02-26-2011, 08:17 PM
Where to start.  Well, the Ducks did discomfort Stanford, taking an early 3-0 lead and forcing Stanford to call a timeout less than 2 minutes into the game with their aggressive pressing on inbounds plays, forcing  turnovers on the Cardinal\'s first two possessions.
I was uncomfortable because Nneka was on the court. Â With a big old brace on her right ankle. Â She looked fine in warmups, but I was more than a little concerned, given that the game was likely to be a track meet if we could break Oregon\'s press.
It was a track meet. Â After that initial intense pressure, Stanford found a way to get down court, and the Ducks, chasing from behind, started to foul. Â And foul. Â And then foul some more. Â The Cardinal kept driving after breaking the pressure, and kept either getting layups or getting to the free throw line.
Oregon, meanwhile, did their "huck, chuck and duck" offense - not much passing, and a lot of individual attempts to score off the dribble. Â It worked occasionally, but if it didn\'t, Stanford was heading the other way, often for an easy score.
How easy? Â How about 17 points in the first 4 minutes? Â Hitting five of their first six shots and 6 FTs to open the game? Â The Ducks\' defense could best be described as "porous," except when it was non-existent.
My major concern? Â Injury. Â Oregon, in trying to catch up to Stanford\'s transition game, was fouling HARD from behind on a lot of layup attempts, and especially when one of the people being fouled is operating on a bad ankle, I cringed a lot. Â But it also had the effect of putting Stanford into the bonus a little more than 9 minutes into the game.
The Cardinal defense, meanwhile, got its feet under them a bit more, and realized that if they kept Oregon out of transition, the Ducks really didn\'t have much of a halfcourt offense. Â And the lead kept growing. Â Quickly. Â As in 31-10 10 minutes into the game. Â As in 50-19 a few minutes later. Â With Sara James into the game in the first half with more than 4 minutes left. Â Joining Mel Murphy, who came in a few minutes before that.
Really, it was a kind of boring game. Â Oregon had no real chance, and no real plan. Â Stanford was experimenting with different lineups, getting a lot of people major playing time, and able to score pretty much at will.
How bad was it? Â At halftime, the lead was 56-25. Â Oregon had shot 7-38 from the field, under 20%. Â They had committed 17 team fouls, and had 3 players already with 3 personals. Â About the only thing that kept the score from being totally ridiculous was that Stanford wasn\'t hitting the 3 point shot. Â But how about 20-24 from the free throw line IN A HALF!
The second half was really more of the same. Â The only suspense was (1) when would Nneka leave, (2) would Stanford hit 100, and (3) how would the subs play.
Nneka played a bit more, but left the floor for good, and still moving well, at the 4 minute media timeout, along with Jeanette. Â Kayla and Chiney soon followed. Â And Stanford had exactly 1 starter on the floor at any point in the last 15 minutes of the game. Â Of course, by then they were up 40 points at 69-29.
The quest for 100 points sort of stalled at that point. Â Oregon\'s foul trouble pushed them into a 2-3 zone. Â Now, normally that wouldn\'t be a problem. Â But with all subs on the floor, there was not a lot of aggression about taking the ball to the basket, except off a press break. Â So for the next 7 minutes or so, with Stanford only having Lindy left on the floor of the initial starters, the Cardinal only scored 6 points, and the chance for the century fell by the wayside.
This is not to say there weren\'t great plays. Â One in particular, Mel Murphy finishing off a transition opportunity with a left-handed layup while getting undercut from behind was truly remarkable.
About the only really interesting story lines in the second half revolved around fouls. Â First, Sara Boothe - who picked up 4 fouls very quickly, and forced Tara to bring Chiney back in with 9 minutes or so left in the game. Â The other story line? Â Exactly how many Ducks would foul out. Â It ended up being only 3, not because there weren\'t more of them in foul trouble, but because Westhead went deep into his bench finally when the third fouled out.
I will say that people were hoping for 100 when Ashley Cimino hit a left corner 3 with about 30 seconds left. Â But Oregon pulled back from their frenetic offensive pace, not wanting to give Stanford another opportunity (although I was thinking a late rebounding foul would be nice).
What can you say in the end? Â SIX players in double figure scoring. Â 12 players in double digit minutes played, with none more than 22 minutes (Chiney), and Nneka only 12. Â Holding another opponent under 25% shooting for a game. Â A lot of quality time for the "second unit", with Kokenis, Tinkle, Boothe, Mel and Ruef on the floor.
