box score here.
Texas highlights from Stanford Athletics::
Gonzaga
Remember how we said Stanford found their groove against Texas by driving inside? Well, they lost that groove, and that driving mindset, to unranked Gonzaga, losing 68-63. Stanford could not get the ball inside and was trailing most of the game. Their offense was very stagnant. When you work the ball on the perimeter, you better make some threes. Stanford was 3-18 from beyond the arc. Well, if the threes aren’t falling, you better drive inside. And that’s what Stanford didn’t do for most of the game.
Finally, in the third quarter, Britany McPhee started to drive inside and Stanford was helped by a foul calls. Erica McCall hit some tough jumpers just outside the paint (she would end up with 17 points). Stannie took the lead with 2 minutes left in the third. Then they stopped going inside and Gonzaga got hot from behind the arc and took the lead back with 6 minutes in the 4th. Stanford had the ball and was trailing by 1 with 27 seconds and called a time out. What worked for Stanford the last few scoring plays? Brittany McPhee going left and driving to the basket. What did Stanford do for a must get basket? Britany McPhee driving left to the basket (she would score 22 total points). How many Gonzaga defenders beat her to the spot? Three, with a Gonzaga player named Tinkle blocking her shot (more on Tinkle below).
Wasn’t Britany’s fault, when you are one-dimensional, the other team can predict. Still, Stanford had a shot with 14 seconds and down by three. Not sure what play Tara drew up in the time out, but Alana Smith inbounded the ball and threw a rainbow across the key to three-point specialist Karlie Samuelson, and the high, arching pass was easily intercepted by Gonzaga.
Let this loss be an eye opener to diversify their scoring options. Know what else drove a dagger in Stanford’s heart? A Tinkle. Former Stanford Alum Joselyn Tinkle’s little sister Elle plays for Gonzaga and she scored 18 points and added three blocked shots (including the last one on Brittany). She was especially good in the fourth. Jill Barta, the Zags tall athletic center scored 26. Laura Stockton, daughter of NBA great John Stockton, played guard for Gonzaga and contributed 12 points and 4 assists. Full box score.
CSUN
After a bad loss to an unranked team, Cal State Northridge was just want the doctor ordered. And you can bet Tara had the team work on getting the ball inside, and drives to the basket. Erica McCall scored 17 points, Brittany McPhee and freshie Nadia Fingall, benefiting from extended minutes also had 14 and Stanford beat CSUN 88-54. In fact, Tara gave extended minutes to everyone active, and 11 of 12 players scored and grabbed rebounds for Stanford. Passing was also crisp, and Stanford had 19 assists.
What’s next? Stanford will travel to the Cancun Challenge for Thanksgiving, and will take on Northeastern (Nov. 24), Wichita State (Nov. 25) and Purdue (Nov. 26). Guess who is following? C and R will be live tweeting from games…except if we book a snorkeling or boogie boarding excursion…or I can’t figure out how to do wifi in Mexico. Look for us over your Thanksgiving!!
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!
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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March 22 Stanford Sends South Dakota State Packing
For a #12 seed playing an #4 seed, this was not a slam dunk. First of all, even though the #4 seed Stanford Women’s Basketball Team was playing on their home court, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits brought the loudest people in All the Dakotas. SDSU beat #5 seed Miami two days prior, feeding off of their crowd’s energy, and they nearly knocked off Stanford, too, with that same energy.
Stanford enjoyed a slight lead at the half, 33-27 yet their offense stalled when Erica McCall went to the bench with three fouls in the third. SDSU rode their standing, cheering crowd to a lead mid-way thought the third quarter. It also didn’t help that Stanford was 10-22 from the free throw line. Then, Stanford fans, who tend to be quiet observers instead of rabid cheerers, came to life, with about four minutes left. Stanford fed off that energy, stealing and flying bodies and all, and went on a 12-3 run in the final minutes.
(apologies, embed code for videos not working, please follow the links)
Then, with the clock running down, and Stanford needing a score….wait, why listen to us prattle on when you can see for yourself. Lili with the lay up and one with 8 seconds left! Nothing but net!
The Jackrabbits, who were well coached, advanced the ball to half court and dribbled to the key where they met…wait, just looky here: Yes, Erica McCall and looks like Kailee Johnson blocked that ball and all of SDSU’s hopes and dreams.
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!
The Stanford women’s Basketball Team closed out their regular season with two Pac-12 wins. The first one was an emphatic win over #7 Oregon State. And it wasn’t just a win, it was a spanking. Once Stanford took the lead just before the end of the first quarter, they kept it and beat them by 22, the final score being 76-54. At one point Stanford lead by 30!
C and R were in doubt before the game, having just found out that leading scorer Lili Thompson would miss the game to attend her grandfather’s funeral. Brittany McPhee got the start and made the most of it, scoring in double digits. She had 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, adding four rebounds and a career-high four assists.
