[TheFarm07]

We win 81-54 with a tone-setting victory against one of our chief rivals for the conference title. Arizona along with Oregon and UCLA and possibly even surprise upstart Washington State look like to be our main competitors this season and to have the type of win against one of them is great to see.

We combined an average shooting night (for us) with a fantastic 25/28 FT line performance, which is remarkable for both the high conversion rate and the amount of trips to the line.

Our offense demonstrated depth as four players (nearly a fifth in Anna) scored in double figures with four others also adding to the scoreboard. We had a decisive 51-32 rebounding advantage.

I think our defense was what really gave us the difference in this game. We held the Wildcats to a 25% shooting percentage. We did a great job not only on McDonald, as she went 3/18, but also Pellington who was similarly cold from the field at 3/15. Reese, who had foul issues, only took four shots all game long. I think our aggression on defense contributed to the success we had defending them.

[TheFarm07]

We win 81-54 with a tone-setting victory against one of our chief rivals for the conference title. Arizona along with Oregon and UCLA and possibly even surprise upstart Washington State look like to be our main competitors this season and to have the type of win against one of them is great to see.

We combined an average shooting night (for us) with a fantastic 25/28 FT line performance, which is remarkable for both the high conversion rate and the amount of trips to the line.

Our offense demonstrated depth as four players (nearly a fifth in Anna) scored in double figures with four others also adding to the scoreboard. We had a decisive 51-32 rebounding advantage.

I think our defense was what really gave us the difference in this game. We held the Wildcats to a 25% shooting percentage. We did a great job not only on McDonald, as she went 3/18, but also Pellington who was similarly cold from the field at 3/15. Reese, who had foul issues, only took four shots all game long. I think our aggression on defense contributed to the success we had defending them.

[BostonCard]

I mean, if you think this is bad, I wonder how the Arizona board is looking right now.

27 point win against the #6 team in the country, a couple weeks after beating the #10 ranked team in the country handily....

BC

[BostonCard]

I mean, if you think this is bad, I wonder how the Arizona board is looking right now.

27 point win against the #6 team in the country, a couple weeks after beating the #10 ranked team in the country handily....

BC

[Softball Fan]

That was fun!! The most fun I've had all year.

That made me smile.

[Softball Fan]

That was fun!! The most fun I've had all year.

That made me smile.

[81alum]

This was one of the dates I had circled on the calendar to decide whether my national title hopes were overblown.  And if we do that well against top competition consistently, then those hopes are not overblown.

My takeaways:

1) Jones and Lexie did not make many baskets, but they manufactured opportunities by fearlessly going into the paint where Arizona was clogging the lanes.  The fact that the two of them went 18/18 from the free throw line helped to severely punish Arizona for its defensive scheme.  This is a new dimension of our game that we have lacked for years, and is a very welcome sight.

2) Anna Wilson showing off her offensive credentials was also so very welcome.  For so many years we have had top defenders or ball handlers who could not attract enough defensive attention to open the game for others.  Wilson herself fell into that category some of the time during last two years.  But her confident, strong stroke from three will help to open up the game for her teammates.

3) Prechtel had only had 9 minutes, but looked like her old self, with a couple of baskets of her own and three assists!  The assists were things of beauty.

4) Hannah Jump seemed to get her stroke back too, although she got victimized by McDonald once on defense.  She has dramatically improved her defense over last year, but even dramatically improved defense is too slow for McDonald.

5) Unfortunately, we had 16 turnovers to Arizona's 9--almost the same issue as with UCLA.  No improvement there.  Still to many high-risk passes, including a couple of miscommunication passes that went to no one.

6) Widely dispersed scoring will be a nightmare for opposing coaches to defend against. 

7) Defense was awesome at times.  We held one of the most gifted scorers in the nation to 3/18 shooting, and her team to 26%.  We had 9 blocks--Brink had 5 of them.

[81alum]

This was one of the dates I had circled on the calendar to decide whether my national title hopes were overblown.  And if we do that well against top competition consistently, then those hopes are not overblown.

