Women's March Madness: California-Fresno State Open Thread
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 4:00 PM PDT
in California Golden Bears Men's Basketball
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Tipoff at 8 PM EST, 5 PM PST, on ESPN2, should be shown in most regional markets. Learn more about Fresno State by checking Twist's preview from earlier this week!
The Bears' last tournament experience ended in disappointing fashion, getting upset in the second round to GWU. Clearly, getting to next week would be an impressive accomplishment, since they're likely to get bounced by the runaway Husky train if they manage it.
Their first round matchup against the Bulldogs probably brings great memories back for Ashley Walker.
In the most recent encounter between these two programs, Cal forward Ashley Walker dropped 31 points and grabbed 23 rebounds en route to a Bears victory.
I'm not sure how often 30-20 games occur in the women's game, but in men's basketball they happen close to never (even Dwight Howard, the strongest center in the NBA, has not hit the 30-20 mark once this season). Obviously Walker had to do much of the lifting with Hampton injured and Grey-Lawson off of surgery...but if you don't ooh and ahh at 31-23, then I don't want anything to do with you.
"They are an athletic, man-to-man team and we've seen that in the Pac-10 quite a bit, so we're familiar with them," Bears coach Joanne Boyle said. "It's good to have just a little bit of a taste of their style and their system."
You can probably expect Cal to do what they've done all season--pound the ball inside and wreck Fresno State in the paint, anchored behind Hampton and Walker. However, if the Bears expect to go deep in the tourney and reach the potential they showed earlier this season, they're going to have to start nailing their shots from the perimeter, quickly. Grey-Lawson, Lauren Greif and Natasha Vital have struggled with the stroke as of late. Once a team starts throwing all their bodies inside or straight up zones Cal, the sharpshooters are going to have start nailing shots from the outside. Hopefully, Coach Boyle has the Lady Bears ready to execute from mid-range and beyond. Keep in mind this tournament will exhibit Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton's final games as Golden Bears. These are your last chances to cheer them on before they head off to the next level! Let's go Lady Bears!
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Fun Facts About Cal Women's Basketball
Many of you probably already know some or all of this, but for those who don’t:
The first intermural women’s basketball games were played at Smith College in 1893, just two years after the men’s game was invented. A few months later, the University of California at Berkeley became the first college to play a women’s basketball game against another institution, something called "Miss Head’s School."
On April 4, 1896, the world’s first intercollegiate women’s basketball game was played in San Francisco between Cal and Stanford. The game was played 9 on 9, and there was no dribbling, but the women could run only five feet before passing the ball. Baskets counted as one point. There were 700 women in attendance at the game, but men were barred because it would have been unseemly for them to see the women running around and sweating. Guards were set on all the doors and windows to prevent any men from sneaking a peek. The players wore long gowns and corsets. Evidently, in the early days of women’s basketball, one of the leading causes of injury was women tripping over their skirts. This may account for the low final score of 2-1. Either that, or both teams played some really awesome defense.
In 1901, Cal became the first college to have a basketball court dedicated to the women’s game. Cal’s great patron Phoebe Hearst donated the money to construct the court at Hearst Gym.
Cal didn’t get an NCAA women’s team until 1973. Since then, Cal has made the NCAA tournament 7 times: 1990, 1992, 1993, 2006, 2007, 2008, and now 2009. Cal advanced to the second round of the tournament in 1993 and 2008, but has yet to make it to the Sweet 16.
Before Joanne Boyle took over as Cal’s head coach, we had 12 straight losing seasons, and had not been to the tournament in 13 years. And Cal had only finished as high as third in the Pac-10 once. In Joanne Boyle’s four years at Cal, the team has had four straight winning seasons, four straight NCAA tournament appearances, and has finished second in the Pac-10 the last two years. (Damn that Stanford!) The Cal-Stanford games in the last two years have drawn the three biggest crowds in Pac-10 women’s basketball history, all over 10,000.
Cal is losing a big part of these great teams at the end of this year, Ashley Walker and Devanei Hampton. But Coach Boyle has recruited an incoming freshman class that has been rated by some experts as the best in the country. So the future looks bright.