This is not to say there weren\'t some issues.
more...
I was uncomfortable because Nneka was on the court. Â With a big old brace on her right ankle. Â She looked fine in warmups, but I was more than a little concerned, given that the game was likely to be a track meet if we could break Oregon\'s press.
It was a track meet. Â After that initial intense pressure, Stanford found a way to get down court, and the Ducks, chasing from behind, started to foul. Â And foul. Â And then foul some more. Â The Cardinal kept driving after breaking the pressure, and kept either getting layups or getting to the free throw line.
Oregon, meanwhile, did their "huck, chuck and duck" offense - not much passing, and a lot of individual attempts to score off the dribble. Â It worked occasionally, but if it didn\'t, Stanford was heading the other way, often for an easy score.
How easy? Â How about 17 points in the first 4 minutes? Â Hitting five of their first six shots and 6 FTs to open the game? Â The Ducks\' defense could best be described as "porous," except when it was non-existent.
My major concern? Â Injury. Â Oregon, in trying to catch up to Stanford\'s transition game, was fouling HARD from behind on a lot of layup attempts, and especially when one of the people being fouled is operating on a bad ankle, I cringed a lot. Â But it also had the effect of putting Stanford into the bonus a little more than 9 minutes into the game.
The Cardinal defense, meanwhile, got its feet under them a bit more, and realized that if they kept Oregon out of transition, the Ducks really didn\'t have much of a halfcourt offense. Â And the lead kept growing. Â Quickly. Â As in 31-10 10 minutes into the game. Â As in 50-19 a few minutes later. Â With Sara James into the game in the first half with more than 4 minutes left. Â Joining Mel Murphy, who came in a few minutes before that.
Really, it was a kind of boring game. Â Oregon had no real chance, and no real plan. Â Stanford was experimenting with different lineups, getting a lot of people major playing time, and able to score pretty much at will.
How bad was it? Â At halftime, the lead was 56-25. Â Oregon had shot 7-38 from the field, under 20%. Â They had committed 17 team fouls, and had 3 players already with 3 personals. Â About the only thing that kept the score from being totally ridiculous was that Stanford wasn\'t hitting the 3 point shot. Â But how about 20-24 from the free throw line IN A HALF!
The second half was really more of the same. Â The only suspense was (1) when would Nneka leave, (2) would Stanford hit 100, and (3) how would the subs play.
Nneka played a bit more, but left the floor for good, and still moving well, at the 4 minute media timeout, along with Jeanette. Â Kayla and Chiney soon followed. Â And Stanford had exactly 1 starter on the floor at any point in the last 15 minutes of the game. Â Of course, by then they were up 40 points at 69-29.
The quest for 100 points sort of stalled at that point. Â Oregon\'s foul trouble pushed them into a 2-3 zone. Â Now, normally that wouldn\'t be a problem. Â But with all subs on the floor, there was not a lot of aggression about taking the ball to the basket, except off a press break. Â So for the next 7 minutes or so, with Stanford only having Lindy left on the floor of the initial starters, the Cardinal only scored 6 points, and the chance for the century fell by the wayside.
This is not to say there weren\'t great plays. Â One in particular, Mel Murphy finishing off a transition opportunity with a left-handed layup while getting undercut from behind was truly remarkable.
About the only really interesting story lines in the second half revolved around fouls. Â First, Sara Boothe - who picked up 4 fouls very quickly, and forced Tara to bring Chiney back in with 9 minutes or so left in the game. Â The other story line? Â Exactly how many Ducks would foul out. Â It ended up being only 3, not because there weren\'t more of them in foul trouble, but because Westhead went deep into his bench finally when the third fouled out.
I will say that people were hoping for 100 when Ashley Cimino hit a left corner 3 with about 30 seconds left. Â But Oregon pulled back from their frenetic offensive pace, not wanting to give Stanford another opportunity (although I was thinking a late rebounding foul would be nice).
What can you say in the end? Â SIX players in double figure scoring. Â 12 players in double digit minutes played, with none more than 22 minutes (Chiney), and Nneka only 12. Â Holding another opponent under 25% shooting for a game. Â A lot of quality time for the "second unit", with Kokenis, Tinkle, Boothe, Mel and Ruef on the floor.
This is not to say there weren\'t some issues.
more...

