[MV72018]

Crooks is a solid but not an elite quality rebounder.  She averages about 8 a game, 2-3 of them O-boards.  I think Brink and Iriafen are superior rebounders when they put their minds to it, and that could be a key point of emphasis for us.  Iowa State was shockingly bad at rebounding during the first half last night, though they turned it around in the second.

Crooks does not commit a lot of fouls, but I think that may be because she is not as active on defense as most centers are.  She has only 18 blocks on the year.  She is an offensive powerhouse, but not a commanding defensive presence the way Brink is.  Remember, Crooks is still a freshman.  Defense takes time and experience to improve.  She may become more formidable over the years ahead.

I worry less about Crooks and more about the Iowa State strength (three point shooting) against our weakness (perimeter defense.)  I think Tara will figure out how to control Crooks.  Whether we have four perimeter defenders who can each individually close out and shut down their four perimeter shooters is another matter.

We had better have a very good offensive game.

You will remember how Tara 'figured out' how to stop JuJu and in the process left Forbes wide open time after time....I agree, Stanford had better bring its 'A' game on O. I was not particularly impressed with the entry passes last night -- or with the way some of them were bumbled. (I did like the entry pass that Brink caught and redirected to the corner for a trey. Clean and crisp ball movement led to a successful open shot.) I hope Bosgana can replicate or come close to replicating, because it can't be taken for granted that Jump will score in double figures or that Lepolo will score at all, which turns our O into a two-woman affair, with little help from the bench. We need someone, preferably two people, to step up and score in double digits to at least get us above 70 points. We may need more than 80 for the W, depending on how tight or porous our D turns out to be.

[MV72018]

Crooks is a solid but not an elite quality rebounder.  She averages about 8 a game, 2-3 of them O-boards.  I think Brink and Iriafen are superior rebounders when they put their minds to it, and that could be a key point of emphasis for us.  Iowa State was shockingly bad at rebounding during the first half last night, though they turned it around in the second.

Crooks does not commit a lot of fouls, but I think that may be because she is not as active on defense as most centers are.  She has only 18 blocks on the year.  She is an offensive powerhouse, but not a commanding defensive presence the way Brink is.  Remember, Crooks is still a freshman.  Defense takes time and experience to improve.  She may become more formidable over the years ahead.

I worry less about Crooks and more about the Iowa State strength (three point shooting) against our weakness (perimeter defense.)  I think Tara will figure out how to control Crooks.  Whether we have four perimeter defenders who can each individually close out and shut down their four perimeter shooters is another matter.

We had better have a very good offensive game.

You will remember how Tara 'figured out' how to stop JuJu and in the process left Forbes wide open time after time....I agree, Stanford had better bring its 'A' game on O. I was not particularly impressed with the entry passes last night -- or with the way some of them were bumbled. (I did like the entry pass that Brink caught and redirected to the corner for a trey. Clean and crisp ball movement led to a successful open shot.) I hope Bosgana can replicate or come close to replicating, because it can't be taken for granted that Jump will score in double figures or that Lepolo will score at all, which turns our O into a two-woman affair, with little help from the bench. We need someone, preferably two people, to step up and score in double digits to at least get us above 70 points. We may need more than 80 for the W, depending on how tight or porous our D turns out to be.