GO BEARS!
by CalBear81 on Mar 21, 2009 4:21 PM PDT reply actions 5 recs
That 1993 team
had an all American point guard – she was 6’1" and she was amazing. If the WNBA was around the, she would’ve been a top 10 draft pick. (Can’t remember her name) – but with Jason Kidd and her, we had two of the 10 best point guards in the nation. Fun team to watch.
The stars on the '93 team were...
Milica Vukadinovic (PG) and Trisha Stafford (All-American forward)
Ironically, Gooch Foster was the coach of that team. The same Gooch Foster who oversees women’s Pac-10 officials and endorsed the call in the semis that stole the game from Cal and handed it to $C.
by RickySanchez on Mar 21, 2009 9:15 PM PDT up reply actions
GO BEARS!
:D PRD is streaming this game and it’s also on espn360.com.
These Fresno State supporters are loud...
Although I did hear Defense, Bears, Defense!
Bears just going to the rack
So many Bulldog fans here.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:12 PM PDT reply actions
While the Bulldogs are getting to the rim...
Think their ball handlers are not very good. They’re losing the ball while driving.
That was such a bailout call
Fresno State player was falling away from the basket.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:13 PM PDT reply actions
Bears strategy: Go inside, go inside, go inside, go inside.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:15 PM PDT reply actions
Long as it works...
There was a bad pass inside though. Don’t toss it in if they’re triple teaming Ashley…
You’re going to see plenty more of that if Cal can’t nail shots from the perimeter. They don’t have much of a choice.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:17 PM PDT up reply actions
What the hell
Uh oh, DePaul-San Diego State???
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:20 PM PDT reply actions
UGH
Does PDR live in SoCal? They must’ve switched to the local game. NOOOOO.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:24 PM PDT up reply actions
we’ve found an alternate channel here in oakland, but the HD quality is gone.
So, basically, you gotta Go Bears!
Stream is working again
NO HD though. Whatever, take what you can get.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:28 PM PDT up reply actions
hey all - here, but TV's in other room. Will check in sporadically.
lovin’ it so far, Ashley and Lexi playin’ great, Go Bears!
I haven't seen that many tear-stained dollar bills since my dad hired a stripper for my uncle's funeral.
Fresno St. trying to use the speed advantage
Cal still struggling from outside.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:32 PM PDT reply actions
Casey had a nice looking shot on that last one.
Just bit too far on the range.
have we given up on the offensive rebound? Seems we almost never have more than 1 person down low – once the shot is off, everyone just running down the court. Where’s the rebounding?
Or is it just me?
I haven't seen that many tear-stained dollar bills since my dad hired a stripper for my uncle's funeral.
The Bears aren’t as fast as Fresno St, so I think they want to secure the transition game.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Sweet, the Video Professor
God, I’ve always wanted to learn about EBay.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:34 PM PDT reply actions
Sweet, the Video Professor
God, I’ve always wanted to learn about EBay.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:34 PM PDT reply actions
oh no
I’m sorry, but that’s grounds for removal of Jahviditician status.
www.californiagoldenblogs.com
Sure, you can remove me once you punch Twist in the face.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:38 PM PDT up reply actions
Bears are having trouble getting into their halfcourt set
Lot of congestion in the paint. Hampton with 2 fouls.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:38 PM PDT reply actions
Don't lose your cool though Dev!
C’mon Bears.
Jeez.
These refs are letting hacking go on our players and calling all sorts of ticky tack fouls on us.
Hey, your favorite pessimist is here!
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Mar 21, 2009 5:41 PM PDT reply actions
Bears are stepping up on the defensive end
Fresno can barely dribble the ball without getting hands up in the air or in the way of their shots. SOLID.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:41 PM PDT reply actions
We’re playing Virginia after we win tonight, right?
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Mar 21, 2009 5:41 PM PDT reply actions
IF they beat Marist and if we win...
Marist is a good team.
We have it in the bag.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Mar 21, 2009 5:44 PM PDT up reply actions
Hydro will ban you if you keep on being annoying like this.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:46 PM PDT up reply actions
I’m not being annoying.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Mar 21, 2009 5:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Hey, you guys are overreacting here.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Mar 21, 2009 5:52 PM PDT up reply actions
The kill is not as bad as the ban!