My takeaways:

1) Jones and Lexie did not make many baskets, but they manufactured opportunities by fearlessly going into the paint where Arizona was clogging the lanes.  The fact that the two of them went 18/18 from the free throw line helped to severely punish Arizona for its defensive scheme.  This is a new dimension of our game that we have lacked for years, and is a very welcome sight.

2) Anna Wilson showing off her offensive credentials was also so very welcome.  For so many years we have had top defenders or ball handlers who could not attract enough defensive attention to open the game for others.  Wilson herself fell into that category some of the time during last two years.  But her confident, strong stroke from three will help to open up the game for her teammates.

3) Prechtel had only had 9 minutes, but looked like her old self, with a couple of baskets of her own and three assists!  The assists were things of beauty.

4) Hannah Jump seemed to get her stroke back too, although she got victimized by McDonald once on defense.  She has dramatically improved her defense over last year, but even dramatically improved defense is too slow for McDonald.

5) Unfortunately, we had 16 turnovers to Arizona's 9--almost the same issue as with UCLA.  No improvement there.  Still to many high-risk passes, including a couple of miscommunication passes that went to no one.

6) Widely dispersed scoring will be a nightmare for opposing coaches to defend against. 

7) Defense was awesome at times.  We held one of the most gifted scorers in the nation to 3/18 shooting, and her team to 26%.  We had 9 blocks--Brink had 5 of them.

[teejers1]

This was one of the dates I had circled on the calendar to decide whether my national title hopes were overblown.  And if we do that well against top competition consistently, then those hopes are not overblown.

My takeaways:

1) Jones and Lexie did not make many baskets, but they manufactured opportunities by fearlessly going into the paint where Arizona was clogging the lanes.  The fact that the two of them went 18/18 from the free throw line helped to severely punish Arizona for its defensive scheme.  This is a new dimension of our game that we have lacked for years, and is a very welcome sight.

2) Anna Wilson showing off her offensive credentials was also so very welcome.  For so many years we have had top defenders or ball handlers who could not attract enough defensive attention to open the game for others.  Wilson herself fell into that category some of the time during last two years.  But her confident, strong stroke from three will help to open up the game for her teammates.

3) Prechtel had only had 9 minutes, but looked like her old self, with a couple of baskets of her own and three assists!  The assists were things of beauty.

4) Hannah Jump seemed to get her stroke back too, although she got victimized by McDonald once on defense.  She has dramatically improved her defense over last year, but even dramatically improved defense is too slow for McDonald.

5) Unfortunately, we had 16 turnovers to Arizona's 9--almost the same issue as with UCLA.  No improvement there.  Still to many high-risk passes, including a couple of miscommunication passes that went to no one.

6) Widely dispersed scoring will be a nightmare for opposing coaches to defend against. 

7) Defense was awesome at times.  We held one of the most gifted scorers in the nation to 3/18 shooting, and her team to 26%.  We had 9 blocks--Brink had 5 of them.

The Great:  defense, FT shooting; Wilson's overall game; 30 point win on the road against #6 team (they are not the #6 team in the land, imo);

The Good: contributions from up and down the lineup offensively; Fran's game around the bucket

The not so good:  shot selection; turnovers

The ugly:  the quick hook on Prechtel in 2H after one moving screen call.  It's these kind of moves that feed my earlier-stated concern (which I will not repeat here so as not to upset Bob who believes any kind of coaching critique is out of bounds).

Wilson and Brink played well, and Fran, as noted above, showed some lovely strength at the bucket.

Haley and Lexie may have scored, but I wasn't really impressed with their shot selection.  But the great news from all this is a 30 point road win over a good team . . . and Stanford still has lots of room for improvement.

[teejers1]

This was one of the dates I had circled on the calendar to decide whether my national title hopes were overblown.  And if we do that well against top competition consistently, then those hopes are not overblown.

