[81alum]

Brink's stats on a per 34 minute game basis:

.625 field goal percentage
.615 free throw percentages
19 points
14.7 rebounds
2.5 assists
1+ steal
1+ turnover
8 blocks

The truth is out there. Thanks Hulk

That is good to know ;)  The last game awakened some bad memories with the foul trouble, but perhaps the reason I (and others) jumped to the wrong conclusion about her performance is that when she goes out the team continues to pile on the points.  So much depth that the starters--who get the other team when the defense is fresh and prepared with scouts against our starters--do quite well, go out, and give way to others who continue the steamroller.  When our 2nd and 3rd strings are crushing the opponents it may make the 1st string look ordinary.

[81alum]

Brink's stats on a per 34 minute game basis:

.625 field goal percentage
.615 free throw percentages
19 points
14.7 rebounds
2.5 assists
1+ steal
1+ turnover
8 blocks

The truth is out there. Thanks Hulk

That is good to know ;)  The last game awakened some bad memories with the foul trouble, but perhaps the reason I (and others) jumped to the wrong conclusion about her performance is that when she goes out the team continues to pile on the points.  So much depth that the starters--who get the other team when the defense is fresh and prepared with scouts against our starters--do quite well, go out, and give way to others who continue the steamroller.  When our 2nd and 3rd strings are crushing the opponents it may make the 1st string look ordinary.

[crackpot]

Lepolo is starting.

[crackpot]

Lepolo is starting.

[martyup]

Lepolo gets the start over Agnes.

---

Portland is showing us a full court press.  Good practice for Lepolo and Jones.

---

Nivar failed the full court press test.

---

Ashten with a nice offensive rebound on a missed Hanna 3pt shot.  She immediately finds Jump open again and Hanna pulls the trigger wth no hesitation.  Swish.

---

Brink with a fierce brink.  And she was fired up!

---

One quarter down with just one turnover.  That's impressive given how hard Portland is pressuring the ball.

19-7 at the end of 1.

---

I love that we are making mid-range jumpers.

[martyup]

Lepolo gets the start over Agnes.

---

Portland is showing us a full court press.  Good practice for Lepolo and Jones.

---

Nivar failed the full court press test.

---

Ashten with a nice offensive rebound on a missed Hanna 3pt shot.  She immediately finds Jump open again and Hanna pulls the trigger wth no hesitation.  Swish.

---

Brink with a fierce brink.  And she was fired up!

---

One quarter down with just one turnover.  That's impressive given how hard Portland is pressuring the ball.

19-7 at the end of 1.

---

I love that we are making mid-range jumpers.

[CompSci87]

No one just looking at the score will believe it, but Portland is a definite level higher in competition from the teams Stanford has played so far.

Haley and Cam have stepped up just as expected.

Lepolo has been very good, breaking the press, making good passes, and a timely drive to score just now.

[CompSci87]

No one just looking at the score will believe it, but Portland is a definite level higher in competition from the teams Stanford has played so far.

Haley and Cam have stepped up just as expected.

Lepolo has been very good, breaking the press, making good passes, and a timely drive to score just now.

[81alum]

What a superb first half.

Tara starts Lepolo, giving us 2 point guards on the floor, undoubtedly because she knew the Portland reputation to do full court press.  And by and large it has worked.  Really good practice for us.

And another excellent test--Portland has been playing an active 2-3 zone, which requires that we find ways to penetrate it and get some jumpshots.  And we have.

And Jones and Brink have been playing like the All-Americans they are. 

Every box has been checked, so far.  Really nice half.

[81alum]

What a superb first half.

Tara starts Lepolo, giving us 2 point guards on the floor, undoubtedly because she knew the Portland reputation to do full court press.  And by and large it has worked.  Really good practice for us.

And another excellent test--Portland has been playing an active 2-3 zone, which requires that we find ways to penetrate it and get some jumpshots.  And we have.

And Jones and Brink have been playing like the All-Americans they are. 

Every box has been checked, so far.  Really nice half.

[martyup]

Every box has been checked, so far.  Really nice half.

