[PalmTree]

Beginning of the 4th qtr, Stanford leads at 50-42.  Agara, Clardy and Ogden are the lead scorers.

Final 65-52, Stanford.  Very ugly start.  Lead scorers were Clardy - 20, Agara  - 16, Ogden - 14.  Gonzaga is a young team, and our upperclassmen carried our team.  Gonzaga also had 20 turnovers, which we turned into 23 points.

The vets carried the day - good win, great it was on the road!

Now let's turn our full attention to WVB - they need a big shot of cosmic reinforcement against SMU.

[PalmTree]

Beginning of the 4th qtr, Stanford leads at 50-42.  Agara, Clardy and Ogden are the lead scorers.

Final 65-52, Stanford.  Very ugly start.  Lead scorers were Clardy - 20, Agara  - 16, Ogden - 14.  Gonzaga is a young team, and our upperclassmen carried our team.  Gonzaga also had 20 turnovers, which we turned into 23 points.

The vets carried the day - good win, great it was on the road!

Now let's turn our full attention to WVB - they need a big shot of cosmic reinforcement against SMU.

[BostonCard]

65-52 final in a game that was much closer until a late rally in the last five minutes.  After giving up 22 points in the first quarter, Gonzaga scored an average of 10 over the last three quarters.

BC

[BostonCard]

65-52 final in a game that was much closer until a late rally in the last five minutes.  After giving up 22 points in the first quarter, Gonzaga scored an average of 10 over the last three quarters.

BC

[2006alum]

Not the prettiest win, but we’re 5-0 now, and 2-0 on the road, so we’ve already equalled our road victory total for all of last season. I’ll take it.

I'll take it too. We beat Massey's spread, easily, and I especially like how much we clamped down after a horrendous first quarter. Look: this is a team with two frosh starters, a first-year starter, and starters who were out half and all of last season. I think we were all a little unrealistic in expecting our frosh to be day-in, day-out super frosh and for the team to gel like a team that's been playing together years instead of a few months.

What I like most about this win is seeing our junior class step up - we will need their leadership this year and next, and to see continued growth from all three of them suggests our current coaching staff is continuing to develop our players like they long did under Tara.

[2006alum]

Not the prettiest win, but we’re 5-0 now, and 2-0 on the road, so we’ve already equalled our road victory total for all of last season. I’ll take it.

I'll take it too. We beat Massey's spread, easily, and I especially like how much we clamped down after a horrendous first quarter. Look: this is a team with two frosh starters, a first-year starter, and starters who were out half and all of last season. I think we were all a little unrealistic in expecting our frosh to be day-in, day-out super frosh and for the team to gel like a team that's been playing together years instead of a few months.

What I like most about this win is seeing our junior class step up - we will need their leadership this year and next, and to see continued growth from all three of them suggests our current coaching staff is continuing to develop our players like they long did under Tara.

[triangle2]

Somfai only played 4 minutes in the first half.  Eschmeyer only played 2.  This is crazy.  MAS played 14.  Does Kate think that MAS is better than Somfai?  Ridiculous.

This decision is the biggest head-scratcher for me. MAS poses a virtually nonexistent offensive threat, and with the exception of her nice (though fairly telegraphed) backdoor pass to Ogden, she's not doing much for anyone else. She's doing her best to defend under the basket but has found herself in matchups that could really use Somfai's size or Exchmeyer's length, and I can see both of them being an improvement on our rebounding as well.

Stevenson played better D, so she got minutes. Both Somfai and Eschmeyer made some mistakes on defense - Somfai got into foul trouble, and Eschmeyer didn't see backside screens from guards. Not to worry, both of them are going to be awesome.

[triangle2]

Somfai only played 4 minutes in the first half.  Eschmeyer only played 2.  This is crazy.  MAS played 14.  Does Kate think that MAS is better than Somfai?  Ridiculous.