My takeaways:

1) Jones and Lexie did not make many baskets, but they manufactured opportunities by fearlessly going into the paint where Arizona was clogging the lanes.  The fact that the two of them went 18/18 from the free throw line helped to severely punish Arizona for its defensive scheme.  This is a new dimension of our game that we have lacked for years, and is a very welcome sight.

2) Anna Wilson showing off her offensive credentials was also so very welcome.  For so many years we have had top defenders or ball handlers who could not attract enough defensive attention to open the game for others.  Wilson herself fell into that category some of the time during last two years.  But her confident, strong stroke from three will help to open up the game for her teammates.

3) Prechtel had only had 9 minutes, but looked like her old self, with a couple of baskets of her own and three assists!  The assists were things of beauty.

4) Hannah Jump seemed to get her stroke back too, although she got victimized by McDonald once on defense.  She has dramatically improved her defense over last year, but even dramatically improved defense is too slow for McDonald.

5) Unfortunately, we had 16 turnovers to Arizona's 9--almost the same issue as with UCLA.  No improvement there.  Still to many high-risk passes, including a couple of miscommunication passes that went to no one.

6) Widely dispersed scoring will be a nightmare for opposing coaches to defend against. 

7) Defense was awesome at times.  We held one of the most gifted scorers in the nation to 3/18 shooting, and her team to 26%.  We had 9 blocks--Brink had 5 of them.

The Great:  defense, FT shooting; Wilson's overall game; 30 point win on the road against #6 team (they are not the #6 team in the land, imo);

The Good: contributions from up and down the lineup offensively; Fran's game around the bucket

The not so good:  shot selection; turnovers

The ugly:  the quick hook on Prechtel in 2H after one moving screen call.  It's these kind of moves that feed my earlier-stated concern (which I will not repeat here so as not to upset Bob who believes any kind of coaching critique is out of bounds).

Wilson and Brink played well, and Fran, as noted above, showed some lovely strength at the bucket.

Haley and Lexie may have scored, but I wasn't really impressed with their shot selection.  But the great news from all this is a 30 point road win over a good team . . . and Stanford still has lots of room for improvement.

[jonnyss]

we have 4 quick, skilled, tenacious defenders in kiana, anna, lexie and lacie - the best group of guard/wing defenders in years.

and they are all juniors or seniors; we will miss them in 2 years. fortunately, our excellent post/forward defense is all freshman and sophomores.

[jonnyss]

we have 4 quick, skilled, tenacious defenders in kiana, anna, lexie and lacie - the best group of guard/wing defenders in years.

and they are all juniors or seniors; we will miss them in 2 years. fortunately, our excellent post/forward defense is all freshman and sophomores.

[mbdude]

"The ugly:  the quick hook on Prechtel in 2H after one moving screen call.  It's these kind of moves that feed my earlier-stated concern (which I will not repeat here so as not to upset Bob who believes any kind of coaching critique is out of bounds)"

I thought the same. Either Prechtel is on a short leash for some reason; or illegal screens is something staff is insistent on reducing this year  - to the point that out you come. I recalled after that however we have have had very few illegal screens to this point

[mbdude]

"The ugly:  the quick hook on Prechtel in 2H after one moving screen call.  It's these kind of moves that feed my earlier-stated concern (which I will not repeat here so as not to upset Bob who believes any kind of coaching critique is out of bounds)"

I thought the same. Either Prechtel is on a short leash for some reason; or illegal screens is something staff is insistent on reducing this year  - to the point that out you come. I recalled after that however we have have had very few illegal screens to this point

[chimera]

I have zero complaints.  Great win.  A few too many turnovers but this one was effectively over at the half, and things tend to get sloppier in blowouts.  Also, several of the turnovers were good ideas executed poorly with passes just a bit too far in front of the cutter, stuff like that - very fixable, and to me not a brobdingnagian deal given first game after a break and against a top 10 team.

I thought before the game defense would be key, that if we played good D, everything else would fall into place, and that seemed to me to be the case.  UA could not score as easily as usual and ended up trying to do things that are not their forte.  We held McDonald in check.  Outrebounded them by a lot.  Not much to dislike in that, really.  The team had great energy and aggressiveness.  

