I've had a hard time getting back to this blog. I felt sick at heart after Sunday afternoon. Numb really. I keep thinking I must be exaggerating, but that game in the Galen Center felt like the worst game I've seen a Stanford women's basketball team play in the 40 years I've been cheering for them. I left the game feeling sort of dazed and proceeded to get misled by a screwed-up GPS navigation system and totally lost down in the belly of the megalopolis in driving rain and bumper to bumper mostly stop and a little go traffic.
Our group looked like they wanted no part of that gym, that team, or even playing basketball. They made 17 shots in 40 minutes. (30%) It felt worse. And it seemed like they completed about 30% of their passes, as well. They hit 4 of 21 3's. (19%) It was grim. They entered the game averaging 82 points and scored 46.
I know a lot of it was terrific coaching on Lindsay's part. But most of it was the home team wanted it a whole lot more than we did. Before the game, talking with the guy next to me, watching a listless warmup on our end, I mentioned that for the Trojans, this game is their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. That's the way they played on both ends of the floor. This game would be the turning point of their season!
I've recovered, pretty much. Just in time to welcome a Utah team into Maples that plays like they love playing together - love running and gunning - and love playing basketball. They're young energetic - and they smell blood in the water. They know they could use a big win against Stanford to solidify their reputation as a major contender worthy of their Top Ten ranking. They're coming off a come from behind one point win against Arizona and feel justifiably good about themselves.
Alisa Pili plays in the middle. She's undersized, strong, stout, and coordinated. She averages 20 points and 6 rebounds. Kneepkens, Johnson, and McQueen average double figures and 13 rebounds between them.
I'll be there. I'm interested to see if this coach I so admire - and these players I think of as contenders - can overcome such a dismal experience and play like a Final Four calibre team less than a week later. Utah is fast and quick and exuberant. What is Stanford?
COME ON STANFORD - LET'S SHAKE IT OFF AND WIN BIG!!!
So many of us have weighed in on what needs to change offensively and let's not forget why Utah's offense has been so potent. I have to believe that Tara (who has probably forgotten more about basketball than any of us will ever learn), has made some offensive adjustments that will allow Haley and Cam to do significant damage and the team will have better shot selection overall. Defensively, I still see us running around, trying to find their open shooters because if we don't put a hand in their faces they are going to score. I predict a close game, with the Cardinal prevailing because of our two All-Americans.
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