After Gonzaga - What Next?

 

Evening talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel has repeatedly joked that Gonzaga doesn’t exist.  The Stanford women’s basketball team knows better. 

With a commanding physical presence, the Zags decisively bested then number 3 Stanford 96-78 on an early December Sunday afternoon.  When was the last time anyone scored 96 points against Stanford?  When was the last time anyone scored 32 points on Stanford in a single quarter?

The Zags did both of those things, adding 44 points in the paint (compared to Stanford’s 34) and an overall 31-29 rebounding advantage.  Gonzaga used motivation, sound preparation, and talent to play its best game of the season.

Stanford now goes on a break to focus on final exams, with its next games at home against Portland and UC Davis before the Christmas holiday.  In the meantime, the team must take what it can from this loss and regroup for the conference season.

Maybe it won’t take that much.  There were extenuating circumstances associated with the loss to Gonzaga.  Cameron Brink was ill and played only 11 minutes.  Her post mate Kiki Iriafen got in foul trouble and played only 24 minutes.  Iriafen picked up her fourth foul early in the third quarter and had to watch from the bench as the Zags outscored Stanford 32-16 in that quarter.  With the Zags holding a 20-point lead, Iriafen returned to play most of the fourth quarter but the team could reduce the margin by only 2 points.

Viewing the contest on video, my impression was that Stanford’s defensive game plan fell apart in the third quarter.  With both Brink and Iriafen out, the Zags started getting productive in the interior.  Stanford tried to bolster interior defense but, in the process, left more three-point shooters open (the Zags were deadly from inside (62%) and outside (56%) during their third quarter blitz.  If one leaves out the third quarter, the game was closely contested and could have been won by either team.

So what’s to be done about the defensive collapse?  Iriafen has run into foul trouble twice in recent games and should learn from this game the importance of staying on the floor.  Still, during a long season, there are sure to be other games in which both Brink and Iriafen have to sit for more than a few minutes.   Their substitutes, primarily Brooke Demetre and Nunu Agara, have to learn what they can about defending against strong post players.  Rebounding from these subs could also improve.  The team should prepare for a help defense that still leaves the opponent’s primary three-point shooters closely guarded. 

Stanford’s offensive performance showed promise even with Brink (and often Iriafen) not on the floor.  The three top scorers (each with 13 points) were Hannah Jump and freshmen Nunu Agara and Courtney Ogden.  Ogden was 3-6 from distance.  Brooke Demetre was 2-3.  Stanford shot threes at a 45% clip, adding 27 points to its 78-point total.  In the interior, Stanford suffered on the boards and clearly missed the scoring dominance that Brink and Iriafen typically bring.  The team’s two other shortcomings were the 53% shooting from the foul line and the 16 turnovers (the Zags had only 7).

Leaving aside neutral court games, Stanford is 1 for 2 in away games.  The road percentage must improve if Stanford is to contest the conference championship.  Despite the disappointing loss to Gonzaga, Stanford still has the talent, chemistry and motivation to win every game it plays and contest for the conference championship.