ASU almost lost to cal.  I only saw the end, so no idea how they look in general, but I did see that ASU only had 9 dressed and that game was moved a few hours due to COVI stuff, so maybe ASU has some players out?  I haven't looked at their roster lately.  The certainly did not look scary against cal.

[chimera]

I have zero complaints.  Great win.  A few too many turnovers but this one was effectively over at the half, and things tend to get sloppier in blowouts.  Also, several of the turnovers were good ideas executed poorly with passes just a bit too far in front of the cutter, stuff like that - very fixable, and to me not a brobdingnagian deal given first game after a break and against a top 10 team.

I thought before the game defense would be key, that if we played good D, everything else would fall into place, and that seemed to me to be the case.  UA could not score as easily as usual and ended up trying to do things that are not their forte.  We held McDonald in check.  Outrebounded them by a lot.  Not much to dislike in that, really.  The team had great energy and aggressiveness.  

ASU almost lost to cal.  I only saw the end, so no idea how they look in general, but I did see that ASU only had 9 dressed and that game was moved a few hours due to COVI stuff, so maybe ASU has some players out?  I haven't looked at their roster lately.  The certainly did not look scary against cal.

[BACardinal]

Stanford was really packing the paint the whole game and almost daring McDonald and others to shoot 3's. The first couple minutes of the game it almost seemed to me that Anna and Lexie were lazy with their hands in McDonald's shooting pocket but as time went on I realized they were laying off her and letting her shoot as well as going under all the screens. Now, some possessions they swarmed the shooters and were denying shots aggressively but for the most part they were daring them to shoot. This really helped against the speed of Arizona and their drives to the basket. The two newcomers for AU, Babtiste & Yeaney, seemed very hesitant to hoist up anything outside the arc. After the UCLA game Cameron Brink mentioned in her post game interview that the coaches wanted her to clog the paint and so it seems this is a game plan that the coaches like. It's working.

[BACardinal]

Stanford was really packing the paint the whole game and almost daring McDonald and others to shoot 3's. The first couple minutes of the game it almost seemed to me that Anna and Lexie were lazy with their hands in McDonald's shooting pocket but as time went on I realized they were laying off her and letting her shoot as well as going under all the screens. Now, some possessions they swarmed the shooters and were denying shots aggressively but for the most part they were daring them to shoot. This really helped against the speed of Arizona and their drives to the basket. The two newcomers for AU, Babtiste & Yeaney, seemed very hesitant to hoist up anything outside the arc. After the UCLA game Cameron Brink mentioned in her post game interview that the coaches wanted her to clog the paint and so it seems this is a game plan that the coaches like. It's working.

[martyup]

Brink is a force in the paint.  She changes the game when she's in, on both ends of the court.  I'll bet Tara makes her a starter before long.  Tonight she played 19 minutes and had 5 blocks, 9 rebounds, and 11 points (including 5-6 from the FT line).  The question is who does she replace in the starting lineup?  Perhaps Wilson?

[martyup]

Brink is a force in the paint.  She changes the game when she's in, on both ends of the court.  I'll bet Tara makes her a starter before long.  Tonight she played 19 minutes and had 5 blocks, 9 rebounds, and 11 points (including 5-6 from the FT line).  The question is who does she replace in the starting lineup?  Perhaps Wilson?

[CompSci87]

She may continue to come off the bench. We have a lot of good players this year who are effective in a lot of different combinations, and playing time will be spread out. 

I'd expect more playing time for lineups like you describe (with Jones at the 3 and two of Brink/Prechtel/Belibi) against opponents with multiple good bigs. Our current starting lineup is actually pretty short, with the tallest at 6'1".

[CompSci87]

She may continue to come off the bench. We have a lot of good players this year who are effective in a lot of different combinations, and playing time will be spread out. 

