[81alum]

Preview: Stanford at Washington State, Sunday 1pm. Pac 12 Networks.

When we last played Washington State, at Maples on January 5, WSU was looking like a rising team. They gave us a good game but we prevailed 74-65, a single digit win. My preview for that game, and the thread that follows, can be found here:

https://thecardboard.org/board/showthrea...#pid406302

Since that game, WSU is 4-4. They have beated Washington, ASU, Arizona, and most impressively UCLA. They have lost to Cal, USC, Colorado and Utah.  Massey now has WSU at 29, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at.  NET is even better at 25.  Dropping two home games last weekend did knock them out of the rankings.

The record does not tell the full story, however. UCLA lost their star Charlisse Leger-Walker to an ACL during their UCLA victory, and then lost their next two games to the mountain schools. One might think that the loss of CLW dooms their season, but those games against Colorado and Utah are instructive. They played Colorado tight, losing just 63-57, and a couple of players we have not seen much of before are coming on strong.

Tara Wallack, for example, a 6’2” Canadian guard, had 19 points against the vaunted Colorado defense, going 3/6 from long range. Eleonora Villa, the 5’8” freshman guard from Italy, had 15 points, and 5’9” guard Astera Tuhina, a sophomore guard from Kosovo, also has 15 points.  We have seen more of Wallack and Tuhina before, but the emergence of freshman Villa is just what WSU needed when it lost CLW.

Against Utah, WSU played them even for three quarters before falling apart in the fourth. In addition to the three newish players just mentioned, they got a better game from old hand Bella Murekatete, the talented and much improved 6’3” 5th year center.

In short, WSU is replacing CLW with some bench talent which is more than filling in for her missing points. That was not enough to get WSU home wins over very good Colorado and Utah teams, but they were very competitive and are no doubt adjusting to a scheme without CLW, and will presumably be better adjusted this week than last.

Much like Washington, WSU has one talented “big” who will have to be controlled by Brink and Iriafen. The scariest aspect of WSU, though,  is their three point shooting. Astera, Wallack, Tuhina, and Villa are all shooting threes at better than 35%. Perimeter defense will again be job one. If WSU starts getting hot from three point range, then anything is possible. And we don’t want just anything to happen, in what could end up being our last road trip to Pullman.

[81alum]

Preview: Stanford at Washington State, Sunday 1pm. Pac 12 Networks.

When we last played Washington State, at Maples on January 5, WSU was looking like a rising team. They gave us a good game but we prevailed 74-65, a single digit win. My preview for that game, and the thread that follows, can be found here:

https://thecardboard.org/board/showthrea...#pid406302

Since that game, WSU is 4-4. They have beated Washington, ASU, Arizona, and most impressively UCLA. They have lost to Cal, USC, Colorado and Utah.  Massey now has WSU at 29, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at.  NET is even better at 25.  Dropping two home games last weekend did knock them out of the rankings.

The record does not tell the full story, however. UCLA lost their star Charlisse Leger-Walker to an ACL during their UCLA victory, and then lost their next two games to the mountain schools. One might think that the loss of CLW dooms their season, but those games against Colorado and Utah are instructive. They played Colorado tight, losing just 63-57, and a couple of players we have not seen much of before are coming on strong.

Tara Wallack, for example, a 6’2” Canadian guard, had 19 points against the vaunted Colorado defense, going 3/6 from long range. Eleonora Villa, the 5’8” freshman guard from Italy, had 15 points, and 5’9” guard Astera Tuhina, a sophomore guard from Kosovo, also has 15 points.  We have seen more of Wallack and Tuhina before, but the emergence of freshman Villa is just what WSU needed when it lost CLW.

Against Utah, WSU played them even for three quarters before falling apart in the fourth. In addition to the three newish players just mentioned, they got a better game from old hand Bella Murekatete, the talented and much improved 6’3” 5th year center.

In short, WSU is replacing CLW with some bench talent which is more than filling in for her missing points. That was not enough to get WSU home wins over very good Colorado and Utah teams, but they were very competitive and are no doubt adjusting to a scheme without CLW, and will presumably be better adjusted this week than last.

Much like Washington, WSU has one talented “big” who will have to be controlled by Brink and Iriafen. The scariest aspect of WSU, though,  is their three point shooting. Astera, Wallack, Tuhina, and Villa are all shooting threes at better than 35%. Perimeter defense will again be job one. If WSU starts getting hot from three point range, then anything is possible. And we don’t want just anything to happen, in what could end up being our last road trip to Pullman.

