[teejers1]

My takeaways from this game:

1) Jones took many shots that were not exactly open, and often from that analytics-red-zone of the mid range, but they all went in.  Can she do this consistently every game or was she having an unusually good day?  29 points on 14/15 shooting--and the miss was a three point effort.  Add 13 rebounds to that.  If this is the everyday Jones then we really do have a superstar.  If this was just a good day then we have a star.

2) Jump is so, so streaky.  She missed and missed and missed and then hit four.  Just like last year.  It really is like a sniper adjusting for range.  What this means is she needs to be permitted to stay in and miss several before her shooting pays off.

3) Van Gytenbeek looked like she was trying too hard and pushing beyond herself at first--but then I look at the stat sheet and see she led the team with 5 assists and had only 2 turnovers.  I still think she has some maturing to do.

4) Belibi just continues to convince.  But she does need to improve her free throws if she is going to be banging in the paint.

5) Kiana is in a slump.  1/12 today.  It is almost as if she shoots best when there is a sense of urgency and everything depends upon her.  Now that she is surrounded with so much talent, her shots are not going in. 

6) Brink got better the longer she was in the game, but 3/10 with 2 fouls and a turnover in 10 minutes leaves room for improvement.  She will, I have no doubt (improve.)

7) I continue to like Prechtel.  At this point, in a tight game I want her in the game rather than Brink.  She is strong, does not get flustered, and is reliable when she has open looks.  They both can sink the three, which is an amazing luxury, giving them a dimension that Belibi lacks.

8) We crushed Washington chiefly with our rebounding.  25 O-boards.  My goodness.

Random comments on game and otherwise:

1.  The depth on this team continues to amaze;

2.  If I were forced to take a single Stanford WBB player to start a team to hold the outside court, I'd take Nneka over Jones and Folkl.  Having said that, Jones is the most accomplished mid-range-and-in shooter the program has ever seen!  And don't be fooled by the high make % in today's game against UW - a lot of those shots were high degree of difficulty that Jones makes seemingly effortlessly.  She has incredible touch on runners, floaters, and takes to the rack - whether the ball is shot at 0 feet, 2 feet, 5-feet, or 10-feet.  Truly remarkable.

3.  I watched only a little of UCLA and Arizona, but here's my story on the Pac:  it's Stanford and Oregon in one tier, and everyone else fighting for third place.

4.  Brink's reach and length is amazing.  A couple times she literally reached over her opponent for a rebound and snatched it.  Moreover, I think her relative slightness helps her with the zebras because when most people go over the back you see a visible jolt to the opponent somewhere.  But Brink just nestles up - no impact on defender - and snags the ball.  Or stated differently, a lot of other players might get whistled for over the back fouls on a few of Brink's rebounds, but she picked them pretty cleanly . . . or so it appeared.

[teejers1]

My takeaways from this game:

1) Jones took many shots that were not exactly open, and often from that analytics-red-zone of the mid range, but they all went in.  Can she do this consistently every game or was she having an unusually good day?  29 points on 14/15 shooting--and the miss was a three point effort.  Add 13 rebounds to that.  If this is the everyday Jones then we really do have a superstar.  If this was just a good day then we have a star.

2) Jump is so, so streaky.  She missed and missed and missed and then hit four.  Just like last year.  It really is like a sniper adjusting for range.  What this means is she needs to be permitted to stay in and miss several before her shooting pays off.

3) Van Gytenbeek looked like she was trying too hard and pushing beyond herself at first--but then I look at the stat sheet and see she led the team with 5 assists and had only 2 turnovers.  I still think she has some maturing to do.

4) Belibi just continues to convince.  But she does need to improve her free throws if she is going to be banging in the paint.

5) Kiana is in a slump.  1/12 today.  It is almost as if she shoots best when there is a sense of urgency and everything depends upon her.  Now that she is surrounded with so much talent, her shots are not going in. 

6) Brink got better the longer she was in the game, but 3/10 with 2 fouls and a turnover in 10 minutes leaves room for improvement.  She will, I have no doubt (improve.)

7) I continue to like Prechtel.  At this point, in a tight game I want her in the game rather than Brink.  She is strong, does not get flustered, and is reliable when she has open looks.  They both can sink the three, which is an amazing luxury, giving them a dimension that Belibi lacks.

8) We crushed Washington chiefly with our rebounding.  25 O-boards.  My goodness.

Random comments on game and otherwise:

1.  The depth on this team continues to amaze;

2.  If I were forced to take a single Stanford WBB player to start a team to hold the outside court, I'd take Nneka over Jones and Folkl.  Having said that, Jones is the most accomplished mid-range-and-in shooter the program has ever seen!  And don't be fooled by the high make % in today's game against UW - a lot of those shots were high degree of difficulty that Jones makes seemingly effortlessly.  She has incredible touch on runners, floaters, and takes to the rack - whether the ball is shot at 0 feet, 2 feet, 5-feet, or 10-feet.  Truly remarkable.

3.  I watched only a little of UCLA and Arizona, but here's my story on the Pac:  it's Stanford and Oregon in one tier, and everyone else fighting for third place.

4.  Brink's reach and length is amazing.  A couple times she literally reached over her opponent for a rebound and snatched it.  Moreover, I think her relative slightness helps her with the zebras because when most people go over the back you see a visible jolt to the opponent somewhere.  But Brink just nestles up - no impact on defender - and snags the ball.  Or stated differently, a lot of other players might get whistled for over the back fouls on a few of Brink's rebounds, but she picked them pretty cleanly . . . or so it appeared.