01-20-2014, 06:03 PM
Overview
Stanford pulled away in the second half after the team struggled a bit in the first when Chiney was in foul trouble. Tonight there were only three treys, as the ASU perimeter defense was sharp and we moved the ball inside instead (49 points in the paint).
Flow of the Game:
ASU has turned out to be a surprisingly strong team this year. Picked by knowledgeable folks to finish 10th in the Pac-12 this year, CTT has gotten the most out of her team and two outstanding frosh players. They have knocked off North Carolina, Miami, Syracuse, US.C, and most recently C.al. And so this game, played at their place, had all the hallmarks of a very tough road test.
And that is how it started out. ASU played excellent player defense and denied us passing lanes, challenging way out beyond the arc. This seems to have discombobulated our offense at the start. ASU took a 6-8 lead by 6 minutes into the game. Ruef started a run by making two layups, followed by a layup by Chiney and a pretty three by Taylor Greenfield, and it looked like we were off to the races again, leading 15-8. The lead increased to 12, then Chiney picked up her second foul and sat out the last 7 minutes of the half. Without Chiney, we looked disjointed on offense again, but our defense was still reasonable. Still, with our offense doing nothing, ASU crawled back to within four before Taylor and Karlie made a basket and some free throws to painfully close out the half, giving us a seven point lead.Â
In the first half, we only attempted 3 three pointers. Chiney was 5/6 for 12 points in the half, but her absence in the last 7 changed the game. Â
In the second half, with Chiney back, the lead rapidly built again. Particularly pretty were the high-low passes from Chiney to Taylor Greenfield, who showed that she can do layups quite handily when fed by Chiney. The lead continued to build as Chiney finally began to rack up her usual numbers--30 points and 16 rebounds tonight as the aggressive ASU defense began to tire out. This is one of the first games I can remember this year in which we scored more points in the second half than in the first.
Performances
Chiney had another brobdingnagian game and is keeping right on pace to take the all time Stanford scoring lead. 30 points and 16 rebounds doesn't tell the whole story. It was obvious in the first half that we could only get open three point shots when she was in the game. When she went out, our attempts at treys stopped. Her inside threat synergizes with the outside shooting.
Mikaela had 9 points, 11 rebounds, and perhaps most importantly--5 assists and 0 turnovers. Chiney had 5 turnovers, which is not unusual for an inside player. Ruef's contributions are proving to be very important this year. I had incorrectly forecast that one of the frosh "bigs" might supplant her by this point in the season, but Ruef has nailed down her spot.
Taylor Greenfield is coming into her own this year. Her first two years she was reliable on defense, and sometimes shot the three very well, but at other times her offense went completely dormant. This year she just seems to be playing with joy. Her threes have confidence, and it is so nice to see her getting Chiney-esque layups under the basket from time to time. Fourteen points and four assists for her today.
Karlie Samuelson is earning herself more and more time. She shoots the three as well as anyone, but she is not a specialist. She has shown moves to the basket and plays good defense. Today she only made 2 baskets--and missed 0, but collected 6/7 free throws. This is a new dimension to her game we have not seen before, and it bodes well. 11 points for her.
Lili Thompson is doing an extraordinary job for a frosh. 11 points, 4 assists, 0 turnovers, 2 steals. Good defense and she bounced back even when she was hit in the face. Her energy on the court is obvious.
Amber Orrange had one of the quietest games I have seen from her. I am not sure if it was the scheme or if there was something the matter. In any case, she had 0 points and took only 4 shots. She never attempted a three pointer, even though she leads the Pac-12 in three point percentage. On several occasions she had open looks from beyond the arc and she passed them up. It was as if she had been instructed not to shoot. She had 2 assists and 2 turnovers. I wonder if the rise of Lili and Karlie has changed Amber's role in some way. It is worth watching.
I'm not sure what to say about Sara James. She keeps starting every game, but gets fewer and fewer minutes. She was down to 5 minutes this game. Tara has talked about the players "holding each other accountable" and that if one player has an off night, another will get their time. Well, Sara has started consistently but she consistently gets significantly less than half the minutes at that spot.
Erica McCall got 10 minutes, mainly during the long spell when Chiney was on the bench. She was 1/3 for two points. She has the athleticism of someone like Chiney, but not the soft hands. She and Kailee Johnson are going to be playing a lot more next year with Chiney and Ruef graduating, and yet they don't seem to be over the freshman hump quite yet. In the last thirty seconds, with the bench playing, Erica had a massive block that reverberated. That was exciting.
Parting Thoughts
This was an impressive, if not an altogether aesthetic win. It showed that we could win even when the other team makes a concerted effort to take away our three point shooting. It also showcased Taylor Greenfield and showed her inside talents more than I can remember.
As for the negatives--I was pretty unhappy with the way we played with Chiney on the bench. Clearly our offense just doesn't know how to function without her. There is no plan-B. If she gets into foul trouble, injured, and of course when she graduates--we have a long ways to go to be effective.
