11-03-2025, 08:41 PM
The three Frosh with 22 at the half
WBB: Stanford 87 -- UNC Greensboro 42
We lead at the half 43-20. Shooting 58.1%, 55.6%, 100%. 11 assists on 18 buckets. We are leading rebounding 22-13. Frosh are killing it. My only nit is our 5 turnovers. All were on sloppy passing.
Our defense held them to 8 points in the second Q.
I like that Somfai is not afraid to shoot the ball at any place on the court. That makes her dangerous for opposing teams.
Lepolo is showing why she is our starting PG. She is always looking down the court for open players and fires laser passes. She knocked down her only shot so far tonight.
If this team can love each other and have fun they can win a lot of games this season.
Levine reminds me of Paige Buckets.
Our defense held them to 8 points in the second Q.
I like that Somfai is not afraid to shoot the ball at any place on the court. That makes her dangerous for opposing teams.
Lepolo is showing why she is our starting PG. She is always looking down the court for open players and fires laser passes. She knocked down her only shot so far tonight.
If this team can love each other and have fun they can win a lot of games this season.
Levine reminds me of Paige Buckets.
Put a glide in your stride and a dip in your hip.
We lead at the half 43-20. Shooting 58.1%, 55.6%, 100%. 11 assists on 18 buckets. We are leading rebounding 22-13. Frosh are killing it. My only nit is our 5 turnovers. All were on sloppy passing.
Our defense held them to 8 points in the second Q.
I like that Somfai is not afraid to shoot the ball at any place on the court. That makes her dangerous for opposing teams.
Lepolo is showing why she is our starting PG. She is always looking down the court for open players and fires laser passes. She knocked down her only shot so far tonight.
If this team can love each other and have fun they can win a lot of games this season.
Levine reminds me of Paige Buckets.
Our defense held them to 8 points in the second Q.
I like that Somfai is not afraid to shoot the ball at any place on the court. That makes her dangerous for opposing teams.
Lepolo is showing why she is our starting PG. She is always looking down the court for open players and fires laser passes. She knocked down her only shot so far tonight.
If this team can love each other and have fun they can win a lot of games this season.
Levine reminds me of Paige Buckets.
Put a glide in your stride and a dip in your hip.
11-03-2025, 09:22 PM
third quarter ends at Stanford 2x + 9.
Hopefully this assuages some of the agita about three point shooting, though I would hastily add that neither particularly good (55% today) nor bad three point shooting game should be the basis for drawing conclusion.
BC
Hopefully this assuages some of the agita about three point shooting, though I would hastily add that neither particularly good (55% today) nor bad three point shooting game should be the basis for drawing conclusion.
BC
third quarter ends at Stanford 2x + 9.
Hopefully this assuages some of the agita about three point shooting, though I would hastily add that neither particularly good (55% today) nor bad three point shooting game should be the basis for drawing conclusion.
BC
Hopefully this assuages some of the agita about three point shooting, though I would hastily add that neither particularly good (55% today) nor bad three point shooting game should be the basis for drawing conclusion.
BC
11-03-2025, 09:47 PM
a late three gets UNC Greensboro to within 2x + 3.
5 players in double digits, but alas no double doubles.
BC
5 players in double digits, but alas no double doubles.
BC
a late three gets UNC Greensboro to within 2x + 3.
5 players in double digits, but alas no double doubles.
BC
5 players in double digits, but alas no double doubles.
BC
(11-03-2025, 09:37 PM)petersalas Wrote: Baseline second row closest to Stanford bench.
martyup dateline='[url=tel:1762230172' Wrote: 1762230172[/url]']
We are 11-11 from the charity stripe.
Why don't I see Karlie on the bench?
Okay. I was looking for her on the bench.
ALL RIGHT NOW!! That was fun watching our first official game.
Put a glide in your stride and a dip in your hip.
(11-03-2025, 09:37 PM)petersalas Wrote: Baseline second row closest to Stanford bench.
martyup dateline='[url=tel:1762230172' Wrote: 1762230172[/url]']
We are 11-11 from the charity stripe.
