WBB: Notre Dame 84 Stanford 68 season ends

WBB: Notre Dame 84 Stanford 68 season ends - Printable Version

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WBB: Notre Dame 84 Stanford 68 season ends - 81alum - 03-30-2019

Overview:

Miraculously, Tara's defense came up big for 2 1/2 quarters and we led Notre Dame in a low scoring defensive game until 2:10 in the third quarter. But Notre Dame's Jackie Young figured out that we could not defend her off a curl around a screen and she scored most of her 25 points in rapid succession to take the lead for Notre Dame. A 45% three point shooting night could not overcome 15 minutes of defensive collapse against one of the best offenses in WBB history, and the season comes to an end after a very respectable game.

Flow of the Game:

Somehow, Tara managed to make Notre Dame play our low scoring defensive game for 2 1/2 quarters, holding them to their worst half of any game this season. We were up 13-11 after one quarter--it should have been 13-9 but Jackie Young was awarded a couple of free throws after a fake foul. We were up 33-26 at the half and the halftime announcers were marveling at Tara's job. Despite our lead we left a lot of points on the floor that we could have had, with numerous missed layups. I felt the refs were letting us play a little rough and it was a good thing. Alanna got only one foul in the first half and scored most of her point in the first half. Notre Dame plays man after they miss and zone after they make, and so all their misses allowed us to run the Princeton against their man and we got quite a few open looks. Kiana began to hit some treys to break out of her shooting funk, and at halftime I was surprised and pleased. Nevertheless, I had the feeling that we needed to create more than a 7 point margin given how well the first half had gone.

The second half started reasonably well, too. Lacie Hull and Maya Dodson scored to keep pace with Notre Dame, and at 5:33 Kiana Williams sank a trey to extend out lead back out to 7. That, unfortunately, was about when the Jackie Young show started. She made 5 layups or midrange jumpers in the next 5 minutes and dished a couple more assists in the same stretch. Meanwhile, our shooting went cold except for a couple more Kiana Williams jumpers. By the time the last five minutes of the quarter had ticked away, we had moved from a 7 point lead to a 6 point deficit, and the game was essentially over.

The fourth quarter was more of the same. Kiana Williams kept making shots, Alanna Smith did not get many opportunities, and Jackie Young made four layups and some free throws to go along with the rest of her team as Notre Dame lead stretched to 14 by mid way through the quarter. We played hard up until the last minute but our three point shooting heroics didn't help when we gave up baskets at the other end every time. In the end, our defense let us down, not our offense.

Performances:

After holding Notre Dame to 25% shooting in the first half we gave them something like 70% shooting in the second. That stat explains just about everything you need to know. We shot 40% overall but 46% from three point range, going 10/22. We missed a lot of layups which could have something to do with Notre Dame's posts but also some lack of execution on our part. Smith was 3/6 inside--so not a lot of chances, but Dodson was 2/9. After out rebounding Notre Dame in the first half we did not in the second half, and Notre Dame wound up with a whopping 19 O boards. We kept our turnovers down to 12 but Notre Dame kept theirs down to 7. And we had only 1 block to Notre Dame's 5. Smith had 10 points in the first half but was held to 4 in the second--all after the game was out of reach.

Individually, Kiana Williams was our brightest star tonight, coming our of her dreadful 0/11 three point shooting last game and shooting 4/8 tonight. Overall she had 20 points.

Carrington had 18 points on 7/17 shooting. Smith wound up with 14. Lexie Hull showed some moxie in the second half, coming in and draining two treys to try to get the game back in range. Maya Dodson was 2/9 with those 7 misses mostly being layups of differing levels of difficulty.

Conclusion:

If anyone has asked me before the season whether I would be satisfied with winning the Pac 12 tourney, going 31-5 and making it to the elite 8, being the only team to beat Baylor and revenging Oregon--and doing all of this after losing Nadia and Marta--I would have taken it in a heartbeat. Tonight I went into this game principally being worried about being humiliated--and we certainly were not. It feels a lot better than our loss to Louisville last year.

But now we say good bye to Alanna Smith and Shannon Coffee, and possibly Marta Sniezek. This year's seniors, which originally included Alexa Romano, were not a highly rated recruiting class, nor did they blossom quickly. But they each had their moments, and Alanna made dramatic improvements each season. They helped our program get through something of a down spell, if you can call elite eight, final four, sweet sixteen, and elite eight a down spell. They all provided me with many hours of enjoyment and happiness as I watched them over the course of their four years, and I wish them all well.

