THIS WEEK WE PLAY THREE HIGHLY RANKED TEAMS IN THREE DAYS!!

This week we'll get into our fifth game of the preseason against the Indiana Hoosiers. Last season was their best in modern memory. They made  it all the way to the Elite Eight before falling to Arizona in a hard fought battle 66 to 53. They have strong team chemistry and play great together. A week ago they throttled thirteenth ranked Kentucky 87 to 66. Mackenzie Holmes had 29 points in 29 minutes. 

This season they'll have all their starters back plus a highly experienced grad transfer from Georgia, Caitlin Hose. Two of their returnees are All Americans, junior 6'-3" post player Mackenzie Holmes (17.8 points per game and 7.6 rebounds) and 6' senior guard Grace Berger (15.4 points per game and 6.8 rebounds).

Grace was a member of the FIBA Americup team, along with Haley Jones, that won Gold Medals down in Puerto Rico. I'd like to hear from Haley what she thought of Grace Berger - watching her play she seems super competitive and effective. You should dial up their NCAA Tournament game with N.C. State on YouTube to get a taste of how intense this group of Hoosiers are to play against. N.C. State was the number one seed in their region until they were eliminated by the Hoosiers. In several games of the NCAA Tournament the Hoosiers had all their starters in double figures and typically dominated the points in the paint. 

We're playing Indiana in the Baha Mar Thanksgiving Tournament in the Bahamas. They will be our first game on Thanksgiving Thursday. 

On Friday, November 26, in the Bahamas we'll take on the University of South Florida after they finish their tournament four days earlier at the Atlantis resort, fifty miles away. Stanford will play them with no days rest, having battled Indiana, another strong NCAA Tournament team, the day before. 

The USF Bulls finished the season at 19 and 4, ranked 18th in the nation. They won the American Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships. In the NCAA Tournament USF defeated Washington State 57 to 53 in the first round, and then fell to N.C. State in the second round 69 to 57. 

During the off season they got two strong transfer players from Memphis - Aerial Wilson, a point guard, and Dulcy Mendjiadeu, a 6'-4" post player, both starters at Memphis.

I would expect we'll see a starting lineup for USF that looks something like this:

                                                                   REB       PTS

Dulcy Mendjiadeu    6'-4"    Grad    C        8.6        12.2

Bethy Mununga        6'-0"    Sr.        F      12.9        10.0

Elena Tsineke           5'-7"    So.        G       2.0        14.0

Sydni Harvey           5'-10"    Jr.        PG     3.0        12.0

Elisa Pinzan             5'-8"     Jr.         G.      3.0        10.3                  

Bethy and Elena were All Conference First Team. Against Oregon this week in the Bahamas, Sydni and Elisa couldn't miss from three - they each hit four threes. 

With no presumptions of anything but an exercise to make me feel better about our three games in three days in The Bahamas, I put together conceivable starters and backups for each game just to see who we could possibly start against Maryland on Saturday that would be as rested as the Maryland starters:

Possible Stanford Starters/Backups against Indiana on Thursday

Cameron Brink/Fran Belibi

Haley Jones/Ashten Prechtel

Lexie Hull/Lacie Hull

Anna Wilson/Jordan Hamilton

Hanna Jump/Alyssa Jerome

Possible Stanford Starters/Backups against USF on Friday

Ashton Prechtel/Kiki Iriafen

Alyssa Jerome/Elena Bosgana

Jordan Hamilton/Jana VanGytenbeek

Lacie Hull/Jzaniya Harriel

Brooke Demetre/Agnes Emma-Nnopu (or Jenna Brown, if ready)

Possible Stanford Starters/Backups against Maryland on Saturday

Cam Brink/Fran Belibi

Haley Jones/Ashten Prechtel

Lexie Hull/Lacie Hull

Anna Wilson/Jordan Hamilton

Hanna Jump/Alyssa Jerome

Anyway, now I feel better. Could be a lot of fun for everyone. And our starters on Saturday would be ready for a top ten team.

On Saturday November 27 we play Maryland in the Thanksgiving                           Tournament in The Bahamas. They have all their starters back from last season, when they led the nation in scoring with an average of 91 points per game. They ended the season ranked #9 after losing to the Longhorns in the Sweet Sixteen. I recounted Vic Schaefer's brilliant defensive strategy in a previous blog piece. Texas held Maryland to 61 points - thirty points below their season average. In the NCAA 2021 preseason rankings Stanford is #3 and Maryland is #4.  

In the Big 10 Tournament in March, they thoroughly dismantled Iowa in every respect. In World War II the Poles actually used their cavalry to try and stop Hitler's Wehrmacht and their Blitzkrieg warfare. I was reminded of that mismatch in the first five minutes of the Big Ten Championship game. Iowa was missing and Maryland was rebounding, which led to a three or four person fast break, and either a layup or a wide-open three pointer off the break. They hit their first nine shots. Iowa looked like the Polish cavalry. By the time their defense got down the floor - Maryland had scored and was running back on defense. Sort of the reverse of the tortoise and the hare.

