Stanford women’s basketball will appear in its 29th NCAA tournament when it takes on Cal State Northridge (23-9, 11-5 Big West) Saturday afternoon.
After an uncharacteristically inconsistent year for the Cardinal, Stanford earned a No. 4 seed in the tournament, its lowest since 2004, when it earned a No. 6 seed.
The Cardinal ended their regular season with a 62-55 loss against unranked Pac-12 opponent Oregon, but bounced back with three close wins against UCLA, Arizona State and Cal to win their 11th Pac-12 Tournament.
Despite a quiet regular season, senior forward Taylor Greenfield emerged as an offensive powerhouse during the tournament, notching 17 points against the Sun Devils in the semifinals and 20 against the Bears in the finals. Greenfield, nicknamed “Tournament Taylor” by her teammates, also secured Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Senior point guard Amber Orrange led the Card throughout the tournament with 16.0 points per game on 47.7 percent scoring.
“[In] our last few games we played some really tough teams as you can see got really nice rankings in the tournament and all year we’ve said we want to be playing our best in March,” said sophomore guard Lili Thompson. “I think we are coming together [and] figuring out what we want to do right now.”
While the Cardinal will rely upon Orrange and Thompson to lead the team offensively, those two players cannot be the only ones to score significantly. One or more players must step up to carry more of the scoring weight, especially since sophomore guard Karlie Samuelson will be out for the rest of the season with a finger injury.
Different players have came through at different points throughout the season: Since the beginning of the year, freshman forward Kaylee Johnson gained conference and national attention for her rebounding prowess; senior forward Bonnie Samuelson has played her best ball this season and earned a starting spot that she has maintained throughout most of the season; sophomore guard Briana Roberson broke through in January; in the Battles of the Bay freshman Brittany McPhee came off the bench and stepped up; and in the Pac-12 Tournament, Greenfield turned heads with her incredible play.
Whether or not one of these three or a new player steps up remains to be seen, but with such a talented squad, Stanford has all the pieces to make a run in the tournament; it just needs to ensure that it works together throughout March to produce the best product.
Inevitably, the squad’s success will also be determined by the performances of the teams they face in the tournament: to start, the California State Northridge Matadors.
After winning the Big West conference championship, CSUN received an automatic berth to the Big Dance. Before Pac-12 play, Stanford beat Hawaii, UC Davis, and UC Santa Barbara, earning a 3-0 record against Big West opponents. The Matadors are led by a trio of senior guards — Ashlee Guay, Janae Sharpe, and Cinnamon Lister — who all average double-digit points.
To match up well against these guards, Orrange and Thompson will have to play aggressive defense without getting into foul trouble.
“They have three really quick guards that really manage their team and keeps their team going,” said sophomore forward Erica McCall. “We know we have to do a lot to stop their guard play and get back in transition.”
“They are a very experienced team,” added head coach Tara VanDerveer. “They start five seniors that also started last year’s NCAA tournament game against South Carolina. They played a really good schedule.”
A win against CSUN would earn VanDerveer her 800th career win at Stanford, which would make her the 10th coach in all of college basketball to reach that threshold.
The winner of the matchup between the Cardinal and the Matadors will play the victor of the Quinnipiac-Oklahoma game.
The starting lineup of No. 12 Quinnipiac (13-3, 20-0 MAAC) contains three seniors who average double-digit points: forwards Samantha Guastella and Val Driscoll (12.9 and 12.7 ppg, respectively) and guard Jasmine Martin (11.7). Oklahoma’s squad also has several offensive weapons, specifically Peyton Little, Kaylon Williams, Gioya Carter and Sharane Campbell, who notch 9 points or more per game.
A trip to the Sweet Sixteen would likely place the Card against the No. 1 seed in the Oklahoma City region, Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish, ranked the second-best overall team, have a formidable and multifaceted squad: Guard Jewell Loyd, a candidate for national player of the year, averages 20.5 points per game, while forwards Brianna Turner (13.8 ppg) and Taya Reimer (10.1 ppg) dominate opponents in the paint. Yet before thinking about Notre Dame, the Cardinal must get through Northridge first.
The first day of tournament action concluded Friday: After winning a close game against Wichita State, No. 4 Cal will face No. 5 Texas on Sunday. No. 11 Miami upset No. 6 Washington, a Pac-12 opponent of Stanford, while No. 3 Oregon State beat No. 14 South Dakota State and will play No. 11 Gonzaga later this weekend.
No. 4 Stanford takes on No. 13 CSUN Saturday, March 21 at 3:30 p.m. at Maples Pavilion. The game will be aired on ESPN2.
Contact Alexa Philippou aphil723 ‘at’ stanford.edu.