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Mar 21, 2009 5:58 PM PDT up reply actions
Has anyone else noticed that on BruinsNation they attack anyone who says something pessimistic about their team, while here we attack people who say anything optimistic about our team?
I definitely agree with the former part of your statement. But do we always attack people who say something optimistic about our team? I haven’t really noticed.
www.californiagoldenblogs.com
Yeah, I attacked him because he guaranteed victory. Which has in the past lead to disastrous results.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 6:11 PM PDT up reply actions
Big difference between optimism and saying it’s a lock.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 6:14 PM PDT up reply actions
What the heck
That no. 2 bull dog just pushed Greif down and out of bounds.
Well it's down to six
Nice quick move to Walker inside.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:45 PM PDT reply actions
15 points for Walker already.
Oh Walker you’re so awesome.
30-21 Cal at half time.
Walker owns Fresno
She’s on pace for another double double.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:54 PM PDT up reply actions
The shooting from outside has been better
Not great, but good enough that it should open up Hampton and Walker in the second half.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 5:56 PM PDT reply actions
I have to get going, but you guys enjoy the game.
The Ultimate Opportunist
by Rated-R Superstar on Mar 21, 2009 5:59 PM PDT reply actions
Quick update on the men's game
W. Kentucky up 6 (their guards have scored 28 of their 31 points)
Duke up 3
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 6:03 PM PDT reply actions
Why are these refs calling everything on us?
That girl TRIPPED. -_-
We're not making our perimeter shots.
Stop. Give it to Walker.
They're wide open too
I hope a girl or two in the new recruiting class can shoot the 3 – cause the current group is inconsistent at best
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
Bears pulling away
Great defense by Hampton, good ball movement to find the open shooter.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 6:14 PM PDT reply actions
Fresno looks totally lost offensively
Lots of useless ball movement and out of control drives and shots
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
I was wondering why they keep trying And1 moves
Sometimes it works but most of the time, the moves are too wild and they lose control of the ball.
Our defense is doing SO well today.
Holding their leading scorer to 0-9 is impressive!
Also Cal has taken away the perimeter
FSU shoots well from outside so they’ve taken them out of their drive and kick game.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 6:20 PM PDT reply actions
Refs are saying it's unbelievable how many 3 pointers Cal has taken
I don’t know if FSU played the same defense in the 1st half as they are now, but it looks to me like they’re essentially daring Vital and Grief to shoot 3s while all 5 defenders collapse inside. Vital in particular seems to have 2 or 3 feet of space every time she has the ball
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
Yeah, they don’t want Walker to win this game, so they try to take the ball out of their hands and dare them to shoot.
Tonight it doesn’t seem to have worked.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 6:24 PM PDT up reply actions
Fresno's particular strategy seems extreme
They give our guards so much space they could shoot a 3 each time. At least Stanford and USC gives enough token pressure to upset them a little – which is probably why it worked out better for them.
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
Scramble game working well too
Up by 21.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 6:23 PM PDT reply actions
LOL. Wow.
Shot clock violation!
That coach looks unhappy.
Adrian isn't a good enough ball handler...
but then she picks up the ball and gets herself trapped. I’d put her near mid court instead and pull back another player to help break the press.
Ball has gotta stay in Vital’s hands.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 6:35 PM PDT up reply actions
Walker as a passer is pretty good and station her near the middle of the floor.
Lauren and Lexi also are pretty good ball handlers for us.
Yeah I like letting Walker ball handle at times. Too difficult to pressure her up the court.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 6:43 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah she seems to externalize her bad game when it’s not going well. Hopefully she adjusts if we move on.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 6:39 PM PDT up reply actions
Mini run for Fresno State.
C’mon Bears! Don’t let up!
Run it up, like UConn!
HYDROTECH IS FREE!
by Thoroughbred on Mar 21, 2009 6:40 PM PDT up reply actions
They have to get it to single digits before they get to the 5 minute mark.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 6:41 PM PDT up reply actions
5-23 from 3 point territory
Still not a lot of continuity out there.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 6:48 PM PDT reply actions
We have a nicely put-together team, which can play the type of basketball that just frustrates any opponent: DEFENSE, then feed the posts.
Boyle just needs to make sure this team knows that UConn is just a team of 18-23 yo women as well. After we get past round 2, of course…
GO BEARS!
