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WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - 81alum - 03-30-2013

This is quite hard to write about.  Hard to think clearly.  So much emotion that I had a hard time concentrating on the game during the second half.  After thinking about it we can begin the post mortem and the basketball talk.

For now, a few thoughts on my emotions.

This team gave me many afternoons and evenings of pleasure over the course of the last few months, and I am sad to see it end.  Especially sad for Joslyn, who I am sure especially wanted the magic to continue.  As a recruit, she first saw Stanford take down Maryland on that very court, to get back to the final 4 for the first time in nearly a decade, and it is on that court that her college career comes to an end.

While I am in grief for the early death of our season, I do know that Tara did a remarkable job with this team this year.  The graduations and injuries made this--in her words--the least talented team in the last five years.  33-3 is not bad, all things considered.  That is 33 more happy posts than sad posts, 33 more pleasant days than unpleasant ones, 33 days of hugs and smiles.

And I am already looking forward to next year.  We have one of our best incoming classes in many years, plus the prospect of injured players coming back and being productive.  Losing Joslyn is sad, but we will be a more talented team next year than this.

Congratulations to our team for playing the best defense in the history of Stanford WBB.

Congratulations to our team for beating Baylor.

Congratulations to our team for scrapping together to win the Pac12 tournament.

Congratulations to Chiney for dramatically improving her game over a year ago.

Congratulations to Amber for upping her defense and offense over last year and willing us to victory over UCLA in the league championship.

Congratulations to Sara for becoming one of the hardest working, competitive, and scrappy players ever, and shutting down the nation's hottest shooter when we went against Michigan.

Congratulations to Joslyn for giving us 4 years of pretty offense, blocked shots, and smiles.  And doing literally everything asked of her.

Congratulations to Mikaela for fighting her way back from a broken foot and playing a key role this year, and defending Griner.

Congratulations to Taylor, Bonnie, Jasmine, Erica, and Tess for each giving us key minutes and key plays throughout the season.

And congratulations to the rest of the bench, for doing all the unsung things that helped this team win 33 games this year.

This fan appreciates all you have done.




WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - 81alum - 03-30-2013

This is quite hard to write about.  Hard to think clearly.  So much emotion that I had a hard time concentrating on the game during the second half.  After thinking about it we can begin the post mortem and the basketball talk.

For now, a few thoughts on my emotions.

This team gave me many afternoons and evenings of pleasure over the course of the last few months, and I am sad to see it end.  Especially sad for Joslyn, who I am sure especially wanted the magic to continue.  As a recruit, she first saw Stanford take down Maryland on that very court, to get back to the final 4 for the first time in nearly a decade, and it is on that court that her college career comes to an end.

While I am in grief for the early death of our season, I do know that Tara did a remarkable job with this team this year.  The graduations and injuries made this--in her words--the least talented team in the last five years.  33-3 is not bad, all things considered.  That is 33 more happy posts than sad posts, 33 more pleasant days than unpleasant ones, 33 days of hugs and smiles.

And I am already looking forward to next year.  We have one of our best incoming classes in many years, plus the prospect of injured players coming back and being productive.  Losing Joslyn is sad, but we will be a more talented team next year than this.

Congratulations to our team for playing the best defense in the history of Stanford WBB.

Congratulations to our team for beating Baylor.

Congratulations to our team for scrapping together to win the Pac12 tournament.

Congratulations to Chiney for dramatically improving her game over a year ago.

Congratulations to Amber for upping her defense and offense over last year and willing us to victory over UCLA in the league championship.

Congratulations to Sara for becoming one of the hardest working, competitive, and scrappy players ever, and shutting down the nation's hottest shooter when we went against Michigan.

Congratulations to Joslyn for giving us 4 years of pretty offense, blocked shots, and smiles.  And doing literally everything asked of her.

Congratulations to Mikaela for fighting her way back from a broken foot and playing a key role this year, and defending Griner.

Congratulations to Taylor, Bonnie, Jasmine, Erica, and Tess for each giving us key minutes and key plays throughout the season.