More importantly, she played lock down defense on OSU’s Jamie Weisner. Jamie was held to just four total points and one made field goal. She usually averages 17 points a game. The Stanford team held OSU below their season average, too.
Shout out to Erica McCall. Not only did she score a career-high 25 points, she hit three 3-pointers. Yes, from behind the arc. Before this game she had attempted one 3-pointer, when the shot clock was going to expire. This game she attempted FIVE, and made three! Couple that with Stanford’s three point specialist, Karlie Samuelson leading all players in REBOUNDS with 12, the world definitely has gone topsy-turvy. Karlie scored 13 points to go with her career-high 12 rebounds. She also made three of four 3-pointers. Annnd, her first double-double of her career! What an entertaining game that was. And where has this energy been all season?
Special game? Yes, as it was, as the Cardinal got their 1000th win in its 40-plus year history, moving the program into an elite group of seven schools that have reached the 1,000-victory mark. Current Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer is responsible for 824 of them.
Stanford Wins 1,000th
Photo courtesy of Stanford Official site.
Speaking of Coach TVD, she knew OSU had a tall, 6’-6 center in Ruth Hamblin. Having Bird (Erica) stay out on the three point line and take threes meant several things. Their center was not used to coming out to guard someone that far away for the basket, so left her open and two, drew the tall rebounder away from the basket. Genius.
Oregon Game:
Speaking of Genius, let’s rinse and repeat for Oregon, says TVD. We were without Lili again, however Oregon was sadly playing without their lead scorer and rebounder, Jillian Alleyne, who tore her ACL in practice this week. It was hard for the Ducks to recover from that blow.
Oregon also has a tall center just like OSU, and Erica stayed out around the three point line, first gaining confidence hitting long twos, and then a three. She would end up with her 15th double-double of the season (by halftime!) and finish with 25 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. Bri Roberson added 10 and Alanna Smith had nine points. Stanford would beat Oregon 69-42.
This game was senior night and it was great to see walk-on Kiran Lakhian get some quality minutes. She made several very nice passes for baskets and scored five. Seniors Alex Green and Tess Picknell also got in the game and Alex scored a basket, too. It was great to see the whole bench rooting for them.
Lovely ceremony after the game, too. Also great decision years ago to do this after the game, as it gets so emotional. Tears did flow. We learned Kiran plans to go to medical school like her mother and Tess was almost bitten by a rattle snake, and her mother said they shot, cooked and ate the snake. Not sure if she was kidding or not.
With these two wins Stanford is the number four seed going in to the Pac-12 Tournament, which means a first round bye and then playing the winner of Washington/Colorado on Friday. As for the regular season standings, well, C and R are a little confused about where everyone ended up. UCLA upset ASU, so Oregon State and Arizona State tied for first, and Stanford and UCLA tied as well. So are we tied for third, then? Or tied for second if ASU and OSU are co-winners. So confusing.
Well, tune into the Pac-12 tourney next week. Remember last year, when Stanford did not win the regular season but won the tournament? That was awesome! Anything can happen in this year’s deep Pac-12.
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It’s the middle of the Pac-12 season, so you know what that means, dear readers. The annual Battle of the Bay for the Stanford Women’s Basketball team with arch rival Cal.
Stanford rode Erica McCall’s 11 points (plus 13 boards for her 13 th double double) and Karlie Samuleson’s three-pointers to beat Cal 53-46. Karlie was 4-5 from three-point land.
Stanford hats off to Lili Thompson. She had tape on her shooting hand, holding her fingers together, and it was clear it affected her shooting touch. When her three wasn’t falling, she moved inside to jumpers, when that didn’t work, she started going in for lay ups. And they were not easy shots. She kept herself in the game and found a way to contribute to her team. And although she was 3-15, she chipped in 11 points.
Stanford D also held Cal’s outstanding freshmen, Kristine Anigwe (who reminds C and R an AWFUL lot of an Ogwumike), to 17 points. She usually scores around 20. She had nine in the first quarter, until Stanford stifled her for only eight points over the next three quarters.
Couple that with only seven active players for Cal (injuries, people leaving the program) and it was hard for Cal to bounce back.
So Stanford won the first one, and it was weird, Stanford players did not seem happy with the win, perhaps they knew they did not play well. Their demeanor as they left the court was not one of a jubilant team. They did have 15 turnovers. However, Cal had it worst, only shooting 28% for the game, with 2-11 from three-point land. Would that hold for game two?
Lili Thompson looks intense in the Battle of the Bay.
Photo courtesy of Stanford Official site.
Part II
In this one, Stanford players got the green light to drive and go 1 on 1, be selfish and create their own shot, a little different from other games where they pass and pass until they find an open player. Or maybe head coach Tara VanDerveer said only the Johnsons are allowed to score in the first half?