This decision is the biggest head-scratcher for me. MAS poses a virtually nonexistent offensive threat, and with the exception of her nice (though fairly telegraphed) backdoor pass to Ogden, she's not doing much for anyone else. She's doing her best to defend under the basket but has found herself in matchups that could really use Somfai's size or Exchmeyer's length, and I can see both of them being an improvement on our rebounding as well.

Stevenson played better D, so she got minutes. Both Somfai and Eschmeyer made some mistakes on defense - Somfai got into foul trouble, and Eschmeyer didn't see backside screens from guards. Not to worry, both of them are going to be awesome.

[crackpot]

Stevenson played better D, so she got minutes. 

Thank you. I was going bonkers over the turnovers seemingly with every pass. This makes more sense.

[crackpot]

Stevenson played better D, so she got minutes. 

Thank you. I was going bonkers over the turnovers seemingly with every pass. This makes more sense.

[scorecard]

Our 3 point shooting is leaving a lot to be desired lately.  Without Clardy, we would be in trouble.  Nobody else even looks remotely confident in even taking a 3.  It's a lot easier to defend back cuts if you don't even have to defend the outside shot.  The spacing isn't the same if teams just pack it inside and cheat off the perimeter players.  Lepolo needs to shoot more to keep defenses honest, or the bigs need to start making threes. To that end, I wouldn't mind giving Amborn some minutes because we don't appear to have another legitimate 3 point threat on the roster.  It would really help to at least have the threat of a shooter out there.

[scorecard]

Our 3 point shooting is leaving a lot to be desired lately.  Without Clardy, we would be in trouble.  Nobody else even looks remotely confident in even taking a 3.  It's a lot easier to defend back cuts if you don't even have to defend the outside shot.  The spacing isn't the same if teams just pack it inside and cheat off the perimeter players.  Lepolo needs to shoot more to keep defenses honest, or the bigs need to start making threes. To that end, I wouldn't mind giving Amborn some minutes because we don't appear to have another legitimate 3 point threat on the roster.  It would really help to at least have the threat of a shooter out there.

[BillBradley]

Things I liked:
- Defense is looking great. Nice adjustments after Q1.
- Chloe and Nunu. They continue to be our most consistent players. Also a really nice game by Ogden, with way better defense and only 1 TO. Hope she can put together a streak of games like that. 
- Q2 and 2nd half ball movement. Much, much better (and w/better results). Got a handful of transition points (would still like to see more), lanes were more open for attacking, it was way easier to feed the post down low vs. standing there telegraphing, and we built momentum - so key to have the defense on their heels. 

Things I didn't like:
- Rough games for all the frosh and really reduced PT for Lara (7 mins) and Alex (5 mins). By mid season, I very much hope they are all contributing and playing significant minutes. 
- More leash for Talana when we could easily have Swain or Clardy run point. 26 mins, 0 shot attempts, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 1 TO. That is such low productivity. Defensively, she could not stay in front of their guards, multiple times giving up layups where she was the ball defender. I agree with Scorecard - give Amborn some of those minutes or try a bigger lineup by giving the minutes to our frosh bigs. 
- Might sound like an exaggeration, but I think we're 20+ points better than the Zags. Yes, we won by 13, but it was a 4 point game with about 5 mins left. We were OK, but not really close to our potential.

[BillBradley]

Things I liked:
- Defense is looking great. Nice adjustments after Q1.
- Chloe and Nunu. They continue to be our most consistent players. Also a really nice game by Ogden, with way better defense and only 1 TO. Hope she can put together a streak of games like that. 
- Q2 and 2nd half ball movement. Much, much better (and w/better results). Got a handful of transition points (would still like to see more), lanes were more open for attacking, it was way easier to feed the post down low vs. standing there telegraphing, and we built momentum - so key to have the defense on their heels. 