Why don't I see Karlie on the bench?
Okay. I was looking for her on the bench.
ALL RIGHT NOW!! That was fun watching our first official game.
Put a glide in your stride and a dip in your hip.
11-03-2025, 09:51 PM
Just over half the total points by the Frosh. Yes think we shall see them play a lot
11-03-2025, 10:20 PM
(11-03-2025, 09:51 PM)BobK Wrote: Just over half the total points by the Frosh. Yes think we shall see them play a lot
Indeed. Like most of us, I wanted to see how good the incoming class was. Zowie! Coach Paye et.al. can really recruit. Should be a fun season. Even my lovely wife, not a sports fan, watched the whole game and enjoyed it immensely.
(11-03-2025, 09:51 PM)BobK Wrote: Just over half the total points by the Frosh. Yes think we shall see them play a lot
Indeed. Like most of us, I wanted to see how good the incoming class was. Zowie! Coach Paye et.al. can really recruit. Should be a fun season. Even my lovely wife, not a sports fan, watched the whole game and enjoyed it immensely.
11-03-2025, 10:25 PM
Today Texas dropped 123 points on Incarnate Word. Yowzers!
Put a glide in your stride and a dip in your hip.
11-03-2025, 10:33 PM
Game ball to Nunu. She had nothing to prove so she kept the ball moving, got out of the way and let the frosh do their thing. Only one shot in Q1 and only one again in Q2. She got a little more active in Q3, but by then the frosh all had had their chance to shine. Of course, Talana was on the same page, but Nunu had to actively step aside. Looking ahead, Nunu and Lara are each going to make the other a better player, but today was a chance for Lara to take center stage.
Game ball to Nunu. She had nothing to prove so she kept the ball moving, got out of the way and let the frosh do their thing. Only one shot in Q1 and only one again in Q2. She got a little more active in Q3, but by then the frosh all had had their chance to shine. Of course, Talana was on the same page, but Nunu had to actively step aside. Looking ahead, Nunu and Lara are each going to make the other a better player, but today was a chance for Lara to take center stage.
we have a rotation of 9, and all looked good. really good. most pleasant surprise is how good MAS is this year (7 pts, 10 rebounds in 16 minutes!) - monster rebounder, and even hit a 3. so we have 4 excellent posts. 3 1/2 excellent guards (shay is the half). for those disappointed in courtney ogden, she looked good today, both on offense and defense. our 3s went in today (7/15), and hailee made her layups! (well, most of them) this is easily a tournament team. to my eyes a sweet 16 team at least.
papadaki, green, and umeh did not take off their warm-ups.
of the remaining 3, carly amborn looks promising - poised, knows the offense and the defense, hit her only 3. nora ezike is big and strong but a bit lost on the court. harper played the most but was a liability - didn't flow w the offense, instead chucked up 3 air balls.
it was fun to see where kate placed the post players: on offense, sometimes nunu was out at the 3, sometimes in the low block. same with lara. again today, the posts did a lot of defending up high, not just down low.
papadaki, green, and umeh did not take off their warm-ups.
of the remaining 3, carly amborn looks promising - poised, knows the offense and the defense, hit her only 3. nora ezike is big and strong but a bit lost on the court. harper played the most but was a liability - didn't flow w the offense, instead chucked up 3 air balls.
it was fun to see where kate placed the post players: on offense, sometimes nunu was out at the 3, sometimes in the low block. same with lara. again today, the posts did a lot of defending up high, not just down low.
we have a rotation of 9, and all looked good. really good. most pleasant surprise is how good MAS is this year (7 pts, 10 rebounds in 16 minutes!) - monster rebounder, and even hit a 3. so we have 4 excellent posts. 3 1/2 excellent guards (shay is the half). for those disappointed in courtney ogden, she looked good today, both on offense and defense. our 3s went in today (7/15), and hailee made her layups! (well, most of them) this is easily a tournament team. to my eyes a sweet 16 team at least.
papadaki, green, and umeh did not take off their warm-ups.
of the remaining 3, carly amborn looks promising - poised, knows the offense and the defense, hit her only 3. nora ezike is big and strong but a bit lost on the court. harper played the most but was a liability - didn't flow w the offense, instead chucked up 3 air balls.
it was fun to see where kate placed the post players: on offense, sometimes nunu was out at the 3, sometimes in the low block. same with lara. again today, the posts did a lot of defending up high, not just down low.
papadaki, green, and umeh did not take off their warm-ups.
of the remaining 3, carly amborn looks promising - poised, knows the offense and the defense, hit her only 3. nora ezike is big and strong but a bit lost on the court. harper played the most but was a liability - didn't flow w the offense, instead chucked up 3 air balls.
it was fun to see where kate placed the post players: on offense, sometimes nunu was out at the 3, sometimes in the low block. same with lara. again today, the posts did a lot of defending up high, not just down low.
11-03-2025, 11:28 PM
Really happy to see solid performances by the freshmen. But most happy with our fg% and 3p%…58% and 48%. Solid performance overall.
11-03-2025, 11:52 PM
(11-03-2025, 10:37 PM)jonnyss Wrote: we have a rotation of 9, and all looked good. really good. most pleasant surprise is how good MAS is this year (7 pts, 10 rebounds in 16 minutes!) - monster rebounder, and even hit a 3. so we have 4 excellent posts. 3 1/2 excellent guards (shay is the half). for those disappointed in courtney ogden, she looked good today, both on offense and defense. our 3s went in today (7/15), and hailee made her layups! (well, most of them) this is easily a tournament team. to my eyes a sweet 16 team at least.
papadaki, green, and umeh did not take off their warm-ups.
of the remaining 3, carly amborn looks promising - poised, knows the offense and the defense, hit her only 3. nora ezike is big and strong but a bit lost on the court. harper played the most but was a liability - didn't flow w the offense, instead chucked up 3 air balls.
it was fun to see where kate placed the post players: on offense, sometimes nunu was out at the 3, sometimes in the low block. same with lara. again today, the posts did a lot of defending up high, not just down low.
A very different (and much improved) team than I saw in the exhibition. Tonight there was much better ball movement and players moving without the ball. Somfai clearly the star of the game. She could easily have scored 20 had she played the 4th. quarter, but 15 points on 6 of 12 shooting and 8 rebounds for 3 quarters isn't bad. Lara is so strong going to the basket and yes, she can shoot from distance. She and Nunu are studs and when they learn how to play and compliment one another, look out.
I'm not sure Kate has yet settled on the starters and I can understand why Lepolo gets the nod- she's very competent bringing the ball up and facilitating, but Chloe is a superior player, both offensively and defensively and I would like to see a starting lineup where all five players are offensive threats.
My only quibble tonight was the continued lack of passing from the guards and wings into Eschmeyer. Alex was very active and skilled, moving quickly from one block to the other, her long reach, hands up calling for the ball - and not getting rewarded. She is so talented as a freshman (13 tonight) on 4 of 8 including a 3. I think there might have been one attempted pass to her, but the pass was soft and the ball was stolen. Stanford is not taking advantage of her size, length and skill sets. Would like to see more of an inside-out offense; it would pose more problems for opponents.
Although she started slow, Swain was dynamic in the 2nd. half. Her speed and quickness sets her apart and she is fearless driving to the hoop. I know she's capable of doing it, but I'd like her to sometimes hit a quick jumper when she doesn't have the best angle to the basket. I can't recall the last time Stanford has had a guard with her skills.
Overall, the team looked much more in sync.
Ogden has not shown me much, either in the exhibition and tonight. She should not be starting. Eschmeyer is the clear choice to start.
(11-03-2025, 10:37 PM)jonnyss Wrote: we have a rotation of 9, and all looked good. really good. most pleasant surprise is how good MAS is this year (7 pts, 10 rebounds in 16 minutes!) - monster rebounder, and even hit a 3. so we have 4 excellent posts. 3 1/2 excellent guards (shay is the half). for those disappointed in courtney ogden, she looked good today, both on offense and defense. our 3s went in today (7/15), and hailee made her layups! (well, most of them) this is easily a tournament team. to my eyes a sweet 16 team at least.
papadaki, green, and umeh did not take off their warm-ups.
of the remaining 3, carly amborn looks promising - poised, knows the offense and the defense, hit her only 3. nora ezike is big and strong but a bit lost on the court. harper played the most but was a liability - didn't flow w the offense, instead chucked up 3 air balls.
it was fun to see where kate placed the post players: on offense, sometimes nunu was out at the 3, sometimes in the low block. same with lara. again today, the posts did a lot of defending up high, not just down low.
A very different (and much improved) team than I saw in the exhibition. Tonight there was much better ball movement and players moving without the ball. Somfai clearly the star of the game. She could easily have scored 20 had she played the 4th. quarter, but 15 points on 6 of 12 shooting and 8 rebounds for 3 quarters isn't bad. Lara is so strong going to the basket and yes, she can shoot from distance. She and Nunu are studs and when they learn how to play and compliment one another, look out.
I'm not sure Kate has yet settled on the starters and I can understand why Lepolo gets the nod- she's very competent bringing the ball up and facilitating, but Chloe is a superior player, both offensively and defensively and I would like to see a starting lineup where all five players are offensive threats.
My only quibble tonight was the continued lack of passing from the guards and wings into Eschmeyer. Alex was very active and skilled, moving quickly from one block to the other, her long reach, hands up calling for the ball - and not getting rewarded. She is so talented as a freshman (13 tonight) on 4 of 8 including a 3. I think there might have been one attempted pass to her, but the pass was soft and the ball was stolen. Stanford is not taking advantage of her size, length and skill sets. Would like to see more of an inside-out offense; it would pose more problems for opponents.
Although she started slow, Swain was dynamic in the 2nd. half. Her speed and quickness sets her apart and she is fearless driving to the hoop. I know she's capable of doing it, but I'd like her to sometimes hit a quick jumper when she doesn't have the best angle to the basket. I can't recall the last time Stanford has had a guard with her skills.
Overall, the team looked much more in sync.
Ogden has not shown me much, either in the exhibition and tonight. She should not be starting. Eschmeyer is the clear choice to start.
11-04-2025, 12:14 AM
Agree with everyone's enthusiasm about the game tonight, but no one has commented on our defense! Talented freshmen don't always start/play much because they can be a defensive liability with the speed of the college game. I'm impressed with how quick and agile Somfai, Swain, and Eschmeyer are on defense and how well they mesh defensively with Clardy, Lepolo, and Agara. Granted, the two teams we played were not ACC caliber, but they both played up tempo games and we defended well.
I guess now I'd like to see how we do against a team with tall, strong post players. Hoping that Agara, Somfai, and Eschmeyer will do well in that type of game.
I guess now I'd like to see how we do against a team with tall, strong post players. Hoping that Agara, Somfai, and Eschmeyer will do well in that type of game.
Agree with everyone's enthusiasm about the game tonight, but no one has commented on our defense! Talented freshmen don't always start/play much because they can be a defensive liability with the speed of the college game. I'm impressed with how quick and agile Somfai, Swain, and Eschmeyer are on defense and how well they mesh defensively with Clardy, Lepolo, and Agara. Granted, the two teams we played were not ACC caliber, but they both played up tempo games and we defended well.
I guess now I'd like to see how we do against a team with tall, strong post players. Hoping that Agara, Somfai, and Eschmeyer will do well in that type of game.
I guess now I'd like to see how we do against a team with tall, strong post players. Hoping that Agara, Somfai, and Eschmeyer will do well in that type of game.
11-04-2025, 07:15 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-04-2025, 07:27 AM by AndyCardinal03.)