The score at the end of 90 seconds was 13 to 5 and by the end of the first quarter it was 30 to 18 and it got worse from there.

My point here is that Brenda has got these girls revved up to a fever pitch and they love running and winning big. For the Terrapins the shot clock is irrelevant. They run and shoot fast - there aren't many passes. Everybody can shoot and everyone can dribble drive and they aren't shy about either. Who needs passing?

So, how do we stop this herd of blitzturtles? 

Defense, defense, defense - rebound, rebound, rebound and then, we  outrun'em and outshoot'em. If we go into this game with tired legs from our battle with South Florida the day before - we'll look like Iowa and get shellacked. We have to be loaded with energy, quickness, and speed. Nobody drives our lane to an uncontested layup. No Terrapin gets an open three ever. Chloe Bibby hit three out of four in the first four minutes with no one near her. Mimi Collins hit two out of three against no defense.

You've got to be totally ready for this bunch of gunners from the opening tip. We'll probably see a starting lineup like this:

Ashley Owusu      6'-0"    Jr.     Strong, nimble point guard.

Diamond Miller    6'-3"   Jr.     Quick, agile leaper.

Chloe Bibby          6'-1"  Grad  Lethal shooter.

Katie Benzan         5'-6"  Grad Top 3 Pt. % shooter in Div 1 @ 50%.

Mimi Collins         6'-3"   Jr.     Shooter. Rebounder.     

Another important opportunity to show the WBB world that we're the defending NCAA champions. 

GO CARDINAL! WE CAN DO THIS!  

OUR NEXT GAME IS AGAINST GONZAGA IN SPOKANE. LET'S OUT HUSSLE AND OUT WORK THE ZAGS!!

On November 14 the Zags defeated the Montana Grizzlies 67 to 60. Kaylynne and Kayleigh Truong led the way with 15 and 13 points respectively. Cierra Walker had 10 points and Anamaria Virjoghe pulled down 10 rebounds. 

Last night, against Portland Lacie Hull's play at point guard was able and showed a strong handle. Down the road I'm hoping we can attack a press like that with some great movement and two or three terrific passes and turn it into a layup drill. Haley's triple double was wonderful. And how about Brooke Demetre catching those strong passes at the free throw line, turning, and hitting jumper after jumper. I would love to see that kind of shooting from all our bigs in the paint. I was sorry Kiki missed that slam near the final buzzer, otherwise she was great. On the whole, I felt encouraged. We need to follow that game up with an aggressive attacking offense and defense in Spokane.  

Three years ago we went up to a packed arena in Spokane ranked in the top ten and lost to an unranked Gonzaga team. Our fifth game is against an unranked Bulldog team that will be feeding big-time off their great fans. Our team is not used to being defending national champs and we've all got to realize the size of the bullseye we're wearing this year. We certainly don't want to go into any game flat and make some hungry team's year. The Zags arena will be rocking and its a great opportunity for the Cardinal go into Spokane and play like national champions.

This season will be a re-building year for the Bulldogs, as their three leading scorers are gone - Jill Townsend, and the Wirth twins. But re-building at Gonzaga is different than at most other schools. As you know, their men's program is fantastic and for years their women's program has been at the top of the West Coast Conference and a tough "out" in the NCAA Tournament. As mentioned above, their fan base is voracious and their games are packed - especially when Stanford comes to Spokane. 

So, even with mostly new players in 2021, the Zags will be a strong opponent. For instance, Bree Salenbien a 6'-2" freshman guard is their highest ranked recruit in program history. She's the 7th ranked guard in the 2021 Class nationwide. She was the Gatorade Player of the Year for Michigan for her last season in high school and averaged 25.6 points, 11 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.6 steals. (See what I mean?)

Esther Little is another 6'-2" freshman guard from Ipswich, England who has had 50 games of international experience. Last season she averaged 15.5 points, 19.5 rebounds (no, that's not a misprint), and 6.8 assists in the Women's Elite Academy League.(I wonder if Hannah Jump has come across Esther in her English national age-group experience?)

Payton Muma is a 5'-8" freshman guard who was the #2 ranked high school player in Colorado last season. (I would hazard a wild guess that Lauren Betts was #1.)  

Maud Huijbens is a 6'-3" freshman forward and a long-time member of the Netherland's national age-group teams. Last year she averaged 12 points and 6.5 rebounds in the European U18 Championships.

Anamaria Virjoghe is a 6'-5" senior transfer from Targoviste, Romania. She was the MVP of the Romanian national team in the U18 European Championships.

Melody Kempton is a 6'-1" senior forward. She was the program's first WCC 6th woman of the year last season on Gonzaga's conference championship team.

Calli Stokes is a 5'-11" freshman guard who averaged 21 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals, and 3 assists per game as a senior and league MVP at Redondo Beach High last season.