Except free throws.  We are 4-8.

[martyup]

Every box has been checked, so far.  Really nice half.

Except free throws.  We are 4-8.

[MV72018]

Every box has been checked, so far.  Really nice half.

Except free throws.  We are 4-8.

Haley Jones now playing like an All-American. Good for her stepping it up.

[MV72018]

Every box has been checked, so far.  Really nice half.

Except free throws.  We are 4-8.

Haley Jones now playing like an All-American. Good for her stepping it up.

[martyup]

Agnes has not played today.  Strange.

[martyup]

Agnes has not played today.  Strange.

[qwerty49]

I'm watching on my YouTube DVR and just finished the 1Q, so I apologize for ignoring the early parts of this thread and possibly duplicating other posts.

Did anyone notice that Hannah did not even touch the ball for the first 8:30 of the game?  And she was wide open at the arc at least 3-4 times.  I'm surprised Tara did not say something at one of the early timeouts.  She praised Hannah as being one of the best shooters in the country and our half-court offense totally ignored her.

Interesting that Lepolo started for Agnes.  She seemed to help more on the press than Nivar.

Cam's block to end Q1 was epic.

[qwerty49]

I'm watching on my YouTube DVR and just finished the 1Q, so I apologize for ignoring the early parts of this thread and possibly duplicating other posts.

Did anyone notice that Hannah did not even touch the ball for the first 8:30 of the game?  And she was wide open at the arc at least 3-4 times.  I'm surprised Tara did not say something at one of the early timeouts.  She praised Hannah as being one of the best shooters in the country and our half-court offense totally ignored her.

Interesting that Lepolo started for Agnes.  She seemed to help more on the press than Nivar.

Cam's block to end Q1 was epic.

[BostonCard]

68-27 after three.

BC

---

Lol, this is quintessential Jones.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/pac12/status/1591929831289413632?s=61&t=6zIA53QUwa41_uVjMaSfIQ[/tweet]

What the hell are you… oh, wow!  Love the smile after, she’s having so much fun.

BC

[BostonCard]

68-27 after three.

BC

---

Lol, this is quintessential Jones.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/pac12/status/1591929831289413632?s=61&t=6zIA53QUwa41_uVjMaSfIQ[/tweet]

What the hell are you… oh, wow!  Love the smile after, she’s having so much fun.

BC

[martyup]

Agnes and Harriiel now playing.

---

Brink was one rebound away from a double-double.

[martyup]

Agnes and Harriiel now playing.

---

Brink was one rebound away from a double-double.

[BosCard]

Not much of a surprise that Lepolo started.  Portland presses and Stanford has historically struggled against the press.  And Lepolo is by far the best ball handler on the team.  She just sliced apart Portland’s pressure with her passing and drives into the lane. In contrast, look at how much trouble the Harriel/Emma-Nnopu backcourt had against Portland’s pressure in the 4th quarter.  Lepolo might be the most important player from her class and that’s saying a lot considering how well Betts and Nivar have played.

[BosCard]

Not much of a surprise that Lepolo started.  Portland presses and Stanford has historically struggled against the press.  And Lepolo is by far the best ball handler on the team.  She just sliced apart Portland’s pressure with her passing and drives into the lane. In contrast, look at how much trouble the Harriel/Emma-Nnopu backcourt had against Portland’s pressure in the 4th quarter.  Lepolo might be the most important player from her class and that’s saying a lot considering how well Betts and Nivar have played.

[81alum]

We learned some interesting things.  Portland is a good team, well coached, and loves to press.  That gave us a decent test with regard to how we will handle pressure.  I think Lepolo handled it well, with 9 assists to 2 turnovers.  She also showed some offensive moves including a floater and a layup, going 2/4. 

It is very good that Lepolo is getting so much experience, and now a start.  I don't think this means that Tara thinks Lepolo is one of our 5 best players at the moment, but that she is necessary to make the puzzle pieces fit together.  Jones also brought the ball up, but with both point guards on the floor it was easier to break the pressure, and it also somewhat freed up Jones to be Jones and have her best game of the year so far.  It remains to be seen how Lepolo would do against an elite player like Raven Johnson, but Tara is wise to have both Jones and Lepolo co-handling the ball.  This takes some of the pressure off Lepolo as she settles in, and it takes some of the wear-and-tear off of Jones to allow her to score.