Preview:

A long awaited match up with Notre Dame has in fact materialized. We have met each repeatedly in recent NCAA tournaments. This year it is the most daunting task of all. Notre Dame is last year's championship team, and they have 5 players who all could be drafted into the WNBA after this season, depending on whether Jackie Young comes out a year early or stays. Seniors Brianna Turner and Jessica Shepherd give them superb offensive bigs, and senior Arike Ogunbowale is one of the most gifted offensive scorers to play the game. Guard Marina Mabrey rounds out their professional-level talent.

Offensively, all five players average well into double digits. Not as frequently remarked, 4 out of 5 of them have well over 100 assists--they pass the ball well among themselves and all of them can creatively score. They score inside and they score from three. They have no offensive weaknesses, meaning that a scouting report defense is usually not effective.

Notre Dame plays a lot of zone on defense. We will have to hit our three point shots if we expect to loosen that up.

Given our poor performance and Notre Dame's much better performance recently, I would ordinarily not give us much of a chance. But I do have two very small hopeful thoughts. First, we layed such an egg today that the Notre Dame players just wont be able to avoid taking us a little lightly. Second, the last time we beat Notre Dame and knocked them out of the tournament, Notre Dave was heavily favored. McPhee scored 27, Ogunbowole scored 25 and we won by a point when Erica McCall blocked a last second Ogunbowale shot. We have defied the odds before.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - TheFarm07 - 03-30-2019

Overall, I feel like our offense has regressed over the season. And my memory may not be the best, but I feel like it's not the first time in recent history, that we struggled with shooting the ball and getting the offense going as the season wears on.

Yea, we see the same teams in conference again, but so do other teams all around the nation. I can't do a statistical analysis on all of the teams, but you can't just say experience facing us multiple times is the prime reason for our offensive woes.

I am hoping the high-ranking recruits Tara has in the pipeline will help remedy that issue. Obviously, the goal is to be Notre Dame's starting lineup without any weak links. I also feel like we are too dependent on the three to get going, especially as we face zone defense.

Look at the other winners these past 2 days today and their 3-pt attempts as a percentage of their overall shot attempts:

Baylor: 4/71 = 5.6%
Notre Dame: 10/69 = 14.5%
Iowa = 18/57 = 31.6%
UConn = 15/58 = 25.9%
Mississippi State = 11/54 = 20.4%
Louisville = 17/57 = 29.8%
Oregon = 20/58 = 34.5%

Meanwhile, 42.6% of our shot attempts were 3-pointers today and that makes us too vulnerable to being dependent on hot shooting nights. Luckily our defense carried the day, but with Notre Dame's explosive offense, that won't be enough on Monday

Griffins78 - Griffins78 - 03-31-2019

If you’re pulling stats from just the tournament, we’re 25/87 28.7%

As you point out, we’ve taken more 3s than any of the other teams remaining by a lot ~10 more per game. With ND’s zone we’ll probably take more.

IF we can hit those 3’s...

Regarding Alanna’s quote - it mirrored the way Tara spoke on TV during the game. They didn’t panic, they didn’t pout and give up on defense and rebounding because their shots didn’t fall. And they didn’t stop running the offense, except a bit. I think Tara could have been pulling her hair out trying to figure out which buttons to push but the players kept playing and executing and even though their shots didn’t go in they didn’t give up on their game plan

RE: Griffins78 - BosCard - 03-31-2019

(03-31-2019, 08:34 AM)Griffins78 Wrote: If you’re pulling stats from just the tournament, we’re 25/87 28.7%

As you point out, we’ve taken more 3s than any of the other teams remaining by a lot ~10 more per game. With ND’s zone we’ll probably take more.

IF we can hit those 3’s...

