ON SUNDAY THE 17TH WE GET ANOTHER SHOT AT THE ZAGS. LET'S MAKE IT COUNT!!

I've never been quite sure why we lost to Gonzaga last season up in Spokane. Obviously, they were a better team than we were that night. As you recall last season, consistency was not our most outstanding quality. In February we lost to Oregon by 40 or so in our building, and the next month we beat Oregon by 10 or so in Vegas. That's a 50 point difference!

So it's quite understandable that we could go into Gonzaga's packed building, our leading scorer gets into foul trouble early, and our shots aren't falling. All that added up to a recipe for defeat - but we learned a lot that night.

A couple of weeks later we went into Thompson-Bolling Arena in front of 12,000 orange-clad screaming Tennessee fans and showed the women's basketball world what we learned in Spokane.  Our leading scorer got into foul trouble early in the second quarter, and everyone watching in Cardinal gear said, "OH NO, not again!!" That's when the other players in Cardinal red sucked it up, came together, and stepped up big time. DiJonai went on a rampage and everyone else played good solid basketball.  We grew up that night in Knoxville on national television.

Okay, we learned that important lesson. When we get down in front of a big opposing crowd, we can come together, stiffen our resolve, and fight our way through to victory. This is a different season and a different team and we don't have to learn that lesson again. On Sunday we need to be fully prepared for a tough game. The Zags can play and they can shoot. Against CSU Bakersfield last week they went 10 of 22 from the three point line. The 6'-3" Wirth twins combined for 31 points and 8 rebounds. Kayleigh Truong shot 4 of 6 from 3 and had 18 points. Katie Campbell also went 4 of 6 from 3. Jessie Loera had 9 assists. They had four players in double figures. This is the first NCAA game on our schedule that you lose if you're not ready to play hard. The following link will give you an idea of how the Zags play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNH-e0ZDTuY

The people who put our schedule together obviously figure that after Eastern Washington, USF, and Northern Colorado we should be ready for Gonzaga and Buffalo. Then, after Cal Baptist, we should be ready for Syracuse and Mississippi State up in British Columbia - and then in December Ohio State, Tennessee, and Texas. That's what you sign up for if you decide to come to Palo Alto and play for Stanford.

So, relax and enjoy. Gonzaga is the first of a whole host of NCAA Tournament teams we get to battle between now and New Years Eve. And then we hit the PAC12!! What a season!! By the time we get through the PAC12 Tournament down in Vegas, we should be ready for anything. And that's the point, isn't it. 
   
GO STANFORD!! BRING ON THE ZAGS!!