[81alum]

Preview:

I find myself previewing a game I can't attend.  Oregon State visits Maples to make up a game that was postponed from January 9.  They fit the game into the middle of a working day at a time before Stanford's free parking becomes available at 4pm.

Oregon State is 11-7, 4-4 in conference, and is ranked 37th by Massey's computers, right between WSU and UCLA.  They are coming off a bad trip to Arizona, where they lost to ASU and Arizona each by about 10 points.  But some of their losses have been extremely competitive, such as a 2 point loss to Arizona earlier and a 2 point loss to Notre Dame, and they have wins over UCLA, Colorado, and USC. 

I have had a hard time getting reliable statistics on Oregon State.  Their website gives stats on the basis of their first 8 games--not on the basis of the 18 games they have played.  Combined with the error in their schedule listing they look pretty sloppy.  I wonder if COVID has affected their ability to maintain the usual website currency.  So I decided to use only the boxscore from their most recent game--Arizona.

Oregon State was led by 5'11" redshirt freshman guard Talia Van Oelhoffen, with 17 points.  She is also a credible three point threat.  TVO graduated from high school early last year and helped Oregon State for half a season so she is much more experienced than a typical freshman.  She seems to have about as many turnovers as assists--so perhaps we could give her a hard time.

6'6" sophomore forward Kennedy Brown is a force to be reckoned with.  She went 4/6 against Arizona, 1/1 from three point range, and snagged 8 rebounds.  With OSU's other star forward Taylor Jones out for the season, Brown has had to carry the inside load.

6'3" redshirt senior forward Taya Corrosdale plays all 40 minutes and has to be regarded as OSU's most essential all around player.  She scored 7 points and 10 rebounds--she seems to be OSU's best rebounder, and she also is a credible 3 point threat.  She started every game last season and is the one source of stability on this injury and COVID plagued team.

OSU has also been starting talented freshman guard 6'0" Greta Kampschroeder and 5'9" redshirt senior guard Tea Adams, and their top bench player is 6'3" redshirt senior forward Ellie Mack.

Rueck is at heart a defensive minded coach who has much in common with Tara's scouting report defensive philosophy.  His teams seem to be strongest when they battle through quarters in low scoring games.  On offense his team is well balanced.  They have height inside and nearly everyone shoots the three from outside. 

Where are they vulnerable?  They are not as deep as we are--I am sure we will try to play a fast paced game to see if it takes a toll on them.  Their ball handling may be suspect.  Perhaps we will get some steals.  They play sound defense, but I don't think they have enough talent in the post to stop Brink, Belibi, and Jones without getting into foul trouble.

[81alum]

Preview:

I find myself previewing a game I can't attend.  Oregon State visits Maples to make up a game that was postponed from January 9.  They fit the game into the middle of a working day at a time before Stanford's free parking becomes available at 4pm.

Oregon State is 11-7, 4-4 in conference, and is ranked 37th by Massey's computers, right between WSU and UCLA.  They are coming off a bad trip to Arizona, where they lost to ASU and Arizona each by about 10 points.  But some of their losses have been extremely competitive, such as a 2 point loss to Arizona earlier and a 2 point loss to Notre Dame, and they have wins over UCLA, Colorado, and USC. 

I have had a hard time getting reliable statistics on Oregon State.  Their website gives stats on the basis of their first 8 games--not on the basis of the 18 games they have played.  Combined with the error in their schedule listing they look pretty sloppy.  I wonder if COVID has affected their ability to maintain the usual website currency.  So I decided to use only the boxscore from their most recent game--Arizona.

Oregon State was led by 5'11" redshirt freshman guard Talia Van Oelhoffen, with 17 points.  She is also a credible three point threat.  TVO graduated from high school early last year and helped Oregon State for half a season so she is much more experienced than a typical freshman.  She seems to have about as many turnovers as assists--so perhaps we could give her a hard time.

6'6" sophomore forward Kennedy Brown is a force to be reckoned with.  She went 4/6 against Arizona, 1/1 from three point range, and snagged 8 rebounds.  With OSU's other star forward Taylor Jones out for the season, Brown has had to carry the inside load.

