NCAA Tournament: Gonzaga Bulldogs And Cardinal Set To Meet Once Again

**ZagDad84** · 03-15-2018, 09:44 PM

From the Stanford web site on Saturday's game - Post #1:

First Round Saturday - Part 1
Stanford opens its NCAA Tournament at home for the 20th time
Courtesy: Stanford Athletics
03/15/2018

No. 15 Stanford (22-10, 14-3)
vs. Gonzaga (27-5, 17-1)
Saturday, March 17 • 3 p.m.
Maples Pavilion • Stanford, Calif.

THE GAME:
Making its 31st consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, No. 15 Stanford (22-10) begins its postseason as the No. 4 seed in the Lexington Region when it hosts 13th-seeded Gonzaga (27-5) on Saturday, March 17 in Maples Pavilion at 3 p.m. PT.

THE RUNDOWN:
Stanford is 84-29 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 34-4 in such games on The Farm ... Maples Pavilion has hosted more NCAA Tournament games (65) than any facility except Tennessee's Thompson-Boling Arena (66) ... The Cardinal, which has been to 10 consecutive Sweet 16's was placed in the Lexington Region for the third straight March ... Tara VanDerveer leads all coaches in NCAA Tournament appearances with 33 ... Stanford surrendered 54.2 points on 32.1 percent shooting at home all season, including 21.6 percent from behind the arc ... Its field goal percentage defense in Maples Pavilion this year was the sixth-best home mark in the country ... Brittany McPhee is averaging career highs in points (17.0), rebounds (5.0), assists (2.4) and steals (1.2) and will be the first Stanford guard to average more than 15.0 points per game in a season since Candice Wiggins in 2007-08 ... Kiana Williams was voted to the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team after averaging 17.7 points on 70.4 percent shooting (19-of-27), including 72.2 percent from deep (13-of-18) ... In the past month the freshman is shooting 61.1 percent (22-of-36) from 3-point range, the third-best mark in the country ... Kaylee Johnson is one of five players in Stanford history in the top 10 in school history in both career rebounds and blocks ... Marta Sniezek owns a career 2.33 assist-to-turnover ratio in the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES:

Stanford earned its 31st consecutive and 32nd overall NCAA Tournament bid via an at-large selection into the field. Since its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1982, Stanford has won two national championships (1990, 1992), reached 13 Final Fours (1990-92, 1995-97, 2008-12, 2014, 2017), 19 Elite Eights, 24 Sweet 16s and compiled an NCAA Tournament record of 84-29 (.743).

Stanford's 13 Final Four appearances are the third-most by any school entering this year's tournament, and its 32 overall appearances rank third behind only Tennessee (37) and Georgia (33). Tennessee is the only school that has a longer active streak of NCAA Tournament appearances than Stanford's 31. The Lady Vols have earned a bid to all 37 NCAA Tournaments.

The Cardinal's 84 wins in the NCAA Tournament are third all-time behind Tennessee (124) and Connecticut (113) as are its 113 tournament games. Tennessee has appeared in 152 and Connecticut 131. Stanford's .743 NCAA Tournament winning percentage is fourth all-time among programs with a minimum of 20 appearances. Connecticut is No. 1 (.863; 113-18), Tennessee is No. 2 (.816; 124-28) and Baylor is No. 3 (.750; 42-14).

The Cardinal is a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third time. It advanced to the Sweet 16 from the same position in 2015 and the Elite Eight as a No. 4 seed in 2016. No. 4 seeds are 224-144 all-time in the tournament.

Tara VanDerveer leads all coaches in NCAA Tournament appearances with 33. Pat Summitt (Tennessee) and Andy Landers (Georgia) are tied for second with 31.
VanDerveer's 82 tournament wins are third all-time behind Geno Auriemma (Connecticut - 113) and Summitt (112) and her .732 tournament winning percentage (minimum 20 games) is sixth behind Auriemma (.863), Summitt (.830), Linda Sharp (USC/Texas State - .760), Kim Mulkey (Baylor - .750) and Leon Barmore (Louisiana Tech - .747).

This is the third consecutive season the Cardinal has been placed in the Lexington Region. Both previous trips included wins over No. 1 seed Notre Dame. Stanford advanced to the Elite Eight in Rupp Arena as a four-seed in 2016 when it knocked off the Irish, 90-84, before falling to seventh-seeded Washington in the regional final, 85-76. A No. 2 seed in 2017, Stanford made its seventh Final Four appearance in 10 years last March when it beat No. 3 Texas in the Sweet 16 in Lexington, 77-76, and erased an 18-point, second-half deficit to defeat No. 1 seed Notre Dame in the Elite Eight, 76-75. Stanford has advanced to the Sweet 16 for 10 consecutive years and hasn't lost a game on the first weekend of the tournament since 2007.

