01-14-2018, 09:02 AM
Preliminary:
Washington brings a tough 2-3 zone and the prolific offense of Amber Melgoza to Maples this afternoon. Melgoza is a sophomore but backed up Plum last year, concealing her talent. But she is scoring 18 points a game--she is a very strong, tough 5'10 guard who hung 31 points on Oregon recently--she scores at 42% overall and about a quarter of her attempts are treys for 34%. Sophomore Mai-loni Henson is their 2nd scorer--a 6'1" forward who can also step back and hit the three at 32%. Little Jenna Moser, a 5'6" senior guard, is their three point specialist and is hitting treys at 45% and leading Washington in assists. They played C.al close for most of that game by using their zone to force C.al to take more jumpers than they would have liked, and by getting their own treys to fall. I expect a low scoring game that will once again test our zone-breaking offense. Let's hope for excellent three point shooting and a big game from Nadia at the high post.
Overview:
Washington's confusing zone defenses slowed down our offense during the first three quarters but could not stop it, while our defense proved outstanding, holding their star Amber Melgoza to 5 points and their team to 45. We played better in the 2nd half than in the first, and saw Carrington's best play since her return from injury.
Flow of the Game:
Williams and Dodson were out with minor ankle tweaks and are expected back for the LA trip. Tara has been excited about Johnson's better play of late--said so after the game--and seems to have settled in on this starting lineup: Johnson, Smith, McPhee, Williams, and Sniezek. Unlike Friday, today Tara managed to keep our starters down to 30 minutes or less, and Carrington was the chief beneficiary, getting 27 minutes in relief and playing better than we have seen her play since before her injury weeks ago. Jerome replaced Smith for 16 minutes when Smith picked up her third foul and acquitted herself better than we have seen before, too. All other available players got in the game for cameos, but those were the main 7 in the rotation.
Johnson set the tone and proved her mettle by getting our first two baskets. Washington plays a variety of zones, switching them to confuse the opposing point guard. We were somehow able to work the ball inside the paint for 28 of our points, but those were not easy to come by and exterior jumpers were needed. McPhee made some splendid plays but struggled to go 4/12 against the physical interior play, and Kiana was similarly off offensively, going just 3/12. Smith regularly worked her way inside and also planted a couple of treys, and became the mainstay of our offense when she was not out with foul trouble (after an unfair charge gave her a third.) But the first three quarters were all much alike--we scored 15, 16, and 16 points, holding Washington to 11, 12, and 8. It was a tough, defensive, grinding game but our shooting percentage was much higher than Washington's and we went into the fourth quarter with a respectable 47-31 lead.
Unlike Friday's game, however, we did not let up in the fourth quarter--but turned it into an offensive outpouring. McPhee, Smith, and Carrington pushed the lead from 13 to 26 during an eight minute offensive run, then Moschkau and the bench entered and kept it even with some nice shooting of their own. And unlike Friday, when the WSU star finally erupted in the second half, Melgoza was controlled for the whole game by the defense of McPhee and Carrington, holding her 16 points under her average.
Performances:
Alanna Smith led in points with 19 and nabbed 9 rebounds--almost an identical performance to her dominant play against WSU on Friday. She did have a whopping 6 turnovers, but also 2 assists and 2 blocks.
Kaylee Johnson once again proved her worth tonight, with 8 points, 12 rebounds, an assist and a massive 5 blocks (one loud enough to be heard thundering throughout Maples) that made it very difficult for Melgoza to do her usual thing under the rim.
Carrington showed her best form, with 11 points including 2/2 from three point range, but also 5 assists and 3 steals while shutting down Melgoza.
McPhee had to work too hard for her 15 points, going 4/12 and hitting 6/9 free throws. At least the refs are giving her some opportunities from the line. She also had 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal for a strong all-around performance.
Williams looked a little more like a freshman tonight, going a mortal 3/12 and having 3 turnovers. She did have one amazing block on a taller player shooting a midrange jumper that brought a smile to my face.
Marta seemed perpetually on the edge of being out of control as the Washington D hounded her, but she had only 2 turnovers, 2 assists, and 2 points.
The final player that should be noted was Alyssa Jerome, who subbed in for Alanna and comported herself well, showing she can dribble through traffic if she needs to and making 2/3 shots in limited minutes.
Conclusion:
We beat two teams we needed to beat and we should have beaten, and we did so while showing some important improvements. On balance, this was a good weekend for Stanford WBB. The next three games, however, will largely determine the direction of the season--we go to LA to repeat our games against USC and UCLA on their home turf, and then ASU and Arizona come to Maples. This will be running quite a gauntlet--now is the time we can hope that all those improvements we have been seeing piecemeal over the season will come together to elevate our play.
