December Downers: Is There a Brittany McPhee Solution?

 

Warren Grimes

Stanford has finished its December schedule with a disappointing 1-3 record.  

Going into their Stanford matchups, the four December opponents collectively had lost just 2 games.  Number 5 ranked LSU and number 11 ranked Ohio State had (and still have) no losses.  The other two had only a single loss each: Cal lost to ranked Michigan State and UT San Antonio had a season opening loss to Texas Tech.   

Stanford’s sole December victory was against UTSA, a game where Stanford showed the ability to hold off a late run and win a close game.  The loss to LSU was mitigated by the grit Stanford showed in holding a lead for over 38 minutes of regulation.  The losses to Cal and Ohio State, both by 20 or more points, were discouraging.   

Stanford finishes its nonconference schedule with an 8-0 record in Maples and a winless 0-4 record when playing elsewhere (the Ohio State game was on a neutral court).  Do the December downers define this team?  Or does the impressive November record-setting start more accurately reflect the team’s character?   Stanford started the season with exceptional three-point shooting and impressive 20- or 30-point margins against lesser opponents.

The Ohio State loss ended the December schedule on a down note   There were times in that contest when Stanford lost confidence, showing an element of panic and chaos in the face of OSU’s full court press.   Stanford scored 6 points in the first quarter and ended the half with just 19 points.  At the end, Stanford had 19 turnovers and only 4 assists.  The team found some composure in the second half, but OSU outscored Stanford in all four periods.  The final margin was 25 points, Stanford’s worst loss of the season. 

So what’s to be done?  Stanford’s 8-4 record is way above the national average but well below Stanford expectations.   This is a young team on an improvement curve.  Stanford lost 3 December games to very good teams.  The team will get better when it learns how to keep control of the ball and score more effectively against an opponent that shuts down the three-ball.  Nunu Agara is part of the answer, but Agara cannot do it alone. 

Thinking about past players who could both shoot the three and create inside, the name Brittany McPhee came to mind.  McPhee was a six-foot guard-forward who graduated in 2018.  She was an aggressive scorer who got it done.  Early in her Stanford career, McPhee showed that she could create all sorts of mischief in the key, with acrobatic moves that included hooks, scoops, loops, reverse lay ups, and spins.  In her junior year, she started making lots of threes, expanding the challenge for any defender.   When it mattered, by whatever means, McPhee got the ball in the basket.

In her junior season, McPhee scored 27 points in an elite eight game against Notre Dame, helping Stanford to overcome a 16-point second half deficit.  The next year. in a game against 6^th ranked Oregon in Eugene, McPhee registered a career high of 33 points, 31 of them in the second half.  Making all but one of her fourth quarter attempts, McPhee lit it up, allowing Stanford to pull away to a  13-point upset. 

This year’s team has guard-forwards who could emulate McPhee’s game.  They include Elena Boscana, Brooke Demetre, Jzaniya Harriel, Tess Heal, Chloe Clardy, and Courtney Ogden.  Each can shoot the three-ball and drive to the basket.  A key difference, however, is their interior scoring efficiency.  McPhee was a master at getting her interior shots to fall. Some of the guard-forwards on this year’s team take the same kind of creative interior shots, but don’t match McPhee’s conversion rate. 

How does Stanford’s current crop of guard-forwards achieve success by McPhee’s standards?  The answer lies in practice, focus, and the confidence to know that they can get the job done.  Starting in the first week of January, each of these players should look to McPhee for inspiration.  If they do, Stanford should rise to a higher level.

The LSU Nemesis: Another One Possession Game

 

Warren Grimes

Stanford has never defeated LSU.  The two teams don’t play often, but the last two games have been one-possession games.  During an elite eight game in the NCAA tournament, LSU defeated Stanford in March of 2006.  With less than 10 seconds on the clock, Candice Wiggins drove to the basket, leaping forward to make a pass to a wing player who proceeded to swish the three-pointer.  That would have made the difference.

But it didn’t count.  There was the small matter of how Candice Wiggins descended.  She crash-landed on LSU's preeminent player, Simone Augustus, who drew the charge that nullified the three-point shot.

The two teams played again 18 years later.  It was, once again, down to the wire.  Once again, LSU came out on top, this time by tying the game with less than 5 seconds on the clock and pulling away from Stanford in overtime.

Both games were deflating for Stanford.  The 2024 version was especially frustrating because Stanford led the game for over 38 minutes.  With 16 seconds on the clock, Stanford held on to a 2-point lead and the opportunity to hold or expand that lead by successfully inbounding the ball.  LSU managed to tip the inbounds pass away.  LSU got possession, and the rest is history.

Frustration aside, there is a lot to like about how unranked Stanford played this game.  The team was on the road against the number 5 team in the nation. By far, this was the toughest match of the season so far.  Had Stanford won, it would have been a major upset.

 Going into the match, Coach Paye expressed the hope that her team would play with confidence.  They did.  Stanford took the lead early in the first quarter, extending that lead to as many as 15 points, and still holding that lead until the last 5 seconds of regulation.  The loss notwithstanding, this was arguably Stanford's best performance of the season.

Stanford outboarded LSU’s strong inside lineup 42 to 37 but lost the turnover battle.  LSU had 14 points off turns to Stanford’s 7.  Throughout the game, Stanford was resilient and focused.  Nunu Agara (29 points and 13 boards) and Brooke Demetre (19 points and 5 boards) both had career days.  Both Elena Boscana and Jzaniya Harriel were also double-digit scorers with 16 and 15 points respectively.  Stanford had a bad second quarter, but unlike against Indiana, fought back in the second half to extend its lead to 5 points at the end of the third quarter. 

Using just 8 players, Stanford played a great game, good enough to win against most any team.  Based on this performance, Stanford could well be one of the top ten teams in the nation.  Stanford may not be ranked next week, but any opponent who saw this game must take Stanford seriously. 

Ask yourself these two questions: (1) How many of the six ACC teams that were ranked above Stanford in the preseason could have played this well against #5 LSU? and (2) how many of the top 25 ranked teams could have matched unranked Stanford's performance in Baton Rouge?

I think you’ll like your own answers.  As far as LSU, watch out the next time you play Stanford.