MADNESS IN MAPLES:
As a city, Stanford has served as a host for 65 NCAA Tournament games, the third-most behind Knoxville, Tenn. (82) and Norfolk, Va. (67). Each of those games has been played in Maples Pavilion, which has hosted more NCAA Tournament games than any other facility except Tennessee's Thompson-Boling Arena (66). The Cardinal is 34-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament games at Maples Pavilion and has won 14 straight. Its last loss came to Florida State, 68-61, in the Second Round on March 19, 2007. This season will be the 21st in which Stanford has hosted NCAA Tournament games in Maples Pavilion since staging its first in 1989 and the 20th in which the Cardinal has opened up its postseason at home. Of the program's four home losses in the NCAA Tournament one came in the First Round (Harvard, 1998), two came in the Second Round (Florida State, 2007 and Minnesota, 2003) and one came in a Regional Final (Purdue, 1994). In its most recent NCAA Tournament games in Maples Pavilion, Stanford collected wins over No. 13-seed San Francisco (85-58) and No. 12-seed South Dakota State (66-65) in the first and second rounds in 2016. The victory over the Jackrabbits was the 1,000th game as head coach at Stanford for Tara VanDerveer. Despite being a No. 2 seed, the Cardinal was unable to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament last season because the Pac-12 Women's Gymnastics Championships, which rotate to host sites around the conference each year, were in Maples Pavilion the same weekend.

HOW WE GOT HERE:
Stanford's 22-10 record heading into the tournament is its worst since the program was 18-10 in 2001. This season is the second since 1999-2000 that the Cardinal has not won some form of a Pac-12 championship - regular season or tournament. The last time that happened in 2015-16, Stanford advanced to the Elite Eight in Lexington. Stanford won 20+ games for the 17th straight season and 29th overall and had double-digit Pac-12 victories for the 31st consecutive year. Its victory at Washington on Feb. 23 was the program's 500th conference victory as a member of the Pac-12. No other school has more than 400. The Cardinal's regular-season finale at Washington State on Feb. 25 was canceled due to the sudden death of the Cougars' strength coach. This is the first year since the formation of Pac-12 women's basketball in 1986-87 that everyone did not play a full 18-game conference schedule. Stanford entered conference play with a 6-6 record, the program's first time heading into league action with at least six losses since 1998-99. Stanford was 4-7 in its regular-season nonconference slate in that season, which was also the last time the Cardinal lost multiple regular-season, nonconference home games as it did this year with results against Western Illinois and Tennessee.

SETTING THE STAGE:
Stanford is 161-12 (.931) at home the last 11 years and one of nine schools to have at least 160 home wins during that span (Baylor - 195; Connecticut - 189; Maryland - 174; Ohio State - 169; Notre Dame - 166; Tennessee - 161; Duke - 160; Green Bay - 160). Its .931 home winning percentage since 2007-08 is fourth behind Connecticut (.974), Baylor (.961) and FGCU (.934). Stanford is 7-1 against Gonzaga and dropped the last meeting at home on Nov. 18, 2016, 68-63 despite 22 points from Brittany McPhee and a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double from Erica McCall. The Cardinal was down 10 early in the third quarter, but closed the final 6:24 of the period on an 18-3 run and took a five-point lead heading into the fourth. Stanford was up two, 61-59, when McPhee made a layup with four minutes to go, but that would be its last field goal. Elle Tinkle, the younger sister of former Cardinal Joslyn Tinkle, made a layup to tie it and Laura Stockton hit a 3-pointer to push Gonzaga ahead. McPhee sank two free throws with under a minute left and was poised to regain the lead for her team when she drove left with 17.3 seconds on the clock, but Tinkle came up with the biggest of her game-high three blocks to stymie Stanford. Jill Barta and Stockton made all four of their free throws down the stretch to seal it. That loss came immediately following a 71-59 win over No. 8 Texas and it was the second consecutive year Stanford followed up a win over a ranked team with a home loss to a West Coast Conference opponent. In November 2015, Santa Clara beat the Cardinal 61-58 two days after Stanford beat No. 22 George Washington by 21, 84-63.

Following a one-year hiatus after featuring matchups every year from 2009-13, the series against Gonzaga resumed in November 2015 in Spokane, a 65-48 Cardinal win that featured a 23-point, 13-rebound double-double from Erica McCall. Stanford closed the game on a 19-1 run over the last 5:28 and held Gonzaga to 0-of-12 shooting over that stretch.

ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS:
Brittany McPhee and Alanna Smith were voted to the 15-person All-Pac-12 squad, Kiana Williams was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team in addition to earning an All-Pac-12 honorable mention nod and Kaylee Johnson and Marta Sniezek received Pac-12 All-Defensive honorable mention accolades on Feb. 26. Stanford now has 72 All-Pac-12 honorees in program history and 156 all-time Pac-12 awardees including honorable mention, freshman and defensive teams, the top totals in league history. On Feb. 27 Tara VanDerveer was named the John R. Wooden Pac-12 Coach of the Year and Brittany McPhee the Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. VanDerveer, who was honored by the WBCA with the 2018 Carol Eckman Integrity in Coaching Award earlier in February, was chosen by her peers as the conference's best coach for the 15th time. It's the first conference coach of the year award she's received since a four-year run ended in 2014. McPhee is the fourth Stanford women's basketball player to be named Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year along with Chiney Ogwumike (2013-14), Kayla Pedersen (2010-11) and Jayne Appel (2009-10).

BAPTISM BY FIRE:
Stanford is tied for third nationally in games against top-25 teams with 12. South Carolina leads in that category with 15, Oregon is second with 13 and Arizona State, Notre Dame and Tennessee have also faced 12. Stanford started its season 1-7 against top-25 opponents, but is 3-1 in its last four. Of those 12 AP Top 25 games, six have been true road contests. Stanford has two top-25 road wins, one of just nine schools in the country with multiple road victories over ranked opponents. Notre Dame has four, Connecticut, Baylor and Purdue three and Oregon, Tennessee, Mississippi State and South Carolina two each. The Cardinal is also second in games against top-10 teams with seven, including five from the nonconference portion of its schedule. Kentucky has played eight. For comparison, Stanford played five top-10 opponents all of last year, which was the program's most since 2010-11 (7).

"We can schedule it so that we are 12-0 or 10-2, but this team went to the Final Four last year and that's the level that we have to get to," Tara VanDerveer said of her team's non-conference schedule. "We need our tough schedule to pay off for us, but it only pays off if we build on it. Don't get frustrated. Get mad and go to work. We are looking up at people right now. We need people to look up at where we need to be and embrace that challenge."

WHAT'S BACK, WHAT'S NOT:
The Cardinal returned 10 letter winners, but just two starters to a team coming off its seventh Final Four in the past 10 seasons. Stanford posted a 32-6 overall record last season and a 15-3 mark in Pac-12 play. The Cardinal won its 12th Pac-12 Tournament championship and celebrated Tara VanDerveer's 1,000th career victory during the program's 14th 30-win campaign. Gone are Erica McCall, Karlie Samuelson and Briana Roberson, seniors that accounted for 45 percent of Stanford's minutes, 46 percent of its scoring and 35 percent of its rebounds in 2016-17. The Cardinal's young squad has eight underclassmen and entered the year with just one returner on the roster that averaged more than 20 minutes per game in her career (Marta Sniezek).

AGAINST RANKED:
The Cardinal is 4-8 against ranked teams this season, 2-7 on the road and at neutral sites, 2-1 at home and has won multiple games against top 25 opponents for each of the last 16 seasons. Stanford is 75-42 (.641) against AP ranked opponents since 2007-08, fifth in the country in such wins the past 11 years and fourth in percentage. Connecticut (.906), Baylor (.768), Notre Dame (.725), Stanford (.641), Tennessee (.613), Duke (.552), Maryland (.535) and South Carolina (.513) have winning records against ranked teams over that span.

NATIONAL RANKINGS:
The Cardinal dropped out of the AP rankings for the first time in 17 years on Dec. 25, worked its way back a week later at No. 24 following its home victories over UCLA and USC and dropped out again for three consecutive polls after it lost at No. 25 Arizona State on Jan. 7 (73-66). Stanford is back and finished the season at No. 15. It had climbed 10 spots in the two weeks from Jan. 29 to Feb. 12 and its seven-place jump from Jan. 29 to Feb. 5 was the largest in program history.
The Cardinal is 13th in the RPI and has played the nation's fifth-toughest schedule. Stanford hadn't been unranked since 2001, when a 72-54 loss at No. 20 Oregon on Jan. 13 knocked the No. 24 Cardinal out of the polls. It wouldn't get back in until opening the next season at No. 9. The Cardinal has been in 528 AP polls, the fourth most all-time, and had its stretch of 312 in a row snapped when it was unranked Dec. 25. Stanford's streak is tied for the third longest in the history of the poll. Tennessee had the longest run at 565 weeks, Connecticut has an active 468-week streak and Duke also appeared in 312 consecutive rankings.

HOME COOKIN':
Stanford finished as the only Pac-12 team undefeated at home in conference with a 9-0 record following those two home losses to conclude nonconference against Western Illinois and Tennessee. The Cardinal surrendered 54.2 points on 32.1 percent shooting at home all season, including 21.6 percent from behind the arc. Stanford's field goal percentage defense in Maples Pavilion was the sixth-best home mark in the country behind Baylor (.312), Green Bay (.315), Central Arkansas (.316), Norfolk State (.320) and Texas Southern (.321). Stanford shot 42.1 percent from the floor at home this season compared to 40.2 percent on the road.