I was SO delighted to see Brink flourish today--against our tallest and best opponent so far.  Not only did she generate 5 blocks in limited minutes, she hit a trey and was 4/6, with other jump shots sprinkled in against this zone.  If she continues with that jump shot it will make it hard on South Carolina to defend her--they will have to do more than clog the paint.  Also 9 rebounds.

Iriafen looks so spectacularly good in the paint, but she has a good jump shot too.  Just another 5/7 day at the office.  No rebounds, though.

Many of us have wondered about Nivar as a ball handler.  She is pretty good, but it was clear that she had more trouble against the press than Lepolo.  She just needs more practice if she is going to hold down point guard duties at some point.  3 turnovers.

The third string did not have the enormous success that it has had in earlier games.  Portland outscored us 20/19 in the fourth quarter.  I think we are seeing a higher quality opponent, with better physical skills and a better scheme than our prior opponents.  Belibi, in the unusual position of cleaning up, did well, although we all wished she had gone for the dunk!

I feel good about today and I feel pretty good about South Carolina in a week.  One more game to tune up: Cal Poly Wednesday at 8:00 pm.  Not sure I can stay up that late lol.

[81alum]

We learned some interesting things.  Portland is a good team, well coached, and loves to press.  That gave us a decent test with regard to how we will handle pressure.  I think Lepolo handled it well, with 9 assists to 2 turnovers.  She also showed some offensive moves including a floater and a layup, going 2/4. 

It is very good that Lepolo is getting so much experience, and now a start.  I don't think this means that Tara thinks Lepolo is one of our 5 best players at the moment, but that she is necessary to make the puzzle pieces fit together.  Jones also brought the ball up, but with both point guards on the floor it was easier to break the pressure, and it also somewhat freed up Jones to be Jones and have her best game of the year so far.  It remains to be seen how Lepolo would do against an elite player like Raven Johnson, but Tara is wise to have both Jones and Lepolo co-handling the ball.  This takes some of the pressure off Lepolo as she settles in, and it takes some of the wear-and-tear off of Jones to allow her to score.

I was SO delighted to see Brink flourish today--against our tallest and best opponent so far.  Not only did she generate 5 blocks in limited minutes, she hit a trey and was 4/6, with other jump shots sprinkled in against this zone.  If she continues with that jump shot it will make it hard on South Carolina to defend her--they will have to do more than clog the paint.  Also 9 rebounds.

Iriafen looks so spectacularly good in the paint, but she has a good jump shot too.  Just another 5/7 day at the office.  No rebounds, though.

Many of us have wondered about Nivar as a ball handler.  She is pretty good, but it was clear that she had more trouble against the press than Lepolo.  She just needs more practice if she is going to hold down point guard duties at some point.  3 turnovers.

The third string did not have the enormous success that it has had in earlier games.  Portland outscored us 20/19 in the fourth quarter.  I think we are seeing a higher quality opponent, with better physical skills and a better scheme than our prior opponents.  Belibi, in the unusual position of cleaning up, did well, although we all wished she had gone for the dunk!

I feel good about today and I feel pretty good about South Carolina in a week.  One more game to tune up: Cal Poly Wednesday at 8:00 pm.  Not sure I can stay up that late lol.

[chimera]

Well Jones and Brink are fine, as I think most of us knew they would be, and Lepolo did very, very well against a good pressing team, which is a big plus.  Fourth quarter was a bit of a mess but it was good experience for the young players so I'm glad they got a chance to play against a press.  Lepolo may be a big key to the season.  She had 9 assists and 2 turnovers I think?  She made some sweet passes, and when we played starters and key reserves Portland wasn't able to score much, so her defense is fine.  