I'd expect more playing time for lineups like you describe (with Jones at the 3 and two of Brink/Prechtel/Belibi) against opponents with multiple good bigs. Our current starting lineup is actually pretty short, with the tallest at 6'1".

[Hurlburt88]

Loved at the 5:08 mark of the 4th quarter when Brink hit the floor chasing a loose ball and ended up hanging onto it with both legs.   She is so impressive!   I have to admit a bit of concern, though, about her being hurt as I believe she went to the locker room and did not remain on the bench.

[Hurlburt88]

Loved at the 5:08 mark of the 4th quarter when Brink hit the floor chasing a loose ball and ended up hanging onto it with both legs.   She is so impressive!   I have to admit a bit of concern, though, about her being hurt as I believe she went to the locker room and did not remain on the bench.

[81alum]

Loved at the 5:08 mark of the 4th quarter when Brink hit the floor chasing a loose ball and ended up hanging onto it with both legs.   She is so impressive!   I have to admit a bit of concern, though, about her being hurt as I believe she went to the locker room and did not remain on the bench.

I did not notice that she had left for the locker room.  She was slow to get off the floor on one occasion--did she disappear after that?

[81alum]

Loved at the 5:08 mark of the 4th quarter when Brink hit the floor chasing a loose ball and ended up hanging onto it with both legs.   She is so impressive!   I have to admit a bit of concern, though, about her being hurt as I believe she went to the locker room and did not remain on the bench.

I did not notice that she had left for the locker room.  She was slow to get off the floor on one occasion--did she disappear after that?

[BobK]

They showed Brink leaving the arena after the game usc pack on knee so yes she returned to the bench

[BobK]

They showed Brink leaving the arena after the game usc pack on knee so yes she returned to the bench

[WBB fan]

There was so much that was good in this game, but there's one thing among them that's not gotten a lot of mention on this board -- yes, a few mentions, but it's not been a focus. And for me, it should be -- the outstanding free throw shooting. Haley, 10 for 10; Lexie, 8 for 8. Brink, 5 for 6. Stanford was 10/10 in the 1st half, 15/18 in the second half. With free throw shooting like that, aggressive defense can backfire, and it did for Arizona last night, particularly in the 2nd half when they were, or so it seemed to me, more aggressive defensively. If Stanford can keep this up, they are going to  be even harder to defend because teams won't be able to afford sending them to the free throw line.

The other thing I really liked was the rebounding -- get in there and grab it, fight for the ball. Anna was fantastic at being in the right place for rebounds, and Cameron, wow. She puts her arms up and sucks the ball in, and when she gets it, she works hard to keep it. That latter is something that we haven't seem with some of our bigs in the past. Outstanding.

[WBB fan]

There was so much that was good in this game, but there's one thing among them that's not gotten a lot of mention on this board -- yes, a few mentions, but it's not been a focus. And for me, it should be -- the outstanding free throw shooting. Haley, 10 for 10; Lexie, 8 for 8. Brink, 5 for 6. Stanford was 10/10 in the 1st half, 15/18 in the second half. With free throw shooting like that, aggressive defense can backfire, and it did for Arizona last night, particularly in the 2nd half when they were, or so it seemed to me, more aggressive defensively. If Stanford can keep this up, they are going to  be even harder to defend because teams won't be able to afford sending them to the free throw line.

The other thing I really liked was the rebounding -- get in there and grab it, fight for the ball. Anna was fantastic at being in the right place for rebounds, and Cameron, wow. She puts her arms up and sucks the ball in, and when she gets it, she works hard to keep it. That latter is something that we haven't seem with some of our bigs in the past. Outstanding.

[JJJ]

I am so happy we have Brink. What a smooth and pretty (if more arc than expected) FT shot. A force to be accounted for every minute she’s on the floor. We will be singing her praises for years, and I’m happy this is so.

---

In case you want to read another game recap. Doesn’t get old for me.

https://sports.yahoo.com/no-1-stanford-r...53772.html

[JJJ]

I am so happy we have Brink. What a smooth and pretty (if more arc than expected) FT shot. A force to be accounted for every minute she’s on the floor. We will be singing her praises for years, and I’m happy this is so.