6'3" redshirt senior forward Taya Corrosdale plays all 40 minutes and has to be regarded as OSU's most essential all around player.  She scored 7 points and 10 rebounds--she seems to be OSU's best rebounder, and she also is a credible 3 point threat.  She started every game last season and is the one source of stability on this injury and COVID plagued team.

OSU has also been starting talented freshman guard 6'0" Greta Kampschroeder and 5'9" redshirt senior guard Tea Adams, and their top bench player is 6'3" redshirt senior forward Ellie Mack.

Rueck is at heart a defensive minded coach who has much in common with Tara's scouting report defensive philosophy.  His teams seem to be strongest when they battle through quarters in low scoring games.  On offense his team is well balanced.  They have height inside and nearly everyone shoots the three from outside. 

Where are they vulnerable?  They are not as deep as we are--I am sure we will try to play a fast paced game to see if it takes a toll on them.  Their ball handling may be suspect.  Perhaps we will get some steals.  They play sound defense, but I don't think they have enough talent in the post to stop Brink, Belibi, and Jones without getting into foul trouble.

[BobK]

Thanks for the summary. Their 6-9 post has been playing quite a bit with Jones out
I have to miss this weeks games I’ll be in the San Diego area.
Win three

[BobK]

Thanks for the summary. Their 6-9 post has been playing quite a bit with Jones out
I have to miss this weeks games I’ll be in the San Diego area.
Win three

[bl82]

espn has ramped up their stats for women's hoops this year and has good individual season stats as well as good game log data for each player:
https://www.espn.com/womens-college-bask...s/_/id/204

Of note, Taylor Jones, OSU's star forward, is out for the season with shoulder surgery, so they are down a big weapon.

[bl82]

espn has ramped up their stats for women's hoops this year and has good individual season stats as well as good game log data for each player:
https://www.espn.com/womens-college-bask...s/_/id/204

Of note, Taylor Jones, OSU's star forward, is out for the season with shoulder surgery, so they are down a big weapon.

[Card10Fan]

I wonder if we’ll see Haley Jones back in this game. If the team policy is must have two practices after returning from safety protocols, not sure she’ll qualify. Team would have had Monday off. So today would be 1 practice and tomorrow would be shoot around on a game day. I hope she’s back! Oregon State is no slouch and being on the NCAA bubble and a 2 game slide, they are looking for a signature win. If we play to our capabilities, we can handle them.

[Card10Fan]

I wonder if we’ll see Haley Jones back in this game. If the team policy is must have two practices after returning from safety protocols, not sure she’ll qualify. Team would have had Monday off. So today would be 1 practice and tomorrow would be shoot around on a game day. I hope she’s back! Oregon State is no slouch and being on the NCAA bubble and a 2 game slide, they are looking for a signature win. If we play to our capabilities, we can handle them.

[81alum]

I wonder if we’ll see Haley Jones back in this game. If the team policy is must have two practices after returning from safety protocols, not sure she’ll qualify. Team would have had Monday off. So today would be 1 practice and tomorrow would be shoot around on a game day. I hope she’s back! Oregon State is no slouch and being on the NCAA bubble and a 2 game slide, they are looking for a signature win. If we play to our capabilities, we can handle them.

Entirely right.  After losing three games this year--two of them most probably to teams with inferior talent--we ought to know that the opponent most likely to beat us is ourselves.  It is a psychological struggle, game in and game out, to play up to our full potential, knowing that if multiple players have an "off" game we can lose.  But if we are hitting on 5 cylinders no one can stop us.

[81alum]

I wonder if we’ll see Haley Jones back in this game. If the team policy is must have two practices after returning from safety protocols, not sure she’ll qualify. Team would have had Monday off. So today would be 1 practice and tomorrow would be shoot around on a game day. I hope she’s back! Oregon State is no slouch and being on the NCAA bubble and a 2 game slide, they are looking for a signature win. If we play to our capabilities, we can handle them.

Entirely right.  After losing three games this year--two of them most probably to teams with inferior talent--we ought to know that the opponent most likely to beat us is ourselves.  It is a psychological struggle, game in and game out, to play up to our full potential, knowing that if multiple players have an "off" game we can lose.  But if we are hitting on 5 cylinders no one can stop us.

[BostonCard]

This argument is a bit specious. You play enough games against very good teams (and Stanford has played a bunch of ranked teams) and eventually you will lose a game or two against an inferior opponent.

