03-05-2023, 10:10 PM
Yes, Tara challenged the team, some years ago, not to be "the nice girls from Stanford." And clearly during COVID she challenged the team and it navigated the hardest schedule in the nation with nothing but road games, and they rode that all the way to a national championship. So Tara is well aware of the need to cultivate fire and drive, and in the past she has found ways to do it.
If you watched the presser, Tara was thinking about ways to get her team to perform better. And mental/physical rest was clearly at the top of the list. I don't think diagnosing a problem and trying to fix it is making excuses.
I've also wondered about this coincidence about our losses:
USC, away, 2nd game of the weekend after a win
Washington, away, 2nd game of the weekend after a win
Utah, away, 2nd game of the weekend after a win
UCLA, away, 2nd game after a win
Not sure what that says--maybe the second game is harder to install the scout, or maybe the team lets up its intensity after an away win, or could it be pure coincidence? I don't include South Carolina since that was not on the same schedule, and since I think we would agree we played better in that game than in the other four losses. But the pattern is striking, and I hope it does not persist into the NCAAs.
If you watched the presser, Tara was thinking about ways to get her team to perform better. And mental/physical rest was clearly at the top of the list. I don't think diagnosing a problem and trying to fix it is making excuses.
I've also wondered about this coincidence about our losses:
USC, away, 2nd game of the weekend after a win
Washington, away, 2nd game of the weekend after a win
Utah, away, 2nd game of the weekend after a win
UCLA, away, 2nd game after a win
Not sure what that says--maybe the second game is harder to install the scout, or maybe the team lets up its intensity after an away win, or could it be pure coincidence? I don't include South Carolina since that was not on the same schedule, and since I think we would agree we played better in that game than in the other four losses. But the pattern is striking, and I hope it does not persist into the NCAAs.