HYDROTECH IS FREE!
Probably won't be enough for UConn right now though
Need to play more inside out rather than a disjointed outside-inside game we’ve been going with
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 6:53 PM PDT up reply actions
Are you scared when Adrian holds the ball? She’s so scared to dribble but then she just pivots around futilely while she tries to get the ball to Vital.
Vital sees the field pretty well. Nice pass out to half court.
That's my wish for Adrian to work on in the offseason
Gaining more confidence in her dribbling so that she can drive to the basket and that’ll help in her game over all as well. She can’t just be a three point shooter (esp. since she isn’t making them anyway atm).
Looks like her jump shot was short each time.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah.
Doesn’t seem like she’s really found her range or where she can hit on this floor but her shots look good arc wise.
21-8 for Walker
Not as dominant as last time, but she didn’t need to be.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:00 PM PDT reply actions
Stop worrying about UConn. Worry about Virginia or Marist. Plenty of time to worry about UConn later.
Oh. Maybe.
Depends on PRD though… He has DirectTV. I think one of the channels should show Virginia-Marist.
No one is. Even T-Bred, the biggest homer of us all isn’t.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:07 PM PDT up reply actions
FUCK THAT. We’re beating their pretentious asses in epic fashion. Remember Thermopylae!
HYDROTECH IS FREE!
by Thoroughbred on Mar 21, 2009 7:09 PM PDT up reply actions
EVERYONE DIES AT SOME POINT, BUT ONLY YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SAY YOU DEFEATED UCONN ’09
HYDROTECH IS FREE!
by Thoroughbred on Mar 21, 2009 7:13 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
Wait a second, all the Spartans died there.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:10 PM PDT up reply actions
LEAVE IT ON THE HARDWOOD, LADIES!
HYDROTECH IS FREE!
by Thoroughbred on Mar 21, 2009 7:11 PM PDT up reply actions
You know if we win versus UConn but all of our starters die, how are we going to get to the next round? :x
The volleyball team can jump. Maybe we could import them?
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:13 PM PDT up reply actions
Morgan Beck + Basketball = Spike in Viewership
HYDROTECH IS FREE!
by Thoroughbred on Mar 21, 2009 7:15 PM PDT up reply actions
It would be an honorable death. We will be granted a posthumous NCAA Championship
HYDROTECH IS FREE!
by Thoroughbred on Mar 21, 2009 7:13 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
What are the chances of facing either of them? .0002?
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:16 PM PDT up reply actions
Oh. Not at all.
But the winner will face Stanford.
And well, I like WBB in general so it’s interesting to watch. And this is a close, good game.
Duke up by 4, Gonzaga up by 5
4 minutes left in the Duke-Texas
3 minutes left in Gonzaga-WKU
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:18 PM PDT reply actions
Gonzaga up by 9 now
WKU killed themselves at the line, 5-14.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Women's Swimming - Chance at NCAA Championship
ESPN360.com right now! Final event is the 4×100 free relay. If the Bears beat Georgia, they win the NCAA Championship.
Please give updates!
I have stupid Comcast.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:20 PM PDT up reply actions
Final race should start in the next 5 mins or so. I think that’s how it works. They need to beat Georgia, and not have Arizona win the race and also finish 4th or lower.
by Phoenix Five on Mar 21, 2009 7:22 PM PDT up reply actions
Bears in Lane 7. Apparently they hold the American record.
by Phoenix Five on Mar 21, 2009 7:25 PM PDT up reply actions
These announcers are awful. I can ’t even follow who is leading
by Tedfordisgod on Mar 21, 2009 7:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Count down every meter
HYDROTECH IS FREE!
by Thoroughbred on Mar 21, 2009 7:30 PM PDT up reply actions
Women Win NCAA Swiming Championship!!!!!!
New NCAA meet record!!!
by Phoenix Five on Mar 21, 2009 7:30 PM PDT up reply actions
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIENDS!