And congratulations to the rest of the bench, for doing all the unsung things that helped this team win 33 games this year.

This fan appreciates all you have done.




Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - treefan - 03-30-2013

(03-30-2013, 08:19 PM)81alum link Wrote:This is quite hard to write about.  Hard to think clearly.  So much emotion that I had a hard time concentrating on the game during the second half.  After thinking about it we can begin the post mortem and the basketball talk.

For now, a few thoughts on my emotions.

This team gave me many afternoons and evenings of pleasure over the course of the last few months, and I am sad to see it end.  Especially sad for Joslyn, who I am sure especially wanted the magic to continue.  As a recruit, she first saw Stanford take down Maryland on that very court, to get back to the final 4 for the first time in nearly a decade, and it is on that court that her college career comes to an end.

While I am in grief for the early death of our season, I do know that Tara did a remarkable job with this team this year.  The graduations and injuries made this--in her words--the least talented team in the last five years.  33-3 is not bad, all things considered.  That is 33 more happy posts than sad posts, 33 more pleasant days than unpleasant ones, 33 days of hugs and smiles.

And I am already looking forward to next year.  We have one of our best incoming classes in many years, plus the prospect of injured players coming back and being productive.  Losing Joslyn is sad, but we will be a more talented team next year than this.

Congratulations to our team for playing the best defense in the history of Stanford WBB.

Congratulations to our team for beating Baylor.

Congratulations to our team for scrapping together to win the Pac12 tournament.

Congratulations to Chiney for dramatically improving her game over a year ago.

Congratulations to Amber for upping her defense and offense over last year and willing us to victory over UCLA in the league championship.

Congratulations to Sara for becoming one of the hardest working, competitive, and scrappy players ever, and shutting down the nation's hottest shooter when we went against Michigan.

Congratulations to Joslyn for giving us 4 years of pretty offense, blocked shots, and smiles.  And doing literally everything asked of her.

Congratulations to Mikaela for fighting her way back from a broken foot and playing a key role this year, and defending Griner.

Congratulations to Taylor, Bonnie, Jasmine, Erica, and Tess for each giving us key minutes and key plays throughout the season.

And congratulations to the rest of the bench, for doing all the unsung things that helped this team win 33 games this year.

This fan appreciates all you have done.

well said. +1

Stanford overachieved greatly! Thanks for a great season!

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - treefan - 03-30-2013

(03-30-2013, 08:19 PM)81alum link Wrote:This is quite hard to write about.  Hard to think clearly.  So much emotion that I had a hard time concentrating on the game during the second half.  After thinking about it we can begin the post mortem and the basketball talk.

For now, a few thoughts on my emotions.

This team gave me many afternoons and evenings of pleasure over the course of the last few months, and I am sad to see it end.  Especially sad for Joslyn, who I am sure especially wanted the magic to continue.  As a recruit, she first saw Stanford take down Maryland on that very court, to get back to the final 4 for the first time in nearly a decade, and it is on that court that her college career comes to an end.

While I am in grief for the early death of our season, I do know that Tara did a remarkable job with this team this year.  The graduations and injuries made this--in her words--the least talented team in the last five years.  33-3 is not bad, all things considered.  That is 33 more happy posts than sad posts, 33 more pleasant days than unpleasant ones, 33 days of hugs and smiles.

And I am already looking forward to next year.  We have one of our best incoming classes in many years, plus the prospect of injured players coming back and being productive.  Losing Joslyn is sad, but we will be a more talented team next year than this.

Congratulations to our team for playing the best defense in the history of Stanford WBB.

Congratulations to our team for beating Baylor.

Congratulations to our team for scrapping together to win the Pac12 tournament.

Congratulations to Chiney for dramatically improving her game over a year ago.

Congratulations to Amber for upping her defense and offense over last year and willing us to victory over UCLA in the league championship.

Congratulations to Sara for becoming one of the hardest working, competitive, and scrappy players ever, and shutting down the nation's hottest shooter when we went against Michigan.