[WBB fan]

Another great preview. Thanks. This game makes me very nervous. It's WSU's last chance to defeat Stanford in the pac 12. They will be very motivated.

[WBB fan]

Another great preview. Thanks. This game makes me very nervous. It's WSU's last chance to defeat Stanford in the pac 12. They will be very motivated.

[81alum]

WSU lost at home to Cal on Friday, 59-66.  That was despite their freshman phenom Villa scoring 17.  WSU has lost several games recently by relatively close margins.  They are hurting, and would like nothing better than to turn things around against us.

In her post-game press conference, Kamie Ethridge discussed "A T" (Astera Tuhina), their 5'9" sophomore guard from Kosova that she clearly thinks needs to be more at the center of their offense.  But AT was injured for 6 weeks and is just getting back in the flow of basketball.  It was fortunate that she came back as CLW was injured, but AT was 0/5 in 25 minutes against Cal.  If she had been just a bit more productive, WSU would have won their game. 

"They just guarded us, 1 on 1, better, and nothing we did got us an advantage on the offensive end."

I really wonder if we will play WSU again after this game.  If we were fortunate to win, we would close out the series 74-0.

[81alum]

WSU lost at home to Cal on Friday, 59-66.  That was despite their freshman phenom Villa scoring 17.  WSU has lost several games recently by relatively close margins.  They are hurting, and would like nothing better than to turn things around against us.

In her post-game press conference, Kamie Ethridge discussed "A T" (Astera Tuhina), their 5'9" sophomore guard from Kosova that she clearly thinks needs to be more at the center of their offense.  But AT was injured for 6 weeks and is just getting back in the flow of basketball.  It was fortunate that she came back as CLW was injured, but AT was 0/5 in 25 minutes against Cal.  If she had been just a bit more productive, WSU would have won their game. 

"They just guarded us, 1 on 1, better, and nothing we did got us an advantage on the offensive end."

I really wonder if we will play WSU again after this game.  If we were fortunate to win, we would close out the series 74-0.

[BosCard]

WSU lost at home to Cal on Friday, 59-66.  That was despite their freshman phenom Villa scoring 17.  WSU has lost several games recently by relatively close margins.  They are hurting, and would like nothing better than to turn things around against us.

In her post-game press conference, Kamie Ethridge discussed "A T" (Astera Tuhina), their 5'9" sophomore guard from Kosova that she clearly thinks needs to be more at the center of their offense.  But AT was injured for 6 weeks and is just getting back in the flow of basketball.  It was fortunate that she came back as CLW was injured, but AT was 0/5 in 25 minutes against Cal.  If she had been just a bit more productive, WSU would have won their game. 

"They just guarded us, 1 on 1, better, and nothing we did got us an advantage on the offensive end."

I really wonder if we will play WSU again after this game.  If we were fortunate to win, we would close out the series 74-0.

Another horrible first quarter.  The opponent guards Jump and double teams both Brink and Iriafen and dares Lepolo to shoot.  They know that if she misses a couple she will stop shooting so they don't have to guard her.

[BosCard]

WSU lost at home to Cal on Friday, 59-66.  That was despite their freshman phenom Villa scoring 17.  WSU has lost several games recently by relatively close margins.  They are hurting, and would like nothing better than to turn things around against us.

In her post-game press conference, Kamie Ethridge discussed "A T" (Astera Tuhina), their 5'9" sophomore guard from Kosova that she clearly thinks needs to be more at the center of their offense.  But AT was injured for 6 weeks and is just getting back in the flow of basketball.  It was fortunate that she came back as CLW was injured, but AT was 0/5 in 25 minutes against Cal.  If she had been just a bit more productive, WSU would have won their game. 

"They just guarded us, 1 on 1, better, and nothing we did got us an advantage on the offensive end."

I really wonder if we will play WSU again after this game.  If we were fortunate to win, we would close out the series 74-0.

Another horrible first quarter.  The opponent guards Jump and double teams both Brink and Iriafen and dares Lepolo to shoot.  They know that if she misses a couple she will stop shooting so they don't have to guard her.

[mbdude]

need better end of qtr plays, nothing happening there

we look flat again!

[mbdude]

need better end of qtr plays, nothing happening there

we look flat again!

[WBB fan]

Really anemic start to this game, down 11-18 at end of 1st quarter, 1-4 from free throw line. They don't look in sync, or aggressive, and WSU looks as if they really want this one. Playing that way, much more so than the Card.