HYDROTECH IS FREE!
by Thoroughbred on Mar 21, 2009 7:31 PM PDT up reply actions
That WKU kid Mendes-Valdez has 7 THREE POINTERS
4 point game with a 1 minute and a half left.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:22 PM PDT reply actions
Two point game in WKU-Gonzaga, 24.8 seconds left
WKU ball. Timeout.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:25 PM PDT reply actions
OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:27 PM PDT up reply actions
WKU WITH THE OFFENSIVE BOARD WITH 8 SECONDS LEFT
GONZAGA FRESHMAN GOODSON DRIVES IT IN AND GETS THE JUMPER OFF GLASS WITH .9 LEFT, GONZAGA TO THE SWEET 16!!!!
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Did you see the W. Kentucky coach?
Pretty easy to read his lips: ’That’s Bullshit! I called time-out! That’s Bullshit!"
If he did call time out to set up the defense after the made basket that’s a really big miss by the refs
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
I actually don’t think that is a big miss at all. Gonzaga inbounded the ball right away. On a made basket, unless you really emphatically call time out right away, the benefit of the should really go to the team that inbounded the ball. It would have been far worse to grant WKU a timeout after the ball was in and letting WKU set their D.
by Tedfordisgod on Mar 21, 2009 7:45 PM PDT up reply actions
I didn't actually see what he was doing...
only that he was running around like a madman afterwards yelling at anyone who would listen
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
Lexi and Kara Lawson are cousins!
Noticed the names, and (i thought) a little similarity if their faces, so I thought I’d look it up:
[ESPN broadcaster Kara Lawson] is the cousin of current Cal Bears basketball point guard, Alexis Gray-Lawson.
Good to know I am not completely crazy.
I haven't seen that many tear-stained dollar bills since my dad hired a stripper for my uncle's funeral.
There’s a top 50 recruit in the 2010 class who is the niece of Lexi
HYDROTECH IS FREE!
by Thoroughbred on Mar 21, 2009 7:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Duke getting all the calls down the stretch
Ticky tack foul that gave them the go ahead FTs, plus offensive goaltending.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:31 PM PDT reply actions
Okay, I'll admit
That was a sweet play by Scheyer.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:33 PM PDT up reply actions
Texas is taking some weird shots
a contested three when you’re down 2 early in the shot clock, then a falling sideways 2 when you’re down 3?
Then a great play by Scheyer.
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
Yeah, it’s the staple of a Rick Barnes coached team. Designed plays that make absolutely no sense.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:34 PM PDT up reply actions
OH MY GOD
Texas doesn’t deserve to win this after those gifts.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:35 PM PDT reply actions
When you really need to make a ft
either have a guy who shoots 80% or higher
OR
have a guy who shoots them so crappy that his shot will miss by a mile and take a weird high bounce off the rim so that you have a chance at the offensive rebound
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
Bold prediction time!
Villanova beats Duke by almost as much as they beat UCLA
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
We shall see
My bracket should be totally wrecked by tomorrow.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:40 PM PDT up reply actions
Marist v. Virginia
is on prd’s channel. Winner plays Cal.
THERE NEEDS TO BE A TIMEOUT BUTTON.
The coach should wear it and it should automatically set off a horn and/or lights or something so the timeout is called instead of missed like in the Gonzaga/W. Kentucky game.
www.californiagoldenblogs.com
That’d be awesome at a football game. Some loud horn sounds off and makes everyone in the stadium deaf.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:44 PM PDT up reply actions
Just like when the refs blow their whistles while the mics still on. How many times did that happen last year?
I counted it one game and got up to four
so if that’s the average…28 times!
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
Well, this is needed more in bball than fball b/c of the way the timing works. Football could use one, but is more okay without one than bball.
www.californiagoldenblogs.com
Well in basketball you have to call timeouts immediately. Like IMMEDIATELY. The WKU coach seemed to hesitate for a second.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:49 PM PDT up reply actions
Why hasn't this happened?
it seems blatantly obvious and also entertaining
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
Too many interruptions in play
Plus it’s kind of obnoxious.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 7:55 PM PDT up reply actions
I can imagine Bruce Pearl in his white T-shirt blowing that horn.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 8:02 PM PDT up reply actions
Good news.
Looks like Virginia doesn’t have a consistent 3 point shooter either. Lots of slashers.
It was tied last I saw it. Have they opened it up?
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 8:17 PM PDT up reply actions
Nope.
Still really close.
This is going to be a good game. Marist is very well coached.