Portland is a step up from the first three teams and was a good mid-way level challenge before South Carolina.  I know we play again Wednesday before the big showdown.  That game is unlikely to be too difficult unless we play very poorly.

My biggest takeaway is that this is a very fun team to watch, what with Jones and her joy at playing and her spins and creativity, Brink with her blocks and great running the floor for layups, our mess of great bigs, plenty of young talent, and the passing of Lepolo.  Anyone who is not impressed with Lepolo needs to sit me down and explain what they are seeing because I am seeing someone who broke a good press easily, handles the ball well, runs the offense, and creates shots for others with ease.  I'm sure she will have her share of mistakes but overall I am thrilled with her and enjoy watching her a lot.

[chimera]

Well Jones and Brink are fine, as I think most of us knew they would be, and Lepolo did very, very well against a good pressing team, which is a big plus.  Fourth quarter was a bit of a mess but it was good experience for the young players so I'm glad they got a chance to play against a press.  Lepolo may be a big key to the season.  She had 9 assists and 2 turnovers I think?  She made some sweet passes, and when we played starters and key reserves Portland wasn't able to score much, so her defense is fine.  

Portland is a step up from the first three teams and was a good mid-way level challenge before South Carolina.  I know we play again Wednesday before the big showdown.  That game is unlikely to be too difficult unless we play very poorly.

My biggest takeaway is that this is a very fun team to watch, what with Jones and her joy at playing and her spins and creativity, Brink with her blocks and great running the floor for layups, our mess of great bigs, plenty of young talent, and the passing of Lepolo.  Anyone who is not impressed with Lepolo needs to sit me down and explain what they are seeing because I am seeing someone who broke a good press easily, handles the ball well, runs the offense, and creates shots for others with ease.  I'm sure she will have her share of mistakes but overall I am thrilled with her and enjoy watching her a lot.

[Card10Fan]

Great comments from everyone. Impressive we had 18 fast break points. Lepolo is exceptional at pushing the pace. I hope she stays in the starting lineup. We need to continue to play fast. We are so deep that we can wear teams down.

52 paint points. We have such an advantage inside. Take advantage every game. Even if we haven’t been seriously challenged, our team should go into the SC game feeling very confident based on our performances so far.

[Card10Fan]

Great comments from everyone. Impressive we had 18 fast break points. Lepolo is exceptional at pushing the pace. I hope she stays in the starting lineup. We need to continue to play fast. We are so deep that we can wear teams down.

52 paint points. We have such an advantage inside. Take advantage every game. Even if we haven’t been seriously challenged, our team should go into the SC game feeling very confident based on our performances so far.

[joemontes]

All I can say is, LEPOLO is a STUD!  She has that silent confident demeanor 
since Game #1 of her very young Stanford career, and I can already sense 
that she is Stanford's starting and primary PG from hereon.

And that's why I won't be disappointed should Hannah HIDALGO go somewhere else.

[joemontes]

All I can say is, LEPOLO is a STUD!  She has that silent confident demeanor 
since Game #1 of her very young Stanford career, and I can already sense 
that she is Stanford's starting and primary PG from hereon.

And that's why I won't be disappointed should Hannah HIDALGO go somewhere else.

[martyup]

All I can say is, LEPOLO is a STUD!  She has that silent confident demeanor 
since Game #1 of her very young Stanford career, and I can already sense 
that she is Stanford's starting and primary PG from hereon.

And that's why I won't be disappointed should Hannah HIDALGO go somewhere else.

What I really like about Lepolo is her vision down the court.  She keeps her eyes up and finds the open players for easy buckets.  This talent will discourage teams from pressing us.  Neither Wilson or Williams had this vision and we suffered when teams pressed us.

[martyup]

All I can say is, LEPOLO is a STUD!  She has that silent confident demeanor 
since Game #1 of her very young Stanford career, and I can already sense 
that she is Stanford's starting and primary PG from hereon.

And that's why I won't be disappointed should Hannah HIDALGO go somewhere else.

What I really like about Lepolo is her vision down the court.  She keeps her eyes up and finds the open players for easy buckets.  This talent will discourage teams from pressing us.  Neither Wilson or Williams had this vision and we suffered when teams pressed us.

