04-05-2021, 05:48 AM
They say that, as an athlete, you need to practice so hard and so well that you're able to win on your worst day. For a time, Louisville, South Carolina, and Arizona were able to bring out or force bad stretches out of Stanford. But Stanford persevered! We (going to use the royal we here) said we would have to hold Aari to under 20 pts for a (likely) win. She had 22. We said we'd have to win the TO battle. We...did not (lost that one 21-6). Did we unleash the full firepower of a fully operational 3pt shot? We did not...because we shot 4-14 from long. Did Stanford get equal treatment from the officials? The numbers say no: 18 FTA for Zona, 2 for Stanford...and who was the more physically aggressive team? Stanford was called for +6 PFs. (Stanford also lost the steals category by 11, fwiw.)
But the rebounds were there (+18). The shooting was there (+13.8%). And the assists were there (+10). They held Arizona to 28.3% shooting and forced Aari into less than 25% FG% and only two assists. Stanford dared Arizona to beat the Cardinal with someone other than Aari, and no one was able to answer the bell (though Pellington came close on 5-12 FGA). Of course Arizona would call Aari's number on their very last possession for the game-winning shot, and Stanford fittingly stuck to the plan -- Anna, Lexie, and Cam were there to deny Aari the look, and there would be no Cinderella story for the Wildcats. Yet again, on a night when things almost went too badly, Stanford overcame the vagaries of fate to win the national championship and carve this season of adversity into the record books.
Flowery language aside, I agree with the observation that Arizona was getting a lot of favorable calls. They tried to gut check Lexie the same way they threw a body shot at Paige. Aari ran right into Anna's knee and crumpled her with, as I recall, no call there. There were fewer bodies hitting the floor than the Zona/UConn game iirc, but it was the same brand of physical defense. It was frustrating to see UA win all the categories mentioned above, hallmarks of better defense, wanting it more, and better ball-handling. But again...Stanford knew what they had to do, and they did enough. Can't say enough about all the Stanford positives because they've already been better said by others here. And really, the only positive that even matters is the final score (and the trophy that goes with it). I couldn't be happier for this team to represent Stanford on a national stage.
I think someone mentioned that Tara might have been employing a clock-killing strategy toward the end of the game with possessions. Dare I say...that sounds absolutely Shaw-like? If it's good enough for Tara...hahahahaha.
Work day is starting, possibly more later. Blue Hawk (Mizzou) Card, sorry I missed you there! I did have dinner with garvin and a friendly Cardboard lurker (you know who you are!) in a group of six Stanford alumni/fans; would have been great to have had you there. The natty streak is alive, Tara has another victorious campaign under her belt, and for at least a few moments, things are (were?) all right now on Easter Sunday this year.
But the rebounds were there (+18). The shooting was there (+13.8%). And the assists were there (+10). They held Arizona to 28.3% shooting and forced Aari into less than 25% FG% and only two assists. Stanford dared Arizona to beat the Cardinal with someone other than Aari, and no one was able to answer the bell (though Pellington came close on 5-12 FGA). Of course Arizona would call Aari's number on their very last possession for the game-winning shot, and Stanford fittingly stuck to the plan -- Anna, Lexie, and Cam were there to deny Aari the look, and there would be no Cinderella story for the Wildcats. Yet again, on a night when things almost went too badly, Stanford overcame the vagaries of fate to win the national championship and carve this season of adversity into the record books.
Flowery language aside, I agree with the observation that Arizona was getting a lot of favorable calls. They tried to gut check Lexie the same way they threw a body shot at Paige. Aari ran right into Anna's knee and crumpled her with, as I recall, no call there. There were fewer bodies hitting the floor than the Zona/UConn game iirc, but it was the same brand of physical defense. It was frustrating to see UA win all the categories mentioned above, hallmarks of better defense, wanting it more, and better ball-handling. But again...Stanford knew what they had to do, and they did enough. Can't say enough about all the Stanford positives because they've already been better said by others here. And really, the only positive that even matters is the final score (and the trophy that goes with it). I couldn't be happier for this team to represent Stanford on a national stage.
I think someone mentioned that Tara might have been employing a clock-killing strategy toward the end of the game with possessions. Dare I say...that sounds absolutely Shaw-like? If it's good enough for Tara...hahahahaha.
Work day is starting, possibly more later. Blue Hawk (Mizzou) Card, sorry I missed you there! I did have dinner with garvin and a friendly Cardboard lurker (you know who you are!) in a group of six Stanford alumni/fans; would have been great to have had you there. The natty streak is alive, Tara has another victorious campaign under her belt, and for at least a few moments, things are (were?) all right now on Easter Sunday this year.