[Spiny_Norman]

The coaches tried everything they had to stop Loyal McQueen. Both Ijiwoye and Clardy fouled out trying to guard her. McQueen drew 9 Stanford fouls, shot 12-14 from the line and added 6 assists to her 26 points. She was the difference in the game.

Conversely, Stanford's guards Ijiwoye, Clardy, Harriel and Heal contributed little offensively. 11 points among the 4 of them on 4-16 shooting with 3 assists and 5 turnovers. The ACC is a guard-heavy league. Many opponents have someone as good or better than McQueen. The guard play needs to improve quickly. The return of Talana Lepolo would help, but that does not appear to be happening.

You believe that the return of Lepolo would help? IMO, she's not fast or athletic enough to effectively defend against a speedy and athletic guard, and she doesn't score much on O. Hopefully there's a better answer somewhere on the roster, even if that individual requires an intense crash course on defending quick guards.

The crash course on defending quick guards has not shown positive results yet. Coach Paye has tried every combination of Harriel, Ijiwoye, Clardy and Heal. Stanford had no answer for Cal's guards or LSU's guards or SMU's guards. And 5 of the next 8 games are against ranked teams plus Florida State which is just outside the top 25. Dire straits indeed.

I don't know that things would be appreciably better with Lepolo. But I sure would like to have another experienced guard on the court. Lepolo has been strong enough to fight through screens. No one on the current roster seems to do that very well. Stanford seemed to switch on screens effectively sometimes yesterday but really broke down late in the game. I do agree that Lepolo would not add much to the offense.

It's all moot speculation on my part because there are no signs that she will be returning this season.

[Spiny_Norman]

The coaches tried everything they had to stop Loyal McQueen. Both Ijiwoye and Clardy fouled out trying to guard her. McQueen drew 9 Stanford fouls, shot 12-14 from the line and added 6 assists to her 26 points. She was the difference in the game.

Conversely, Stanford's guards Ijiwoye, Clardy, Harriel and Heal contributed little offensively. 11 points among the 4 of them on 4-16 shooting with 3 assists and 5 turnovers. The ACC is a guard-heavy league. Many opponents have someone as good or better than McQueen. The guard play needs to improve quickly. The return of Talana Lepolo would help, but that does not appear to be happening.

You believe that the return of Lepolo would help? IMO, she's not fast or athletic enough to effectively defend against a speedy and athletic guard, and she doesn't score much on O. Hopefully there's a better answer somewhere on the roster, even if that individual requires an intense crash course on defending quick guards.

The crash course on defending quick guards has not shown positive results yet. Coach Paye has tried every combination of Harriel, Ijiwoye, Clardy and Heal. Stanford had no answer for Cal's guards or LSU's guards or SMU's guards. And 5 of the next 8 games are against ranked teams plus Florida State which is just outside the top 25. Dire straits indeed.

I don't know that things would be appreciably better with Lepolo. But I sure would like to have another experienced guard on the court. Lepolo has been strong enough to fight through screens. No one on the current roster seems to do that very well. Stanford seemed to switch on screens effectively sometimes yesterday but really broke down late in the game. I do agree that Lepolo would not add much to the offense.

It's all moot speculation on my part because there are no signs that she will be returning this season.