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And, late in the game when there was no prayer, the Stanford players gave it their all, although it was against players that matched them more equally in experience and skill. 

I was intrigued by the assertion that Louisville's team at the end of the game matched Stanford's "more equally in experience and skill."  We must have different concepts of "experience." Our team at the end [consisting of 3 juniors, 1 soph, and 1 freshman] had a combined minutes played total [for this season] of 2351 minutes, while Louisville's team [consisting of 3 freshmen, 1 soph, and 1 junior] at the end had a combined total of 954 minutes.  You might be right about skill [and those are, indeed, impressive high school recruiting rankings you cited], although it's depressing to think that Louisville's extended bench is more skilled than three of our starters.  However, arguing that they were in any sense "equally matched" to our players at the end in terms of experience seems very questionable to me.

This game could have been significantly more competitive if coach Paye and her staff would teach the team how to set strong screens even with the current offense.  A player like Somfai needs space to drive the ball from the high post.  She can't do that without strong screens; same with Eschmeyer.  Ogden has to work so hard for her points (and she gets them), but imagine how more potent she would become if her teammates knew how to screen effectively.  That is one way to attack quick, athletic teams like Louisville.  There are so many teams in the country, including mid-majors, with less talent that have more productive offenses than Stanford because their screening is rock solid.  I do not understand why the coaches are not teaching this.

I agree with other posters that Stanford's players refused to quit and played their hearts out until the last second of the game and it's admirable that (despite the restrictive offense), the team played Louisville even in the 2nd. half.  But the problem of not being competitive with Louisville is on the coach's shoulders.

At her first press conference as the new head coach, Kate Paye said "We want to compete for national championships."  Disclosure:  I am not a Stanford alum like most of you, but I became a fan of your women's team because of Tara's brilliance and how her teams played (and won), year after year.  I would like to believe that your Athletic Director still believes in coach Paye's mission, but I don't know.  From my perspective (which may be a bit different, but not necessarily any better), Kate Paye- a wonderful person, dedicated and hard-working- cannot get that done.  If your AD wants to get the program back to that elite level, he must recruit a highly successful Power Four coach from the outside who wants the job, who understands the challenges facing her/him and has the experience/skills to bring a winning culture to the program.  

Even as an outsider, it's painful to watch how the team's level of performance has fallen so low- which I will argue is not the fault of the players who are following the instructions of their coaches and doing their best within that structure.

[stopandpop]

And, late in the game when there was no prayer, the Stanford players gave it their all, although it was against players that matched them more equally in experience and skill. 

I was intrigued by the assertion that Louisville's team at the end of the game matched Stanford's "more equally in experience and skill."  We must have different concepts of "experience." Our team at the end [consisting of 3 juniors, 1 soph, and 1 freshman] had a combined minutes played total [for this season] of 2351 minutes, while Louisville's team [consisting of 3 freshmen, 1 soph, and 1 junior] at the end had a combined total of 954 minutes.  You might be right about skill [and those are, indeed, impressive high school recruiting rankings you cited], although it's depressing to think that Louisville's extended bench is more skilled than three of our starters.  However, arguing that they were in any sense "equally matched" to our players at the end in terms of experience seems very questionable to me.

This game could have been significantly more competitive if coach Paye and her staff would teach the team how to set strong screens even with the current offense.  A player like Somfai needs space to drive the ball from the high post.  She can't do that without strong screens; same with Eschmeyer.  Ogden has to work so hard for her points (and she gets them), but imagine how more potent she would become if her teammates knew how to screen effectively.  That is one way to attack quick, athletic teams like Louisville.  There are so many teams in the country, including mid-majors, with less talent that have more productive offenses than Stanford because their screening is rock solid.  I do not understand why the coaches are not teaching this.

I agree with other posters that Stanford's players refused to quit and played their hearts out until the last second of the game and it's admirable that (despite the restrictive offense), the team played Louisville even in the 2nd. half.  But the problem of not being competitive with Louisville is on the coach's shoulders.

At her first press conference as the new head coach, Kate Paye said "We want to compete for national championships."  Disclosure:  I am not a Stanford alum like most of you, but I became a fan of your women's team because of Tara's brilliance and how her teams played (and won), year after year.  I would like to believe that your Athletic Director still believes in coach Paye's mission, but I don't know.  From my perspective (which may be a bit different, but not necessarily any better), Kate Paye- a wonderful person, dedicated and hard-working- cannot get that done.  If your AD wants to get the program back to that elite level, he must recruit a highly successful Power Four coach from the outside who wants the job, who understands the challenges facing her/him and has the experience/skills to bring a winning culture to the program.  

Even as an outsider, it's painful to watch how the team's level of performance has fallen so low- which I will argue is not the fault of the players who are following the instructions of their coaches and doing their best within that structure.