You seem to know a lot more about women’s basketball than I do. You should we be rooting for? I mean, who would be a better match-up for Cal? My knee-jerk reaction is that I would rather play a 12 seed than a 5 seed, but Marist looks pretty good. What do you think?
It would be nice if there was a kenpom stat site for the women's game
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
Uh...
I’m not quite sure actually.
Probably Marist. We’ll have the slightly better athletes and we’re well coached as well too. I think our defense matches up well. Fitz is going to be trouble. She looks tall — we’ll need either Walker or Hampton to defend her well.
UVA has fantastic athletes who can go off at any moment – they’ve just been inconsistent this year as a team due to PG issues – so probably better not to give them the chance to go off on us.
Although after seeing the way Virginia has been playing, I’m much less scared to play them. I think we can play zone pretty well against them – they don’t have a consistent 3 point shooter – and we can press them okay. Pressing might not work too well against them given that their players are fairly tall but Vital should be able to harass their PG effectively.
The worry I have with pressing and playing against UVA
is we have a short bench. Really short.
If we have to press and just in general keep up with their athletes for 40 minutes, I’m worried about fatigue. I think we’d probably have a great first half. I’d just be worried about the second half as in what happened with Oklahoma.
UVA's athletes are
Littles and Wright. Wright is considered to be one of the best ACC players if not THE best and Littles is no slouch herself. Wright basically won the TN game at TN for UVA.
What about Mohammed?
HYDROTECH IS FREE!
by Thoroughbred on Mar 21, 2009 8:36 PM PDT up reply actions
Olympian for the Nigerian team apparently.
She’s a good player for them but she doesn’t seem to be able to take over a game like Littles or Wright. They don’t have a huge post rotation though… so I suppose if we get one of the three into foul trouble (like Marist did), we’re going to have a much easier time.
Walker is one of a kind!
Wright and Littles are both wing players as opposed to bona fide posts.
Can they do what Walker can do? No. Wright and Littles are more slashers to the basket. Mohammed seems more like a Dev type player. Short range, banging in the post.
Walker is a top 10 WNBA draft prospect
Not many people are on par with her.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 8:56 PM PDT up reply actions
This zone is going to be annoying for us
if we play Marist. We’ll need to move to create space for Walker and Hampton.
Hey, I see your comments on the game feed. Sounds like you’re a Cal and Stanford fan. Did you go to Cal, or are you a fan of all women’s basketball?
I’m AT Cal. ;) I’m a senior here (would just have to graduate at a year when the job market sucks!)
But I am a fan of women’s basketball in general.
I probably shouldn’t admit this here, but while I generally loath all things Stanfurd, I don’t feel that way about the women’s basketball team. I feel a certain amount of “Pac-10 solidarity” since we get so little respect from the rest of the country in women’s basketball. And Tara VanDerveer is always so gracious in her comments about Cal that I just can’t work up any animosity toward her team.
What if I told you Tara VanDerveer beat her players and blackmailed them into playing basketball?
HYDROTECH IS FREE!
by Thoroughbred on Mar 21, 2009 8:58 PM PDT up reply actions
What if I told you Nikki Caldwell was moving in next door to you?
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 9:01 PM PDT up reply actions
Nothing bothers me about the Stanford women
except the one bench player who high fives everybody along the bench after a made basket. It drove me crazy watching that happen as Stanford pulled away from Cal at Maples this year, and last year when they won at Haas
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
It's really weird to see comments on the stream that are coherent, complete sentences
Usually it’s just LOLZ KAL SUX SO BAD!!1
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
Something tells me if we put up a Cal rugby match, it’d be the most intelligent comment stream ever.
by Avinash Kunnath on Mar 21, 2009 9:01 PM PDT up reply actions
Indubitably!
That was a cracking try! I haven’t seen such athletic achievements since the last world’s fair in aught seven!
The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS
They don’t usually block all IPs from the state of Arizona
HYDROTECH IS FREE!
by Thoroughbred on Mar 21, 2009 9:02 PM PDT up reply actions
Ouch.
The second half is an example of why I don’t want to play Virginia.
That transition game is going to wear us down and if they shut down Walker like they did Fitz in this game, well … We’ll have to hope for Lexi to pull her Stanford-killing mode again.
Cal v. Virginia in the second round!
68-61 UVA over Marist, final score.
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