Road Trip: Junior Jubilee

 

Warren Grimes

In a preseason statement to the press, Coach Kate Paye, after praising the talented incoming freshmen, said that the team, when the going got tough, would still rely on its veteran players to get it done.   That statement was prescient for the two-game road trip to the Northwest.   The veterans, particularly four junior players, played a huge role in victories over Washington State and Gonzaga.

Let’s start with Chloe Clardy, a player who has yet to start a single game this season.  Don’t be fooled.  Clardy comes off the bench to be, arguably, the most productive player on the team.  Clardy leads the team in minutes (30 min. per game), in scoring (13.2 per game), and in three-point conversions.  That’s just for starters.  Clardy has more than twice as many steals as any other teammate.  She’s a close second to Talana Lepolo in assists.  And she’s shooting free throws at 87.5%.  How many times have you seen statistics like that for a player that isn’t in the starting lineup?

If you are an opponent, Clardy will break your heart.  Against Gonzaga, a lurking Clardy stole an inbound pass and immediately put in an under-the-basket, falling-down shot that sparked a late first half turnaround for Stanford, closing a 12-point Gonzaga advantage to just 2 points at the end of the half.  Clardy scored a team-high 20 points against the Zags.

The list of juniors who excelled on this road trip goes on.   Nunu Agara showed fire and intensity in putting up a double-double against the Zags.   She had 16 points and 11 boards to go along with 2 blocks and 3 steals. Her focused second-half performance was vital to Stanford overcoming a deficit and pulling away to a comfortable margin.

Next on the list is Courtney Ogden.  It’s worth recalling that Ogden was the highest ranked high school recruit (5 stars) in her Stanford freshman class.  Always competitive, Ogden began showing moxie at the end of last season, earning a starting position in the final game.  This season, Ogden started all 5 games but had so-so stats for the first two games.  That changed against Cal Poly where a more intense Ogden appeared.  She had 12 points, 5 boards, 2 blocks and 2 steals in that game.  That more motivated Ogden reappeared against Gonzaga with 14 points and 6 boards accompanied by a block and a steal.  Ogden showed shot-making creativity in several drives to the basket. Over the last three games, Ogden is averaging double digit scoring (10.3 per game).

The last junior to make a major contribution was Mary Ashley Stevenson whose unselfish but intense play led to 24 minutes against Washington State and 31 minutes against Gonzaga.  She contributed points, boards and assists in both games.  Collectively these four juniors contributed 54 of the team’s 65 points (83% of the team’s total) against the Zags.

Meanwhile, the freshmen aren’t going away.  Hailee Swain led the team with 10 points against Washington State.  Inspired by their junior teammates, interior players Lara Somfai and Alexandra Eschmeyer can only get better.