Things I didn't like:
- Rough games for all the frosh and really reduced PT for Lara (7 mins) and Alex (5 mins). By mid season, I very much hope they are all contributing and playing significant minutes. 
- More leash for Talana when we could easily have Swain or Clardy run point. 26 mins, 0 shot attempts, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 1 TO. That is such low productivity. Defensively, she could not stay in front of their guards, multiple times giving up layups where she was the ball defender. I agree with Scorecard - give Amborn some of those minutes or try a bigger lineup by giving the minutes to our frosh bigs. 
- Might sound like an exaggeration, but I think we're 20+ points better than the Zags. Yes, we won by 13, but it was a 4 point game with about 5 mins left. We were OK, but not really close to our potential.

[BostonCard]

Defensive adjustment won the game for us.  The first quarter was awful, but if our defensive productivity had been as good as the remaining three quarters we would have outscored Gonzaga 13-10 in the quarter.  Our offense was also below potential, but had that been up to what we did in the rest of the game, Gonzaga would have still outscored us 22-17.

BC

[BostonCard]

Defensive adjustment won the game for us.  The first quarter was awful, but if our defensive productivity had been as good as the remaining three quarters we would have outscored Gonzaga 13-10 in the quarter.  Our offense was also below potential, but had that been up to what we did in the rest of the game, Gonzaga would have still outscored us 22-17.

BC

[triangle2]

Defensive adjustment won the game for us.  The first quarter was awful, but if our defensive productivity had been as good as the remaining three quarters we would have outscored Gonzaga 13-10 in the quarter.  Our offense was also below potential, but had that been up to what we did in the rest of the game, Gonzaga would have still outscored us 22-17.

BC

FWIW, I also thought there were some nice adjustments on the offensive side for the 2nd half. Getting some low post direct entries to Agara helped offset the problems we were having initiating the offense from the elbow.

Plus: maybe Ogden's best game. Efficient, drove the lane, and hit some nice pull-ups.

[triangle2]

Defensive adjustment won the game for us.  The first quarter was awful, but if our defensive productivity had been as good as the remaining three quarters we would have outscored Gonzaga 13-10 in the quarter.  Our offense was also below potential, but had that been up to what we did in the rest of the game, Gonzaga would have still outscored us 22-17.

BC

FWIW, I also thought there were some nice adjustments on the offensive side for the 2nd half. Getting some low post direct entries to Agara helped offset the problems we were having initiating the offense from the elbow.

Plus: maybe Ogden's best game. Efficient, drove the lane, and hit some nice pull-ups.

[martyup]

I get that Eschmeyer hasn't proven herself yet, but Somfai certainly has.  Why she only got 7 minutes of playing time is a mystery to me.  Those 2 are crucial for the future of this team.  We cannot afford to lose them to the transfer portal.  It can't be soley because they are freshmen because Swain played 29 minutes.

[martyup]

I get that Eschmeyer hasn't proven herself yet, but Somfai certainly has.  Why she only got 7 minutes of playing time is a mystery to me.  Those 2 are crucial for the future of this team.  We cannot afford to lose them to the transfer portal.  It can't be soley because they are freshmen because Swain played 29 minutes.

[pefloresjr]

Everyone obviously gets to vent about whatever they want on a sports board but the angst over every decision regarding playing time and playing style is over the top in my sports board opinion.  No winning coach makes their decisions based on worry about whether their star recruits are being given the minutes or shots they think they deserve.  We have no idea about the possible minor injuries, points of emphasis from practice that a player ignored, or inappropriate emotional reactions a player is having during a game.  I don't assume the coaches always know best but I do know that the coach has to run the team, not worry over the feelings of the players in each individual game situation.  Somfai has and will get plenty of minutes this season.  I don't think we need to worry about her long term commitment to the team based on the coaching decision in any game.  And, by the way, we won the game.  Coach Paye's comments in the locker room after the game focused on the fact that it was a great TEAM win.  Maybe she was sending a message to the team about what will be needed over the course of the season.  Obviously, anyone can post anything they feel the need to, I just felt the need to add my thoughts to add a counter weight to the seeming assumption that our coaches are clueless about how to run the team.  
Cheers,
Pete F.