OF LATE:
In its first 20 games of the season, Stanford was averaging 16.3 turnovers per game and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.85. In the last 12 it has cut its turnover number down to 11.4 with a 1.18 assist-to-turnover ratio. Stanford's defense in conference was some of the best in the nation. The Cardinal gave up just 59.5 points on 36.9 percent shooting in its 17 Pac-12 games. Among Power 5 conference teams in league play, that opponent points per game number was sixth in the country and the field goal percentage defense was fourth. Louisville surrendering an average of 55.6 points in ACC contests, Baylor was at 56.1 in Big 12 games, Mississippi State gave up 56.3 points per game in SEC matchups, Georgia 58.3 in its SEC matchups and North Carolina State 58.6 in the ACC. In terms of field goal percentage defense in conference games, Baylor led in that category (.329), Georgia was second (.345) and Oregon State third (.368).

OFFENSE/DEFENSE:
After shooting just 39.3 percent in the non-conference, Stanford hit 43.5 percent in Pac-12 play and at the conference tournament. Overall, the Cardinal is shooting 41.9 percent from the field (104th in the country), 30.9 percent (202nd) from deep and 63.9 percent (317th) from the free throw line. The program's all-time lows in those categories are 42.6 percent from the field (2015-16), 31.1 percent on 3-pointers (2011-12) and 64.8 percent on free throws (1978-79). Stanford's turnover margin (-1.2) is also 235th in the nation. At the other end of the court the Cardinal is 24th in the country in field goal percentage defense (.361), 30th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.283), 21st in blocks per game (5.19) and 46th in rebounds per game (40.9). Stanford has finished in the top 15 nationally in field goal percentage defense 10 of the last 11 years.

Article Link: http://gostanford.com/news/2018/3/15...-saturday.aspx

ZagDad

**ZagDad84** · 03-15-2018, 09:51 PM

Here is the second part of the post from Stanford - Part 2

First Round Saturday - Part 2

McBUCKETS:
The Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a USA TODAY All-America third team selection, Brittany McPhee is averaging career highs in points (17.0), rebounds (5.0), assists (2.4) and steals (1.2) this season.

A two-time national player of the week, she has scored 20+ nine times and is one of 11 Power 5 conference guards in the country averaging 17.0 points and 5.0 rebounds.

McPhee was the consensus national player of the week (espnW, USBWA, Naismith Trophy) following her performances at No. 16 Oregon State and No. 6 Oregon in which she averaged 25.5 points on 55 percent shooting.

Her 33-point outing at No. 6 Oregon was the first 30-point game for a Stanford player on the road against a top-10 team since Candice Wiggins dropped in exactly 30 in a 73-65 win at No. 10 Arizona State on Jan. 27, 2007.

She scored Stanford's final 19 points of the game and outscored the Ducks single-handedly in the second half, 31-24. McPhee made the Cardinal's final nine field goals over the last nine minutes and shot 13-of-18 (.722) from the floor in the second half.

McPhee, who missed nine nonconference games with a right foot injury, became Stanford's 39th 1,000-point scorer in its win over No. 25 Arizona State on Jan. 26 and is currently 30th on the Cardinal's all-time scoring list with 1,207.

McPhee was also named espnW National Player of the Week on Jan. 1 after averaging 23.5 points on 54 percent shooting, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in Stanford's home victories to start conference play over No. 11 UCLA and USC.

Because she missed so much time, McPhee won't appear in the national statistical rankings until the NCAA Tournament should Stanford advance to play 36 total games this season.

She led the Pac-12 in scoring in the month of February, averaging 22.9 points and 6.0 rebounds.

McPhee will become the first Stanford guard to average more than 15 points per game in a season since Candice Wiggins in 2007-08 (20.2).

Ten of McPhee's 23 outings this season have been against the AP Top 25 and the senior has averaged 19.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in those games.

She is one of six players in the country averaging 19.0 points and 5.0 rebounds against the AP Top 25 (minimum 10 games) along with A'ja Wilson (South Carolina), Kalani Brown (Baylor), Chloe Jackson (LSU), Bridget Carleton (Iowa State) and Arike Ogunbowale (Notre Dame).

McPhee has had eight career 20-point games against ranked teams and her five best have come against top-15 foes. In addition to the 33 she put up at No. 6 Oregon, she scored 28 against No. 8 Texas on Nov. 14, 2016, dropped in 27 in the Elite Eight against No. 2 Notre Dame on March 26, 2017, had 27 against No. 7 Tennessee on Dec. 21, 2017 and 26 against No. 11 UCLA on Dec. 29, 2017.

A human biology major with a 3.71 GPA, became Stanford's ninth academic All-American when she was named to the 2017-18 CoSIDA Academic All-American Division I second team on March 12.

WATCH WILLIAMS:

Freshman Kiana Williams was voted to the Pac-12 All-Tournament Team after averaging 17.7 points on 70.4 percent shooting (19-of-27), including 72.2 percent from deep (13-of-18).

