Preview:
We are taking on a very hot UCLA team and I don't know how many forwards we will have healthy for the game. UCLA just beat Cal in overtime. They are 9-5 and are inconsistent but dangerous. They have lost to teams like Loyola Marymount and have a blemished record, but they have won 6 in a row and seem to have shaken off their early season blues. Massey ranks them at 41 or slightly better than USC. UCLA has three players in double digit scoring and a very established starting five who all get 30 minutes a game. Sophomore forward Michaela Onyenwere is averaging 17 points and 8 rebounds and is shooting 51%. She is only 6' but a good athletic slasher. Senior guard 6'1" Kennedy Burke averages 15 ppg but doesn't shoot the three much. JaPreece Dean is a 5'6" senior who averages 13 points and is their most prolific three point shooter. They have a lot of additional talent including Drummer and Corsaro and Horvat and their own Ahlana Smith. Like USC, this is a team that will stress our guards. If we get Lexie or Marta back it would be a big help.
The key to winning this game is denying UCLA access to the basket, because I doubt they can outshoot us from three point range. Closing down lanes and packing it into the paint to turn them from a slashing team to a jumpshooting team will probably be just the ticket.
Overview:
After the first half, I felt like deleting my preview, because UCLA shot 7-9 from three point range. But we tightened our defense in the second half, and gutted out a come-from-behind (12 points behind) win behind a sterling offensive 30 point performance of Carrington and 20+ performances of Smith and Williams.
Before the game.
I was fortunate enough to be chosen "season ticket holder of the game" and got a chance to watch the team practice before Maples officially opened up. I saw right away that Nadia was in a full length leg brace, and Maya continues to be in a boot. Ugh. Back over at the chalk talk Lindy confirmed that Maya Nadia is out for the year with an ACL, they were hoping to get the surgery done quickly enough to get her ready for next year. More bad news. The team has no idea when Maya will return. Her tests have not rendered a definitive time schedule. Lindy said "it could be 2 days, 2 weeks, or 2 months. None of the coaches know."
When asked about whether UCLA had any weaknesses, Lindy made the same mistake I made and said that they had not been known for shooting well from outside, although she acknowledged they had shooters who could get hot. Clearly our plan was based on UCLA's past record and we were more willing to give up outside shots than driving lanes.
Stanford Athletics treated me very well--I got a chance to meet Tara, have my picture taken with her, was given a seat upgrade (which I shared with Bob since it came with two tickets,) got my face put on the scoreboard, etc. I have no idea if I was randomly picked but I enjoyed the day and am quite appreciative.
Flow of the Game:
The first half was not terrible offensively. The game even started somewhat well with Jerome and Williams each hitting their opening three point shots. But defense was a different story. UCLA unexpectedly hit 7 of 9 three point shots in the half, which completely trashed the scouting report. But worse than this, we were leaving lots of driving lanes open for tiny 5'6" Japreece Dean, who scooted through to hit a rash of 5-10 foot jumpers. With only a little over 5 minutes gone, this rash of unexpected treys and Dean layups left us down 17-6.
Carrington to the rescue! Dijonai scored our next 10 points in a row with 2 twos and 2 threes and kept us from going into a gigantic hole. Then Smith and Williams got into the act and we scratched our way back to be down 23-24 by the end of the first quarter.
We momentarily took the lead at the beginning of the second quarter, but UCLA's hot shooting continued and they recaptured an 11 point lead just five minutes in. Again, our defense looked powerless to prevent either their three point shooting or their pull up jumpshots from close in. Tara called a time out at this point even though the media time out was moments away--it was that dangerous a situation. But it didn't help. Smith turned it over and within a couple of minutes UCLA bombed yet another three and UCLA was up 43-31 with three minutes left. It felt very bleak. Lacie hit a nice trey on an assist from Kiana and by the half we had shrunk the lead down to 38-45. As I said to Bob, 38 points is not bad for an offense that has lost several of its players. But giving up 45 points sends up all kinds of defensive red flags.
The third quarter was a remarkable turnaround, indicating that Tara made some terrific halftime adjustments. On offense, Williams joined Carrington in taking the ball to the basket and generating layups and free throws. We made 14/17 free throws today--and our FT margin over UCLA was big enough to be the difference in the game. During the quarter we went on an 18-3 run to move from well behind to well ahead. Three minutes into the quarter we tied the game with an Alanna layup, and then after making a defensive stop Kianna hit a trey for a 53-50 lead, bringing the crowd to its feet and roaring its approval. Finally Alanna's treys began to drop, too, and we stopped UCLA on 12 of its next 14 possessions, to close out the third quarter up 64-57.