Congratulations to Joslyn for giving us 4 years of pretty offense, blocked shots, and smiles.  And doing literally everything asked of her.

Congratulations to Mikaela for fighting her way back from a broken foot and playing a key role this year, and defending Griner.

Congratulations to Taylor, Bonnie, Jasmine, Erica, and Tess for each giving us key minutes and key plays throughout the season.

And congratulations to the rest of the bench, for doing all the unsung things that helped this team win 33 games this year.

This fan appreciates all you have done.

well said. +1

Stanford overachieved greatly! Thanks for a great season!

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - fullmetal - 03-30-2013

I'd heard Georgia was good, but it's still shocking to me anytime I hear that the Stanford women lost a game.  Always first in our hearts :)

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - fullmetal - 03-30-2013

I'd heard Georgia was good, but it's still shocking to me anytime I hear that the Stanford women lost a game.  Always first in our hearts :)

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - 82 Card - 03-30-2013

Well said 81alum. I needed to be reminded of all the accomplishments. Thank you for the thoughtful posts all season!

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - 82 Card - 03-30-2013

Well said 81alum. I needed to be reminded of all the accomplishments. Thank you for the thoughtful posts all season!

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - meos - 03-30-2013

Congrats to C-A-L on their win over LSU. They will have to carry the Pac12 banner forward this year.

Thanks to the Stan team for a great effort this year. At the beginning of the season, this was about where I'd projected them. They have been such a surprising team, I certainly hoped for more. They had their chances, but losing Taylor's contribution so early to injury may have been just enough to tip the balance.

Onward to next year. Players can look at opportunities that were missed by them in this game -- and take the summer to dramatically improve on the gaps in their games.

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - meos - 03-30-2013

Congrats to C-A-L on their win over LSU. They will have to carry the Pac12 banner forward this year.

Thanks to the Stan team for a great effort this year. At the beginning of the season, this was about where I'd projected them. They have been such a surprising team, I certainly hoped for more. They had their chances, but losing Taylor's contribution so early to injury may have been just enough to tip the balance.

Onward to next year. Players can look at opportunities that were missed by them in this game -- and take the summer to dramatically improve on the gaps in their games.

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - Yellowlab - 03-31-2013

33-3 is a tremendous record.  Adding another Pac-12 regular season and tournament title, is also an impressive accomplishment for this team. I thought there was a not quite, but almost 50/50 chance that they would get to N.O., and I was planning to go.  I didn't like this team's chances against any of the other #1s, and it is pretty tough to go to the final four and get knocked out in the semi-finals, speaking from experience.

I would have to say that this was one heck of a coaching job by Tara and her staff.  Chiney was a constant, but otherwise it was a season of continual adjustments.

Thanks for all the great contributions from all the posters all season long.  I actually timed out once waiting for 81alum to post his game recap!

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - Yellowlab - 03-31-2013

33-3 is a tremendous record.  Adding another Pac-12 regular season and tournament title, is also an impressive accomplishment for this team. I thought there was a not quite, but almost 50/50 chance that they would get to N.O., and I was planning to go.  I didn't like this team's chances against any of the other #1s, and it is pretty tough to go to the final four and get knocked out in the semi-finals, speaking from experience.

I would have to say that this was one heck of a coaching job by Tara and her staff.  Chiney was a constant, but otherwise it was a season of continual adjustments.

Thanks for all the great contributions from all the posters all season long.  I actually timed out once waiting for 81alum to post his game recap!

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - 81alum - 03-31-2013

OK, now for the post-mortem.  What went wrong in this game?  I'll keep this one more clinical, since I think the first post speaks from the heart.

An excellent start

After two layups by Chiney, a jumper by Jos, and a three pointer by Amber, we found ourselves up 9-0 and all of us probably breathed a sign of relief.  At least we were not going to start slow the way we had so many other games.  The game was hopeful, not tense.  And Chiney was scoring almost at will.

Landers just could not imagine the kind of player Chiney was going to be–the nightmare she would be to defend one on one.  He was trying to “manage” Chiney without completely committing to shutting her down.  He probably feared leaving our perimeter players open to do what they did against Michigan. 

