December Report: Courtney Ogden, Consistency, and a Coalescing Team

 

Warren Grimes

December began with a tough loss to Tennessee but ended on a high note for this young Stanford team.  Stanford won three games against serious opponents, all former Pac 12 rivals (California, Washington, and Oregon).   It ended with an 82-50 win over a good but overmatched Cornell team.

More than anything else, the last four games showed the emergence of Courtney “Smooth-Operator” Ogden.  Her game has long shown promise.  Ogden was a Pac-12 honorable mention all-freshman her first year.  She saw more time including a late season start in her sophomore year.  But Ogden really emerged from the shadows against Cal when she had her 25-point career day.  In the last four games, Ogden has averaged 18 points, more than any other Stanford player. 

Coach Paye says that Ogden is in basketball heaven because she has permission to launch any open shot.  Ogden has moved from 5^th to 4^th in season scoring totals and, if she can continue at this level, will move still higher.  More than just the point totals, the real promise of this player is her ability to score in a variety of creative ways, play defense, and generate turnovers.   Watching Ogden maneuver with confidence to create shots brings back memories of another high-scoring Stanford forward – Haley Jones.  Ogden’s emergence as a junior is well timed to give Stanford a more diversified offense entering the conference season.

In each of the three games against former Pac-12 opponents, Stanford needed inspiration going into the fourth quarter.  To find this, the coaches chose to call not Ghost Busters, but the “Disruptor,” a.k.a. Shay Ijiwoye.  Shortest member of the team, yes, but no player is taller in spirit.  Ijiwoye is strong, quick, and highly motivated.  She defends, steals, and scores breakaway layups, and does this in a manner that inspires teammates.  Ijiwoye has 11 steals this season, well behind Chloe Clardy’s 25.  But on a per minute basis, Ijiwoye has .09 steals per minute to Clardy’s .06.   Ijiwoye also manages to generate opponent turnovers even when she is not credited with a steal.  On defense, she can alternate between in-your-face guarding and backing off an opponent to unexpectedly leap to deflect an attempted pass.

Ijiwoye has been a regular in the rotation but unexpectedly did not play in three consecutive games (against CSU, Tennessee, and California).  Whatever the reason, she came back with a purpose to be a difference-maker against Washington, Oregon, and Cornell.  One perhaps unexpected strength of Ijiwoye’s game is her ability as a rebounding guard.  Her 10 boards give her .084 boards per minute, above Talana Lepolo’s .044 pace and on a par with the taller Hailey Swain’s .088 boards per minute.

One feature of this season’s team is the consistency in the starting lineup.  Perhaps a slight difference from her predecessor, Coach Paye has started the same players in every game but one.  Against Washington, Nunu Agara did not start or play because of an injury.  

The two freshmen in the starting lineup, Lara Somfai and Hailee Swain, have had to deal with turnovers, but have shown marked improvement since the Tennessee game.  Meanwhile, Somfai is the leading rebounder, specializing in defensive boards.  When foul trouble has not limited her minutes, Stanford has consistently out-boarded opponents.  Somfai is also the team’s leading shot blocker and third leading scorer, averaging 11.1 points per game.  She again received the ACC freshman of the week designation this week, the third time she has won it by herself or with another freshman.

Hailee Swain is not far behind.  She’s close to a double-digit scoring average (9.6 per game).  Her three-point shooting has been a disappointment so far but Swain’s ability to defend, steal and create show great promise.  Swain is likely to be a major player in Stanford’s fast break offense and a creator when the shot clock is winding down.

Indeed, the entire team shows signs of coalescing.  Fourth quarter performance against each of the three Pac-12 rivals was impressive.  Stanford will be the underdog in its upcoming road games against North Carolina State and North Carolina.  Regardless of rankings, no opponent can afford to take Stanford for granted.