[81alum]

Overview:

This was the first true blow-out win since the last time we played Arizona, and came at a good time to build some confidence prior to a very tough final five games of the regular season.  12 players scored and we shot 52%, including 7 treys, and more than half of our shots were assisted.  A feel-good game and a large win over an overmatched team.

Flow of the Game

The drama was over early--a phenomena that used to be common and now is rare.  Lili, Bri, Erica, and Kaylee all made baskets before Arizona scored, and Karlie was not far behind.  My only concern is that Arizona's defense was pretty bad and I certainly don't expect so many open looks from ASU.  We scored 24 points in the first quarter, which we had not done since Cornell on December 22.  It was certainly more fun to watch than those games where we struggled to get above ten points in a quarter. 

Tara was able to get many players valued minutes.  McPhee and Alanna got good experience.  Marta looked for Alanna with long passes on breaks over the middle and was successful a couple of times.  By the last 7 minutes the scout team was playing and the defensive intensity noticeably lapsed.  Even so, it was nice to see Alexa Romana and Kiran Lakhian make some pretty shots as we coasted along for the win.

Performances

So many players got time that no players really had massive stat lines.  Erica, Lili and Kaylee had double digit points.  Lili was 3/6 and continued her torrid free throw shooting with another 4/4.  Erica's rebounding was down with her minutes, but she was a very efficient 5/7.  Kaylee was most impressive with 5/5 baskets, often on much more aggressive plays that we are used to seeing.  I've now seen Kaylee take it in to the basket from the high post several times and convert even with contact.  She has come a long ways since last year.

Alanna had a solid 7 points on 3/5 shooting--it could have been 5/5.  Before the game Kate talked about Alanna and her adjustment.  I get the impression that she is most comfortable around the basket--both when defending and on offense.  While her future may be to play in the 3 or stretch 4, that is not her strength at the present, and I think we lost some time by trying to convert her to that style too early.  Today she seemed to settle in for more layup attempts.  While Alanna generated 3 fouls, she also had a very impressive 4 blocks in limited minutes.

McPhee continues to impress me.  She had 9 efficient points, 7 rebounds, a couple of steals, etc.  Bri might be coming out of her slump--she went 3/8.  Karlie was 2/3, and everyone in the building knows that we need to get her more shots.  Marta really is a gifted ball handler--she dribbled through many double teams without being fazed.  She also had 5 outstanding assists.  Her offense still needs to diversify.

As a team we did quite well with getting 13 steals, which helped to offset the not-so-good 17 turnovers.  The only disappointment was the defensive lapse with the scout team in the game.

Conclusion:

Not sure anything I saw tonight convinces me more or less that we are ready for ASU on Sunday.  But at a minimum it seemed as if everyone had their shot tonight and it may have given our players confidence. So far, so good.

[81alum]

Overview:

This was the first true blow-out win since the last time we played Arizona, and came at a good time to build some confidence prior to a very tough final five games of the regular season.  12 players scored and we shot 52%, including 7 treys, and more than half of our shots were assisted.  A feel-good game and a large win over an overmatched team.

Flow of the Game

The drama was over early--a phenomena that used to be common and now is rare.  Lili, Bri, Erica, and Kaylee all made baskets before Arizona scored, and Karlie was not far behind.  My only concern is that Arizona's defense was pretty bad and I certainly don't expect so many open looks from ASU.  We scored 24 points in the first quarter, which we had not done since Cornell on December 22.  It was certainly more fun to watch than those games where we struggled to get above ten points in a quarter. 

Tara was able to get many players valued minutes.  McPhee and Alanna got good experience.  Marta looked for Alanna with long passes on breaks over the middle and was successful a couple of times.  By the last 7 minutes the scout team was playing and the defensive intensity noticeably lapsed.  Even so, it was nice to see Alexa Romana and Kiran Lakhian make some pretty shots as we coasted along for the win.

Performances

So many players got time that no players really had massive stat lines.  Erica, Lili and Kaylee had double digit points.  Lili was 3/6 and continued her torrid free throw shooting with another 4/4.  Erica's rebounding was down with her minutes, but she was a very efficient 5/7.  Kaylee was most impressive with 5/5 baskets, often on much more aggressive plays that we are used to seeing.  I've now seen Kaylee take it in to the basket from the high post several times and convert even with contact.  She has come a long ways since last year.

Alanna had a solid 7 points on 3/5 shooting--it could have been 5/5.  Before the game Kate talked about Alanna and her adjustment.  I get the impression that she is most comfortable around the basket--both when defending and on offense.  While her future may be to play in the 3 or stretch 4, that is not her strength at the present, and I think we lost some time by trying to convert her to that style too early.  Today she seemed to settle in for more layup attempts.  While Alanna generated 3 fouls, she also had a very impressive 4 blocks in limited minutes.

McPhee continues to impress me.  She had 9 efficient points, 7 rebounds, a couple of steals, etc.  Bri might be coming out of her slump--she went 3/8.  Karlie was 2/3, and everyone in the building knows that we need to get her more shots.  Marta really is a gifted ball handler--she dribbled through many double teams without being fazed.  She also had 5 outstanding assists.  Her offense still needs to diversify.

As a team we did quite well with getting 13 steals, which helped to offset the not-so-good 17 turnovers.  The only disappointment was the defensive lapse with the scout team in the game.

Conclusion:

Not sure anything I saw tonight convinces me more or less that we are ready for ASU on Sunday.  But at a minimum it seemed as if everyone had their shot tonight and it may have given our players confidence. So far, so good.

[FarmDad.01]

If, as in recent games, Kailee and Kaylee can combine for 12 - 16 points, the Cardinal will be in good shape.

[FarmDad.01]

If, as in recent games, Kailee and Kaylee can combine for 12 - 16 points, the Cardinal will be in good shape.

[JJJ]

I know it's their job to do so, but reading this piece from the AD makes me feel pretty good.

Stanford packed four games in eight days last week and was victorious in each. The Cardinal beat No. 25 Washington on Jan. 29 (69-53), Washington State on Jan. 31 (69-52), Cal on Feb. 2 (53-46) and the Golden Bears again on Feb. 5 (60-55).

The Cardinal swept Cal in the regular season for the 22nd time in the past 29 years. Down seven at the half, Stanford used a 13-0 run coming out of the break to beat the Bears in Berkeley on Friday night.

Stanford’s posts combined for 35 points on 52 percent shooting and the Cardinal had five players score in double figures for the second time this season.

http://www.gostanford.com/ViewArticle.db...M_ID=30600

[JJJ]

I know it's their job to do so, but reading this piece from the AD makes me feel pretty good.

Stanford packed four games in eight days last week and was victorious in each. The Cardinal beat No. 25 Washington on Jan. 29 (69-53), Washington State on Jan. 31 (69-52), Cal on Feb. 2 (53-46) and the Golden Bears again on Feb. 5 (60-55).

The Cardinal swept Cal in the regular season for the 22nd time in the past 29 years. Down seven at the half, Stanford used a 13-0 run coming out of the break to beat the Bears in Berkeley on Friday night.

Stanford’s posts combined for 35 points on 52 percent shooting and the Cardinal had five players score in double figures for the second time this season.

http://www.gostanford.com/ViewArticle.db...M_ID=30600

[TheFarm07]

We win 82-58.  Sloppy at the end with our bench players in, they seem a step slow, but this was their first live action in a month or so.  The fourth quarter will skew the statistics as our offense and defense were better than that.  But with such a big lead, Tara took the opportunity to empty the bench, pulling the last of the regular rotation, McPhee and Smith with roughly 5 minutes to go.

But the game was won over the first three quarters with very even scoring.  We had 3 players reach double digit scoring, but another 5 players with at least seven points each.  After going 10+ minutes through the game without any turnovers, we ended up with 17.  Nobody played more than 21 minutes.

I liked that our defense led to offense and we had contributions from everyone.  We did miss a couple of lay-ins and the Johnsons had foul trouble. Kaylee was 5-5, but those shots were from offensive rebounds and put-backs, which are awesome, but neither Kailee nor Kaylee really generated much offense on their own.

I liked the Sniezek-to-Smith connection that got going in the 2nd half, though one was called off on a Sniezek offensive foul.  Erica was much more efficient at 5-7.

A good start to the weekend with the Valentine's Day showdown with AZ State Sunday evening looming.