Being the second best team in the country doesn’t mean you never lose to teams ranked below you or that losing to those teams ranked below you means that you beat yourself. It just means that, on that particular night, the opponent scored more points than you did. And maybe, just maybe, it is because the opponent, who let’s remember, has agency and is actively trying to score more points than you, succeeds in their endeavor.

I would not want anyone to think that if we beat South Carolina in the tournament it’s because the gamecocks beat themselves.

BC

[BostonCard]

This argument is a bit specious. You play enough games against very good teams (and Stanford has played a bunch of ranked teams) and eventually you will lose a game or two against an inferior opponent.

Being the second best team in the country doesn’t mean you never lose to teams ranked below you or that losing to those teams ranked below you means that you beat yourself. It just means that, on that particular night, the opponent scored more points than you did. And maybe, just maybe, it is because the opponent, who let’s remember, has agency and is actively trying to score more points than you, succeeds in their endeavor.

I would not want anyone to think that if we beat South Carolina in the tournament it’s because the gamecocks beat themselves.

BC

[TheFarm07]

I wonder if we’ll see Haley Jones back in this game. If the team policy is must have two practices after returning from safety protocols, not sure she’ll qualify. Team would have had Monday off. So today would be 1 practice and tomorrow would be shoot around on a game day. I hope she’s back! Oregon State is no slouch and being on the NCAA bubble and a 2 game slide, they are looking for a signature win. If we play to our capabilities, we can handle them.

Entirely right.  After losing three games this year--two of them most probably to teams with inferior talent--we ought to know that the opponent most likely to beat us is ourselves.  It is a psychological struggle, game in and game out, to play up to our full potential, knowing that if multiple players have an "off" game we can lose.  But if we are hitting on 5 cylinders no one can stop us.

Hopefully our depth and talent will help us not lose another game this season. Our three losses were all winnable contests in my estimation and after seeing us against top competition, I think if we play well in the postseason, then another title wouldn't be out of the question. It's not like in some years past when we had to play well AND hope that the level of a top tier opponent, like UConn drops a notch for us to have a chance.

I think our best matches up against anyone's best this season. The big question is whether we'll be able to play our best in those critical situations.

---

This argument is a bit specious. You play enough games against very good teams (and Stanford has played a bunch of ranked teams) and eventually you will lose a game or two against an inferior opponent.

Being the second best team in the country doesn’t mean you never lose to teams ranked below you or that losing to those teams ranked below you means that you beat yourself. It just means that, on that particular night, the opponent scored more points than you did. And maybe, just maybe, it is because the opponent, who let’s remember, has agency and is actively trying to score more points than you, succeeds in their endeavor.

I would not want anyone to think that if we beat South Carolina in the tournament it’s because the gamecocks beat themselves.

BC

I think it's a fine line. I think you can give credit to your opponents, they played better on those occasions and deserved to beat us. They were more successful in those instances and the better team that night won.

You can also say that we can be better, to try to minimize mistakes and be better prepared. As we saw in those close losses, a couple fewer turnovers could have made the difference.

I can see your point though. It sounds like sour grapes when someone says the reason Team X won was because Team Y beat themselves. However, it doesn't mean that there's no basis in truth. We can throw everything we can at Aliyah Boston and she can still score 20 points and you just have to tip your cap and say "too good." On the other hand, if you throw away a ball under no pressure or miscommunicated with a teammate on a play, then you can still call that an unforced error.

[TheFarm07]

I wonder if we’ll see Haley Jones back in this game. If the team policy is must have two practices after returning from safety protocols, not sure she’ll qualify. Team would have had Monday off. So today would be 1 practice and tomorrow would be shoot around on a game day. I hope she’s back! Oregon State is no slouch and being on the NCAA bubble and a 2 game slide, they are looking for a signature win. If we play to our capabilities, we can handle them.

Entirely right.  After losing three games this year--two of them most probably to teams with inferior talent--we ought to know that the opponent most likely to beat us is ourselves.  It is a psychological struggle, game in and game out, to play up to our full potential, knowing that if multiple players have an "off" game we can lose.  But if we are hitting on 5 cylinders no one can stop us.

Hopefully our depth and talent will help us not lose another game this season. Our three losses were all winnable contests in my estimation and after seeing us against top competition, I think if we play well in the postseason, then another title wouldn't be out of the question. It's not like in some years past when we had to play well AND hope that the level of a top tier opponent, like UConn drops a notch for us to have a chance.

