Preview: Stanford Women’s Basketball heads to Las Vegas for Resorts World Classic
This weekend, Stanford women’s basketball will head to Las Vegas for the Resorts World Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada. Stanford will face Florida Gulf Coast on Black Friday and Colorado State on Saturday. Both games will air at 5:00 PM PT on Flo College.
Last time out: Stanford dominated Lehigh 98-43 as Nunu Agara and Lara Somfai both got weekly honors afterwards.
READ: Recapping Big Game weekend Stanford hoops action from Maples Pavilion
Sports-Reference: Stanford Cardinal Women’s Basketball
On Florida Gulf Coast & Colorado State: Starting with Florida Gulf Coast, the Eagles are off to a rough start with a 1-3 record. They have losses to Davidson, George Mason, and Indiana, all by 17+ points. Their lone win is a 97-37 win over Ave Maria, which isn’t Division I. Sophomore guard Sinai Douglas (11.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals) and junior guard Karina Gordon (10.0 points) are the lone scorers in double figures, so they really have a challenge scoring the rock. That’s their biggest issue.
Sports-Reference: Florida Gulf Coast Eagles Women’s Basketball
As for Colorado State, they’re the better team of the two. They are 6-0 with wins over some quality programs like Gonzaga and Oregon State. Senior guard Hannah Ronsiek (10.5 points) and sophomore guard Kloe Froebe (10.2 points) are both scoring a shade over 10 points per game while senior guard Lexus Bargesser is leading the way with her 16.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. The Rams simply have a lot more weapons than the Eagles and should be the more difficult team to face.
Sports-Reference: Colorado State Rams Women’s Basketball
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is make sure they contain Bargesser when they face Colorado State. If they slow her down, that takes away a big weapon from the Rams.
Secondly, they need to make sure they keep moving the ball well and get everyone going. When this Stanford team wins the assist-to-turnover battle, they are extremely tough to beat due to all the weapons they have. Nunu Agara, Lara Somfai, Hailee Swain, Chloe Clardy, etc.
Finally, Stanford needs to dominate the glass. Agara (14.9 points & 8.9 rebounds) and Somfai (11.7 points & 8.0 rebounds) are both doing great in the paint. If they keep that up, Stanford should be fine.
Prediction: I gotta roll with Stanford to go 2-0 this weekend. I think they beat Florida Gulf Coast 90-60 and they beat Colorado State 80-63. That’s how I see this weekend shaking out.
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