[TheFarm07]

We win 82-58.  Sloppy at the end with our bench players in, they seem a step slow, but this was their first live action in a month or so.  The fourth quarter will skew the statistics as our offense and defense were better than that.  But with such a big lead, Tara took the opportunity to empty the bench, pulling the last of the regular rotation, McPhee and Smith with roughly 5 minutes to go.

But the game was won over the first three quarters with very even scoring.  We had 3 players reach double digit scoring, but another 5 players with at least seven points each.  After going 10+ minutes through the game without any turnovers, we ended up with 17.  Nobody played more than 21 minutes.

I liked that our defense led to offense and we had contributions from everyone.  We did miss a couple of lay-ins and the Johnsons had foul trouble. Kaylee was 5-5, but those shots were from offensive rebounds and put-backs, which are awesome, but neither Kailee nor Kaylee really generated much offense on their own.

I liked the Sniezek-to-Smith connection that got going in the 2nd half, though one was called off on a Sniezek offensive foul.  Erica was much more efficient at 5-7.

A good start to the weekend with the Valentine's Day showdown with AZ State Sunday evening looming.

[chimera]

I don't know if we will win but I bet we play a lot better against ASU than last time.  That was an odd game.  We missed layups early and ASU hit a few lucky shots late in the shot clock.  That got them going and us reeling and we never could stop them from rolling.  Marta is much improved since that game.  She will still throw the overly ambitious pass and still doesn't look for her outside shot, but in the past 4 or 5 games she has cut the turnovers a lot and upped the assists.  Bri also looks better running the point and her shot is starting to come back.  We are going to need out bigs to box out like mad and score inside because ASU will make it hard to get good perimeter shots.  Of course gotta take care of the ball.  ASU did not have an easy time against Cal with Anigwe sitting out (coaches decision, her second offense that we know about this season that led to punishment of some sort, not starting one game a while back and now sitting one out).  I think ASU is not chugging along quite like they were a month ago.

This was a feel good game but given the way we have struggled on offense, I do think it shows that the offense is at least a bit better.  Everyone was aggressive and we got pretty good ball movement and off the ball movement.  Great to see players like Alexa get a chance and do well. 

[chimera]

I don't know if we will win but I bet we play a lot better against ASU than last time.  That was an odd game.  We missed layups early and ASU hit a few lucky shots late in the shot clock.  That got them going and us reeling and we never could stop them from rolling.  Marta is much improved since that game.  She will still throw the overly ambitious pass and still doesn't look for her outside shot, but in the past 4 or 5 games she has cut the turnovers a lot and upped the assists.  Bri also looks better running the point and her shot is starting to come back.  We are going to need out bigs to box out like mad and score inside because ASU will make it hard to get good perimeter shots.  Of course gotta take care of the ball.  ASU did not have an easy time against Cal with Anigwe sitting out (coaches decision, her second offense that we know about this season that led to punishment of some sort, not starting one game a while back and now sitting one out).  I think ASU is not chugging along quite like they were a month ago.

This was a feel good game but given the way we have struggled on offense, I do think it shows that the offense is at least a bit better.  Everyone was aggressive and we got pretty good ball movement and off the ball movement.  Great to see players like Alexa get a chance and do well. 

[81alum]

Random thought.  With Erica hitting jumpers, and with Kaylee making some layups with contact, are we reaching the point where Kaylee becomes the 5 and Erica the 4?  Their body types are better suited to those positions, I think, especially if Kaylee keeps getting stronger.

I guess the question is whether Erica is an effective passer from the high post? 

[81alum]

Random thought.  With Erica hitting jumpers, and with Kaylee making some layups with contact, are we reaching the point where Kaylee becomes the 5 and Erica the 4?  Their body types are better suited to those positions, I think, especially if Kaylee keeps getting stronger.

I guess the question is whether Erica is an effective passer from the high post? 

[TheFarm07]

I haven't seen Erica make many passes from the high post, so it's unknown if she would be a good passer from that position.

I agree with you 81alum, that I'm not sure if last night's game gave me more confidence heading into tomorrow evening against AZ State, but it didn't hurt. It was nice scoring 80+ points and being in control all game long.  At the least, hopefully it gives them some more confidence heading into tomorrow.

