[81alum]

I also wondered why Iriafen sat for quite a few minutes in the 3rd and 4th when she had only one foul.  But she and Brink each wound up at 30 minutes, which is probably where they should be so as not to wear them down in such a bruising game.

My take on the otherwise odd substitutions is that Demetre and Agara are bigger, sturdier players and more capable of replacing Brink or Iriafen when one of them had to sit.  That is 20 minutes right there--and with Duke's two tall players I don't think Tara wanted Bosgana on 6'5" Embro or 6'6" Brown.  Ogden is tall enough and big enough to take that slot too, but she seems to be adjusting to the college level still. 

In short, Bosgana is more in the guard rotation while Demetre and Agara seem to be in the post rotation this year given our lack of posts to back up Brink and Iriafen.  Jump played all 45, Lepolo 43.  Not a lot of minutes left for the third guard position, which got carved up a lot of different ways.

Tara noted at behind-the-bench that Iriafen had a cramp in her leg and is fine.  Whew.  The one thing this team cannot afford is an injury to a key player.

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My guess is that Stanford’s emphasis going in is going to be defensive, to keep Duke from recovering its three point shooting after the Davidson debacle. Our perimeter defense has been somewhat flawed so far this year. It was nice to beat Indiana, but we did give them a lot of open perimeter shots—we were fortunate that more of them did not go down. We don’t want to let Duke get its three point shooting back on track. In addition, I am sure Tara and the coaches know how to defend Kennedy Brown—and Cam in particular will have memories of playing her. Avoiding fouls will be important, given that Brown tends to pick up quite a few herself.  On offense, our players are going to be forced out of their normal systems and patterns.  It won't be comfortable for them.  But it will be excellent preparation for the likes of Colorado et al.

I feel like tooting my own horn a little.  I am actually very seldom right in my predictions--I am a rank amateur after all!  But this was probably my best prediction for a game in all my previews.  Too bad we failed the test of preventing Duke from getting its three point shooting on track.  And if you liked Duke's defense, just wait for Colorado, USC, and probably half a dozen others.

[81alum]

I also wondered why Iriafen sat for quite a few minutes in the 3rd and 4th when she had only one foul.  But she and Brink each wound up at 30 minutes, which is probably where they should be so as not to wear them down in such a bruising game.

My take on the otherwise odd substitutions is that Demetre and Agara are bigger, sturdier players and more capable of replacing Brink or Iriafen when one of them had to sit.  That is 20 minutes right there--and with Duke's two tall players I don't think Tara wanted Bosgana on 6'5" Embro or 6'6" Brown.  Ogden is tall enough and big enough to take that slot too, but she seems to be adjusting to the college level still. 

In short, Bosgana is more in the guard rotation while Demetre and Agara seem to be in the post rotation this year given our lack of posts to back up Brink and Iriafen.  Jump played all 45, Lepolo 43.  Not a lot of minutes left for the third guard position, which got carved up a lot of different ways.

Tara noted at behind-the-bench that Iriafen had a cramp in her leg and is fine.  Whew.  The one thing this team cannot afford is an injury to a key player.

---

My guess is that Stanford’s emphasis going in is going to be defensive, to keep Duke from recovering its three point shooting after the Davidson debacle. Our perimeter defense has been somewhat flawed so far this year. It was nice to beat Indiana, but we did give them a lot of open perimeter shots—we were fortunate that more of them did not go down. We don’t want to let Duke get its three point shooting back on track. In addition, I am sure Tara and the coaches know how to defend Kennedy Brown—and Cam in particular will have memories of playing her. Avoiding fouls will be important, given that Brown tends to pick up quite a few herself.  On offense, our players are going to be forced out of their normal systems and patterns.  It won't be comfortable for them.  But it will be excellent preparation for the likes of Colorado et al.

I feel like tooting my own horn a little.  I am actually very seldom right in my predictions--I am a rank amateur after all!  But this was probably my best prediction for a game in all my previews.  Too bad we failed the test of preventing Duke from getting its three point shooting on track.  And if you liked Duke's defense, just wait for Colorado, USC, and probably half a dozen others.