Regarding Alanna’s quote - it mirrored the way Tara spoke on TV during the game. They didn’t panic, they didn’t pout and give up on defense and rebounding because their shots didn’t fall. And they didn’t stop running the offense, except a bit. I think Tara could have been pulling her hair out trying to figure out which buttons to push but the players kept playing and executing and even though their shots didn’t go in they didn’t give up on their game plan

I really think there is something to the idea that this team "plays down" to the competition. First, we are very conservative in transition. Unless there is a wide open layup, we usually pull the ball back out. Second, our offense is very much a slow down half court offense. We pass looking for a good shot and usually end up taking a three late in the shot clock. This is exactly how teams play against us when we are the favorite and they are the underdog. The slow down game reduces the talent differential because it reduces the number of possessions. Against most teams where we are more talented, this results in close games and ugly wins. But, it has also resulted in upsets of Baylor and Oregon. And against Notre Dame, we are clearly the team that is less offensively talented (I would say that our defense is as good as anyone's). We definitely don't want to run up and down with them because they will do that much much better. Instead, our chance to win comes with applying the same slow down strategy that our opponents do to us. Our goal is to have the winning team score in the 60's. And yes we will have to shoot the three much better, but we definitely have a shot. And while against lesser competition our style means we "play down", against better competition our style means we force our more talented opponent to play at our level which gives us a puncher's chance to win.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - martyup - 03-31-2019

We need to get another ugly low scoring win. I can't see us beating ND in an up and down shootout. It's not Tara's style, but we should try to get their big in foul trouble early so she has to sit. Carrington and Wilson have the skills to drive on her and draw fouls. Let them go and have Smith and Hulls clean up on offensive boards if they miss or get blocked.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - FarmDad.01 - 03-31-2019

I happened to have watched from an intensive-care wing in 2017 as Stanford McPhee'd the South Bend Tuffets in the Elite 8 -- a game that certainly did not hurt my recovery.

I watched from my living room earlier this month as the Cardinal plucked the Ducks in the PAC 12 title game.

So while apprehensive about tomorrow night, I don't share the gloom-and-doom murmurs.

btw: Though Massey's site predicts the Tree falling, it thinks that despite our recent woes on offense, we will score 70. Which suggests sinking a greater percentage of treys.

ps: My CardBoard ID includes the fact that I joined in 1970. Hmmm... A decade before CompuServe initiated commercial online access, not to mention the birth of my Stanford daughter?

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - Spiny_Norman - 03-31-2019

Oregon shot 13-26 from 3, Ionescu had 31 points and the Ducks have defeated Mississippi State to advance to the Final Four.

I also want to recommend this nice feature that ESPN did on Ionescu which ran before their Sweet 16 game.
http://www.espn.com/espnw/video/26388865/sabrina-ionescu-long-road-oregon

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - BosCard - 03-31-2019

Oregon shot 4 for 20 from 3 in their prior game against an opponent that they were heavily favored against. And then hits 50% the next game. Hopefully we can do the same.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - JohnR34231 - 03-31-2019

(03-31-2019, 01:21 PM)Spiny_Norman Wrote: Oregon shot 13-26 from 3, Ionescu had 31 points and the Ducks have defeated Mississippi State to advance to the Final Four.

I also want to recommend this nice feature that ESPN did on Ionescu which ran before their Sweet 16 game.
http://www.espn.com/espnw/video/26388865/sabrina-ionescu-long-road-oregon

I'm sure this has been discussed here before, but I have never seen it.
How did Stanford miss out on her?

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - jonnyss - 03-31-2019

(03-31-2019, 02:47 PM)JohnR34231 Wrote:
(03-31-2019, 01:21 PM)Spiny_Norman Wrote: Oregon shot 13-26 from 3, Ionescu had 31 points and the Ducks have defeated Mississippi State to advance to the Final Four.

I also want to recommend this nice feature that ESPN did on Ionescu which ran before their Sweet 16 game.
http://www.espn.com/espnw/video/26388865/sabrina-ionescu-long-road-oregon

I'm sure this has been discussed here before, but I have never seen it.
How did Stanford miss out on her?

perhaps it's hard to get in to stanford?

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - JohnR34231 - 03-31-2019

(03-31-2019, 02:50 PM)jonnyss Wrote:
(03-31-2019, 02:47 PM)JohnR34231 Wrote:
(03-31-2019, 01:21 PM)Spiny_Norman Wrote: Oregon shot 13-26 from 3, Ionescu had 31 points and the Ducks have defeated Mississippi State to advance to the Final Four.

I also want to recommend this nice feature that ESPN did on Ionescu which ran before their Sweet 16 game.
http://www.espn.com/espnw/video/26388865/sabrina-ionescu-long-road-oregon

I'm sure this has been discussed here before, but I have never seen it.
How did Stanford miss out on her?

perhaps it's hard to get in to stanford?