Karlie definitely needs to attempt more shots. She has logged the third most minutes (719) on the team, yet she has attempted 8 fewer shots than Bri (162 to 154), who has played 137 minutes fewer than Karlie.  Karlie is shooting 46.8% from the field including 46.3% from 3-pt range, while Bri is shooting 32.1%.  This needs to change.

[TheFarm07]

I haven't seen Erica make many passes from the high post, so it's unknown if she would be a good passer from that position.

I agree with you 81alum, that I'm not sure if last night's game gave me more confidence heading into tomorrow evening against AZ State, but it didn't hurt. It was nice scoring 80+ points and being in control all game long.  At the least, hopefully it gives them some more confidence heading into tomorrow.

Karlie definitely needs to attempt more shots. She has logged the third most minutes (719) on the team, yet she has attempted 8 fewer shots than Bri (162 to 154), who has played 137 minutes fewer than Karlie.  Karlie is shooting 46.8% from the field including 46.3% from 3-pt range, while Bri is shooting 32.1%.  This needs to change.

[81alum]

A few quotes.

"We know our next game is our biggest game," said Stanford center Kaylee Johnson, who had 10 points and five boards in 14 minutes. "We're focusing on ASU. We know they're aggressive. We have to come out and battle. We're all ready for that."

http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula-spo...ly-arizona

"This is the most you've seen us run, getting the ball and getting in transition," VanDerveer said. "It's what we have been working on all week. It's fun to see when you work on things, you see it happen out there. We were trying to get out and go and move the ball. We played Arizona better this time around."

"The way it is now with an unbalanced schedule, it definitely favors some teams over others," VanDerveer said. "Our team is built for a tournament run. We have the depth to play three games in three days. The key is keep improving and keep people healthy."

That last is interesting.  There was a time when Tara hated the tournament and thought the regular season title was the meaningful one.  But it is true that with unbalanced schedules the regular season title is partly the luck of the draw.  OSU and ASU only have to play each other once, while we play them each twice.  So it sounds as if Tara is warming to the tournament idea.  It certainly worked for us last year.

[81alum]

A few quotes.

"We know our next game is our biggest game," said Stanford center Kaylee Johnson, who had 10 points and five boards in 14 minutes. "We're focusing on ASU. We know they're aggressive. We have to come out and battle. We're all ready for that."

http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula-spo...ly-arizona

"This is the most you've seen us run, getting the ball and getting in transition," VanDerveer said. "It's what we have been working on all week. It's fun to see when you work on things, you see it happen out there. We were trying to get out and go and move the ball. We played Arizona better this time around."

"The way it is now with an unbalanced schedule, it definitely favors some teams over others," VanDerveer said. "Our team is built for a tournament run. We have the depth to play three games in three days. The key is keep improving and keep people healthy."

That last is interesting.  There was a time when Tara hated the tournament and thought the regular season title was the meaningful one.  But it is true that with unbalanced schedules the regular season title is partly the luck of the draw.  OSU and ASU only have to play each other once, while we play them each twice.  So it sounds as if Tara is warming to the tournament idea.  It certainly worked for us last year.

[81alum]

One more thing before moving on to tomorrow's ASU thread.  Kate said something interesting in response to a question about the defense.  She acknowledged that the defense was good this year, even though they had put most of their emphasis on the offense from the beginning.  She said simply that the offense takes more skill, more decision making, and is much harder to develop with young players--particularly at point guard.  So the excellent defense has not required that much practice and training in comparison, while most practice time goes to the offense.  This despite the disparate results.   

She also reiterated what we have heard many times--neither Lili nor Bri are "naturals" at point guard--they both are better suited to the 2 guard position.  "They would probably tell you that themselves" she said. 

[81alum]

One more thing before moving on to tomorrow's ASU thread.  Kate said something interesting in response to a question about the defense.  She acknowledged that the defense was good this year, even though they had put most of their emphasis on the offense from the beginning.  She said simply that the offense takes more skill, more decision making, and is much harder to develop with young players--particularly at point guard.  So the excellent defense has not required that much practice and training in comparison, while most practice time goes to the offense.  This despite the disparate results.   

She also reiterated what we have heard many times--neither Lili nor Bri are "naturals" at point guard--they both are better suited to the 2 guard position.  "They would probably tell you that themselves" she said.