02-28-2016, 07:38 AM
Overview:
Lock-down defense and another monster game from Erica McCall quickly dispatched the depleted Ducks. Erica is now a different player than she was at the start of the season, and if she keeps playing this way we will have excellent prospects in the two coming tournaments.
Prelim:
This has turned into the ultimate "trap" game. We are fresh off the biggest win of the season and we are facing a team that has just lost its Chiney equivalent--Jillian Alleyne. It would be so easy to let down ever so slightly. But let's remember a couple of other facts. Oregon came within 11 seconds and a missed jumper of beating us earlier this year. We also did such a good job on Alleyne that she scored only 5 points, while her backup off the bench, Liz Brenner, scored 8 in limited minutes. So Oregon nearly beat us with minimal contributions from Alleyne last time. The players that killed us were the two Lexis --Lexi Bando and Lexi Petersen. Those two guards were 8/13 from three point range. Then Brenner, who started at C.al in place of Alleyne, is a fascinating story. She is a 5th year senior who redshirted last year to focus on volleyball where she was an all-American her sophomore year, but she also does throws (javelin and shotput) in track and softball too. A four sport athlete, but not all four at the same time for a couple of years. But, yes, a 5th year 4 sport athlete--coached by Kelly Graves--is certainly capable of having the best day of her career in an emotional game. I think the obvious strategy to use is to run run run and sub sub sub and just try to wear down this thin team by the fourth quarter.
Flow of the Game:
I took a friend to the game who had never seen a Stanford WBB game before, and after a few minutes, he turned to me and said "this looks like college vs. high school." By then it was 15-0 and what little morale Oregon could muster had ebbed away. Our defense was very tight and it switched when it needed to, giving Oregon almost no open shots. Later on they made some mid range jumpers and once in a while a guard got loose for a layup, but Oregon wound up 29% shooting for the game and significantly worse than that in the first half.
Meanwhile, our offensive spark continued from last game into the first quarter. I've noticed over the last few games the increasing use of the short bounce-pass on pick-and-rolls and give-and-goes by quite a few players, and they have been working. Karlie fed Erica for her first layup in this way. Then later the signature play of the quarter came when Bri missed a layup, Erica grabbed the-O board and missed, Kaylee grabbed another O board and missed, and then Erica grabbed a third O-board and made it. By the end of the first quarter we had 11 O boards and 8 assists on 10 baskets. It did look like college vs. high school.
As the game wore on Erica settled into her mid range jumper--frequently about 15 feet along the baseline. No one ever seemed to try to cover her there. She and Karlie both frequently reversed sides of the court until one or the other would come open. The ball movement back and forth was some of the best I've seen, and instead of Lili heaving up a semi-open shot from three point range on those possessions when nothing came open, it was Erica shooting an open two from her patented spot.Â
The last two games remind me of how games always used to be at Maples--coasting in the latter parts of the game, trying to get players time and avoid injuries. Oregon looked like it came out of halftime ready to attempt to cut our lead--making two quick baskets--but after another 4 baskets by Erica, they settled back into their 25 point deficit for good.
Performances:
Erica was 12/18 for 25 points and 18 rebounds in 32 minutes. Add 3 blocks and a couple of assists to that incredible performance. She HAS to be Pac 12 player of the week after these two games. That range of hers-it completely changes our whole offense, and so we have a new lease on life. We would have won 4 of the games we lost earlier if she had been like this.
Bri deserves to be called out today. Her slump is officially over. She was 4/10 and 2/4 from three point range for 10 points, but also 4 assists and 4 steals. If she can keep this up she should be our starting point guard--her ball handling was good and she was an offensive threat.
Despite this being a blowout, Kaylee and Kailee had somewhat poor offensive days. Kaylee was 1/7 and Kailee was 2/5.  Kaylee had 4 blocks, though. Alanna, however, went 3/8 for 9 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in 17 minutes. The supporting cast was just good enough to keep the game lopsided, although none of the posts not named Bird had breakout performances.
McPhee and Karlie both played good defense, both scored 6 points. Karlie was 2/7 from downtown, but she had 5 assists to 0 turnovers--it was often Karlie that was feeding McCall.
As a team, we shot 43% so we cooled off from Friday, but gave up only 29%. We outrebounded the Alleyne-less by a wide margin, we had 22 assists on 29 made baskets--reflecting our MUCH better ball movement and passing of late.
Post Game
This was senior day, and after the game Kiran, Tess, and Alex were honored, each spoke. Someone asked Kiran, who had walked on her freshman year and then did not play the last two years, what it was like not to play. She broke down--clearly overwhelmed with the occasion and with gratitude to be able to play her senior year. The crowed clapped and cheered to encourage her. It really brought the whole thing into perspective--the emotional investment these young people have in the game, their friends, and the team.
Conclusion
We do seem to be peaking at the right time of year. Our likely opponents in the Pac 12 tournament could be Washington, Oregon State, and then UCLA or ASU. The good news is that the two teams that have beaten us most convincingly will be playing in the other bracket so we won't get ASU or UCLA before the finals. The bad news is that we will likely have to play Washington on what is essentially their home court. It will be interesting to see how the tournament unfolds, and how Lili will do coming back from her grieving family.