The fourth quarter we gave up 23 points, but scored 22. The intensity remained. Five minutes in Lacie stepped in front of a pass for a steal and passed to Kiana for a trey, and it began to feel as if the game was ours to lose. UCLA played hard and kept the game tight until the end, cutting our lead to just two points with 2:26 remaining, and then Williams hit a trey to answer at the other end. The end did come, and we were ahead when it did.
Performances:
Smith, Carrington, Williams, and Lacie Hull each played nearly the entire game--all of them had 38 or more minutes. The rest of the time was mostly split between Jerome, Coffee, and 8 minutes for Lexie Hull, who is gradually getting back into the game. Coffee didn't take a shot and had no rebounds. Jerome shot two treys and made two treys, and Lexie was cold coming back and went 0-4. In fact, the most shocking stat of the game: 0 bench points for Stanford. Zero.
The "big three" carried the team, each getting hot at different times of the game. Carrington finished with 30 points and 9 rebounds, Williams with 21 points and 10 assists, and Smith with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Most important, perhaps, is that Smith stayed foul free through the first half and was able to stay in the game. She did get hit with 4 eventually, two of which I thought were questionable--but the game could have gotten very ugly if she had to joint Maya and Nadia on the bench.
By the time the game was done the stats were remarkably close. We were out rebounded 38-37, three point shooting and general FG% both came in line within a couple of points in the mid 40s, points off turnovers was 16 to 16, point in the paint was 30 to 30. But UCLA committed 21 fouls to our 10, and we actually made our free throws for once.
Conclusion:
I hope we are much healthier before our trip to UCLA and USC, because those are two young teams that will improve before we face them at their homes, and I doubt we would have won either of these two games had they been played at their homes. Losing Nadia is certainly very bad news--but exactly how bad it is will depend on how quickly Maya gets back to play and how quickly Alyssa develops an offensive presence. Only time will tell.
We are taking on a very hot UCLA team and I don't know how many forwards we will have healthy for the game. UCLA just beat Cal in overtime. They are 9-5 and are inconsistent but dangerous. They have lost to teams like Loyola Marymount and have a blemished record, but they have won 6 in a row and seem to have shaken off their early season blues. Massey ranks them at 41 or slightly better than USC. UCLA has three players in double digit scoring and a very established starting five who all get 30 minutes a game. Sophomore forward Michaela Onyenwere is averaging 17 points and 8 rebounds and is shooting 51%. She is only 6' but a good athletic slasher. Senior guard 6'1" Kennedy Burke averages 15 ppg but doesn't shoot the three much. JaPreece Dean is a 5'6" senior who averages 13 points and is their most prolific three point shooter. They have a lot of additional talent including Drummer and Corsaro and Horvat and their own Ahlana Smith. Like USC, this is a team that will stress our guards. If we get Lexie or Marta back it would be a big help.
The key to winning this game is denying UCLA access to the basket, because I doubt they can outshoot us from three point range. Closing down lanes and packing it into the paint to turn them from a slashing team to a jumpshooting team will probably be just the ticket.
Overview:
After the first half, I felt like deleting my preview, because UCLA shot 7-9 from three point range. But we tightened our defense in the second half, and gutted out a come-from-behind (12 points behind) win behind a sterling offensive 30 point performance of Carrington and 20+ performances of Smith and Williams.
Before the game.
I was fortunate enough to be chosen "season ticket holder of the game" and got a chance to watch the team practice before Maples officially opened up. I saw right away that Nadia was in a full length leg brace, and Maya continues to be in a boot. Ugh. Back over at the chalk talk Lindy confirmed that Maya Nadia is out for the year with an ACL, they were hoping to get the surgery done quickly enough to get her ready for next year. More bad news. The team has no idea when Maya will return. Her tests have not rendered a definitive time schedule. Lindy said "it could be 2 days, 2 weeks, or 2 months. None of the coaches know."
When asked about whether UCLA had any weaknesses, Lindy made the same mistake I made and said that they had not been known for shooting well from outside, although she acknowledged they had shooters who could get hot. Clearly our plan was based on UCLA's past record and we were more willing to give up outside shots than driving lanes.