I watched the first half last night before heading to bed here on the East Coast, my first chance to see this year's team in any fashion. I found lots to be excited about up and down the roster, with the usual early-season caveats applied. (I don't know if you all remember, but we were feeling pretty good about last year's team through early December, up to and including that heartbreaking loss in OT to LSU.)
One of my biggest takeaways from this game and the exhibition is that we're starting the season with a clearly defined 9-player rotation, and that includes 3 freshmen, 2 of whom are starters. All of that feels like a big departure from the last few Tara years. And, like others, I'm pretty excited to see Swain, Somfai, & Eschmeyer take on such big roles from the start. That feels like a welcome evolution in Stanford Women's Basketball and an area we've been lagging behind other top programs, especially since we lost Lauren Betts.
All three players are way more physically talented than the players we've recruited in recent years. Swain is a strong and agile guard who wants to take the ball to the hoop. Eschmeyer is a 6'5" lefty who has a nice array of post moves already and can step out and hit a three - amazing! Somfai looks like she has the most well-rounded game of the 3, with the ability to shoot, dribble drive, distribute & post up, and - at least based on this one game - she looks comfortable being a late shot clock shot-taker/creator, which is something we haven't had in a long time (besides one season of Kiki?). I don't know if they're going to hold up defensively against better teams - is Somfai quick enough, can Eschmeyer move from the perimeter to the rim without reaching and fouling, can Swain keep smaller guards in front? We'll have to wait on those answer until we see better opponents.
When you pair those 3 with Nunu and Clardy, both of whom are above average conference players, now we have a core. Rebounding looks like it's going to be a strength of this team, which was maybe the biggest loss of the Stanford identity for last season's team. Clardy and Nunu are both good rebounders for their size, and MAS is all about that when she's out there. She was great last night, but I think she's the type of player who looks good against the Greensboro's of the world; I do like her as the 8th/9th person on the roster. I continue to be a Talana doubter; she had one really good contribution last night, which is that she passes the ball well (quickly & accurately) from the backcourt to the front court. But she's not a great half-court point guard because she reduces the spacing on the floor and is not great with entry passes & I think she's a below average defender even when fully healthy. I would much prefer to see Clardy and Swain start together, but if Clardy gets more minutes, then it's not a big issue and will probably sort itself out over the course of the season.
I think there's a lot of potential here and more depth than I expected (Ogden is a fine glue player, which is less than we expected when we recruited her, but still valuable). If we have some injuries - like last year - we might be able to keep our heads above water. Do we think Umeh is a little banged up, or just not worthy of seeing time on the floor?
The early season schedule is pretty soft, so hopefully by the time we get to January this team is ready to execute good half court offense and quality late-game decision-making - that's the stuff that a young team is going to struggle with against quality opposition and on the road, and what I think will ultimately decide whether we finish in the top half of the conference or not.
One of my biggest takeaways from this game and the exhibition is that we're starting the season with a clearly defined 9-player rotation, and that includes 3 freshmen, 2 of whom are starters. All of that feels like a big departure from the last few Tara years. And, like others, I'm pretty excited to see Swain, Somfai, & Eschmeyer take on such big roles from the start. That feels like a welcome evolution in Stanford Women's Basketball and an area we've been lagging behind other top programs, especially since we lost Lauren Betts.
All three players are way more physically talented than the players we've recruited in recent years. Swain is a strong and agile guard who wants to take the ball to the hoop. Eschmeyer is a 6'5" lefty who has a nice array of post moves already and can step out and hit a three - amazing! Somfai looks like she has the most well-rounded game of the 3, with the ability to shoot, dribble drive, distribute & post up, and - at least based on this one game - she looks comfortable being a late shot clock shot-taker/creator, which is something we haven't had in a long time (besides one season of Kiki?). I don't know if they're going to hold up defensively against better teams - is Somfai quick enough, can Eschmeyer move from the perimeter to the rim without reaching and fouling, can Swain keep smaller guards in front? We'll have to wait on those answer until we see better opponents.