Lock-down defense and another monster game from Erica McCall quickly dispatched the depleted Ducks. Erica is now a different player than she was at the start of the season, and if she keeps playing this way we will have excellent prospects in the two coming tournaments.
Prelim:
This has turned into the ultimate "trap" game. We are fresh off the biggest win of the season and we are facing a team that has just lost its Chiney equivalent--Jillian Alleyne. It would be so easy to let down ever so slightly. But let's remember a couple of other facts. Oregon came within 11 seconds and a missed jumper of beating us earlier this year. We also did such a good job on Alleyne that she scored only 5 points, while her backup off the bench, Liz Brenner, scored 8 in limited minutes. So Oregon nearly beat us with minimal contributions from Alleyne last time. The players that killed us were the two Lexis --Lexi Bando and Lexi Petersen. Those two guards were 8/13 from three point range. Then Brenner, who started at C.al in place of Alleyne, is a fascinating story. She is a 5th year senior who redshirted last year to focus on volleyball where she was an all-American her sophomore year, but she also does throws (javelin and shotput) in track and softball too. A four sport athlete, but not all four at the same time for a couple of years. But, yes, a 5th year 4 sport athlete--coached by Kelly Graves--is certainly capable of having the best day of her career in an emotional game. I think the obvious strategy to use is to run run run and sub sub sub and just try to wear down this thin team by the fourth quarter.
Flow of the Game:
I took a friend to the game who had never seen a Stanford WBB game before, and after a few minutes, he turned to me and said "this looks like college vs. high school." By then it was 15-0 and what little morale Oregon could muster had ebbed away. Our defense was very tight and it switched when it needed to, giving Oregon almost no open shots. Later on they made some mid range jumpers and once in a while a guard got loose for a layup, but Oregon wound up 29% shooting for the game and significantly worse than that in the first half.
Meanwhile, our offensive spark continued from last game into the first quarter. I've noticed over the last few games the increasing use of the short bounce-pass on pick-and-rolls and give-and-goes by quite a few players, and they have been working. Karlie fed Erica for her first layup in this way. Then later the signature play of the quarter came when Bri missed a layup, Erica grabbed the-O board and missed, Kaylee grabbed another O board and missed, and then Erica grabbed a third O-board and made it. By the end of the first quarter we had 11 O boards and 8 assists on 10 baskets. It did look like college vs. high school.
As the game wore on Erica settled into her mid range jumper--frequently about 15 feet along the baseline. No one ever seemed to try to cover her there. She and Karlie both frequently reversed sides of the court until one or the other would come open. The ball movement back and forth was some of the best I've seen, and instead of Lili heaving up a semi-open shot from three point range on those possessions when nothing came open, it was Erica shooting an open two from her patented spot.Â
The last two games remind me of how games always used to be at Maples--coasting in the latter parts of the game, trying to get players time and avoid injuries. Oregon looked like it came out of halftime ready to attempt to cut our lead--making two quick baskets--but after another 4 baskets by Erica, they settled back into their 25 point deficit for good.
Performances:
Erica was 12/18 for 25 points and 18 rebounds in 32 minutes. Add 3 blocks and a couple of assists to that incredible performance. She HAS to be Pac 12 player of the week after these two games. That range of hers-it completely changes our whole offense, and so we have a new lease on life. We would have won 4 of the games we lost earlier if she had been like this.
Bri deserves to be called out today. Her slump is officially over. She was 4/10 and 2/4 from three point range for 10 points, but also 4 assists and 4 steals. If she can keep this up she should be our starting point guard--her ball handling was good and she was an offensive threat.
Despite this being a blowout, Kaylee and Kailee had somewhat poor offensive days. Kaylee was 1/7 and Kailee was 2/5.  Kaylee had 4 blocks, though. Alanna, however, went 3/8 for 9 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in 17 minutes. The supporting cast was just good enough to keep the game lopsided, although none of the posts not named Bird had breakout performances.
McPhee and Karlie both played good defense, both scored 6 points. Karlie was 2/7 from downtown, but she had 5 assists to 0 turnovers--it was often Karlie that was feeding McCall.
As a team, we shot 43% so we cooled off from Friday, but gave up only 29%. We outrebounded the Alleyne-less by a wide margin, we had 22 assists on 29 made baskets--reflecting our MUCH better ball movement and passing of late.
Post Game
This was senior day, and after the game Kiran, Tess, and Alex were honored, each spoke. Someone asked Kiran, who had walked on her freshman year and then did not play the last two years, what it was like not to play. She broke down--clearly overwhelmed with the occasion and with gratitude to be able to play her senior year. The crowed clapped and cheered to encourage her. It really brought the whole thing into perspective--the emotional investment these young people have in the game, their friends, and the team.
Conclusion
We do seem to be peaking at the right time of year. Our likely opponents in the Pac 12 tournament could be Washington, Oregon State, and then UCLA or ASU. The good news is that the two teams that have beaten us most convincingly will be playing in the other bracket so we won't get ASU or UCLA before the finals. The bad news is that we will likely have to play Washington on what is essentially their home court. It will be interesting to see how the tournament unfolds, and how Lili will do coming back from her grieving family.
