What they're saying about Stanford

Michelle Smith (Inside Women's Basketball) writes of Kayla at the press conference after Stanford's loss to Connecticut in the national championship game last season, "The look on her face did not read devastated of wrecked. Rather, she looked like someone who was sure she would get another chance. She looked like someone who would make sure she would." Read more...

Cam Inman (Contra Costa Times) writes, "This season's Stanford women's basketball team has the look of a national championship contender." Read more...

John Reid (Palo Alto Daily News) reports that Tara is depending on two freshmen to play like seniors when pressure starts to mount in the upcoming NCAA tourney. Read more...

Ann Killion (Sports Illustrated) analyzes the Spokane Region and concludes, "The Cardinal has great chemistry, shares the ball and is led by the quiet senior power of Pohlen and Pedersen, and the dominance of the Ogwumike sisters. Expect the Cardinal to make what is becoming an annual trip to the Final Four." Read more...

Tom FitzGerald (San Francisco Chronicle) reports that Tara thinks the Huskies aren't nearly as big a favorite as they were last year. Tara said, ""The real key to success for us will be Kayla. I feel Kayla will break out in the NCAA Tournament." Read more...

Ann Killion (CSNBayArea) responds to the report that there was no Bay Area NCAA tournament team this year, "The Stanford women require no qualifications – gender or otherwise – regarding their status as powerhouse and championship candidate. While the men’s teams of the Bay Area scuffle along year to year – either balancing precariously on a bubble or yearning for some double-digit seed - the Stanford women have reasserted their dominance as one of the elite teams in the country." Read more...

The ESPN experts have this to say about Stanford as a Final Four pick:

Mechelle Voepel

There was hope, or perhaps wishful thinking, that the Pac-10 could provide more challenges for the Cardinal this season. But it really didn't happen, evidenced by the fact that the league got just three teams into the NCAA field. The Cardinal, like UConn, have appeared in the Final Four the past three years, but Stanford is still seeking its first NCAA title in 19 years. Senior point guard Jeanette Pohlen, so instrumental in helping Stanford upset UConn to end the Huskies' 90-game winning streak in December, continued her strong play in the Pac-10. The Cardinal may have to get past league foe UCLA a fourth time, plus they could face an Elite Eight rematch with Xavier. Stanford's been-there, done-that experience should be the difference in getting to Indy.

Graham Hays

There will be NCAA staffers in Indianapolis with less Final Four experience than the trio of Kayla Pedersen, Jeanette Pohlen and Nnemkadi Ogwumike, while new additions Chiney Ogwumike and Toni Kokenis make the Cardinal, already perhaps the nation's biggest team across the board, even more athletic.

Charlie Creme

The Final Four is as common in Palo Alto as it is in Storrs these days. The Cardinal are full of veterans who know exactly what the road is. Ironically, a trip to Indianapolis might mean another Elite Eight meeting with Xavier, a team that was within a whisker of knocking Stanford out a year ago.