[pefloresjr]

Everyone obviously gets to vent about whatever they want on a sports board but the angst over every decision regarding playing time and playing style is over the top in my sports board opinion.  No winning coach makes their decisions based on worry about whether their star recruits are being given the minutes or shots they think they deserve.  We have no idea about the possible minor injuries, points of emphasis from practice that a player ignored, or inappropriate emotional reactions a player is having during a game.  I don't assume the coaches always know best but I do know that the coach has to run the team, not worry over the feelings of the players in each individual game situation.  Somfai has and will get plenty of minutes this season.  I don't think we need to worry about her long term commitment to the team based on the coaching decision in any game.  And, by the way, we won the game.  Coach Paye's comments in the locker room after the game focused on the fact that it was a great TEAM win.  Maybe she was sending a message to the team about what will be needed over the course of the season.  Obviously, anyone can post anything they feel the need to, I just felt the need to add my thoughts to add a counter weight to the seeming assumption that our coaches are clueless about how to run the team.  
Cheers,
Pete F.

[martyup]

Everyone obviously gets to vent about whatever they want on a sports board but the angst over every decision regarding playing time and playing style is over the top in my sports board opinion.  No winning coach makes their decisions based on worry about whether their star recruits are being given the minutes or shots they think they deserve.  We have no idea about the possible minor injuries, points of emphasis from practice that a player ignored, or inappropriate emotional reactions a player is having during a game.  I don't assume the coaches always know best but I do know that the coach has to run the team, not worry over the feelings of the players in each individual game situation.  Somfai has and will get plenty of minutes this season.  I don't think we need to worry about her long term commitment to the team based on the coaching decision in any game.  And, by the way, we won the game.  Coach Paye's comments in the locker room after the game focused on the fact that it was a great TEAM win.  Maybe she was sending a message to the team about what will be needed over the course of the season.  Obviously, anyone can post anything they feel the need to, I just felt the need to add my thoughts to add a counter weight to the seeming assumption that our coaches are clueless about how to run the team.  
Cheers,
Pete F.

[martyup]

Everyone obviously gets to vent about whatever they want on a sports board but the angst over every decision regarding playing time and playing style is over the top in my sports board opinion.  No winning coach makes their decisions based on worry about whether their star recruits are being given the minutes or shots they think they deserve.  We have no idea about the possible minor injuries, points of emphasis from practice that a player ignored, or inappropriate emotional reactions a player is having during a game.  I don't assume the coaches always know best but I do know that the coach has to run the team, not worry over the feelings of the players in each individual game situation.  Somfai has and will get plenty of minutes this season.  I don't think we need to worry about her long term commitment to the team based on the coaching decision in any game.  And, by the way, we won the game.  Coach Paye's comments in the locker room after the game focused on the fact that it was a great TEAM win.  Maybe she was sending a message to the team about what will be needed over the course of the season.  Obviously, anyone can post anything they feel the need to, I just felt the need to add my thoughts to add a counter weight to the seeming assumption that our coaches are clueless about how to run the team.  
Cheers,
Pete F.

[pefloresjr]

Everyone obviously gets to vent about whatever they want on a sports board but the angst over every decision regarding playing time and playing style is over the top in my sports board opinion.  No winning coach makes their decisions based on worry about whether their star recruits are being given the minutes or shots they think they deserve.  We have no idea about the possible minor injuries, points of emphasis from practice that a player ignored, or inappropriate emotional reactions a player is having during a game.  I don't assume the coaches always know best but I do know that the coach has to run the team, not worry over the feelings of the players in each individual game situation.  Somfai has and will get plenty of minutes this season.  I don't think we need to worry about her long term commitment to the team based on the coaching decision in any game.  And, by the way, we won the game.  Coach Paye's comments in the locker room after the game focused on the fact that it was a great TEAM win.  Maybe she was sending a message to the team about what will be needed over the course of the season.  Obviously, anyone can post anything they feel the need to, I just felt the need to add my thoughts to add a counter weight to the seeming assumption that our coaches are clueless about how to run the team.  
Cheers,
Pete F.