Her 13 made triples are tied for the second-most in tournament history with Oregon State's Sydney Wiese (2015-16). Stanford's Candice Wiggins owns the tournament record with 14 made 3-pointers in 2007 on 25 attempts.

Williams scored 24 on 6-of-7 shooting from behind the arc in Stanford's 58-46 semifinal win over Arizona State on March 3. The season-high six 3-pointers tied for the third most in a single game in Pac-12 Tournament history.

In her last game in Maples Pavilion, Williams set career highs against Cal on Feb. 15 with 26 points and four steals. The 26 points were the most for a Stanford freshman since Nneka Ogwumike had 27 in the NCAA Tournament against San Diego State on March 23, 2009.

It was also the second-highest total by a Pac-12 freshman in a conference game this season, trailing the 29 Tori Williams of Utah scored against Washington on Feb. 18.

A two-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, Williams has scored in double figures in 17 of her last 25 games and led Pac-12 freshmen in scoring in league games, averaging 11.0 points. Arizona's Sam Thomas was second (10.5) and Oregon's Satou Sabally third (9.8).

Williams averaged 3.1 points and shot 20.7 percent (6-of-29) in her first seven collegiate games. In the last 25 she's scoring 12.0 per game on 43.5 percent shooting (107-of-246). She is making 51.6 percent of her two-point baskets (47-of-91) during those last 25 games.

Williams is averaging 17.0 points and shooting 61.1 percent (22-of-36) from deep in her last six games. Her 3-point percentage over the past month (.611) is third in the country behind Little Rock's Monique Townson (.733; 11-of-15) and Oral Roberts' Maya Mayberry (.625; 15-of-24).

She had a career-high seven assists in the win over Arizona on Jan. 28 and has 31 assists and 18 turnovers in her last 12 games. Before she coughed it up late in the first quarter against Colorado on Feb. 11, Williams hadn't turned it over in 99 minutes.

Williams' 64 made 3-pointers are the third most for a Stanford freshman in program history behind Jamie Carey (81; 1999-2000) and Lindsey Yamasaki (65; 1998-99).

FROM DOWN UNDER:

An All-Pac-12 pick, Alanna Smith was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the first time on Nov. 27 following her three games at the Play4Kay Showcase in Las Vegas. She averaged a double-double of 23.7 points and 11.7 rebounds in Stanford's 2-1 week, shot 64.6 percent from the field (31-of-48), 40 percent from deep and also averaged 2.0 blocks.

Smith's 33-point, 16-rebound performance against No. 9 Ohio State was the nation's first 30-point, 15-rebound double-double against an AP top-10 team since Stanford's Chiney Ogwumike went for 32 points and 20 boards against No. 3 Tennessee on Dec. 21, 2013.

On Dec. 13, Mississippi State's Teaira McCowan also did it with a 35-point, 19-rebound effort as part of a 90-79 Bulldog win against No. 9 Oregon.

Smith's is just the fourth by a Pac-12 player against a top-10 team since 2000 and the others are all Cardinal. In addition to Ogwumike's in 2013, Nneka Ogwumike had 42 points and 17 rebounds against No. 6 Tennessee on Dec. 20, 2011 and Nicole Powell put up 32 points and 16 rebounds against No. 2 Tennessee on Dec. 14, 2003.

Her six double-doubles are tied for eighth in the Pac-12 and she is 16th in the league in scoring (13.1), 11th in rebounding (7.0) and fourth in blocks (1.75), all of which are career highs.

Of her seven career games with 20+ points, four have come this season. She is also eighth in Stanford history with 141 career blocks.

GETTING ON THE GLASS:

Kaylee Johnson's 968 career rebounds are eighth in program history. Next on the list is Erica McCall, who grabbed 976 from 2013-17. She is eighth in the Pac-12 this season at 7.5 per game.

With 160 career blocks she is the seventh Stanford player more than 150 joining Jayne Appel (273), Chiney Ogwumike (202), Val Whiting (201), McCall (200), Kristen Newlin (163) and Joslyn Tinkle (150).

Her 7.4 career rebounds per game average would be eighth in Stanford history. Johnson has pulled down 10 or more 43 times in 131 career games and owns a pair of 22-rebound outings as a freshman.

She has 11 double-digit rebound games already this season after just three last year.

Johnson is one of five players in Stanford history in the top 10 in school history in career rebounds and blocks along with Jayne Appel, Chiney Ogwumike, Val Whiting and Erica McCall.

CARRINGTON EMERGES:

After averaging 2.5 points and 2.3 rebounds as a freshman, sophomore DiJonai Carrington has emerged as Stanford's fourth-leading scorer (8.4 ppg) and third-best rebounder (5.7 rpg) this season.

She started seven games during the nonconference portion of the schedule and has come off the bench since after missing Stanford's final three non-league games due to injury.

