The promises of practice

By Judy Richter

With only a few days remaining until the Stanford women’s basketball team’s first exhibition game, I sat in on Tuesday afternoon’s three-hour practice at Maples Pavilion. I had missed the open practice earlier in the month because I was in Indiana for a family reunion.

What I saw looked very promising because, as head coach Tara VanDerveer has been saying all along, everyone has improved since last season. That includes not only the players who didn’t get much playing time but also the starters and the early-off-the-benchers. Meanwhile, the two freshmen, forwards Mikaela Ruef and Joslyn Tinkle, looked right at home on the Stanford court.

The afternoon started with a dribble drill led by senior guard JJ Hones (cleared to play after knee surgery last season), followed by passing drills. Devan McConnell, strength and conditioning coach, oversaw stretching and other warm-up exercises. Both sophomore center Sarah Boothe, recuperating from foot surgery, and junior guard Hannah Donaghe, recuperating from knee surgery, took part in these preliminaries to a large extent.

Later, as their teammates scrimmaged, they either practiced free throws and 3-pointers (Sarah has added that shot to her repertoire) or did strengthening and stretching exercises. Talking with them individually after practice, I found them both in good spirits, and they both looked terrific.

After the warm-ups, everyone gathered around Tara and the other coaches. “Details are important,” she said. As for the afternoon’s scrimmages, “go game tempo,” she said.

Before going into action, the guards went to one end of the court for a session with assistant coach Kate Paye. The bigs went to the other end to get some tips on defense from Tara, associate head coach Amy Tucker and assistant coach Bobbie Kelsey.

The basket at the south end was lowered and an inner rim added so that the ball wouldn’t go through, paving the way for a rebounding drill for everyone.

Then it was time for 4 on 4 scrimmages, followed by more dribbling.

By then, the five male practice players had arrived. One of them appeared to be nursing an injury, so sophomore guard Grace Mashore served as their point guard. She got quite a workout because she played in all of the scrimmages, while her regular teammates took turns.

She also looked good, running fast, hustling on plays and scoring. During one break, she sat with the men and diagrammed plays. Afterward, I kidded her about being an honorary guy. She responded on a serious note, saying that the coaches want her to get as much time as possible. She didn’t play much last season, but she has returned in better shape, so I’m hoping we’ll see more of her.

The first scrimmage against the men hinted at a possible starting lineup: senior center Jayne Appel, sophomore forward Nneka Ogwumike, junior forward Kayla Pedersen, fifth-year guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude and junior guard Jeanette Pohlen. The first one off the bench, so to speak, was JJ, who came in for Ros. Then Joslyn came in for Kayla. Kayla later returned to replace Jayne. Eventually every healthy player got in – and the women won that 20-minute half, as they did the subsequent 20-minute periods.

Next came more free throws and 3-point shots for everyone before Tara gathered them for some closing words. Noting that there would be no practice Thursday, she advised them, “Study and dwell on your midterms. Academics come first.” She added that the freshmen and sophomores would meet with Brandon Marcello, director of sports performance, for nutritional advice.

Before rushing off to a piano lesson, Tara took a few minutes to comment on the team. “People are working very hard,” she said. She took note of the guards’ improvement, saying that Ros plays “pit bull defense,” and “we’re thrilled to have JJ back.” Nneka has improved, as have so many other players, which is good, because “we going to need everyone,” she said. “It’s extremely competitive in a very positive way.”

Everyone looked good. Besides those who played a lot last season, I was impressed with junior forward Ashley Cimino, who seemed more muscular and who not only snatched rebounds but also hit 3s. Senior guard Melanie Murphy, who played at the point during the afternoon, also was hitting 3s and running fast, as was sophomore guard Lindy La Rocque. Everyone was hustling and seemed serious.

The promise is there. Bring on the games.