When you pair those 3 with Nunu and Clardy, both of whom are above average conference players, now we have a core. Rebounding looks like it's going to be a strength of this team, which was maybe the biggest loss of the Stanford identity for last season's team. Clardy and Nunu are both good rebounders for their size, and MAS is all about that when she's out there. She was great last night, but I think she's the type of player who looks good against the Greensboro's of the world; I do like her as the 8th/9th person on the roster. I continue to be a Talana doubter; she had one really good contribution last night, which is that she passes the ball well (quickly & accurately) from the backcourt to the front court. But she's not a great half-court point guard because she reduces the spacing on the floor and is not great with entry passes & I think she's a below average defender even when fully healthy. I would much prefer to see Clardy and Swain start together, but if Clardy gets more minutes, then it's not a big issue and will probably sort itself out over the course of the season.
I think there's a lot of potential here and more depth than I expected (Ogden is a fine glue player, which is less than we expected when we recruited her, but still valuable). If we have some injuries - like last year - we might be able to keep our heads above water. Do we think Umeh is a little banged up, or just not worthy of seeing time on the floor?
The early season schedule is pretty soft, so hopefully by the time we get to January this team is ready to execute good half court offense and quality late-game decision-making - that's the stuff that a young team is going to struggle with against quality opposition and on the road, and what I think will ultimately decide whether we finish in the top half of the conference or not.
(This post was last modified: 11-04-2025, 07:27 AM by AndyCardinal03.)
I watched the first half last night before heading to bed here on the East Coast, my first chance to see this year's team in any fashion. I found lots to be excited about up and down the roster, with the usual early-season caveats applied. (I don't know if you all remember, but we were feeling pretty good about last year's team through early December, up to and including that heartbreaking loss in OT to LSU.)
One of my biggest takeaways from this game and the exhibition is that we're starting the season with a clearly defined 9-player rotation, and that includes 3 freshmen, 2 of whom are starters. All of that feels like a big departure from the last few Tara years. And, like others, I'm pretty excited to see Swain, Somfai, & Eschmeyer take on such big roles from the start. That feels like a welcome evolution in Stanford Women's Basketball and an area we've been lagging behind other top programs, especially since we lost Lauren Betts.
All three players are way more physically talented than the players we've recruited in recent years. Swain is a strong and agile guard who wants to take the ball to the hoop. Eschmeyer is a 6'5" lefty who has a nice array of post moves already and can step out and hit a three - amazing! Somfai looks like she has the most well-rounded game of the 3, with the ability to shoot, dribble drive, distribute & post up, and - at least based on this one game - she looks comfortable being a late shot clock shot-taker/creator, which is something we haven't had in a long time (besides one season of Kiki?). I don't know if they're going to hold up defensively against better teams - is Somfai quick enough, can Eschmeyer move from the perimeter to the rim without reaching and fouling, can Swain keep smaller guards in front? We'll have to wait on those answer until we see better opponents.
When you pair those 3 with Nunu and Clardy, both of whom are above average conference players, now we have a core. Rebounding looks like it's going to be a strength of this team, which was maybe the biggest loss of the Stanford identity for last season's team. Clardy and Nunu are both good rebounders for their size, and MAS is all about that when she's out there. She was great last night, but I think she's the type of player who looks good against the Greensboro's of the world; I do like her as the 8th/9th person on the roster. I continue to be a Talana doubter; she had one really good contribution last night, which is that she passes the ball well (quickly & accurately) from the backcourt to the front court. But she's not a great half-court point guard because she reduces the spacing on the floor and is not great with entry passes & I think she's a below average defender even when fully healthy. I would much prefer to see Clardy and Swain start together, but if Clardy gets more minutes, then it's not a big issue and will probably sort itself out over the course of the season.
I think there's a lot of potential here and more depth than I expected (Ogden is a fine glue player, which is less than we expected when we recruited her, but still valuable). If we have some injuries - like last year - we might be able to keep our heads above water. Do we think Umeh is a little banged up, or just not worthy of seeing time on the floor?