So you are saying it was grades? I was going to suggest that but people here get very upset when you do.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - FarmDad.01 - 03-31-2019

The last six games of Stanford's current 12-game win streak have been played on neutral courts. Three-point shooting:

v. Cal, 7/16
v. UW, 11/24
v. OU, 8/29
v. UC Davis, 10/23
v. BYU, 12/35
v. MOST, 3/29

The only other stinker in that streak (4/20) came -- at home -- v. WSU, a comfortable 25-point win in which the bench got 71 of the 200 playing minutes and Alanna shot oh-for-6 from deep.

Reversion to the mean technically works both ways...

perhaps it's hard to get in to stanford?
[/quote]

So you are saying it was grades? I was going to suggest that but people here get very upset when you do.
[/quote]

Or maybe the coaching staff's assessment of attitude and complementaryness (is that a word?) to the rest of the roster? Prime recent non-recruit: Josh Rosen. As brilliant a player as Ionescu is, including dishing assists, she's unquestionably a ball hog, which makes her so effective. Maybe Tara didn't think that was what players like Karlie and Britt and Alanna and DiJonai needed; would they have had the chance to develop and shine?

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - CompSci87 - 03-31-2019

Not everyone who could get in with enough effort wants Stanford enough to make that effort. Some aren't interested in Stanford at all, for any of a variety of reasons. I don't know anything about Ionescu in particular, just saying that we don't have to look for something negative about a great player at another school ("grades," "ball hogging," whatever) to explain why she (or he) is not at Stanford.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - 81alum - 03-31-2019

(03-31-2019, 02:52 PM)JohnR34231 Wrote:
(03-31-2019, 02:50 PM)jonnyss Wrote:
(03-31-2019, 02:47 PM)JohnR34231 Wrote:
(03-31-2019, 01:21 PM)Spiny_Norman Wrote: Oregon shot 13-26 from 3, Ionescu had 31 points and the Ducks have defeated Mississippi State to advance to the Final Four.

I also want to recommend this nice feature that ESPN did on Ionescu which ran before their Sweet 16 game.
http://www.espn.com/espnw/video/26388865/sabrina-ionescu-long-road-oregon

I'm sure this has been discussed here before, but I have never seen it.
How did Stanford miss out on her?

perhaps it's hard to get in to stanford?

So you are saying it was grades? I was going to suggest that but people here get very upset when you do.

I do not know nor have inside information. When she was being recruited there was at least one article in the press that said she had a 3.0 average. But due to privacy rules you always have to maintain skepticism about such reports.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - BobK - 03-31-2019

As the poster said above not everyone can get into Stanford. Such is life.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - 82lsju - 03-31-2019

(03-31-2019, 03:47 PM)81alum Wrote:
(03-31-2019, 02:52 PM)JohnR34231 Wrote: So you are saying it was grades? I was going to suggest that but people here get very upset when you do.

I do not know nor have inside information. When she was being recruited there was at least one article in the press that said she had a 3.0 average. But due to privacy rules you always have to maintain skepticism about such reports.

I'm sure the truly curious (which would not include me) could get a copy of her high school graduation program and see if she graduated with honors (or whatever academic honors categories her high school mentions in the program)

google also returns

Academic excellence: Ionescu has maintained a 3.34 GPA.

https://usatodayhss.com/2016/gatorade-california-girls-basketball-poy-sabrina-ionescu

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - 2006alum - 03-31-2019

That ship sailed years ago, and the water is way under the bridge. Let's focus on beating the Domers in the tournament for the 3rd time in 4 years and hope we meet up with the Ducks in the championship game for the rubber match!!

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - BobK - 03-31-2019

But you need to know about her AP classes if any

All I can say is we were very interesting but not to be

Ok one more thing. Ionescu is the best player in the country. And will be drafted number 1

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - JohnR34231 - 04-01-2019

(03-31-2019, 08:49 PM)2006alum Wrote: That ship sailed years ago, and the water is way under the bridge. Let's focus on beating the Domers in the tournament for the 3rd time in 4 years and hope we meet up with the Ducks in the championship game for the rubber match!!

Well, the ship sailed years ago on BBK and that didn't keep us for having a multi page discussion on why we didn't get him.
Anyway, just idle speculation here while we wait to play the Domers. When you have the best player in the country who just put her team in the final four and she is from the Bay Area you can't help but wonder a bit.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Notre Dame 6pm Monday - PVTree - 04-01-2019

Two #2 seeds won yesterday. I'd like to see that streak continue today. Odds are greater against us since yesterday's lower seeds were playing close to home while we'll be playing close to our opponent's home.