Tag: Stanford Cardinal

Stanford Women Looking To Diversify Their Ways After Rough Night in 84-59 Loss To No. 11 Ohio State

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Kate Paye hasn’t spent two decades with the Stanford women’s basketball team without developing resilience. And that’s her makeup, not necessarily a characteristic she assumed from her mentor, legendary coach Tara VanDerveer. At this point, her Stanford experience is uniquely hers, for better or worse. And worse was Friday’s sobering loss to Ohio State at the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic at Chase Center.

Paye’s response to a third, aggravating loss this month?

“I love coaching this team. There are three other teams that are here, I wouldn’t want to be in any other locker room. I love the women on our team. We have an incredible staff who work extremely hard. We have to learn from it. This is as our mindfulness coach would tell us, this is information, this is feedback. It doesn’t affect the players or the coaches that we are, the human beings that we are. We have to learn from it, and we have to work to improve,” she said.

Starting with the Cardinal’s fourth quarter defensive hiccup at LSU, Paye’s team has regressed defensively. The host Tigers shot 10 for 17 in that final period, which forced overtime and resulted in a 94-88 loss for Stanford. Rival California found the hot hand early and maintained it in an 83-63 decision that dropped Stanford to 0-1 in the ACC. The Bears set a school record with 18 made threes.

And Friday, Ohio State shot it so well that Stanford resorted to playing zone briefly to break the Buckeyes’ spell. That didn’t make a difference, nor did Stanford’s tardy and lethargic offensive attack.

“I just didn’t come out with the level of aggression I usually do,” said leading scorer Nunu Agara, who looked good in the box score with 17 points, 10 rebounds, but didn’t impress herself. “Just being mentally locked in, staying with things. I think I didn’t do that great of a job in the first half–honestly the first three quarters. I turned it up a little too late. As for our team, we were a little shell-shocked about their press.”

Paye acknowledged that her team’s success shooting the three in the season’s first five games told future opponents to emphasize shutting down Stanford’s perimeter attack. From her perspective, the response has to be to drive and attack the basket. As of yet, that counter hasn’t kicked in. The quality of the opponents hasn’t helped either. Ohio State’s hands-on press proved pesky, forcing 19 turnovers and scoring 17 points off those mistakes.

Stanford’s issues started offensively with just 19 points scored before halftime, then defensively, by allowing Ohio State 51 points after the break.

The Cardinal catch a break after Friday to be home for Christmas. After that, a winnable road trip to SMU and Clemson kicks off conference play. Paye’s mission and her team’s will be to recapture the magic and remember what makes them a formidable team.

U Know Who It Is. UCLA!: No. 1 Bruins Win Convincingly Over Creighton At Chase Center

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By Morris Phillips

SAN FRANCISCO–Coach Cori Close is greatly loved by her players, the young women she recruited to assume the quest of returning the Bruins to national prominence. Those players are likely well aware that Close hasn’t taken UCLA to the Final Four in her 13 years as head coach.

When you love your coach, and you want her to have the very best storylines, trailing an inferior opponent at halftime of a second round NCAA Tournament game is a nerve wracking situation. Compounding the scene for Kiki Rice, Angela Dugalic and the rest of the Bruins was a downcast Pauley Pavilion crowd that had experienced disappointment before.

The team’s play appeared tense, and their defense slipped. Creighton kept pushing, trying to put as many made baskets in their cookie jar as possible before the hosts snapped to. The Bluejays led 38-28 in the second quarter, and we’re still leading 44-34 in the third when Rice settled in.

“I just knew that I needed to do whatever I had to do to help my team win, whether that was feeding the ball to Lauren (Betts), scoring, doing whatever, and I think I was just focused on that,” Rice said.

Close’s tough love speech was all focus, and very little to do with her Final Four aspirations.

“At halftime, I really laid into them about the choices,” she said. “We don’t give up that many points in a half to anybody. So, we needed to just get back to doing things with our defense. I knew if we could get enough stops, we would score enough points.”