The early season schedule is pretty soft, so hopefully by the time we get to January this team is ready to execute good half court offense and quality late-game decision-making - that's the stuff that a young team is going to struggle with against quality opposition and on the road, and what I think will ultimately decide whether we finish in the top half of the conference or not.
One of my biggest takeaways from this game and the exhibition is that we're starting the season with a clearly defined 9-player rotation, and that includes 3 freshmen, 2 of whom are starters. All of that feels like a big departure from the last few Tara years. And, like others, I'm pretty excited to see Swain, Somfai, & Eschmeyer take on such big roles from the start. That feels like a welcome evolution in Stanford Women's Basketball and an area we've been lagging behind other top programs, especially since we lost Lauren Betts.
All three players are way more physically talented than the players we've recruited in recent years. Swain is a strong and agile guard who wants to take the ball to the hoop. Eschmeyer is a 6'5" lefty who has a nice array of post moves already and can step out and hit a three - amazing! Somfai looks like she has the most well-rounded game of the 3, with the ability to shoot, dribble drive, distribute & post up, and - at least based on this one game - she looks comfortable being a late shot clock shot-taker/creator, which is something we haven't had in a long time (besides one season of Kiki?). I don't know if they're going to hold up defensively against better teams - is Somfai quick enough, can Eschmeyer move from the perimeter to the rim without reaching and fouling, can Swain keep smaller guards in front? We'll have to wait on those answer until we see better opponents.
When you pair those 3 with Nunu and Clardy, both of whom are above average conference players, now we have a core. Rebounding looks like it's going to be a strength of this team, which was maybe the biggest loss of the Stanford identity for last season's team. Clardy and Nunu are both good rebounders for their size, and MAS is all about that when she's out there. She was great last night, but I think she's the type of player who looks good against the Greensboro's of the world; I do like her as the 8th/9th person on the roster. I continue to be a Talana doubter; she had one really good contribution last night, which is that she passes the ball well (quickly & accurately) from the backcourt to the front court. But she's not a great half-court point guard because she reduces the spacing on the floor and is not great with entry passes & I think she's a below average defender even when fully healthy. I would much prefer to see Clardy and Swain start together, but if Clardy gets more minutes, then it's not a big issue and will probably sort itself out over the course of the season.
I think there's a lot of potential here and more depth than I expected (Ogden is a fine glue player, which is less than we expected when we recruited her, but still valuable). If we have some injuries - like last year - we might be able to keep our heads above water. Do we think Umeh is a little banged up, or just not worthy of seeing time on the floor?
The early season schedule is pretty soft, so hopefully by the time we get to January this team is ready to execute good half court offense and quality late-game decision-making - that's the stuff that a young team is going to struggle with against quality opposition and on the road, and what I think will ultimately decide whether we finish in the top half of the conference or not.
11-04-2025, 08:09 AM
does anyone understand our defense? we often seem to be playing zone but with the bigs in front. sometimes player-to-player, but still with a lot of switching. don't get me wrong: i am not skeptical - we looked great on d. i just do not recognize what we are doing. hopefully someone else does and can describe for the rest of us.
and to those down on courtney ogden, she has really stepped up on defense - quick, strong, aggressive.
and to those down on courtney ogden, she has really stepped up on defense - quick, strong, aggressive.
does anyone understand our defense? we often seem to be playing zone but with the bigs in front. sometimes player-to-player, but still with a lot of switching. don't get me wrong: i am not skeptical - we looked great on d. i just do not recognize what we are doing. hopefully someone else does and can describe for the rest of us.
and to those down on courtney ogden, she has really stepped up on defense - quick, strong, aggressive.
and to those down on courtney ogden, she has really stepped up on defense - quick, strong, aggressive.
