[stopandpop]

I was there at the T-Mobile Arena, and specifically focused on how both coaches were implementing their respective strategies and managing the game.

As several of you have correctly said, Arizona is not that good of a team, and it's hard to see them getting far in the BIG-12.

But here's the big difference.  Arizona coach Becky Burke understands her team's talent level and has designed both an offense and defense that maximizes their skill sets while minimizing their weaknesses. UC Santa Barbara's coach has done the same. Kate Paye does not appear to understand this basic coaching logic because (for reasons I still don't understand) she has designed and has committed to an offense (from Day One) that minimizes her players' talents while exposing their weaknesses.

Arizona's simple (but effective) high post screening action opened the door for so many of their relatively drives to the basket while on defense, providing very little space for Stanford to have any real inside game.  In short, teams seem to understand how to take advantage of Stanford.

Paye has not demonstrated that she has learned anything from all the mistakes made during her first and second seasons because she is repeating them here in 2026-27.

The women's basketball program is in trouble and it's clear Paye doesn't have the ability to 'right the ship'.  My only question at this point is will the AD allow Kate Paye to stay on for the rest of the season or stop the bleeding and replace her now?

[stopandpop]

I was there at the T-Mobile Arena, and specifically focused on how both coaches were implementing their respective strategies and managing the game.

As several of you have correctly said, Arizona is not that good of a team, and it's hard to see them getting far in the BIG-12.

But here's the big difference.  Arizona coach Becky Burke understands her team's talent level and has designed both an offense and defense that maximizes their skill sets while minimizing their weaknesses. UC Santa Barbara's coach has done the same. Kate Paye does not appear to understand this basic coaching logic because (for reasons I still don't understand) she has designed and has committed to an offense (from Day One) that minimizes her players' talents while exposing their weaknesses.

Arizona's simple (but effective) high post screening action opened the door for so many of their relatively drives to the basket while on defense, providing very little space for Stanford to have any real inside game.  In short, teams seem to understand how to take advantage of Stanford.

Paye has not demonstrated that she has learned anything from all the mistakes made during her first and second seasons because she is repeating them here in 2026-27.

The women's basketball program is in trouble and it's clear Paye doesn't have the ability to 'right the ship'.  My only question at this point is will the AD allow Kate Paye to stay on for the rest of the season or stop the bleeding and replace her now?