[petersalas]

I’ve been a fan since 1997 and I’m hardly one to say anything negative.. my thought process came from the first quarter to the second quarter. They were up 10 and instead of putting their foot on their throat, what happened? They lost the 2nd quarter by 10. That’s what I mean about sense of urgency. Losses are frustrating for the team but can be disappointing for passionate fans. I just would like to see the killer instinct show up from tip to the end of game. Not one good quarter here, a few bad ones there.. 

1769438437[/url]']

1769396770[/url]']
You said quite a bit of what I was thinking… there’s no sense of urgency, no killer instinct, and really not much improvement as the season has progressed. I really hope they turn it around and quickly. I’ll be cheering the team on and hope they win these next games. 

1769395971[/url]']
Layups were an issue again yet again, almost as bad as the Syracuse game. 

Where are Ogden, Clardy, Nunu (I know she left with an injury) late in games? At this point, just ride with the freshman the whole game. More upside and that junior class just doesn't consistently show up. They oftentimes don't play like upperclassman who have been in these big games/moments before. With the shot clock winding down, the last person I want to touch the ball is Ogden and Agara. The ball just sticks in their hands. 

This two game losing stretch likely becomes a 4 game losing stretch with Louisville and ND looming. We are going to play ourselves out of March Madness and more than likely miss the tourney again. Our resume is not that strong and the ACC is very weak. 

Coaching was suspect in this game. Paye just looks like a cheerleader on the sidelines and not a coach. We should have mixed up the defense some too with a few possession of zone or press. Cal got way too comfortable and we made no noticeable adjustments.

I find this line of thinking to be way too hard on this group of players. I saw a lot of urgency, a lot of effort and a lot of improvement from certain elements of this team yesterday. All of the freshman played better at the end of that game than they have typically played all season long. The whole game ran through Alex in the 4th Q and OT, at both ends of the floor, and she played incredibly well. I know we all saw that, but it's worth emphasizing - she was the best player in the game for the last 15 minutes. That's exciting for the future of this Stanford team. Lara was saddled with foul trouble for most of the first 3 quarters and then came through in a big way in the 4th quarter. Chloe played the whole game and clearly wore down as the game went on, but she was great in the first half, ran the offense, and continued to show why she's such a key part of this team. Even Swain played a little more under control and didn't produce some of the really big minus plays we've seen from her at times this year. I thought there was a lot of growth among those players. 

Conference road games are hard. Most teams of our caliber go on the road and lose these kind of games, especially when you're missing your starting PG and your best, most experienced player leaves with an injury and finishes with 6 points. If we get a little more consistency from Courtney and Nunu, or anything at all from a guard other than Clardy (Shay was such a negative in this game, which was surprising and frustrating), then we win the game. It's disappointing that didn't happen, but this team is not quite good enough to expect that, in my opinion. 

I have some quibbles about some of the lineups and substitutions from the coaching, particularly in the first 3 quarters and then with the needing-to-foul situation which others have mentioned, but there were 2 important things I think the coaches got right. 1. They had our best 5 on the court for the 4th Q and OT and they adapted to the game where some surprising things happened . 2. They drew up 2 good plays when we needed a shot (Courtney missed the first one, while Lara made the 3 to send it to OT).

So, all in all, I think this is just a level-test game for me. This is where this team is at right now, for better or worse, and there were some positives and negatives to take away from this. And I disagree with those who say they don't see improvement or urgency.

[petersalas]

I’ve been a fan since 1997 and I’m hardly one to say anything negative.. my thought process came from the first quarter to the second quarter. They were up 10 and instead of putting their foot on their throat, what happened? They lost the 2nd quarter by 10. That’s what I mean about sense of urgency. Losses are frustrating for the team but can be disappointing for passionate fans. I just would like to see the killer instinct show up from tip to the end of game. Not one good quarter here, a few bad ones there.. 

1769438437[/url]']

1769396770[/url]']
You said quite a bit of what I was thinking… there’s no sense of urgency, no killer instinct, and really not much improvement as the season has progressed. I really hope they turn it around and quickly. I’ll be cheering the team on and hope they win these next games. 

1769395971[/url]']
Layups were an issue again yet again, almost as bad as the Syracuse game. 

Where are Ogden, Clardy, Nunu (I know she left with an injury) late in games? At this point, just ride with the freshman the whole game. More upside and that junior class just doesn't consistently show up. They oftentimes don't play like upperclassman who have been in these big games/moments before. With the shot clock winding down, the last person I want to touch the ball is Ogden and Agara. The ball just sticks in their hands. 

This two game losing stretch likely becomes a 4 game losing stretch with Louisville and ND looming. We are going to play ourselves out of March Madness and more than likely miss the tourney again. Our resume is not that strong and the ACC is very weak. 

Coaching was suspect in this game. Paye just looks like a cheerleader on the sidelines and not a coach. We should have mixed up the defense some too with a few possession of zone or press. Cal got way too comfortable and we made no noticeable adjustments.

I find this line of thinking to be way too hard on this group of players. I saw a lot of urgency, a lot of effort and a lot of improvement from certain elements of this team yesterday. All of the freshman played better at the end of that game than they have typically played all season long. The whole game ran through Alex in the 4th Q and OT, at both ends of the floor, and she played incredibly well. I know we all saw that, but it's worth emphasizing - she was the best player in the game for the last 15 minutes. That's exciting for the future of this Stanford team. Lara was saddled with foul trouble for most of the first 3 quarters and then came through in a big way in the 4th quarter. Chloe played the whole game and clearly wore down as the game went on, but she was great in the first half, ran the offense, and continued to show why she's such a key part of this team. Even Swain played a little more under control and didn't produce some of the really big minus plays we've seen from her at times this year. I thought there was a lot of growth among those players. 

Conference road games are hard. Most teams of our caliber go on the road and lose these kind of games, especially when you're missing your starting PG and your best, most experienced player leaves with an injury and finishes with 6 points. If we get a little more consistency from Courtney and Nunu, or anything at all from a guard other than Clardy (Shay was such a negative in this game, which was surprising and frustrating), then we win the game. It's disappointing that didn't happen, but this team is not quite good enough to expect that, in my opinion. 

I have some quibbles about some of the lineups and substitutions from the coaching, particularly in the first 3 quarters and then with the needing-to-foul situation which others have mentioned, but there were 2 important things I think the coaches got right. 1. They had our best 5 on the court for the 4th Q and OT and they adapted to the game where some surprising things happened . 2. They drew up 2 good plays when we needed a shot (Courtney missed the first one, while Lara made the 3 to send it to OT).

So, all in all, I think this is just a level-test game for me. This is where this team is at right now, for better or worse, and there were some positives and negatives to take away from this. And I disagree with those who say they don't see improvement or urgency.