Washington brings a tough 2-3 zone and the prolific offense of Amber Melgoza to Maples this afternoon. Melgoza is a sophomore but backed up Plum last year, concealing her talent. But she is scoring 18 points a game--she is a very strong, tough 5'10 guard who hung 31 points on Oregon recently--she scores at 42% overall and about a quarter of her attempts are treys for 34%. Sophomore Mai-loni Henson is their 2nd scorer--a 6'1" forward who can also step back and hit the three at 32%. Little Jenna Moser, a 5'6" senior guard, is their three point specialist and is hitting treys at 45% and leading Washington in assists. They played C.al close for most of that game by using their zone to force C.al to take more jumpers than they would have liked, and by getting their own treys to fall. I expect a low scoring game that will once again test our zone-breaking offense. Let's hope for excellent three point shooting and a big game from Nadia at the high post.
Overview:
Washington's confusing zone defenses slowed down our offense during the first three quarters but could not stop it, while our defense proved outstanding, holding their star Amber Melgoza to 5 points and their team to 45. We played better in the 2nd half than in the first, and saw Carrington's best play since her return from injury.
Flow of the Game:
Williams and Dodson were out with minor ankle tweaks and are expected back for the LA trip. Tara has been excited about Johnson's better play of late--said so after the game--and seems to have settled in on this starting lineup: Johnson, Smith, McPhee, Williams, and Sniezek. Unlike Friday, today Tara managed to keep our starters down to 30 minutes or less, and Carrington was the chief beneficiary, getting 27 minutes in relief and playing better than we have seen her play since before her injury weeks ago. Jerome replaced Smith for 16 minutes when Smith picked up her third foul and acquitted herself better than we have seen before, too. All other available players got in the game for cameos, but those were the main 7 in the rotation.
Johnson set the tone and proved her mettle by getting our first two baskets. Washington plays a variety of zones, switching them to confuse the opposing point guard. We were somehow able to work the ball inside the paint for 28 of our points, but those were not easy to come by and exterior jumpers were needed. McPhee made some splendid plays but struggled to go 4/12 against the physical interior play, and Kiana was similarly off offensively, going just 3/12. Smith regularly worked her way inside and also planted a couple of treys, and became the mainstay of our offense when she was not out with foul trouble (after an unfair charge gave her a third.) But the first three quarters were all much alike--we scored 15, 16, and 16 points, holding Washington to 11, 12, and 8. It was a tough, defensive, grinding game but our shooting percentage was much higher than Washington's and we went into the fourth quarter with a respectable 47-31 lead.
Unlike Friday's game, however, we did not let up in the fourth quarter--but turned it into an offensive outpouring. McPhee, Smith, and Carrington pushed the lead from 13 to 26 during an eight minute offensive run, then Moschkau and the bench entered and kept it even with some nice shooting of their own. And unlike Friday, when the WSU star finally erupted in the second half, Melgoza was controlled for the whole game by the defense of McPhee and Carrington, holding her 16 points under her average.
Performances:
Alanna Smith led in points with 19 and nabbed 9 rebounds--almost an identical performance to her dominant play against WSU on Friday. She did have a whopping 6 turnovers, but also 2 assists and 2 blocks.
Kaylee Johnson once again proved her worth tonight, with 8 points, 12 rebounds, an assist and a massive 5 blocks (one loud enough to be heard thundering throughout Maples) that made it very difficult for Melgoza to do her usual thing under the rim.
Carrington showed her best form, with 11 points including 2/2 from three point range, but also 5 assists and 3 steals while shutting down Melgoza.
McPhee had to work too hard for her 15 points, going 4/12 and hitting 6/9 free throws. At least the refs are giving her some opportunities from the line. She also had 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal for a strong all-around performance.
Williams looked a little more like a freshman tonight, going a mortal 3/12 and having 3 turnovers. She did have one amazing block on a taller player shooting a midrange jumper that brought a smile to my face.
Marta seemed perpetually on the edge of being out of control as the Washington D hounded her, but she had only 2 turnovers, 2 assists, and 2 points.
The final player that should be noted was Alyssa Jerome, who subbed in for Alanna and comported herself well, showing she can dribble through traffic if she needs to and making 2/3 shots in limited minutes.
Conclusion:
We beat two teams we needed to beat and we should have beaten, and we did so while showing some important improvements. On balance, this was a good weekend for Stanford WBB. The next three games, however, will largely determine the direction of the season--we go to LA to repeat our games against USC and UCLA on their home turf, and then ASU and Arizona come to Maples. This will be running quite a gauntlet--now is the time we can hope that all those improvements we have been seeing piecemeal over the season will come together to elevate our play.