[Grad Fan]

Lepolo is exceptional at pushing the pace. I hope she stays in the starting lineup. 

My bet is that she will. It was actually a bit confusing seeing how far down the depth chart for the game Agnes fell (unless something else explains her mostly just playing mop up time). 

Anyway, encouraged by a ton this game and in particular I liked that Tara kept the first unit in for a while. Other than Kiki, who picked up a few fouls, they all had 20+ minutes. All these blow outs are nice, but I worry that relatively to better competition it means less time on the floor for the best players and letting that group gel will be critical, which they got a good chance to in this game.

[Grad Fan]

Lepolo is exceptional at pushing the pace. I hope she stays in the starting lineup. 

My bet is that she will. It was actually a bit confusing seeing how far down the depth chart for the game Agnes fell (unless something else explains her mostly just playing mop up time). 

Anyway, encouraged by a ton this game and in particular I liked that Tara kept the first unit in for a while. Other than Kiki, who picked up a few fouls, they all had 20+ minutes. All these blow outs are nice, but I worry that relatively to better competition it means less time on the floor for the best players and letting that group gel will be critical, which they got a good chance to in this game.

[BosCard]

All I can say is, LEPOLO is a STUD!  She has that silent confident demeanor 
since Game #1 of her very young Stanford career, and I can already sense 
that she is Stanford's starting and primary PG from hereon.

And that's why I won't be disappointed should Hannah HIDALGO go somewhere else.

What I really like about Lepolo is her vision down the court.  She keeps her eyes up and finds the open players for easy buckets.  This talent will discourage teams from pressing us.  Neither Wilson or Williams had this vision and we suffered when teams pressed us.

I agree.  The difference between Lacie Hull bringing up the ball and Lepolo is like night and day.  You could sense that Hull was saying don’t turn over the ball, don’t turn over the ball, don’t turn over the ball.  Lepolo is looking to punish the press.  And she has three great outlets, Brink, Iriafen and Jones who are all very comfortable attacking the basket for a layup.  In contrast, last year if Hull broke the press to Wilson more often than not Wilson would pull the ball out and let the defense reset.

[BosCard]

All I can say is, LEPOLO is a STUD!  She has that silent confident demeanor 
since Game #1 of her very young Stanford career, and I can already sense 
that she is Stanford's starting and primary PG from hereon.

And that's why I won't be disappointed should Hannah HIDALGO go somewhere else.

What I really like about Lepolo is her vision down the court.  She keeps her eyes up and finds the open players for easy buckets.  This talent will discourage teams from pressing us.  Neither Wilson or Williams had this vision and we suffered when teams pressed us.

I agree.  The difference between Lacie Hull bringing up the ball and Lepolo is like night and day.  You could sense that Hull was saying don’t turn over the ball, don’t turn over the ball, don’t turn over the ball.  Lepolo is looking to punish the press.  And she has three great outlets, Brink, Iriafen and Jones who are all very comfortable attacking the basket for a layup.  In contrast, last year if Hull broke the press to Wilson more often than not Wilson would pull the ball out and let the defense reset.

[jonnyss]

Lepolo is exceptional at pushing the pace. I hope she stays in the starting lineup. 

My bet is that she will. It was actually a bit confusing seeing how far down the depth chart for the game Agnes fell (unless something else explains her mostly just playing mop up time). 

my guess is that tara starts upperclassmen over freshmen at the beginning of the year out of respect and appreciation for their dedication. after the first few games, the more talented talana and indya play ahead of the dedicated agnes.

[jonnyss]

Lepolo is exceptional at pushing the pace. I hope she stays in the starting lineup. 

My bet is that she will. It was actually a bit confusing seeing how far down the depth chart for the game Agnes fell (unless something else explains her mostly just playing mop up time). 

my guess is that tara starts upperclassmen over freshmen at the beginning of the year out of respect and appreciation for their dedication. after the first few games, the more talented talana and indya play ahead of the dedicated agnes.