11-30-2021, 01:29 PM
Before we sell our dominating win over Maryland short, it would serve us to consider the following.
1) The fatigue/morale factor — our women were playing their third game in three days after a very disappointing loss the day before, and they were recovering from another very disappointing loss two weeks before. Many teams could have folded or imploded at this point.
During our game, Maryland had a large contingent of fans screaming and rattling the metal stands behind their bench making it more like a home game for them. MD had an embarrassing loss to NC State on Thanksgiving to atone for, and they had an extra day to prepare and rest for Stanford. Plus their fans continued to be rabid, even after the loss.
2) Playing style — it is true that we rely on a focused and persistent defense, balanced by a deep and talented offense. Maryland, on the other hand, relies on two things, running on offense and being physical at both ends of the floor. Owusu, with her upper body size and strength, behaves like a fullback running through the line like a battering ram. She doesn’t seem to care that basketball is not a contact sport. She rammed Lexie hard in the chest and knocked her to the floor because she didn’t seem to like Lexie's tight, effective defense. A credit to Lexie’s toughness, she got up and continued to play (something that we fans either marvel at or take for granted).
At times, MD players engage in brutal techniques — elbows and arms to the head and elsewhere. Their strategy is to intimidate and injure at both ends of the court. They complain and show attitude, and often argue with their coach. The Stanford women, to their credit, did not shy away from their game plan, offensively or defensively, due to this intimidating. Many teams do!
It’s not fair to say that MD doesn’t play defense, their defense is a strategy of intimidation (it’s "get out of the way, or you are meat"). (I don’t recall seeing one moving screen called, and there was a lot of contact.)
This is not just my opinion. I spoke with the parents of one of our players yesterday in the Atlanta Airport (on the way home from the Bahamas). They told me that parents of other players from other teams who have faced MD, warned them that MD players try to hurt the opposition in order to win games and that their coach doesn’t seems to discourage it. They heard one of the MD assistant coach’s yell "pussy!" after one of our players was decked and was slow to get up.
3) Short-handed team — Stanford was clearly the deeper team. MD played with injured players on the bench (their best three point shooter was out, the kind of player, however, that we often neutralize with our superior defense). We were also on the short end (Haley was recovering from a knee problem, Cam from a food-related illness and a whack to the head so hard she had to take herself out of the game, and Ashten Prechtal had a food-related illness and didn’t play).
MD beat #6 Baylor 79-76 less than a week before our Bahamas' tournament with the same lineup that they used against us — Owusu, Reese, Collins, Bibby, and Sellers.
It’s true that we have a deeper team than Maryland, and that our team played lights-out offense on Saturday against MD. However, Tara is still in the process of evaluating our players and assessing team-chemistry among various lineups. It’s also true that depth pays off over a long season, and the various permutations that we can muster against our opposition bodes well for us in the future. Maryland cannot, at this point of the season, say the same for their team.
4) Winning margin — "we only won by 19 points…" or did we? At the end of the third quarter the score was Stanford 74, MD 46, a complete rout. (Last week MD led #6 Baylor after three quarters, 64-59.) Our third-quarter score over MD (75-46) was an unbelievable score for a #7 ranked team playing a #2, or for any game. Then, in the fourth quarter, we cleared the bench and let everyone play. MD did not sub out.
We accomplished our amazing third quarter score in spite of MD's dirty, intimidating play for which one technical was called (Owusu's head-down driving charge that flattened Lexie) and another that should have been called (Cam bringing down a high rebound only to be fore-armed in the head well after the rebound was secured). I actually thought the second tech was called, but it was either overlooked or missed by the officials.
So… Celebrate long and hard, fans! This win was no fluke. It was hard-earned. We have enormous potential with this team. Each game must be played and lessons need to be learned, but this is a talented, hard working, and well-connected team.
We need to celebrate fully what is happening now and what is materializing right before our eyes. There is no other choice but to move into the future, one game at a time. But as we move, we can appreciate the hard work and dedication that these young women bring to the game now. And hey! We get to watch, and marvel, and cheer our team as long as our voices last! What more can we, as fans, ask?