I think our best matches up against anyone's best this season. The big question is whether we'll be able to play our best in those critical situations.

---

This argument is a bit specious. You play enough games against very good teams (and Stanford has played a bunch of ranked teams) and eventually you will lose a game or two against an inferior opponent.

Being the second best team in the country doesn’t mean you never lose to teams ranked below you or that losing to those teams ranked below you means that you beat yourself. It just means that, on that particular night, the opponent scored more points than you did. And maybe, just maybe, it is because the opponent, who let’s remember, has agency and is actively trying to score more points than you, succeeds in their endeavor.

I would not want anyone to think that if we beat South Carolina in the tournament it’s because the gamecocks beat themselves.

BC

I think it's a fine line. I think you can give credit to your opponents, they played better on those occasions and deserved to beat us. They were more successful in those instances and the better team that night won.

You can also say that we can be better, to try to minimize mistakes and be better prepared. As we saw in those close losses, a couple fewer turnovers could have made the difference.

I can see your point though. It sounds like sour grapes when someone says the reason Team X won was because Team Y beat themselves. However, it doesn't mean that there's no basis in truth. We can throw everything we can at Aliyah Boston and she can still score 20 points and you just have to tip your cap and say "too good." On the other hand, if you throw away a ball under no pressure or miscommunicated with a teammate on a play, then you can still call that an unforced error.

[81alum]

I wonder if we’ll see Haley Jones back in this game. If the team policy is must have two practices after returning from safety protocols, not sure she’ll qualify. Team would have had Monday off. So today would be 1 practice and tomorrow would be shoot around on a game day. I hope she’s back! Oregon State is no slouch and being on the NCAA bubble and a 2 game slide, they are looking for a signature win. If we play to our capabilities, we can handle them.

Entirely right.  After losing three games this year--two of them most probably to teams with inferior talent--we ought to know that the opponent most likely to beat us is ourselves.  It is a psychological struggle, game in and game out, to play up to our full potential, knowing that if multiple players have an "off" game we can lose.  But if we are hitting on 5 cylinders no one can stop us.

Hopefully our depth and talent will help us not lose another game this season. Our three losses were all winnable contests in my estimation and after seeing us against top competition, I think if we play well in the postseason, then another title wouldn't be out of the question. It's not like in some years past when we had to play well AND hope that the level of a top tier opponent, like UConn drops a notch for us to have a chance.

I think our best matches up against anyone's best this season. The big question is whether we'll be able to play our best in those critical situations.

---

This argument is a bit specious. You play enough games against very good teams (and Stanford has played a bunch of ranked teams) and eventually you will lose a game or two against an inferior opponent.

Being the second best team in the country doesn’t mean you never lose to teams ranked below you or that losing to those teams ranked below you means that you beat yourself. It just means that, on that particular night, the opponent scored more points than you did. And maybe, just maybe, it is because the opponent, who let’s remember, has agency and is actively trying to score more points than you, succeeds in their endeavor.

I would not want anyone to think that if we beat South Carolina in the tournament it’s because the gamecocks beat themselves.

BC

I think it's a fine line. I think you can give credit to your opponents, they played better on those occasions and deserved to beat us. They were more successful in those instances and the better team that night won.

You can also say that we can be better, to try to minimize mistakes and be better prepared. As we saw in those close losses, a couple fewer turnovers could have made the difference.

I can see your point though. It sounds like sour grapes when someone says the reason Team X won was because Team Y beat themselves. However, it doesn't mean that there's no basis in truth. We can throw everything we can at Aliyah Boston and she can still score 20 points and you just have to tip your cap and say "too good." On the other hand, if you throw away a ball under no pressure or miscommunicated with a teammate on a play, then you can still call that an unforced error.

I'm merely paraphrasing what I have heard Tara and countless other coaches say over the years, but this year I happen to believe it is true and not just a rhetorical point that coaches always make.

Many years I have felt that Tara was able to coach our team so effectively that they could often beat teams that were more talented that we were.  This year I think  it is our team that has the superior raw talent compared with most of the teams we play.  We can win games when our players play up to their expected potential.  We don't need career-high performances from a McPhee to beat Oregon, or Pohlen to beat UConn.  We have half a dozen players who can all potentially break out or all combine their production. 