If the Pac-12 had a Sixth Woman of the Year Award, Carrington would have had a strong case. In 22 games as a substitute she is averaging 7.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals. Those steal numbers led the conference's non-starters and she was second in rebounding and fifth in scoring.

She averaged 8.0 points on 50.0 percent shooting and 4.7 rebounds at the league tournament.

THE ART OF THE ASSIST:

Marta Sniezek has handed out five or more assists in 41 of her 105 career appearances and is 11th in the Pac-12 averaging 4.3 assists per game this season.

She owns a career 2.33 assist-to-turnover ratio in the NCAA Tournament (49/21).

Of her nine career games scoring in double figures, six have come this season.

ZagDad

**ZagDad84** · 03-15-2018, 09:59 PM

For a little good luck, here is the highlight video from the last time we played on the farm against Stanford.

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3fa...ature=youtu.be

Good Times indeed.

Good Luck Ladies,

ZagDad

**Zag Swagger** · 03-16-2018, 06:20 AM

Nice find, that was one of my fave all time GU WBB victories. It would be nice to have another, we still owe them 7. Go Zags!

**ZagDad84** · 03-16-2018, 10:02 PM

Another Article about the Lady Zags vs the Cardinal from the Spokesman-Review:

Gonzaga respects, looks to emulate long-term success of Stanford
UPDATED: Fri., March 16, 2018, 10:56 p.m.

By Jim Allen
[email protected]
(509) 459-5437

STANFORD, Calif. – Expectations are a bit different at Stanford University. A walk to Maples Pavilion takes a visitor past the Taube Tennis Center – which holds 2,455 fans and 35 NCAA team trophies – and the Avery Aquatic Center, where Stanford athletes have, uh, pooled their talents to the tune of 50 national team titles. In all, the Cardinal holds 115 NCAA team championships, with aspirations for many more. It’s the same at Maples, where longtime coach Tara VanDerveer has taken the Cardinal to 32 NCAA appearances, with 14 trips to the Sweet 16. She’s grasped the brass ring twice. The last one came in 1992 – more a testament to the rise of Tennessee, UConn and others than any malaise by the Cardinal, who have reached seven of the last 11 Final Fours. At 64, VanDerveer is ready for another. On Friday, the Hall of Famer spoke more about how deep the Cardinal can go this year rather than its chances in Saturday’s first-round NCAA matchup with Gonzaga.

She appreciates the praise from GU head coach Lisa Fortier, a northern California girl who worked VanDerveer’s camps for several years and sometimes longed to learn at the feet of a “strong woman” like Stanford’s veteran coach. “That’s a tremendous compliment,” VanDerveer said. “Having, obviously, been coaching a long time, I do want to be a good role model for our young coaches and I want to set a good example and hopefully, I try to do that.”

Then game the stinger.

“But when it comes down to it, I would like the mentor to win,” VanDerveer said.

Against Gonzaga, she usually has. She was 5-0 against former GU coach Kelly Graves, and it was VanDerveer’s squad that ended GU’s best season in the Elite Eight in the Spokane Arena in 2011. Fortier got her first chance in the fall 2015, but a one-point lead with 6 1/2 minutes left wasn’t nearly enough against the grit and pedigree of Stanford, which pulled away to a 17-point win.

A year later, Gonzaga came to Maples and took a 68-63 win that was crafted the Stanford way, with discipline and tough defense. But if that meant anyone thought GU might be gaining on the Cardinal, no one was saying on Friday. “Of course I admire the way she pulls the best out of her team every time and demands greatness, really,” Fortier said.
Gonzaga has expectations, too. Built from scratch by Graves and nurtured by Fortier, they include winning the West Coast Conference and reaching the NCAAs. They’re done that 10 years in the last 12, and show no signs of stopping now.

But there’s something more at GU, something even more experiential than raising another WCC Tournament trophy in Las Vegas. Ask junior wing Chandler Smith, whose NCAA experience includes a game at Nebraska before the Brewster, Washington, native transferred to GU. “For me, coming out to the gym 2 1/2 hours before the game and all the parking lots are full, it’s just a different experience,” Smith said. “I mean, all of our fans are out there trying to get pictures with us going in the building.
“You feel like a celebrity or superstar, and it’s actually a great feeling to have so much support. I’m biased, but I feel like we have the best fans in the world.”

Expectations don’t get any better than that.

Article Link: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/201...erm-succes/#/0

Lots of pictures at the link.

ZagDad

**ZagDad84** · 03-16-2018, 10:08 PM

Another Cardinal vs Lady Zag article from the Spokesman-Review:

Gonzaga faces tough test of stopping Stanford’s Brittany McPhee
UPDATED: Thu., March 15, 2018, 5:28 p.m.

