[OCcardinal]

We did well in the first Q agst UW and had a 9 pt lead and almsot got to our 20 pt per Q level that I always look for. It was the second Q that killed us where we gave up 30  pts (a pace of 120 for the game) as our D went south.

Looking at recent stats Nivar seemed to be the better solution at guard.  See:

+/- stats
Game Lepolo (Nivar)
Utah -7 (+21) [Lepolo injured 4 minutes into the game]
Colorado N/A (+8)
Oregon +7 (-3) [the one game where Nivar's +/- #s were worse, but that game had some hockey-style lineup changes]
Oregon State -1 (+13)
Washington State +2 (+37) !!!
Washington -13 (-5)

Granted, Nivar played 7 minutes in the middle of that horrid Washington 2nd Quarter and Stanford was outscored 18-13 in those minutes. However Lepolo was on the court for those same 7 minutes. Further, in the three 2Q minutes that Nivar was on the bench, Washington outscored us 12-4.

Lepolo had a great start this season for a freshman, but hasn't shown a lot of upside yet.  Nivar is the highest rated (and perhaps most athletic) guard on the roster. And guard play is likely to be even more important in the tournament.  If we want a chance at the Final Four or Championship, I think Tara needs to figure out a way to keep her on the court.  I'd like to see Nivar playing 20+ minutes a game instead of 7. But she doesn't seem to have earned Tara's full confidence yet.

[OCcardinal]

We did well in the first Q agst UW and had a 9 pt lead and almsot got to our 20 pt per Q level that I always look for. It was the second Q that killed us where we gave up 30  pts (a pace of 120 for the game) as our D went south.

Looking at recent stats Nivar seemed to be the better solution at guard.  See:

+/- stats
Game Lepolo (Nivar)
Utah -7 (+21) [Lepolo injured 4 minutes into the game]
Colorado N/A (+8)
Oregon +7 (-3) [the one game where Nivar's +/- #s were worse, but that game had some hockey-style lineup changes]
Oregon State -1 (+13)
Washington State +2 (+37) !!!
Washington -13 (-5)

Granted, Nivar played 7 minutes in the middle of that horrid Washington 2nd Quarter and Stanford was outscored 18-13 in those minutes. However Lepolo was on the court for those same 7 minutes. Further, in the three 2Q minutes that Nivar was on the bench, Washington outscored us 12-4.

Lepolo had a great start this season for a freshman, but hasn't shown a lot of upside yet.  Nivar is the highest rated (and perhaps most athletic) guard on the roster. And guard play is likely to be even more important in the tournament.  If we want a chance at the Final Four or Championship, I think Tara needs to figure out a way to keep her on the court.  I'd like to see Nivar playing 20+ minutes a game instead of 7. But she doesn't seem to have earned Tara's full confidence yet.