02-23-2012, 11:30 PM
This was an ugly win--particularly considering the turnover-fest that was the first half. We had 10 assists to 19 turnovers as a team for what probably was the worst ratio for the year (the loss at Connecticut was 10 assists to 13 turnovers.) 15 of the turnovers happened in the first half--which we led only 26-18.Â
Either Tara made excellent corrections or the team just settled down in the second half since we had only 4 turnovers the rest of the way, and the offense functioned much better in the second half. Part of the problem was that Colorado seemed to come in determined to foul us rather than let us shoot baskets. One of their players fouled out and 3 others accumulated 4 fouls each.Â
Defensively it was a good effort. Colorado shot 32.7%. That is particularly outstanding considering all the turnovers we gave them--that they did not convert into points. Their star scorer--Chuckie Jeffery--did get 13 but none of their remaining starters got more than 2. I noticed in the second half that Lindy was covering Chuckie even when Amber was on the floor--that looked like a vote of confidence by Tara in Lindy's defense.
I think it is time to acknowledge that--for whatever reason--Stanford is not a consistently good three point shooting team. We were 3-17 which is becoming all too normal for us. Connecticut the other night was 8-15. I have no idea how to explain it, but the shots are not falling. Lindy at 2-4 was a bright spot tonight, including a 4 point play.
Joslyn played excellent defense, had 4 assists, 2 blocks, and 0 turnovers. And although she went 0-7 for FGs, she made 8-8 free throws. She was clearly bothered and made less efficient by all the fouling, but going 100% on free throws certainly helps.
Toni had an off night with 2 assists to 7 turnovers and only 3 points. All 7 of her turnovers were in the first half. Amber had only 1 assist and 3 turnovers, but she did go 3-4 with 7 points, including one very nice curl in to the basket through traffic which got the three point play.
Nneka was more accurate tonight than she has been for a while, shooting 7-11. She moved up to become the 2nd all time scorer at Stanford, ahead of Kate Starbird. She won't surpass Candice, though. Chiney had a solid double double to go with her sister's.
The first half scared me. Colorado showed that they could hack and foul us to an ugly standstill. A better team might be able to sustain that kind of defense for more than a half. I'd feel a whole lot better if our outside shooting were accurate enough to nullify that style of defense.
After the game, the PAC-12 presented the league trophy to Tara and the team.
Either Tara made excellent corrections or the team just settled down in the second half since we had only 4 turnovers the rest of the way, and the offense functioned much better in the second half. Part of the problem was that Colorado seemed to come in determined to foul us rather than let us shoot baskets. One of their players fouled out and 3 others accumulated 4 fouls each.Â
Defensively it was a good effort. Colorado shot 32.7%. That is particularly outstanding considering all the turnovers we gave them--that they did not convert into points. Their star scorer--Chuckie Jeffery--did get 13 but none of their remaining starters got more than 2. I noticed in the second half that Lindy was covering Chuckie even when Amber was on the floor--that looked like a vote of confidence by Tara in Lindy's defense.
I think it is time to acknowledge that--for whatever reason--Stanford is not a consistently good three point shooting team. We were 3-17 which is becoming all too normal for us. Connecticut the other night was 8-15. I have no idea how to explain it, but the shots are not falling. Lindy at 2-4 was a bright spot tonight, including a 4 point play.
Joslyn played excellent defense, had 4 assists, 2 blocks, and 0 turnovers. And although she went 0-7 for FGs, she made 8-8 free throws. She was clearly bothered and made less efficient by all the fouling, but going 100% on free throws certainly helps.
Toni had an off night with 2 assists to 7 turnovers and only 3 points. All 7 of her turnovers were in the first half. Amber had only 1 assist and 3 turnovers, but she did go 3-4 with 7 points, including one very nice curl in to the basket through traffic which got the three point play.
Nneka was more accurate tonight than she has been for a while, shooting 7-11. She moved up to become the 2nd all time scorer at Stanford, ahead of Kate Starbird. She won't surpass Candice, though. Chiney had a solid double double to go with her sister's.
The first half scared me. Colorado showed that they could hack and foul us to an ugly standstill. A better team might be able to sustain that kind of defense for more than a half. I'd feel a whole lot better if our outside shooting were accurate enough to nullify that style of defense.
After the game, the PAC-12 presented the league trophy to Tara and the team.