[WBB fan]

Really anemic start to this game, down 11-18 at end of 1st quarter, 1-4 from free throw line. They don't look in sync, or aggressive, and WSU looks as if they really want this one. Playing that way, much more so than the Card.

[TonyLima]

WSU 4 of 5 from three.

---

Really anemic start to this game, down 11-18 at end of 1st quarter, 1-4 from free throw line. They don't look in sync, or aggressive, and WSU looks as if they really want this one. Playing that way, much more so than the Card.

Better now.

[TonyLima]

WSU 4 of 5 from three.

---

Really anemic start to this game, down 11-18 at end of 1st quarter, 1-4 from free throw line. They don't look in sync, or aggressive, and WSU looks as if they really want this one. Playing that way, much more so than the Card.

Better now.

[WBB fan]

WSU 4 of 5 from three.

---

Really anemic start to this game, down 11-18 at end of 1st quarter, 1-4 from free throw line. They don't look in sync, or aggressive, and WSU looks as if they really want this one. Playing that way, much more so than the Card.

Better now.

Much better, looking much more aggressive, as if they want it. But what's with being outrebounded in the 1st half? To me, that's a measure of aggressiveness. And Cam has only one rebound? Still, she does have 13 points, with 2 threes, and three steals.

[WBB fan]

WSU 4 of 5 from three.

---

Really anemic start to this game, down 11-18 at end of 1st quarter, 1-4 from free throw line. They don't look in sync, or aggressive, and WSU looks as if they really want this one. Playing that way, much more so than the Card.

Better now.

Much better, looking much more aggressive, as if they want it. But what's with being outrebounded in the 1st half? To me, that's a measure of aggressiveness. And Cam has only one rebound? Still, she does have 13 points, with 2 threes, and three steals.

[81alum]

Villa is as advertised, 4/4 in the first half.  Lepolo was 0/4 and her replacement Harriel 1/4 or things might have looked different on offense.  We are a different team when the threes drop for us.  Ogden continues to look solid.

[81alum]

Villa is as advertised, 4/4 in the first half.  Lepolo was 0/4 and her replacement Harriel 1/4 or things might have looked different on offense.  We are a different team when the threes drop for us.  Ogden continues to look solid.

[skip75]

[quote="TonyLima" pid='408556' dateline='1707687555']
WSU 4 of 5 from three.

---

[quote="WBB fan" pid='408555' dateline='1707686850']

 And Cam has only one rebound? Still, she does have 13 points, with 2 threes, and three steals.

And 2 blocks and 0 FOULS - and 18 minutes!

[skip75]

[quote="TonyLima" pid='408556' dateline='1707687555']
WSU 4 of 5 from three.

---

[quote="WBB fan" pid='408555' dateline='1707686850']

 And Cam has only one rebound? Still, she does have 13 points, with 2 threes, and three steals.

And 2 blocks and 0 FOULS - and 18 minutes!

[TonyLima]

we are not getting the O boards. Where are Bigs under the hoop?

---

Clark grabs Brink’x in arm with both hands and throws her to the floor. How come the zebras didn’t look at that one?

[TonyLima]

we are not getting the O boards. Where are Bigs under the hoop?

---

Clark grabs Brink’x in arm with both hands and throws her to the floor. How come the zebras didn’t look at that one?

[WBB fan]

74-0!!!!!

[WBB fan]

74-0!!!!!

[martyup]

Just arrived in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, and saw we had a big lead with 3 minutes to play in the 4th.  Glad I missed the first Q.

Great stats for Brink and Iriafen.  Ogden and Jump pretty good.  The rest . . . meh.

---

Great to see Brink with 35 minutes and Iriafen with 34.  We will need those kind of minutes in the tourney.

[martyup]

Just arrived in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, and saw we had a big lead with 3 minutes to play in the 4th.  Glad I missed the first Q.

Great stats for Brink and Iriafen.  Ogden and Jump pretty good.  The rest . . . meh.

---

Great to see Brink with 35 minutes and Iriafen with 34.  We will need those kind of minutes in the tourney.

[81alum]

We could play WSU again in the Pac 12 tournament, otherwise this may have been our last game with them.  At the very least it is likely our last road trip to Pullman.  74-0.  That is a crazy record.

1) Great to see Jump's offense get back on track.  20 points, and a diverse set of shots.  4/8 from three point range, and add 4 assists.