Can we lose?  Of course, and we probably will lose again at some point.  Even with all that talent it is difficult not to hit some games when a few of your players are having off nights.  Our depth reduces that--we are not Chiney and the Chinettes such that if Chiney has an off night we lose.  But if Brink gets in foul trouble, Jones turns the ball over 7 times, and Lexi goes into a shooting slump--all real possibilities and all at the same time--then we would probably lose.  In doing so, we would not be playing up to our potential, as opposed to being defeated by superior talent.

[81alum]

I wonder if we’ll see Haley Jones back in this game. If the team policy is must have two practices after returning from safety protocols, not sure she’ll qualify. Team would have had Monday off. So today would be 1 practice and tomorrow would be shoot around on a game day. I hope she’s back! Oregon State is no slouch and being on the NCAA bubble and a 2 game slide, they are looking for a signature win. If we play to our capabilities, we can handle them.

Entirely right.  After losing three games this year--two of them most probably to teams with inferior talent--we ought to know that the opponent most likely to beat us is ourselves.  It is a psychological struggle, game in and game out, to play up to our full potential, knowing that if multiple players have an "off" game we can lose.  But if we are hitting on 5 cylinders no one can stop us.

Hopefully our depth and talent will help us not lose another game this season. Our three losses were all winnable contests in my estimation and after seeing us against top competition, I think if we play well in the postseason, then another title wouldn't be out of the question. It's not like in some years past when we had to play well AND hope that the level of a top tier opponent, like UConn drops a notch for us to have a chance.

I think our best matches up against anyone's best this season. The big question is whether we'll be able to play our best in those critical situations.

---

This argument is a bit specious. You play enough games against very good teams (and Stanford has played a bunch of ranked teams) and eventually you will lose a game or two against an inferior opponent.

Being the second best team in the country doesn’t mean you never lose to teams ranked below you or that losing to those teams ranked below you means that you beat yourself. It just means that, on that particular night, the opponent scored more points than you did. And maybe, just maybe, it is because the opponent, who let’s remember, has agency and is actively trying to score more points than you, succeeds in their endeavor.

I would not want anyone to think that if we beat South Carolina in the tournament it’s because the gamecocks beat themselves.

BC

I think it's a fine line. I think you can give credit to your opponents, they played better on those occasions and deserved to beat us. They were more successful in those instances and the better team that night won.

You can also say that we can be better, to try to minimize mistakes and be better prepared. As we saw in those close losses, a couple fewer turnovers could have made the difference.

I can see your point though. It sounds like sour grapes when someone says the reason Team X won was because Team Y beat themselves. However, it doesn't mean that there's no basis in truth. We can throw everything we can at Aliyah Boston and she can still score 20 points and you just have to tip your cap and say "too good." On the other hand, if you throw away a ball under no pressure or miscommunicated with a teammate on a play, then you can still call that an unforced error.

I'm merely paraphrasing what I have heard Tara and countless other coaches say over the years, but this year I happen to believe it is true and not just a rhetorical point that coaches always make.

Many years I have felt that Tara was able to coach our team so effectively that they could often beat teams that were more talented that we were.  This year I think  it is our team that has the superior raw talent compared with most of the teams we play.  We can win games when our players play up to their expected potential.  We don't need career-high performances from a McPhee to beat Oregon, or Pohlen to beat UConn.  We have half a dozen players who can all potentially break out or all combine their production. 

Can we lose?  Of course, and we probably will lose again at some point.  Even with all that talent it is difficult not to hit some games when a few of your players are having off nights.  Our depth reduces that--we are not Chiney and the Chinettes such that if Chiney has an off night we lose.  But if Brink gets in foul trouble, Jones turns the ball over 7 times, and Lexi goes into a shooting slump--all real possibilities and all at the same time--then we would probably lose.  In doing so, we would not be playing up to our potential, as opposed to being defeated by superior talent.

[martyup]

I'm not mentally ready for this team to lose in the NCAA Tourney.  I need to work on this problem.

[martyup]

I'm not mentally ready for this team to lose in the NCAA Tourney.  I need to work on this problem.