11-04-2025, 09:37 AM
(11-04-2025, 12:14 AM)amytmueller Wrote: Agree with everyone's enthusiasm about the game tonight, but no one has commented on our defense! Talented freshmen don't always start/play much because they can be a defensive liability with the speed of the college game. I'm impressed with how quick and agile Somfai, Swain, and Eschmeyer are on defense and how well they mesh defensively with Clardy, Lepolo, and Agara. Granted, the two teams we played were not ACC caliber, but they both played up tempo games and we defended well.
I guess now I'd like to see how we do against a team with tall, strong post players. Hoping that Agara, Somfai, and Eschmeyer will do well in that type of game.
I was wondering if the team spent part of the summer picking pockets at Pier 39. Not only the steals, of course, but many a rebound was had because the team was better at removing the ball from the UNCG hands.
(11-04-2025, 12:14 AM)amytmueller Wrote: Agree with everyone's enthusiasm about the game tonight, but no one has commented on our defense! Talented freshmen don't always start/play much because they can be a defensive liability with the speed of the college game. I'm impressed with how quick and agile Somfai, Swain, and Eschmeyer are on defense and how well they mesh defensively with Clardy, Lepolo, and Agara. Granted, the two teams we played were not ACC caliber, but they both played up tempo games and we defended well.
I guess now I'd like to see how we do against a team with tall, strong post players. Hoping that Agara, Somfai, and Eschmeyer will do well in that type of game.
I was wondering if the team spent part of the summer picking pockets at Pier 39. Not only the steals, of course, but many a rebound was had because the team was better at removing the ball from the UNCG hands.
11-04-2025, 10:29 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-04-2025, 11:53 AM by OCcardinal.)
Per the Stanford press release, the last time Stanford started 2 freshman in a season opener was 11/18/2000 [fixed the typo] when Susan King and Nicole Powell started. Susan had 10 points and Nicole had 5 points. Stanford lost to St. Mary's in that game. The Daily headline was "Women's basketball outsized, outplayed". That certainly wasn't the case last night! A remarkable start to the careers of our 3 five-star frosh.
Definitely one of the best early-season performances by multiple freshman in Stanford history. The 2nd game of the 1986 season (Tara's 2nd at Stanford), had three freshman with standout performances as well: Jennifer Azzi (13 points), Stacy Parson (11 points) and Katy Steding (11 rebounds). (Couldn't find how they did in the first game.) Those three would go on to win Stanford's first national championship in their senior season.
Definitely one of the best early-season performances by multiple freshman in Stanford history. The 2nd game of the 1986 season (Tara's 2nd at Stanford), had three freshman with standout performances as well: Jennifer Azzi (13 points), Stacy Parson (11 points) and Katy Steding (11 rebounds). (Couldn't find how they did in the first game.) Those three would go on to win Stanford's first national championship in their senior season.
(This post was last modified: 11-04-2025, 11:53 AM by OCcardinal.)
Per the Stanford press release, the last time Stanford started 2 freshman in a season opener was 11/18/2000 [fixed the typo] when Susan King and Nicole Powell started. Susan had 10 points and Nicole had 5 points. Stanford lost to St. Mary's in that game. The Daily headline was "Women's basketball outsized, outplayed". That certainly wasn't the case last night! A remarkable start to the careers of our 3 five-star frosh.
Definitely one of the best early-season performances by multiple freshman in Stanford history. The 2nd game of the 1986 season (Tara's 2nd at Stanford), had three freshman with standout performances as well: Jennifer Azzi (13 points), Stacy Parson (11 points) and Katy Steding (11 rebounds). (Couldn't find how they did in the first game.) Those three would go on to win Stanford's first national championship in their senior season.
Definitely one of the best early-season performances by multiple freshman in Stanford history. The 2nd game of the 1986 season (Tara's 2nd at Stanford), had three freshman with standout performances as well: Jennifer Azzi (13 points), Stacy Parson (11 points) and Katy Steding (11 rebounds). (Couldn't find how they did in the first game.) Those three would go on to win Stanford's first national championship in their senior season.
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