1) The fatigue/morale factor — our women were playing their third game in three days after a very disappointing loss the day before, and they were recovering from another very disappointing loss two weeks before. Many teams could have folded or imploded at this point.
During our game, Maryland had a large contingent of fans screaming and rattling the metal stands behind their bench making it more like a home game for them. MD had an embarrassing loss to NC State on Thanksgiving to atone for, and they had an extra day to prepare and rest for Stanford. Plus their fans continued to be rabid, even after the loss.
2) Playing style — it is true that we rely on a focused and persistent defense, balanced by a deep and talented offense. Maryland, on the other hand, relies on two things, running on offense and being physical at both ends of the floor. Owusu, with her upper body size and strength, behaves like a fullback running through the line like a battering ram. She doesn’t seem to care that basketball is not a contact sport. She rammed Lexie hard in the chest and knocked her to the floor because she didn’t seem to like Lexie's tight, effective defense. A credit to Lexie’s toughness, she got up and continued to play (something that we fans either marvel at or take for granted).
At times, MD players engage in brutal techniques — elbows and arms to the head and elsewhere. Their strategy is to intimidate and injure at both ends of the court. They complain and show attitude, and often argue with their coach. The Stanford women, to their credit, did not shy away from their game plan, offensively or defensively, due to this intimidating. Many teams do!
It’s not fair to say that MD doesn’t play defense, their defense is a strategy of intimidation (it’s "get out of the way, or you are meat"). (I don’t recall seeing one moving screen called, and there was a lot of contact.)
This is not just my opinion. I spoke with the parents of one of our players yesterday in the Atlanta Airport (on the way home from the Bahamas). They told me that parents of other players from other teams who have faced MD, warned them that MD players try to hurt the opposition in order to win games and that their coach doesn’t seems to discourage it. They heard one of the MD assistant coach’s yell "pussy!" after one of our players was decked and was slow to get up.
3) Short-handed team — Stanford was clearly the deeper team. MD played with injured players on the bench (their best three point shooter was out, the kind of player, however, that we often neutralize with our superior defense). We were also on the short end (Haley was recovering from a knee problem, Cam from a food-related illness and a whack to the head so hard she had to take herself out of the game, and Ashten Prechtal had a food-related illness and didn’t play).
MD beat #6 Baylor 79-76 less than a week before our Bahamas' tournament with the same lineup that they used against us — Owusu, Reese, Collins, Bibby, and Sellers.
It’s true that we have a deeper team than Maryland, and that our team played lights-out offense on Saturday against MD. However, Tara is still in the process of evaluating our players and assessing team-chemistry among various lineups. It’s also true that depth pays off over a long season, and the various permutations that we can muster against our opposition bodes well for us in the future. Maryland cannot, at this point of the season, say the same for their team.
4) Winning margin — "we only won by 19 points…" or did we? At the end of the third quarter the score was Stanford 74, MD 46, a complete rout. (Last week MD led #6 Baylor after three quarters, 64-59.) Our third-quarter score over MD (75-46) was an unbelievable score for a #7 ranked team playing a #2, or for any game. Then, in the fourth quarter, we cleared the bench and let everyone play. MD did not sub out.
We accomplished our amazing third quarter score in spite of MD's dirty, intimidating play for which one technical was called (Owusu's head-down driving charge that flattened Lexie) and another that should have been called (Cam bringing down a high rebound only to be fore-armed in the head well after the rebound was secured). I actually thought the second tech was called, but it was either overlooked or missed by the officials.
So… Celebrate long and hard, fans! This win was no fluke. It was hard-earned. We have enormous potential with this team. Each game must be played and lessons need to be learned, but this is a talented, hard working, and well-connected team.
We need to celebrate fully what is happening now and what is materializing right before our eyes. There is no other choice but to move into the future, one game at a time. But as we move, we can appreciate the hard work and dedication that these young women bring to the game now. And hey! We get to watch, and marvel, and cheer our team as long as our voices last! What more can we, as fans, ask?