Stanford pulled away in the second half after the team struggled a bit in the first when Chiney was in foul trouble. Tonight there were only three treys, as the ASU perimeter defense was sharp and we moved the ball inside instead (49 points in the paint).
Flow of the Game:
ASU has turned out to be a surprisingly strong team this year. Picked by knowledgeable folks to finish 10th in the Pac-12 this year, CTT has gotten the most out of her team and two outstanding frosh players. They have knocked off North Carolina, Miami, Syracuse, US.C, and most recently C.al. And so this game, played at their place, had all the hallmarks of a very tough road test.
And that is how it started out. ASU played excellent player defense and denied us passing lanes, challenging way out beyond the arc. This seems to have discombobulated our offense at the start. ASU took a 6-8 lead by 6 minutes into the game. Ruef started a run by making two layups, followed by a layup by Chiney and a pretty three by Taylor Greenfield, and it looked like we were off to the races again, leading 15-8. The lead increased to 12, then Chiney picked up her second foul and sat out the last 7 minutes of the half. Without Chiney, we looked disjointed on offense again, but our defense was still reasonable. Still, with our offense doing nothing, ASU crawled back to within four before Taylor and Karlie made a basket and some free throws to painfully close out the half, giving us a seven point lead.Â
In the first half, we only attempted 3 three pointers. Chiney was 5/6 for 12 points in the half, but her absence in the last 7 changed the game. Â
In the second half, with Chiney back, the lead rapidly built again. Particularly pretty were the high-low passes from Chiney to Taylor Greenfield, who showed that she can do layups quite handily when fed by Chiney. The lead continued to build as Chiney finally began to rack up her usual numbers--30 points and 16 rebounds tonight as the aggressive ASU defense began to tire out. This is one of the first games I can remember this year in which we scored more points in the second half than in the first.
Performances
Chiney had another brobdingnagian game and is keeping right on pace to take the all time Stanford scoring lead. 30 points and 16 rebounds doesn't tell the whole story. It was obvious in the first half that we could only get open three point shots when she was in the game. When she went out, our attempts at treys stopped. Her inside threat synergizes with the outside shooting.
Mikaela had 9 points, 11 rebounds, and perhaps most importantly--5 assists and 0 turnovers. Chiney had 5 turnovers, which is not unusual for an inside player. Ruef's contributions are proving to be very important this year. I had incorrectly forecast that one of the frosh "bigs" might supplant her by this point in the season, but Ruef has nailed down her spot.
Taylor Greenfield is coming into her own this year. Her first two years she was reliable on defense, and sometimes shot the three very well, but at other times her offense went completely dormant. This year she just seems to be playing with joy. Her threes have confidence, and it is so nice to see her getting Chiney-esque layups under the basket from time to time. Fourteen points and four assists for her today.
Karlie Samuelson is earning herself more and more time. She shoots the three as well as anyone, but she is not a specialist. She has shown moves to the basket and plays good defense. Today she only made 2 baskets--and missed 0, but collected 6/7 free throws. This is a new dimension to her game we have not seen before, and it bodes well. 11 points for her.
Lili Thompson is doing an extraordinary job for a frosh. 11 points, 4 assists, 0 turnovers, 2 steals. Good defense and she bounced back even when she was hit in the face. Her energy on the court is obvious.
Amber Orrange had one of the quietest games I have seen from her. I am not sure if it was the scheme or if there was something the matter. In any case, she had 0 points and took only 4 shots. She never attempted a three pointer, even though she leads the Pac-12 in three point percentage. On several occasions she had open looks from beyond the arc and she passed them up. It was as if she had been instructed not to shoot. She had 2 assists and 2 turnovers. I wonder if the rise of Lili and Karlie has changed Amber's role in some way. It is worth watching.
I'm not sure what to say about Sara James. She keeps starting every game, but gets fewer and fewer minutes. She was down to 5 minutes this game. Tara has talked about the players "holding each other accountable" and that if one player has an off night, another will get their time. Well, Sara has started consistently but she consistently gets significantly less than half the minutes at that spot.
Erica McCall got 10 minutes, mainly during the long spell when Chiney was on the bench. She was 1/3 for two points. She has the athleticism of someone like Chiney, but not the soft hands. She and Kailee Johnson are going to be playing a lot more next year with Chiney and Ruef graduating, and yet they don't seem to be over the freshman hump quite yet. In the last thirty seconds, with the bench playing, Erica had a massive block that reverberated. That was exciting.
Parting Thoughts
This was an impressive, if not an altogether aesthetic win. It showed that we could win even when the other team makes a concerted effort to take away our three point shooting. It also showcased Taylor Greenfield and showed her inside talents more than I can remember.
As for the negatives--I was pretty unhappy with the way we played with Chiney on the bench. Clearly our offense just doesn't know how to function without her. There is no plan-B. If she gets into foul trouble, injured, and of course when she graduates--we have a long ways to go to be effective.