Sprained fingers and chances

Georgia seemed to benefit from a momentum shift when Taylor went out of the game with three sprained fingers.  Her importance on defense and in ball distribution on offense was proven, sadly.  That plus Joslyn acquired two early fouls and had to sit out for much of the first half.  In the next stretch Georgia closed the gap and took the lead.  Chiney was still scoring nearly every time she got the ball, but when Landers gave his first half interview he said he could live with that. 

The Georgia lead evaporated after two layups by Chiney and a trey by Sara, and we took a 7 point lead into halftime.

Halftime adjustments

It was clear by halftime that Landers could not “live with” Chiney’s performance any longer, and Georgia would have to do something different.  The announcers marveled that Landers had not doubled Chiney and wondered out loud what he could be thinking.  So, in the second half Georgia brought a hard double to Chiney, and Chiney was clearly instructed to pass back out of the double team.  They fronted her to deny her the ball, or they just sandwiched her.  Chiney had many fewer opportunities, and she uncharacteristically missed a couple of the ones she did have–so after 18 points in the first half she had 8 in the second. 

Too many misses

This meant the rest of the team needed to deliver points, as they did in the Michigan game.  But they did not pick up all the slack.  Amber did her best and chipped in 17 points, but it was not efficient scoring–she took 24 shots.  Other players either seemed hesitant to shoot or were not very successful when they did.  They seldom got wide open.  Jos was 2/9 (1/5 from in close), Sara was 1/7 and even missed a layup, Ruef was 2/9 (both were pretty high post jumpers--that bodes well for next year), and so it went.  Just a lot of missed shots.  Jos made a basket about 5 minutes into the game and then had a miserable time, going  35 minutes without scoring until her desperation trey connected with 5 seconds left.  There simply was not enough firepower to go with Chiney.  We shot 47% in the first half and 29% in the second half.

Defensive and mental miscues

Even with all those problems, we might still have pulled this game out were it not for some uncharacteristic break downs on defense late in the game.  Hassel, who we had more or less controlled with the help of her foul trouble, scored six points in the last three minutes, and showed the ability to go right around Ruef.  There needed to be a second player on her, and for some reason there was not.  What changed in those last three minutes I am not sure, but the first time she scored we should have responded by bringing a double team on her.   

We also suffered during that stretch from a critical mental lapse.  Thinking a timeout had been called, Joslyn tossed the ball to a ref--or that is what she thought she was doing, but she had tossed it out of bounds.  No time out had been called, so it was a turnover.  We gave up our last good chance to tie the game on our terms by giving Georgia a free possession with 51 seconds left. 

Questionable Refereeing

Even worse, after holding Georgia from scoring in the next possession, the referees reset the shot clock after a Georgia shot failed to hit the rim.  Georgia got an offensive rebound.  Because the shot clock had reset, Amber was forced to intentionally James with 21 seconds left in the game.  That put the game out of reach when James hit the two free throws for a 4 point lead.  The refs did check their error and determined that the foul happened before the shot clock would have gone off if it had not been improperly reset, so they let it count.  But Amber would not have intentionally fouled were it not for the mix up–what would have been the point with only a second or two left on the clock?  If the clock had proceeded normally, Georgia would have taken a desperation shot, and we could well have rebounded and had the ball back down only 2 points with 21 seconds.  If you believe in karma points, the next step would have been for Joslyn's desperation three pointer to give us the win rather than to bring us within 1. 

Another interesting point is that we made more 3 more field goals than Georgia in this game.  Nor was the problem three point shots–we made 5 and they made 6.  The margin in this game were the free throws.  They were awarded 14 more free throws than we were.  Did they deserve 14 more free throws?  It seemed to me that they were subjecting Chiney to some very rough treatment in the second half, especially, and the lack of equal treatment by the refs may have cost us the game.