By Jim Allen
[email protected]
(509) 459-5437

STANFORD, Calif. – Brittany McPhee could have been a model. Discovered in middle school, she soon earned a photo spread in Teen Vogue. At 16, she found herself in China, a finalist in an international competition that would have sent her to across the world. But McPhee is a tomboy at heart. She’d rather be in sneakers than stilettos, driving the lane instead of strutting down the runway.

And unless Gonzaga do something about it, McPhee will be in her comfort zone on Saturday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, willing her Stanford teammates to another big win. “She’s tough,” GU coach Lisa Fortier said. And talented. McPhee is the hard-driving heart of this Cardinal team, which struggled during her early-season foot injury but now is playing its best ball of the season. A third-team All-American and first-team All-Pac-12, McPhee leads the Cardinal in scoring (17 ppg) and toughness.
In a recent Pac-12 regular-season game at eventual regular-season champion Oregon, Stanford trailed by nine at the half before McPhee unleashed herself on the Ducks.
“Britt was just not going to let her team lose,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. McPhee hit 13 of 18 second-half shots, scoring a career-high 31 points in the half to lead the Cardinal to a stirring 78-65 win.

“That kid is fearless,” said Oregon coach Kelly Graves, who tried multiple defenses to slow down McPhee. “It’s funny, we actually called that at halftime,” Graves said. “We said No. 12 is going to come out, because she didn’t do much in the first half, and we figured she was going to do what she did.” You get the feeling that McPhee can do anything she wants, on or off the court.

Consider the bloodlines. McPhee and her fraternal twin, Jordan, a guard at Seattle Pacific, are the daughters of Alice, who played at Eastern Washington and professionally in Australia.
Their father, Bryce, played at Gonzaga with John Stockton, and their uncle Jim is GU’s No. 2 career scorer. She’s also driven – enough to travel across the state to Spokane for AAU practices under coach Steve Kleef. “She has such a gentle demeanor off the court, but she’ll knock your teeth in,” Kleef recently told USA Today. “She’s the hardest worker I’ve ever coached,” Kleef added. “Other kids would go home after practice. She’d shoot for a couple of hours.” The work paid off with an incredible career at Mount Rainier High School, where she was a three-time state Gatorade Player of the Year from 2012-14, and a Parade All-American as a senior. Her 2,815 points are second in the Washington high school history, behind Jennifer Stinson of Davenport.

A five-star prospect with a 4.0 grade-point average, McPhee was a natural fit at Stanford, with its 32 NCAA appearances – 13 ending in the Final Four – and two national titles.
The last one came in 2017, as McPhee willed Cardinal to a 16-point comeback win against Notre Dame to reach the national semifinals.

Article Link: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/201...stanfords-bri/

ZagDad

**ZagDad84** · 03-16-2018, 10:14 PM

Lady Zags finding the Range Late in the Season from the Spokesman Review:

Gonzaga women discovered 3-point touch late in season
Thu., March 15, 2018, 4:55 p.m.

By Jim Allen
[email protected]
(509) 459-5437

STANFORD, Calif. – As the Gonzaga women aim for a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, what better time than now to find their aim from deep?
In their last 10 games, the Zags are shooting almost 35 percent from beyond the arc. They were even better in the West Coast Conference tournament, hitting almost 40 percent of their long-range shots.

“It’s a confidence booster for sure,” junior wing Chandler Smith said this week as the Zags prepared for Saturday’s first-round NCAA game at Stanford. “If you see someone else make them, that takes the lid off the basket and gives the whole team a boost,” Smith added. That lift has come only recently, erasing some tough days for the GU shooters.
On Jan. 12, the Gonzaga women woke up winners again. The night before, on the road, they’d taken care of Portland by 14 points for their seventh consecutive win.
The news came on the stat sheet, where the Zags were 3 for 19 from beyond the arc, leaving them at 23.4 percent for the year. Out of 349 teams in Division I, only nine were worse.

With the graduation last year of Makenlee Williams and transfer of Zhane Templeton, 3-point shooting figured to be a concern for the Zags this year. It quickly became more than that. In the season opener at Colorado State, GU put up 24 long-range shots and made two. Ten days later they were 2 for 18 in an eight-point loss to Belmont at the Play4Kay Showcase in Las Vegas. It happened again on Dec. 9 in the Kennel. Without Jill Barta and facing a low-RPI UNLV team, the Zags went 3 for 17, the capper coming on Laura Stockton’s 3-point miss at the buzzer.

