[81alum]

And I'm glad Alanna finally got a breakout game. I think this will be a big confidence boost for her leading up to OSU. 81, you said Tara said Alanna is still working her way back into form after the summer, right? I wonder why - didn't she play international basketball with Australia most of the summer? If anything I would have thought she'd be coming back in the best shape ever, much like Bird had a breakout season her junior year after playing USA basketball.

It was something Kate said at the last chalk talk.  I have no idea why she would have started the season a bit off.  Perhaps there is an adjustment going between the Stanford system and the international system.  I'm sure that is true for fouls--it seemed to take her a couple of seasons to learn not to foul in the American system, and then she competes internationally and when she comes back she starts fouling again.  You can't generate rhythm or big numbers if you are sitting in foul trouble.  But she was really extraordinary in the NCAAs and started more quietly this season, until yesterday--although she did pick up 4 fouls in a game that was not called all that close.  Yesterday's success was in spite of foul trouble.

As for tOSU, a lot will depend on whether our young players have confidence in their shots.  If we rebound as well as we did against UConn, and avoid turnovers as well as we did last night--then we can give Mitchell 30 points and still win the game, much as we did Plum last year at Washington.  But we have to have a hot shooting night to go along with improved ball care and rebounding.  The pull up and mid range jumper would really help Alanna against Mavunga if she can perfect it.  Last game we had a bazillion altered shots around the basket--we were just trying to squirm around Mavunga and failing to do so.  So...that is a lot of things that have to all happen to pull off the upset.  But I do think that psychologically we will start in a much better place than we did playing at their home in our first game with Britt running on a tweaked ankle.

[81alum]

And I'm glad Alanna finally got a breakout game. I think this will be a big confidence boost for her leading up to OSU. 81, you said Tara said Alanna is still working her way back into form after the summer, right? I wonder why - didn't she play international basketball with Australia most of the summer? If anything I would have thought she'd be coming back in the best shape ever, much like Bird had a breakout season her junior year after playing USA basketball.

It was something Kate said at the last chalk talk.  I have no idea why she would have started the season a bit off.  Perhaps there is an adjustment going between the Stanford system and the international system.  I'm sure that is true for fouls--it seemed to take her a couple of seasons to learn not to foul in the American system, and then she competes internationally and when she comes back she starts fouling again.  You can't generate rhythm or big numbers if you are sitting in foul trouble.  But she was really extraordinary in the NCAAs and started more quietly this season, until yesterday--although she did pick up 4 fouls in a game that was not called all that close.  Yesterday's success was in spite of foul trouble.

As for tOSU, a lot will depend on whether our young players have confidence in their shots.  If we rebound as well as we did against UConn, and avoid turnovers as well as we did last night--then we can give Mitchell 30 points and still win the game, much as we did Plum last year at Washington.  But we have to have a hot shooting night to go along with improved ball care and rebounding.  The pull up and mid range jumper would really help Alanna against Mavunga if she can perfect it.  Last game we had a bazillion altered shots around the basket--we were just trying to squirm around Mavunga and failing to do so.  So...that is a lot of things that have to all happen to pull off the upset.  But I do think that psychologically we will start in a much better place than we did playing at their home in our first game with Britt running on a tweaked ankle.