And I can't omit their current set of twins, Kayleigh and Kaylynne Truong. Kayleigh was a starter and solid contributor for the Zags last season. So, you can see, Lisa Fortier - who replaced Kelly Graves as head coach - and her staff are great recruiters. Re-building at Gonzaga is not a multi-year process full of angst and disappointment. No, the Zags will come out smokin and you take them lightly at your peril. 

LET'S GO STANFORD!! MAKE THIS OUR BEST GAME YET!!

THE PORTLAND PILOTS ARE YOUNG AND NEW. THIS IS THEIR NEW COACH'S THIRD GAME AS A HEAD COACH.

Our fourth game is against the Portland University Pilots in Maples. Eight of their players are from Australia and one is from New Zealand. I have no idea what we'll be up against on Tuesday night, but one of their Aussies is 6'-8" and another is 6'-6". They had a so-so year last season, but many of their players are freshmen or transfers. 

In their first two games the Pilots are led by two juniors from Australia - Alex Fowler is one of the leading scorers in their conference, and Lucy Cochrane a 6'-6" post player is a leading rebounder in their conference. In their first two games this season they forced an average of 27 turnovers per game and allowed a three-point shooting percentage of 5%. 

Sounds like just the medicine we need to clean up the game we just had against the Longhorns. What if we limit our turnovers to ten or so and hit at least ten three-pointers. 

Let's control this game from the opening tip.

LET'S GO CARDINAL!!

WON'T THESE FOUR ESPN SPORTSWRITERS BE SURPRISED WHEN NONE OF THEIR FAVORITE EASTERN TEAMS MAKE IT TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME AGAIN IN 2022!! (REMEMBER IN 2021 TWO PAC12 TEAMS WERE THE LAST TWO TEAMS STANDING IN SAN ANTONIO.)

I'm glad I didn't put money on which of her five choices Kiki Rice would settle on last week at her signing ceremony. Her final list was Arizona, UConn, Stanford, Duke, and UCLA. Turns out, she chose UCLA who just leapfrogged over Oregon from the number two to the number one recruiting class in America for 2022. 

So, what do you think she saw in Westwood that closed the sale? I was betting she would choose Stanford. When I heard her remarks after her announcement, I got the impression she wants to be seen as the primary reason her team reaches the Final Four - and not the point guard on a team of great players (like she would have been at Stanford). 

Last year I spent a weekend touring four schools who were recruiting my grandson, Luke, who is a 6'-9" volleyball star. We toured UCSB, UCLA, Pepperdine, and UC Irvine. After the tour, his dad (my son), Luke, and I ranked the four schools and UCLA came in fourth on Luke's list - which was the only list that really counted.

He ended up signing with Stanford for the 2022 recruiting class last month (after they reinstated the sport which was one of the eleven they deleted earlier this year).

Four of the women's basketball sportswriters at ESPN gave everyone the benefit of their parochial thinking this week by predicting the Final Four teams they think will fight it out in Minneapolis next April.

This link is the article I'm referring to:

https://www.ncaa.com/video/basketball-women/2021-11-07/womens-ncaa-tournament-field-64-predicted-opening-night

Katie Burns: UConn, Maryland, South Carolina, and Stanford. 

Charlie Creme: UConn, Maryland, South Carolina, and Stanford

Mechelle Voepel: UConn, N.C. State, South Carolina, and Stanford

Sean Hurd: UConn, N.C. State, Maryland, and South Carolina

And which teams would battle for the National Championship:

Katie Burns: South Carolina defeats UConn

Charlie Creme: UConn defeats South Carolina

Mechelle Voepel: South Carolina defeats UConn

Sean Hurd: South Carolina defeats Maryland

They also chose the National Player of the Year:                

Katie Burns: Haley Jones

Charlie Creme: NaLyssa Smith

Mechelle Voepel: Aliyah Boston

Sean Hurd: Aliyah Boston

After we win our fourth National Championship in April 2022, do you figure the AP and ESPN predictions for the 2023 Final Four, the Championship game, and the National Champion will be more respectful of the defending champ's chances? I doubt it. But eventually, over the next decade as the PAC12 becomes the obvious powerhouse conference for women's basketball, they'll be forced to overcome their myopia.  

Katie Burns' choice of Haley Jones for Player of the Year in 2022 is surprising in that she didn't figure we would make it past the semi-finals. Anyway, we should be grateful for her recognition of one of our star players. 

Also, three of the four "experts" thought Stanford would make it to the Final Four. I think our players are absolutely determined to win the championship next April - and shock more than just these four  "experts." I stand by my prior prediction that the last game we win next April will be against the Oregon Ducks, not one of ESPN's standard choices from the Eastern Time Zone. Won't those four ESPNers be surprised - all over again. 

Looks like Oregon will play South Carolina in the Battle 4 Atlantis down in Bermuda on November 21. Oregon may need December, January, and February before they'll be ready to beat the Gamecocks in the Final Four.         

GO CARDINAL!! LET'S WIN THE WHOLE THING IN '22!!