Stanford Athletics treated me very well--I got a chance to meet Tara, have my picture taken with her, was given a seat upgrade (which I shared with Bob since it came with two tickets,) got my face put on the scoreboard, etc. I have no idea if I was randomly picked but I enjoyed the day and am quite appreciative.
Flow of the Game:
The first half was not terrible offensively. The game even started somewhat well with Jerome and Williams each hitting their opening three point shots. But defense was a different story. UCLA unexpectedly hit 7 of 9 three point shots in the half, which completely trashed the scouting report. But worse than this, we were leaving lots of driving lanes open for tiny 5'6" Japreece Dean, who scooted through to hit a rash of 5-10 foot jumpers. With only a little over 5 minutes gone, this rash of unexpected treys and Dean layups left us down 17-6.
Carrington to the rescue! Dijonai scored our next 10 points in a row with 2 twos and 2 threes and kept us from going into a gigantic hole. Then Smith and Williams got into the act and we scratched our way back to be down 23-24 by the end of the first quarter.
We momentarily took the lead at the beginning of the second quarter, but UCLA's hot shooting continued and they recaptured an 11 point lead just five minutes in. Again, our defense looked powerless to prevent either their three point shooting or their pull up jumpshots from close in. Tara called a time out at this point even though the media time out was moments away--it was that dangerous a situation. But it didn't help. Smith turned it over and within a couple of minutes UCLA bombed yet another three and UCLA was up 43-31 with three minutes left. It felt very bleak. Lacie hit a nice trey on an assist from Kiana and by the half we had shrunk the lead down to 38-45. As I said to Bob, 38 points is not bad for an offense that has lost several of its players. But giving up 45 points sends up all kinds of defensive red flags.
The third quarter was a remarkable turnaround, indicating that Tara made some terrific halftime adjustments. On offense, Williams joined Carrington in taking the ball to the basket and generating layups and free throws. We made 14/17 free throws today--and our FT margin over UCLA was big enough to be the difference in the game. During the quarter we went on an 18-3 run to move from well behind to well ahead. Three minutes into the quarter we tied the game with an Alanna layup, and then after making a defensive stop Kianna hit a trey for a 53-50 lead, bringing the crowd to its feet and roaring its approval. Finally Alanna's treys began to drop, too, and we stopped UCLA on 12 of its next 14 possessions, to close out the third quarter up 64-57.
The fourth quarter we gave up 23 points, but scored 22. The intensity remained. Five minutes in Lacie stepped in front of a pass for a steal and passed to Kiana for a trey, and it began to feel as if the game was ours to lose. UCLA played hard and kept the game tight until the end, cutting our lead to just two points with 2:26 remaining, and then Williams hit a trey to answer at the other end. The end did come, and we were ahead when it did.
Performances:
Smith, Carrington, Williams, and Lacie Hull each played nearly the entire game--all of them had 38 or more minutes. The rest of the time was mostly split between Jerome, Coffee, and 8 minutes for Lexie Hull, who is gradually getting back into the game. Coffee didn't take a shot and had no rebounds. Jerome shot two treys and made two treys, and Lexie was cold coming back and went 0-4. In fact, the most shocking stat of the game: 0 bench points for Stanford. Zero.
The "big three" carried the team, each getting hot at different times of the game. Carrington finished with 30 points and 9 rebounds, Williams with 21 points and 10 assists, and Smith with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Most important, perhaps, is that Smith stayed foul free through the first half and was able to stay in the game. She did get hit with 4 eventually, two of which I thought were questionable--but the game could have gotten very ugly if she had to joint Maya and Nadia on the bench.
By the time the game was done the stats were remarkably close. We were out rebounded 38-37, three point shooting and general FG% both came in line within a couple of points in the mid 40s, points off turnovers was 16 to 16, point in the paint was 30 to 30. But UCLA committed 21 fouls to our 10, and we actually made our free throws for once.
Conclusion:
I hope we are much healthier before our trip to UCLA and USC, because those are two young teams that will improve before we face them at their homes, and I doubt we would have won either of these two games had they been played at their homes. Losing Nadia is certainly very bad news--but exactly how bad it is will depend on how quickly Maya gets back to play and how quickly Alyssa develops an offensive presence. Only time will tell.
