03-04-2012, 09:21 PM
A very impressive win with Stanford dominating from start to finish. No suspense at any time in this game--well none after the first couple of minutes when Ca.l led 4-0. Several very positive developments and one item that continues to concern me.
Positives include a superb performance by Toni Kokenis, who had been cold for the last four games. She finished tonight with a game high 23 points including 3-6 three pointers, and 4 assists to 2 turnovers.Â
Also a very positive development was Bonnie's continued 3 point shooting, showing that Wednesday night was not a fluke. She was 3-6. The team overall was 8-20 for 40%. We have been waiting for many games for our three point shooting to come alive and it finally did this week. That must have been absolutely demoralizing for Ca.l, who came in determined to make life difficult for Nneka and Chiney and force us to take 3 point shots. Knowing that Toni has not been shooting well, Ca.l players backed off her and dared her to shoot the three--and she sank it. When the threes began to fall Ca.l must have known their chances were evaporating.
Nneka was 6-13 with 10-11 free throws for 22 points. She had 0 free throws in the last game, so something definitely changed for the better. The announcers pointed out that she was sick in the first game. She certainly looked healthy in this one. Chiney was only 2-6 but went 8-8 with free throws and finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. We have heard other coaches say that they have instructed their players to foul Nneka and Chiney rather than give them easy layups, and so it is very heartening to see both of them shooting wonderfully from the FT line. Joslyn had another great game too, 16 points with a couple of 3s to give our three headed monster 50 points and 24 rebounds.
Amber had a quiet game, going 1-7 with 1 assist and 1 turnover, and somehow she collected 4 fouls in 14 minutes. Tara mentioned at halftime that we needed to play better in the second half and mentioned Amber by name. Frosh are sometimes going to have games like that. She has been playing very well recently, but was a little off tonight. So, too, was Ca.l's Britany Boyd, who was only 3-15. I think we defended her very well, but she also looked to be a bit wild and nervous at times. The announcers noted that she was tearful on the sidelines. It is tough to be a frosh star in a big game, and I think Amber and Britany probably both showed that somewhat.
The one concern I noted was that Taylor did not play--her 3rd missed game. I am wondering about the seriousness of her injury. And we did not see Sarah Boothe despite all the rumors that she would be back soon. Remember that Tara has a long track record of concealing the severity of injuries to her players at this time of year.
Ca.l threw quite a lot of full court pressure against us and we handled it somewhat badly in the first half. By midway through the second half we were clinically dissecting it with long passes to open players, and they gave up running the press. It was very good to see a successful adjustment.
All in all, I am highly encouraged that we becoming more multi-dimensional. If we can keep the 3 point shooting going and keep Toni playing at this level, then we can go a long ways.
Positives include a superb performance by Toni Kokenis, who had been cold for the last four games. She finished tonight with a game high 23 points including 3-6 three pointers, and 4 assists to 2 turnovers.Â
Also a very positive development was Bonnie's continued 3 point shooting, showing that Wednesday night was not a fluke. She was 3-6. The team overall was 8-20 for 40%. We have been waiting for many games for our three point shooting to come alive and it finally did this week. That must have been absolutely demoralizing for Ca.l, who came in determined to make life difficult for Nneka and Chiney and force us to take 3 point shots. Knowing that Toni has not been shooting well, Ca.l players backed off her and dared her to shoot the three--and she sank it. When the threes began to fall Ca.l must have known their chances were evaporating.
Nneka was 6-13 with 10-11 free throws for 22 points. She had 0 free throws in the last game, so something definitely changed for the better. The announcers pointed out that she was sick in the first game. She certainly looked healthy in this one. Chiney was only 2-6 but went 8-8 with free throws and finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. We have heard other coaches say that they have instructed their players to foul Nneka and Chiney rather than give them easy layups, and so it is very heartening to see both of them shooting wonderfully from the FT line. Joslyn had another great game too, 16 points with a couple of 3s to give our three headed monster 50 points and 24 rebounds.
Amber had a quiet game, going 1-7 with 1 assist and 1 turnover, and somehow she collected 4 fouls in 14 minutes. Tara mentioned at halftime that we needed to play better in the second half and mentioned Amber by name. Frosh are sometimes going to have games like that. She has been playing very well recently, but was a little off tonight. So, too, was Ca.l's Britany Boyd, who was only 3-15. I think we defended her very well, but she also looked to be a bit wild and nervous at times. The announcers noted that she was tearful on the sidelines. It is tough to be a frosh star in a big game, and I think Amber and Britany probably both showed that somewhat.
The one concern I noted was that Taylor did not play--her 3rd missed game. I am wondering about the seriousness of her injury. And we did not see Sarah Boothe despite all the rumors that she would be back soon. Remember that Tara has a long track record of concealing the severity of injuries to her players at this time of year.
Ca.l threw quite a lot of full court pressure against us and we handled it somewhat badly in the first half. By midway through the second half we were clinically dissecting it with long passes to open players, and they gave up running the press. It was very good to see a successful adjustment.
All in all, I am highly encouraged that we becoming more multi-dimensional. If we can keep the 3 point shooting going and keep Toni playing at this level, then we can go a long ways.