Stanford FBC: Stories of the Season: Gulf Coast Showcase, 1st round

November 27, 2015

Gulf Coast Showcase, 1st round

Read Wally Mersereau's trip report for an account of Thanksgiving day in Florida as well as the 1st round games: Raining Threes in Florida

Ready for Thanksgiving Dinner

Dayton 68, Maine 47

Debbie Antonelli helps Stanford staff scout the Dayton/Maine game

Dayton dominated this game from the start, primarily on their defense.

They played a fluid, alert zone on every defensive possession. The Maine Black Bears found it very difficult to score inside or outside. Outside, their threes weren't dropping, and when they managed to get the ball inside the height of the Dayton front court (6-5 Saicha Grant-Allen and 6-4 Jodie Conelie-Sigmundova), made it hard to get an unobstructed shot or an offensive rebound.

Dayton in turn did not score as freely as their height advantage would suggest they should -- in fact their high scorer was guard Amber Dean — but their final total of 68 was ample, given their defense.

Here are game reports:

Dayton best Maine, 58-37, in Gulf Coast Showcase Opening Round, the Dayton Athletics game recap
Women's Basketball Drops Gulf Coast Showcase Opener to Dayton, the Maine Athletics game recap

And the box score and play-by-play,

Stanford 82, Missouri State 65

Stanford dominated this game on shooting, hitting a total of 15 threes: five by Lili, five by Karlie, four by Bri and one from Brittany. (The Stanford single-game record for 3-pointers is 16).

The Cardinal began the game a three from Lili, then Bri, then Karlie in the first four minutes.

Missouri State mounted a vigorous player defense from the start, varied only in the second half with a tepid zone for one or two possessions.

A few minutes into the game the Lady Bears took their first and last lead, 11-12, quickly erased by a three from Brittany. From that point Stanford pulled away, ending the first half at 44-30.

The Lady Bears cranked their defense even higher in the second half, resulting in a lot of entertaining, and sometimes scary, action. Lili especially often tumbled to the floor. Marta also mixed it up, driving into the scrum to pass or shoot. But Missouri State played Stanford even in the third quarter at 22 points each.

In the fourth quarter they got within 12, but then Stanford pulled away to the final result.

Lili scored a season-high 26 points — her fourth straight 20+ game. Bri scored her most points of the season (18) and her most-ever 3-pointers (four).The Cardinal had trouble getting the ball inside this afternoon. Bird grabbed the game-high rebounds (10), but missed her fifth straight double-double by one point.

Here are game reports:

Barrage beats Lady Bears, the Stanford Athletics game recap
Stanford's long range attack sinks Lady Bears, the Missouri State Athletics game recap

And the box score and play-by-play,

Louisville 65, Marist 53

This was an entertaining game due to Louisville's style of play: pressure defense played with abandon. The Cardinals pressed Marist on every possession. This frequently resulted in a foul, or a ball out of bounds to Marist, but it often produced a turnover.

In the first half the Red Foxes were able to keep their composure under the constant annoying harrassment, and Louisville's shooting was poor (27% for the half), so they could not profit much from turnovers. Marist hit a number of timely threes and the half ended with Marist up 32-28.

Things began to turn for Louisville in the third quarter when, despite a number of unforced turnovers and a lot of fouls, they outscored Marist 17-10 to enter the fourth quarter up 45-42. In the fourth quarter Marist seemed to tire and Louisville ended the game with a 16-3 run to win going away.

If Stanford plays Louisville (Cardinal v. Cardinals), all that will be necessary to win is for Stanford to keep their composure and make the many free throws Louisville is sure to give them.

Here are game reports: