Stanford 87 Baylor 63 
With our first game after finals being against the #10 team in the nation, I was slightly concerned that we might be rusty. As I mentioned to a friend who was attending his first ever women's basketball game, home games are usually blow outs, but this one would probably be close. Good thing I was wrong!
With students being chased out of the dorms on Saturday, there were hardly any in attendance. It basically was my group of friends (all 6 of us) and the band. It's too bad that our two highest profile home games (Baylor and Tennessee) are during the break. In any case, what was supposed to be a close game turned into a rout when Candice and Kayla got it going. One thing that really impresses me about our women's team is how fundamentally solid we look. There were times when we just tore apart Baylor's half court defense for easy layups. Our bigs passed well, especially out of the double team. We ran the fast break well. Two of our freshmen, Kayla and Jeanette (who must have recorded a career high 10 assists), looked like veterans on the court. We were also very opportunistic in the passing lanes and forced a bunch of turnovers. With our up-tempo style of play, the game was so much fun to watch.
Without a doubt, the play of the day went to Candice. She stretched to catch a high and long outlet pass, got her first defender up in the air with a vicious pump fake and then took it straight at her second defender for the bucket and foul. She converted the 3 point play with the crowd on its feet. That play alone was worth the price of admission. What a special player. Kayla was no slouch either and made some nice catches and finishes in the paint. Albert likened her to Brooke with so much more upside since she's a freshman. JJ had a nice all around game too and could challenge for the starting point guard position. She stepped in comfortably for Ros who forced a couple of bad passes and got into foul trouble trying to keep up with Baylor's speedy guard. Jayne also struggled with foul trouble with 2 fouls being called on the offensive end - one for a questionable illegal screen 60 feet from where the ball was and the second for an offensive foul while battling for position in the post. It was nice to see us perform so well even without a stellar performance from her. One big reason was Jillian who had a nose for the offensive rebounds and passed the ball extremely well.
All in all, it was a great game to watch. Baylor wasn't bad. We were just better. We shot and moved the ball well and there was no apparent rust after the long layoff. Hopefully we can take care of business on the road against New Mexico and get ready for the big showdown against Tennessee. I'm not sure when was the last time we won one of those, but I'll definitely be watching it on TV.
~ Zhihao
With our first game after finals being against the #10 team in the nation, I was slightly concerned that we might be rusty. As I mentioned to a friend who was attending his first ever women's basketball game, home games are usually blow outs, but this one would probably be close. Good thing I was wrong!With students being chased out of the dorms on Saturday, there were hardly any in attendance. It basically was my group of friends (all 6 of us) and the band. It's too bad that our two highest profile home games (Baylor and Tennessee) are during the break. In any case, what was supposed to be a close game turned into a rout when Candice and Kayla got it going. One thing that really impresses me about our women's team is how fundamentally solid we look. There were times when we just tore apart Baylor's half court defense for easy layups. Our bigs passed well, especially out of the double team. We ran the fast break well. Two of our freshmen, Kayla and Jeanette (who must have recorded a career high 10 assists), looked like veterans on the court. We were also very opportunistic in the passing lanes and forced a bunch of turnovers. With our up-tempo style of play, the game was so much fun to watch.
Without a doubt, the play of the day went to Candice. She stretched to catch a high and long outlet pass, got her first defender up in the air with a vicious pump fake and then took it straight at her second defender for the bucket and foul. She converted the 3 point play with the crowd on its feet. That play alone was worth the price of admission. What a special player. Kayla was no slouch either and made some nice catches and finishes in the paint. Albert likened her to Brooke with so much more upside since she's a freshman. JJ had a nice all around game too and could challenge for the starting point guard position. She stepped in comfortably for Ros who forced a couple of bad passes and got into foul trouble trying to keep up with Baylor's speedy guard. Jayne also struggled with foul trouble with 2 fouls being called on the offensive end - one for a questionable illegal screen 60 feet from where the ball was and the second for an offensive foul while battling for position in the post. It was nice to see us perform so well even without a stellar performance from her. One big reason was Jillian who had a nose for the offensive rebounds and passed the ball extremely well.
All in all, it was a great game to watch. Baylor wasn't bad. We were just better. We shot and moved the ball well and there was no apparent rust after the long layoff. Hopefully we can take care of business on the road against New Mexico and get ready for the big showdown against Tennessee. I'm not sure when was the last time we won one of those, but I'll definitely be watching it on TV.
~ Zhihao
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