Coroners Report  

What cost us the game?  Contributing factors:
1. Insufficient firepower on offense to go with Chiney.
2. Joslyn having an off day.
3. No one besides Amber being able to consistently hit treys.
4. Injuries to Taylor and Toni (and why not throw in Beebe if we think about the whole season.)
5. Defensive breakdowns against Hassel at the decisive moment of the game.
6. Odd officiating that gave Georgia 14 more free throw attempts than us.
7. Georgia Defense that took away passing targets–resulting in only 8 assists for us (but oddly, we did quite well at minimizing turnovers.)




Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - 81alum - 03-31-2013

OK, now for the post-mortem.  What went wrong in this game?  I'll keep this one more clinical, since I think the first post speaks from the heart.

An excellent start

After two layups by Chiney, a jumper by Jos, and a three pointer by Amber, we found ourselves up 9-0 and all of us probably breathed a sign of relief.  At least we were not going to start slow the way we had so many other games.  The game was hopeful, not tense.  And Chiney was scoring almost at will.

Landers just could not imagine the kind of player Chiney was going to be–the nightmare she would be to defend one on one.  He was trying to “manage” Chiney without completely committing to shutting her down.  He probably feared leaving our perimeter players open to do what they did against Michigan. 

Sprained fingers and chances

Georgia seemed to benefit from a momentum shift when Taylor went out of the game with three sprained fingers.  Her importance on defense and in ball distribution on offense was proven, sadly.  That plus Joslyn acquired two early fouls and had to sit out for much of the first half.  In the next stretch Georgia closed the gap and took the lead.  Chiney was still scoring nearly every time she got the ball, but when Landers gave his first half interview he said he could live with that. 

The Georgia lead evaporated after two layups by Chiney and a trey by Sara, and we took a 7 point lead into halftime.

Halftime adjustments

It was clear by halftime that Landers could not “live with” Chiney’s performance any longer, and Georgia would have to do something different.  The announcers marveled that Landers had not doubled Chiney and wondered out loud what he could be thinking.  So, in the second half Georgia brought a hard double to Chiney, and Chiney was clearly instructed to pass back out of the double team.  They fronted her to deny her the ball, or they just sandwiched her.  Chiney had many fewer opportunities, and she uncharacteristically missed a couple of the ones she did have–so after 18 points in the first half she had 8 in the second. 

Too many misses

This meant the rest of the team needed to deliver points, as they did in the Michigan game.  But they did not pick up all the slack.  Amber did her best and chipped in 17 points, but it was not efficient scoring–she took 24 shots.  Other players either seemed hesitant to shoot or were not very successful when they did.  They seldom got wide open.  Jos was 2/9 (1/5 from in close), Sara was 1/7 and even missed a layup, Ruef was 2/9 (both were pretty high post jumpers--that bodes well for next year), and so it went.  Just a lot of missed shots.  Jos made a basket about 5 minutes into the game and then had a miserable time, going  35 minutes without scoring until her desperation trey connected with 5 seconds left.  There simply was not enough firepower to go with Chiney.  We shot 47% in the first half and 29% in the second half.

Defensive and mental miscues

Even with all those problems, we might still have pulled this game out were it not for some uncharacteristic break downs on defense late in the game.  Hassel, who we had more or less controlled with the help of her foul trouble, scored six points in the last three minutes, and showed the ability to go right around Ruef.  There needed to be a second player on her, and for some reason there was not.  What changed in those last three minutes I am not sure, but the first time she scored we should have responded by bringing a double team on her.   

We also suffered during that stretch from a critical mental lapse.  Thinking a timeout had been called, Joslyn tossed the ball to a ref--or that is what she thought she was doing, but she had tossed it out of bounds.  No time out had been called, so it was a turnover.  We gave up our last good chance to tie the game on our terms by giving Georgia a free possession with 51 seconds left. 