LOL.  Not when we are 5-0 and showing significant improvement (especially on defense and drives to the rim) over last year.  And please keep the memes coming.  We all need them!  
Cheers,
Pete F.

[pefloresjr]

Everyone obviously gets to vent about whatever they want on a sports board but the angst over every decision regarding playing time and playing style is over the top in my sports board opinion.  No winning coach makes their decisions based on worry about whether their star recruits are being given the minutes or shots they think they deserve.  We have no idea about the possible minor injuries, points of emphasis from practice that a player ignored, or inappropriate emotional reactions a player is having during a game.  I don't assume the coaches always know best but I do know that the coach has to run the team, not worry over the feelings of the players in each individual game situation.  Somfai has and will get plenty of minutes this season.  I don't think we need to worry about her long term commitment to the team based on the coaching decision in any game.  And, by the way, we won the game.  Coach Paye's comments in the locker room after the game focused on the fact that it was a great TEAM win.  Maybe she was sending a message to the team about what will be needed over the course of the season.  Obviously, anyone can post anything they feel the need to, I just felt the need to add my thoughts to add a counter weight to the seeming assumption that our coaches are clueless about how to run the team.  
Cheers,
Pete F.

LOL.  Not when we are 5-0 and showing significant improvement (especially on defense and drives to the rim) over last year.  And please keep the memes coming.  We all need them!  
Cheers,
Pete F.

[martyup]

Agreed that it is too early to worry.  Disagree on showing improvement at the Wazzu game and much of the Gonzaga game.  We'll know much more after the TN game.

[martyup]

Agreed that it is too early to worry.  Disagree on showing improvement at the Wazzu game and much of the Gonzaga game.  We'll know much more after the TN game.

[BillBradley]

No winning coach makes their decisions based on worry about whether their star recruits are being given the minutes or shots they think they deserve.  

I don't know about that, especially these days. There are a lot of coaches who prioritize development over wins early in the season. This is a way different scenario than say the freshman year for Betts. She was playing behind WNBA talent, so there weren't a lot of minutes for her in her freshman season. As martyup pointed out, sitting behind Stephenson is harder to rationalize. I totally get that MAS was playing better against Gonzaga and was a key piece to the win, but where does that thinking end? Come February, will MAS (and Lepolo) have developed into better players than they are now? Do we win the ACC with them playing 30 mins/game? I guess it's possible, but I highly doubt we have the scoring punch. I sure hope our frosh bigs come along and continue to develop so they are on the court a lot when it matters. They should both play significant minutes in the next few games against weaker competition. From there, I'm hoping they are on the court a lot against Colorado St and Tennessee in a few weeks and it's not a repeat of this past road trip.

[BillBradley]

No winning coach makes their decisions based on worry about whether their star recruits are being given the minutes or shots they think they deserve.  

I don't know about that, especially these days. There are a lot of coaches who prioritize development over wins early in the season. This is a way different scenario than say the freshman year for Betts. She was playing behind WNBA talent, so there weren't a lot of minutes for her in her freshman season. As martyup pointed out, sitting behind Stephenson is harder to rationalize. I totally get that MAS was playing better against Gonzaga and was a key piece to the win, but where does that thinking end? Come February, will MAS (and Lepolo) have developed into better players than they are now? Do we win the ACC with them playing 30 mins/game? I guess it's possible, but I highly doubt we have the scoring punch. I sure hope our frosh bigs come along and continue to develop so they are on the court a lot when it matters. They should both play significant minutes in the next few games against weaker competition. From there, I'm hoping they are on the court a lot against Colorado St and Tennessee in a few weeks and it's not a repeat of this past road trip.