In one sense, poor shooting already has hurt the Zags in the NCAA Tournament, as wins over UNLV and Belmont surely would have boosted GU’s seed above a 13. “It was so tough in the beginning of the year,” Smith said. “In practice we’d be hitting shots left and right, and in the games we couldn’t get anything to drop.”The wins came easier in the WCC, but not the outside shooting. To their credit, Lisa Fortier and her coaches stuck with the game plan and resisted the urge to scale back the perimeter game. Keep shooting, the coaches said, and the players did. In only one WCC game – a 73-65 win at Saint Mary’s on Jan. 18 – did the Zags attempt fewer than 10 long-range shots. The turning point came on Feb. 24 in the Kennel. With the ball and a 1-point lead against San Diego, the Zags were trying to get the ball inside to Barta. The Toreros took away that option. Just like it did against UNLV, the ball wound up in the hands of Stockton as the shot clock neared zero. This time, Stockton drilled the shot to give GU a 58-54 win – and some confidence. Since then, the Zags are one of the better 3-point-shooting teams in the nation, and they may need to rise to that level to beat Stanford.

Fortunately, GU has multiple threats from long range, with Barta (37 percent for the year) and guard Emma Stach (36.3 percent).

“We’re definitely clicking now,” Smith said.

Article Link: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/201...ate-in-sea/#/1

ZagDad

**ZagDad84** · 03-16-2018, 10:25 PM

Must See Players in the Stanford Pod. I think the should have include McPhee in this list, but it is interesting if you watch the Missouri/Florida Gulf Coast game.

Gonzaga’s Jill Barta one of several must-see players in the Stanford pod of the NCAA Tournament
UPDATED: Thu., March 15, 2018, 5:43 p.m.

By Jim Allen
[email protected]
(509) 459-5437

The Stanford, California, pod of the NCAA Tournament not only features four quality teams, but plenty of talented players.
Here are just a few of the players to keep an eye on over the first two rounds.

Jill Barta, Gonzaga

The high-scoring forward from the small town in Montana is Gonzaga’s biggest weapon, and everyone knows it. That includes Stanford, which like most teams will bring frequent double-teams in the paint. Barta can post up low or high, and is adept at both. Barta also is a threat from 3; she leads GU in shots taken (100) and accuracy (37 percent). Barta had a game-high 26 points in the teams’ last meeting, a 68-63 GU win in November 2016. The 6-foot-3 native of Fairfield, Montana, is coming off her second straight MVP award in the West Coast Conference tournament.

Sophie Cunningham, Missouri

If the Zags get past Stanford, they’re likely to run into one of the most enigmatic players in the country in Smith. The 6-1 junior guard is the third-best 3-point shooter in the country (46.6 percent), with athleticism to match. An Associated Press Honorable Mention and two-time All-SEC first-team pick, she’s also gained notice for her hard-nosed play. Said South Carolina coach Dawn Staley after a loss against the Tigers: “She was Sophie – she does what Sophie does.” Counters Mizzou teammate Amber Smith: “She’s a leader overall, but Sophie gives her all. Every possession. Every play. And she’s in it for her teammates.”

Rosemarie Julien, Florida Gulf Coast

She’s only 5-11, but the senior is as comfortable in the paint as in the perimeter. “Rose is a complete player,” FGCU coach Karl Smesko said. “She is a great scorer who can shoot it from deep and also attack the basket. She is also an excellent defender.” A two-time all-Atlantic Sun Conference first-teamer, she leads the 30-4 Eagles in scoring (13.4 ppg), manages to pull down four rebounds per game and shoots a team-high 84.2 percent from the line. Julien’s season-high 25 points helped FGCU to a 74-60 win over Stetson to win the outright title in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Article Link: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/201...st-see-player/

ZagDad

**ZagDad84** · 03-17-2018, 08:40 AM

Here is a link to yesterday's Lady Zags Press Conference.

Press Conference Link: https://www.facebook.com/ZagWBB/vide...type=2&theater

ZagDad

**seacatfan** · 03-17-2018, 11:43 AM

Maybe a good omen, mid majors have been competing well today. 11 seed Western Michigan beat LSU, 9 seed Quinnipiac won a first round game for the second year in a row, 11 seed Buffalo blew out South Florida, and 13 seed Mercer gave Georgia all they could handle.

**seacatfan** · 03-17-2018, 12:29 PM

In the early game at Stanford, Florida Gulf Coast is leading Missouri 41-32 just before halftime. Did not expect that.

**ZagDad84** · 03-17-2018, 01:17 PM

Originally posted by seacatfan View Post

In the early game at Stanford, Florida Gulf Coast is leading Missouri 41-32 just before halftime. Did not expect that.

Lead down to 8 at the start of the 4th quarter.

As I noted before, Missouri's Sophia Cunningham is a monster. She is killing FGCU. After 3 quarters, she has 30 points on 9-13 shooting.

ZagDad

**seacatfan** · 03-17-2018, 01:37 PM

Cunningham is having a great game, but I think FGCU is going to win this. Up 13 w/ 3 minutes left.

**seacatfan** · 03-17-2018, 01:51 PM

FGCU does it, 80-70!

Rebecca Lobo just gave Barta a shout out.

NCAA Tournament: Gonzaga Bulldogs And Cardinal Set To Meet Once Again

NCAA Tournament: Gonzaga Bulldogs And Cardinal Set To Meet Once Again

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