2) Brink with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3/3 free throws, 2 blocks, and 5 steals.  An incredible stat line.

3) Iriafen with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists of her own.  Love to see the bigs assisting each other.

4) No one else contributed much offensively, but Ogden was 2/2 and continues to look as if she is coming into her own. 

5) Bosgana with an empty stat line and 8 minutes.  Ogden, Agara, Demetre, and Harriel all had more minutes off the bench than Bosgana did as a starter.  This reminds me of Sara James, who continued to start even as her playing time got shorter and shorter.  In her case it was a physical issue with her knees, I seem to recall.  But being a starter for Tara does not necessarily mean you get more minutes than bench players.

6) We shot 49% but let WSU shoot 44%--a significant defensive let down compared with our last two games.  We kept our turnovers down to 11--better than WSU's 16.  We had 10 steals compared with their 5.  We had 13 O-boards to their 7.  But the game was extremely close until the fourth quarter. We shot 8/14 in the fourth compared with 2/11 for WSU.  We appear to have worn them down.

[81alum]

We could play WSU again in the Pac 12 tournament, otherwise this may have been our last game with them.  At the very least it is likely our last road trip to Pullman.  74-0.  That is a crazy record.

1) Great to see Jump's offense get back on track.  20 points, and a diverse set of shots.  4/8 from three point range, and add 4 assists.

2) Brink with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3/3 free throws, 2 blocks, and 5 steals.  An incredible stat line.

3) Iriafen with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 assists of her own.  Love to see the bigs assisting each other.

4) No one else contributed much offensively, but Ogden was 2/2 and continues to look as if she is coming into her own. 

5) Bosgana with an empty stat line and 8 minutes.  Ogden, Agara, Demetre, and Harriel all had more minutes off the bench than Bosgana did as a starter.  This reminds me of Sara James, who continued to start even as her playing time got shorter and shorter.  In her case it was a physical issue with her knees, I seem to recall.  But being a starter for Tara does not necessarily mean you get more minutes than bench players.

6) We shot 49% but let WSU shoot 44%--a significant defensive let down compared with our last two games.  We kept our turnovers down to 11--better than WSU's 16.  We had 10 steals compared with their 5.  We had 13 O-boards to their 7.  But the game was extremely close until the fourth quarter. We shot 8/14 in the fourth compared with 2/11 for WSU.  We appear to have worn them down.

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford now takes a one game lead in the P12 with 5 games remaining. The next 3 are at home vs. Cal, Arizona and ASU.

Meanwhile Oregon State has 2 massive games next weekend at home vs. UCLA and USC before going to Pullman and Seattle.

Colorado's next 3 games are all on the road - at Utah, at USC, at UCLA.

If USC, UCLA, Colorado and Oregon State beat up on each other the next 2 weeks and Stanford takes care of business, it's possible for the Cardinal to have a 2 game lead when it plays Oregon State in Corvallis the last weekend of the regular season.

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford now takes a one game lead in the P12 with 5 games remaining. The next 3 are at home vs. Cal, Arizona and ASU.

Meanwhile Oregon State has 2 massive games next weekend at home vs. UCLA and USC before going to Pullman and Seattle.

Colorado's next 3 games are all on the road - at Utah, at USC, at UCLA.

If USC, UCLA, Colorado and Oregon State beat up on each other the next 2 weeks and Stanford takes care of business, it's possible for the Cardinal to have a 2 game lead when it plays Oregon State in Corvallis the last weekend of the regular season.

[81alum]

Stanford now takes a one game lead in the P12 with 5 games remaining. The next 3 are at home vs. Cal, Arizona and ASU.

Meanwhile Oregon State has 2 massive games next weekend at home vs. UCLA and USC before going to Pullman and Seattle.

Colorado's next 3 games are all on the road - at Utah, at USC, at UCLA.

If USC, UCLA, Colorado and Oregon State beat up on each other the next 2 weeks and Stanford takes care of business, it's possible for the Cardinal to have a 2 game lead when it plays Oregon State in Corvallis the last weekend of the regular season.

I've been having similar thoughts, but Washington or WSU could have beaten us, Cal is surging, and Arizona and ASU have the benefit of having played us before.  We can't take a single game for granted.  But yes, as soon as we saw the schedule, we knew that it worked in our favor, and nowhere is that more obvious than the next couple of weeks.

Very impressed with what Oregon State is doing, but I still think we have the right players to match up with them well.