At one point Kaylee Johnson put the ball on the floor and got a layup. Even the Pac-12 announcers noticed, saying she was not shying away from contact around the basket. Then Kailee Johnson got in to the act, and when she put the ball on the floor, Cal was so surprised no one stopped her and she got a layup.
C and R are sorry to report that Lili was cold again. And yes, her fingers were taped again, which affects her shooting touch. Karlie Samuelson got in to foul trouble, picking up three before the first half ended and sat. The most disturbing fact of the first was that Lili and KSam had zero points in the first.
Luckily for the Johnson and Johnson show in the first, with them scoring 10 and 9 points respectively. You have to figure out which is which. However Stanford found themselves down seven, 27-34. Cal kept themselves in the game by out rebounding Stanford, especially on the O boards.
Another interesting tidbit, walk on Kiran Lakhian got in to the game for four minutes in the first. She usually does not play or only goes in the final seconds. With such a deep bench, we wonder why Tara called her number?
Then, the start of the second and everything went sideways for Cal. Stanford, possible fired up from a pep talk/scolding in the locker room went on an 11-0 run. Annnnd, held Cal to four points in the third quarter while scoring 15. Stanford got the lead for the first time and did not let go.
In the fourth, Stanford had 5 players in double figures. Erica McCall had another double double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Brittany McPhee had 12 points, and a lot of hustle plays that won’t show up in the stat line. Kaylee Johnson had 11, and Kailee Johnson and Lili Thompson each had 10: Lili’s were all in the second.
Still, Stanford uncharacteristically made many mental mistakes in the last minute to keep Cal around, and it was a frantic finish. Cal’s Courtney Range hit a three with 26 seconds left to make it an exciting 56-53 Stanford lead. However Cal had to foul and Stanford hung on to win 60-55.
Stanford gets its 22nd regular-season sweep of Cal and keeps chugging to get back into the Pac-12 hunt.
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.
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.
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!!
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.
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
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!
So the Stanford’s Women’s Basketball Team lost to a very good Notre Dame team 81-60 in the Sweet Sixteen. Not every team can win a championship, and Stanford, Pac-12 Tournament Champions, sure showed those nay-sayers who did not even think they would get this far.
Oddly, it was the first time Stanford’s head coach Tara VanDerveer and Notre Dame’s Muffet McGraw have coached against each other in the post season. They are usually on opposite ends of the bracket with one of them running into the buzz saw that is UConn. Even more oddly, it was only the third time the two teams have met (Stanford won both in the 90’s).
Stanford's Eric McCall went up against a tough and tall Notre Dame Defense (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
The lack of a strong post player who can bang around and score definitely hurt against Notre Dame, although hats off to Erica McCall for scoring 12 and grabbing 10 boards for a double double. Our freshie rebounding Phenom Kailee Johnson had a tougher time when she was in. She finished with zero points and one rebound. She would be wise to work on finishing around the basket for next year.
Also hurting us was when guard Lili Thompson pulled up short with a knee injury. Stanford was only down by five with about nine minutes left in the first half. Replays didn't show her having a traumatic event, just crumpled when running, but she was in a lot of pain. She went to the locker room for most of the first and Notre Dame made some runs. She was never really herself after that and not very effective in the second. She finished with two points.
The third thing hurting us was Notre Dame guard Lindsey Allen. She scored a career high 24 first half points, and made four 3-pointers. I know Stanford was keying on Notre Dame’s other guard Jewel Loyd, and limited her to six points in the first, but you have to at least get a hand in the face of Allen. To illustrate her hot hand, she made 16 threes all season long. Stanford gambled she would not keep hitting, but they also should have gotten to her faster on defense.
Stanford bomber, Bonnie Samuelson tried to keep Stanford in it hitting her threes in the first, but not much production from everyone else.
In the second half, Stanford finally stopped Allen (or she got cold) but then Jewel Loyd got hot. With Lili being limited in minutes, Bri Roberson was in and got into foul trouble, playing with three for most of the game. She was tentative on defense on Loyd and it showed.
However it was nice on the other end of the floor to see Bonnie to continue hitting her threes. When she hit her fifth of the game, she made ND’s Coach take a time out and take out her big player to put a smaller guard on Bonnie. It worked. Bonnie was then ineffective. She finished the game with 17.
Once Lloyd took over, and ND got a few fast break points, all the wind in Stanford’s sails was gone, and that’s all she wrote. Except Imma gonna write more!
It was not how Stanford or their fans wanted it to end, but if any coach did more with less, it was Tara VanDerveer getting great production out of her guards with a completely new offense. Stanford will miss all their seniors, none more than steady guard Amber Orrange and dead-eye Bonnie Samuelson.
Thank you all for a great season!
Now, to see if anyone can knock off UConn (no one gave us a shot in November!)
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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!).
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.