[OCcardinal]

It gave me a lot of comfort to see the returners get it done against Gonzaga (a team that knows Stanford well). I'm also happy to see our defense carry us when our 3s weren't falling. 

There have been some bad upsets early in the season (a 5-player West Virginia team trouncing Duke, for example).  No one is going to hand a game to you.  Right now Stanford's ELO ranking is 22nd in the country.  ELO adjusts for strength of schedule and point spread, so it's not a bad measure in my view for determining how a team is playing even if its early competition hasn't been highly challenging. Last year our ELO ranking was 86.  So I'll take it.

[OCcardinal]

It gave me a lot of comfort to see the returners get it done against Gonzaga (a team that knows Stanford well). I'm also happy to see our defense carry us when our 3s weren't falling. 

There have been some bad upsets early in the season (a 5-player West Virginia team trouncing Duke, for example).  No one is going to hand a game to you.  Right now Stanford's ELO ranking is 22nd in the country.  ELO adjusts for strength of schedule and point spread, so it's not a bad measure in my view for determining how a team is playing even if its early competition hasn't been highly challenging. Last year our ELO ranking was 86.  So I'll take it.

[2006alum]

It gave me a lot of comfort to see the returners get it done against Gonzaga (a team that knows Stanford well). I'm also happy to see our defense carry us when our 3s weren't falling. 

There have been some bad upsets early in the season (a 5-player West Virginia team trouncing Duke, for example).  No one is going to hand a game to you.  Right now Stanford's ELO ranking is 22nd in the country.  ELO adjusts for strength of schedule and point spread, so it's not a bad measure in my view for determining how a team is playing even if its early competition hasn't been highly challenging. Last year our ELO ranking was 86.  So I'll take it.

Thanks for pointing this out - I had been meaning to mention that, as well. Massey has us rated as the 18th best defensive power rating and has us as the 18th best team overall. Early in the season, Massey can be a little wonky because he is still drawing on results from the end of last season, but if anything, that arguably undersells us, because we had a terrible waning stretch last season, losing easily to Clemson and then falling in OT to Portland. 

I agree that while our offense needs work, so far I think the metrics suggest we are outpacing ourselves ahead of last year, and if KP and the coaches are prioritizing defense, it's not surprising our frosh posts are get shorted on the rotations - that has historically always been so for Stanford, so I don't view this as anything unusual.

All that said, hopefully our next few games will not be as close from the tip and we can get plenty of floor time for Somfai and Eschmeyer.

[2006alum]

It gave me a lot of comfort to see the returners get it done against Gonzaga (a team that knows Stanford well). I'm also happy to see our defense carry us when our 3s weren't falling. 

There have been some bad upsets early in the season (a 5-player West Virginia team trouncing Duke, for example).  No one is going to hand a game to you.  Right now Stanford's ELO ranking is 22nd in the country.  ELO adjusts for strength of schedule and point spread, so it's not a bad measure in my view for determining how a team is playing even if its early competition hasn't been highly challenging. Last year our ELO ranking was 86.  So I'll take it.

Thanks for pointing this out - I had been meaning to mention that, as well. Massey has us rated as the 18th best defensive power rating and has us as the 18th best team overall. Early in the season, Massey can be a little wonky because he is still drawing on results from the end of last season, but if anything, that arguably undersells us, because we had a terrible waning stretch last season, losing easily to Clemson and then falling in OT to Portland. 

I agree that while our offense needs work, so far I think the metrics suggest we are outpacing ourselves ahead of last year, and if KP and the coaches are prioritizing defense, it's not surprising our frosh posts are get shorted on the rotations - that has historically always been so for Stanford, so I don't view this as anything unusual.

All that said, hopefully our next few games will not be as close from the tip and we can get plenty of floor time for Somfai and Eschmeyer.