The 21-22 season will culminate in the 25th Anniversary of (in my opinion) of the most difficult loss I ever witnessed as a follower of Stanford Women's Basketball. Only as this season (with all of the positive expectations) has started to come closer did my thoughts return to those vaunted days of 1996-97. I was in Row M behind the Stanford bench for that game and had never watched the video until a few weeks ago. For those who are interested I am including a low quality YouTube link. The game was very physical and afterward coming across Kate Starbird's parents outside the area, Kate's Mother's only comment was that she was glad Kate hadn't gotten injured. We all were too numb to have thought about anything else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgWiUh_27u8
Also, I vaguely remembered a Sports Illustrated article that had appeared prior to the tournament about Jamila Wideman. I recalled the impact of the writing as much as the content. I found a copy and am including a link. Hopefully, it is accessible.
https://vault.si.com/vault/1997/03/17/ou...ssing-gift
Jamila (again in my opinion) was the best point guard Stanford has ever had (yes better than Jennifer Azzi and others) and the 1997-98 team one of the best. Unfortunately, the referees hadn't realized that tall women can actually block shots and not foul, but that's a topic for another conversation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgWiUh_27u8
Also, I vaguely remembered a Sports Illustrated article that had appeared prior to the tournament about Jamila Wideman. I recalled the impact of the writing as much as the content. I found a copy and am including a link. Hopefully, it is accessible.
https://vault.si.com/vault/1997/03/17/ou...ssing-gift
Jamila (again in my opinion) was the best point guard Stanford has ever had (yes better than Jennifer Azzi and others) and the 1997-98 team one of the best. Unfortunately, the referees hadn't realized that tall women can actually block shots and not foul, but that's a topic for another conversation.