Preview: Stanford Women’s Basketball welcomes Santa Clara to The Farm
On Thursday at 7:00 PM PT on ACCNX, Stanford women’s basketball will welcome Santa Clara to Maples Pavilion. Both teams come in at 1-0 overall.
Last time out: Stanford defeated UNC Greensboro on Monday by a final score of 87-42. Stanford freshman Lara Somfai led the way with 15 points & 8 rebounds.
RECAP: Stanford Women’s Basketball dominates UNC Greensboro
On Stanford: Stanford is coming off a season in which they missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1987. The same year Michael Jackson released BAD. They are hoping to get back to the tournament thanks to having a strong freshman class and a solid core returning. Stanford is picked to finish 6th in the ACC preseason poll. For more preseason content and thoughts on the team entering the season, check out the basketball news feed here.
On Santa Clara: The Broncos won their home opener over Stanislaus State 108-52. Junior forward Kylee Fox led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds. The Broncos are coming off a season in which they went 14-17 overall and 8-12 in the WCC. They ended the season on a five-game losing streak, so they are not entering the season with any momentum. That said, the Broncos are picked to finish 5th in the WCC preseason poll, so they’re expected to have a decent season. There’s also a bit of a rivalry here, so they’ll be fired up.
The top four scorers from last year have all departed (three graduated and one transferred) as senior forward Alana Goodchild is the top returning scorer from last year, averaging 5.8 points per game. This is a very different Broncos team from last year so in many ways it’s hard to know what to expect from them.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is contain Fox. She had a fantastic game in the opener for the Broncos. While it’s early yet, it’s clear she’s a player they need to key on. If Stanford defends her well, odds are good they’ll win with little trouble.
Secondly, Stanford needs to keep moving the ball around and getting multiple players scoring in double figures. With all the talent Stanford has, there’s no reason they shouldn’t have 4+ players scoring in double figures. If Stanford gets good scoring balance, they should be fine.
Finally, Stanford needs to get off to a good start and put the Broncos away early. If Stanford is able to lead by double digits at the end of the 1st quarter, that would be huge. If it’s a six-point game or closer, the Broncos will feel like they have an opportunity to make this one interesting. If you are Stanford, you want to remove any and all belief from the Broncos.
Prediction: While it’s early yet, Stanford appears to be more dangerous than last year and poised to crack the AP Top 25. I gotta roll with Stanford to win 85-57.
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