[WBB fan]

Just got to Maples. Haley is warming up. And they are accepting wbb parking passes, just parked in Maples lot. Very full, tho not with wbb fans. Not many fans in the stands.

[WBB fan]

Just got to Maples. Haley is warming up. And they are accepting wbb parking passes, just parked in Maples lot. Very full, tho not with wbb fans. Not many fans in the stands.

[mbdude]

Jones in starting lineup per livestats

[mbdude]

Jones in starting lineup per livestats

[WBB fan]

Jvg not dressed,

[WBB fan]

Jvg not dressed,

[TheFarm07]

Is there no live stream? The Pac-12 site does not have one available even though the link goes to them.

[TheFarm07]

Is there no live stream? The Pac-12 site does not have one available even though the link goes to them.

[WBB fan]

On pac 12 net

[WBB fan]

On pac 12 net

[Papa John]

I wasn't able to access the game on the Pac-12 app on my phone, but I found the stream through my cable provider's app.

[Papa John]

I wasn't able to access the game on the Pac-12 app on my phone, but I found the stream through my cable provider's app.

[TheFarm07]

Thanks, also found it through my cable provider rather than the Pac-12 site.

Our defense is not holding up well, giving up 25 pts in one quarter as the Beavers are hitting 60% of their shots and Mack already has 11 points for them.

[TheFarm07]

Thanks, also found it through my cable provider rather than the Pac-12 site.

Our defense is not holding up well, giving up 25 pts in one quarter as the Beavers are hitting 60% of their shots and Mack already has 11 points for them.

[CompSci87]

22-25 after a quarter. 25 is way too much to allow. OSU is getting open looks from 3 and hitting.

Refs are calling it tight.

[CompSci87]

22-25 after a quarter. 25 is way too much to allow. OSU is getting open looks from 3 and hitting.

Refs are calling it tight.

[CompSci87]

34-27 at 4:37 timeout. That's more like it!

[CompSci87]

34-27 at 4:37 timeout. That's more like it!

[TheFarm07]

We lead 46-34 at halftime as our defense improved markedly in the second quarter; Oregon State's point production in the quarter more than halved while we increased ours to turn a three point deficit into a twelve point lead.

We already have three players in double figures (Brink, Belibi, Jump). The connection between Brink and Belibi led to easy layups as the Beavers defense focused on Brink allowing Belibi to get open looks at the basket. As a result, Rueck switched to a zone defense late in the quarter but Lexie was able to hit a three.

We are 6/14 from the three, so Oregon State can't just sag into the paint to defend.

Defensively, we tightened down on the Beavers and even so, because of their fantastic first quarter, their numbers still look good (52% from the field and 50% from long range). We are benefitting from nine of their turnovers, though.

In the second half, we'll have to continue making sure their shooters don't get open looks as they have a multitude of players who can shoot the ball well. Offensively, Rueck might continue with the zone defense, so we'll have to find a way just besides the three to counter that, perhaps elbow jumpers in the soft part of the zone.

[TheFarm07]

We lead 46-34 at halftime as our defense improved markedly in the second quarter; Oregon State's point production in the quarter more than halved while we increased ours to turn a three point deficit into a twelve point lead.

We already have three players in double figures (Brink, Belibi, Jump). The connection between Brink and Belibi led to easy layups as the Beavers defense focused on Brink allowing Belibi to get open looks at the basket. As a result, Rueck switched to a zone defense late in the quarter but Lexie was able to hit a three.

We are 6/14 from the three, so Oregon State can't just sag into the paint to defend.

Defensively, we tightened down on the Beavers and even so, because of their fantastic first quarter, their numbers still look good (52% from the field and 50% from long range). We are benefitting from nine of their turnovers, though.

In the second half, we'll have to continue making sure their shooters don't get open looks as they have a multitude of players who can shoot the ball well. Offensively, Rueck might continue with the zone defense, so we'll have to find a way just besides the three to counter that, perhaps elbow jumpers in the soft part of the zone.

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford playing pressure defense with 10 steals and they have turned most of those into points.

Cardinal now up by 24 after the 3rd. They have outscored OSU 45-18 since the end of the 1st quarter.

[Spiny_Norman]

Stanford playing pressure defense with 10 steals and they have turned most of those into points.

Cardinal now up by 24 after the 3rd. They have outscored OSU 45-18 since the end of the 1st quarter.