Questionable Refereeing

Even worse, after holding Georgia from scoring in the next possession, the referees reset the shot clock after a Georgia shot failed to hit the rim.  Georgia got an offensive rebound.  Because the shot clock had reset, Amber was forced to intentionally James with 21 seconds left in the game.  That put the game out of reach when James hit the two free throws for a 4 point lead.  The refs did check their error and determined that the foul happened before the shot clock would have gone off if it had not been improperly reset, so they let it count.  But Amber would not have intentionally fouled were it not for the mix up–what would have been the point with only a second or two left on the clock?  If the clock had proceeded normally, Georgia would have taken a desperation shot, and we could well have rebounded and had the ball back down only 2 points with 21 seconds.  If you believe in karma points, the next step would have been for Joslyn's desperation three pointer to give us the win rather than to bring us within 1. 

Another interesting point is that we made more 3 more field goals than Georgia in this game.  Nor was the problem three point shots–we made 5 and they made 6.  The margin in this game were the free throws.  They were awarded 14 more free throws than we were.  Did they deserve 14 more free throws?  It seemed to me that they were subjecting Chiney to some very rough treatment in the second half, especially, and the lack of equal treatment by the refs may have cost us the game.

Coroners Report  

What cost us the game?  Contributing factors:
1. Insufficient firepower on offense to go with Chiney.
2. Joslyn having an off day.
3. No one besides Amber being able to consistently hit treys.
4. Injuries to Taylor and Toni (and why not throw in Beebe if we think about the whole season.)
5. Defensive breakdowns against Hassel at the decisive moment of the game.
6. Odd officiating that gave Georgia 14 more free throw attempts than us.
7. Georgia Defense that took away passing targets–resulting in only 8 assists for us (but oddly, we did quite well at minimizing turnovers.)




Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - 76lsjumb - 03-31-2013

81alum, excellent post-mortem, with two missing elements, IMHO. 

Whether they were failures of coaching or execution, I don't know, but there is no way:  (1) we should have allowed their length of the court in-bounds pass/score to happen; or (2) we should have consumed 18 of the 23.5 seconds [including, as I recall, using up a timeout] at the end just to get off that desperation 3 by Jos. 

Indeed, the last minute or so looked a lot like the end of several men's games this season.  We looked...confused, not calm or in charge.

I agree wholeheartedly that the team overachieved on the season as a whole, but, at the same time, I can't shake the feeling that we lost a game yesterday that we shouldn't have.

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - 76lsjumb - 03-31-2013

81alum, excellent post-mortem, with two missing elements, IMHO. 

Whether they were failures of coaching or execution, I don't know, but there is no way:  (1) we should have allowed their length of the court in-bounds pass/score to happen; or (2) we should have consumed 18 of the 23.5 seconds [including, as I recall, using up a timeout] at the end just to get off that desperation 3 by Jos. 

Indeed, the last minute or so looked a lot like the end of several men's games this season.  We looked...confused, not calm or in charge.

I agree wholeheartedly that the team overachieved on the season as a whole, but, at the same time, I can't shake the feeling that we lost a game yesterday that we shouldn't have.

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - WAcard - 04-01-2013

2nd half was bad, several defensive lapses, including some bad 1s by Chiney and Ruef where GA hit wide open 3s that hurt us. Silly TOs by Sara and Jos, Jos was never in the game and should have been pulled. There were no adjustments by coaches, Amber dribbling down the clock and taking bad fade away shots not even drawing contact. Can't win even against a team we should have beaten comfortably with no adjustments.

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - WAcard - 04-01-2013

2nd half was bad, several defensive lapses, including some bad 1s by Chiney and Ruef where GA hit wide open 3s that hurt us. Silly TOs by Sara and Jos, Jos was never in the game and should have been pulled. There were no adjustments by coaches, Amber dribbling down the clock and taking bad fade away shots not even drawing contact. Can't win even against a team we should have beaten comfortably with no adjustments.

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - Hurlburt88 - 04-01-2013

This hurt . . .

But I also was really dismayed by men's tennis at 49th in country.  I knew we had slipped, but I clearly took my eye off the ball to miss them falling all the way to 49! 

Re: WBB: Georgia 61 Stanford 59 - Hurlburt88 - 04-01-2013

This hurt . . .

But I also was really dismayed by men's tennis at 49th in country.  I knew we had slipped, but I clearly took my eye off the ball to miss them falling all the way to 49!Â