---

In case you want to read another game recap. Doesn’t get old for me.

https://sports.yahoo.com/no-1-stanford-r...53772.html

[Lorcan]

In case you missed it, you can watch a replay of the game here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGkbO3Rw6Ao

Wonderful beatdown to watch for any Stanford fan. ASU up next, hopefully will be a fun one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGkbO3Rw6Ao&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=thuongnguyenvlogTV

[Lorcan]

In case you missed it, you can watch a replay of the game here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGkbO3Rw6Ao

Wonderful beatdown to watch for any Stanford fan. ASU up next, hopefully will be a fun one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGkbO3Rw6Ao&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=thuongnguyenvlogTV

[BostonCard]

Note we could have missed every single one of our free throws and still won the game (barely).  I’m glad we shot well, of course, but it would have still been a blowout even with a 70% free throw shooting day, and a comfortable win with a 50% free throw shooting day.

The difference last night was our defense.  We don’t win if they shoot 29/66 (44%) instead of 17/66, if a few of those are three pointers.

BC

[BostonCard]

Note we could have missed every single one of our free throws and still won the game (barely).  I’m glad we shot well, of course, but it would have still been a blowout even with a 70% free throw shooting day, and a comfortable win with a 50% free throw shooting day.

The difference last night was our defense.  We don’t win if they shoot 29/66 (44%) instead of 17/66, if a few of those are three pointers.

BC

[CompSci87]

I am so happy we have Brink. What a smooth and pretty (if more arc than expected) FT shot. A force to be accounted for every minute she’s on the floor. We will be singing her praises for years, and I’m happy this is so.

I really didn't know what to expect from Brink. I had watched several games of the USA Basketball U17 team where Haley Jones, Fran Belibi, and Cameron Brink were all teammates (https://www.usab.com/womens/u17/roster.aspx}. Jones was a starter, played a lot of minutes, and looked excellent. Belibi came off the bench, got quite a few minutes, and looked very talented. Brink was usually the last off the bench and played very little. The star post was Aliyah Boston. So all I could really tell is that she must have been good enough in the tryouts to make the team, but the coaches apparently didn't think so much of her. She's been a revelation at Stanford.

[CompSci87]

I am so happy we have Brink. What a smooth and pretty (if more arc than expected) FT shot. A force to be accounted for every minute she’s on the floor. We will be singing her praises for years, and I’m happy this is so.

I really didn't know what to expect from Brink. I had watched several games of the USA Basketball U17 team where Haley Jones, Fran Belibi, and Cameron Brink were all teammates (https://www.usab.com/womens/u17/roster.aspx}. Jones was a starter, played a lot of minutes, and looked excellent. Belibi came off the bench, got quite a few minutes, and looked very talented. Brink was usually the last off the bench and played very little. The star post was Aliyah Boston. So all I could really tell is that she must have been good enough in the tryouts to make the team, but the coaches apparently didn't think so much of her. She's been a revelation at Stanford.

[BACardinal]

The thing with Brink and her time with USA basketball is that she was always the youngest person on the team. I don't know if it was her choice to play on higher teams with USA even though she didn't get any playing time but whatever her reason that's the situation. If she would have played with her age group theres no doubt she would be a starter seeing as she was still ranked #3 out of high school and for most of her career was ranked #1 until her senior year. 

Thats a discussion to be had about whether it was beneficial for her to play up but it doesn't seem to have hampered her development at all.

[BACardinal]

The thing with Brink and her time with USA basketball is that she was always the youngest person on the team. I don't know if it was her choice to play on higher teams with USA even though she didn't get any playing time but whatever her reason that's the situation. If she would have played with her age group theres no doubt she would be a starter seeing as she was still ranked #3 out of high school and for most of her career was ranked #1 until her senior year. 

Thats a discussion to be had about whether it was beneficial for her to play up but it doesn't seem to have hampered her development at all.