[81alum]

Stanford now takes a one game lead in the P12 with 5 games remaining. The next 3 are at home vs. Cal, Arizona and ASU.

Meanwhile Oregon State has 2 massive games next weekend at home vs. UCLA and USC before going to Pullman and Seattle.

Colorado's next 3 games are all on the road - at Utah, at USC, at UCLA.

If USC, UCLA, Colorado and Oregon State beat up on each other the next 2 weeks and Stanford takes care of business, it's possible for the Cardinal to have a 2 game lead when it plays Oregon State in Corvallis the last weekend of the regular season.

I've been having similar thoughts, but Washington or WSU could have beaten us, Cal is surging, and Arizona and ASU have the benefit of having played us before.  We can't take a single game for granted.  But yes, as soon as we saw the schedule, we knew that it worked in our favor, and nowhere is that more obvious than the next couple of weeks.

Very impressed with what Oregon State is doing, but I still think we have the right players to match up with them well.

[WBB fan]

We know we can match up well with OSU given that we beat them at Maples, and that was without Cam. Of course, Kiki had a monster game for the ages,, unlikely to have that again, but we will have Cam again

[WBB fan]

We know we can match up well with OSU given that we beat them at Maples, and that was without Cam. Of course, Kiki had a monster game for the ages,, unlikely to have that again, but we will have Cam again

[Hieronymus]

- Lousy first quarter on both offense and defense that obviously got better 
- We lost people several times in transition defense. Need to clean that up.
- Lepolo’s shot is out for lunch the last several games
- Bosgana is a smooth athlete, but she has no explosion going to the hoop. As a result most of her drives end poorly.
- As noted above, the half time rebounding deficit was a concern and this time shooting percentage was not the main cause.
- But we won the turnover and the rebounding battle in the end.
- That was about as clear of an intentional foul as you will see.
- And no banked 3s today. I think it’s 7 in the last 7 games. 2 games have had 2 for the opponent. I have no explanation.

[Hieronymus]

- Lousy first quarter on both offense and defense that obviously got better 
- We lost people several times in transition defense. Need to clean that up.
- Lepolo’s shot is out for lunch the last several games
- Bosgana is a smooth athlete, but she has no explosion going to the hoop. As a result most of her drives end poorly.
- As noted above, the half time rebounding deficit was a concern and this time shooting percentage was not the main cause.
- But we won the turnover and the rebounding battle in the end.
- That was about as clear of an intentional foul as you will see.
- And no banked 3s today. I think it’s 7 in the last 7 games. 2 games have had 2 for the opponent. I have no explanation.

[81alum]

Here is Kamie Ethridge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWFgm2J60MU&t=4s

Here are highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J51PZMUYEwE

I can't find a Stanford press conference.  Here is a pre-game interview with Tara, she comments on the Washington game.  She also made the mistake of picking the 49ers by 21.

https://soundcloud.com/gostanford/tara-v...tate-21124

[81alum]

Here is Kamie Ethridge:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWFgm2J60MU&t=4s

Here are highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J51PZMUYEwE

I can't find a Stanford press conference.  Here is a pre-game interview with Tara, she comments on the Washington game.  She also made the mistake of picking the 49ers by 21.

https://soundcloud.com/gostanford/tara-v...tate-21124

[81alum]

There has not been discussion here about the Bella Murakatete flagrant foul on Brink.  Thanks to the Fast Break Club for finding and posting this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs5wM_XdV7M&t=88s

As they say, this video could be shown to future refs to demonstrate what a flagrant foul is.  I think they called this a Flagrant 1, although it was Murakatete's 5th overall so she was disqualified anyway.

I know we have a couple of rules experts here.  Was this a flagrant 1 or a flagrant 2?   If it has been a 2, would there have been more consequences?  Or if you are going to foul someone and you already have 4, there is no difference between a 1 and a 2?

[81alum]

There has not been discussion here about the Bella Murakatete flagrant foul on Brink.  Thanks to the Fast Break Club for finding and posting this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs5wM_XdV7M&t=88s

As they say, this video could be shown to future refs to demonstrate what a flagrant foul is.  I think they called this a Flagrant 1, although it was Murakatete's 5th overall so she was disqualified anyway.

I know we have a couple of rules experts here.  Was this a flagrant 1 or a flagrant 2?   If it has been a 2, would there have been more consequences?  Or if you are going to foul someone and you already have 4, there is no difference between a 1 and a 2?