Sure enough, UCLA’s defensive intensity prevailed as Creighton scored just 21 points after the break while experiencing three lengthy droughts. The Bruins’ crowd exhaled, and the team advanced to the Sweet 16.

But they went no further, suffering a late game defeat to LSU in Albany the following week, and Close’s streak continued for another year.

“We didn’t get the shots that we wanted,” she said. “We did not execute the way that we needed to, and that’s one that’s going to sting for a really long time for me.”

A really long time wasn’t long at all for the hyper-motivated Close. Along with associate head coach Shannon LeBeauf and assistant Tony Newnan, who have been with Close since her beginning in Westwood, they hit the transfer portal with a mandate to add more of everything to put around Rice and Betts. Adding Janiah Barker from Alabama, Timea Gardiner from Oregon State, and Charlisse Leger-Walker from Washington State along with a group of highly-regarded freshman accomplished that. UCLA’s reload was simply loaded.

The Bruins opened the season running and took down reigning National Champion South Carolina in the process. A more diversified offense and relentless defense fueled an 11-0 start to the season and the Bruins ascent to No. 1 in the polls. Creighton was next on Friday at Chase Center, and the Bluejays immediately saw their opponent’s relentless ways.

“Seventy or 80 percent of it was them, but I thought we were tight and sped up offensively,” Creighton coach Jim Flanery said of UCLA’s flawless first quarter that ended with the Bruins leading 28-4.

Flanery acknowledged that the Bruins probably weren’t in the mindset of having another close call in the rematch, even if they had to play without Betts, who was out with a leg injury.

“The first quarter, I thought they played really fast and had us on our heels.”

The Bruins went on to win easily, 70-41. Their 12-0 start to the season includes just one win by fewer than 11 points. And now their first season in the Big Ten has arrived, along with two huge dates with crosstown irritant USC. A team this deep that wins with ease frequently needs an edge. Close has that covered as well.

“Nobody’s going to play perfect every single night. And bottom line is we have to have a selflessness that if it’s not my night, I’m going to celebrate it being someone else’s night,” she said.

What of the pressure of being the best team in the polls now but needing to break through in March?

“We have not arrived. And I think our ability to be relentlessly focused on being present and having a growth mindset. It is urgent that we improve today. It is urgent that I make a teammate better today.”

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson: Cardinal host surging Ducks Saturday at Maples Pavilion Saturday

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Stanford Cardinal Anthony Batson Jr picked up one assist against the Merrimack Warriors on Tue Dec 17, 2024 at Maple Pavilion in Palo Alto (photo by fieldlevelmedia.com)

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson:

#1 The Stanford Cardinal (9-2)  Oziyah Sellers went on an offensive rampage scoring 19 points and was 8 for 11 shooting from the floor at Maple Pavilion on Tuesday night leading the Cardinal to a 74-68 win over the Merrimack Warriors (5-7).

#2 The Warriors almost came back on the Cardinal whittling their 19 point lead down to just six points before time ran out and Merrimack dropped their record to 5-7.

#3 Stanford’s always reliable Maxime Raynaud came through leading with 16 points and 16 rebounds.

#4 Jaylen Blakes contributed with 16 points to help improve the Cardinal record to 9-2. Blakes was 5-7 from the floor and was perfect in 3 point shooting going 4-4. Blakes had a pretty good night adding seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.

#5 The Cardinal take on the Oregon Ducks (10-1) on Sat Dec 21st at SAP San Jose for a 5:00pm PST tip. The Ducks are fourth in the Big 10 Conference. The can be a tough customer and the Cardinal have been some great ball of late as well. How do you see this one on Saturday night.

Michael Roberson does the Cardinal podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford gets early 19 point lead beat Merrimack by six 74-68

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Stanford guard Jaylen Blakes drives the ball against the Merrimack Warriors in the Cardinal six point win at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Tue Dec 17, 2024 (Stanford Cardinal X photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Stanford Cardinal  Oziyah Sellers went on an offensive rampage scoring 19 points and was 8 for 11 shooting from the floor at Maple Pavilion on Tuesday night leading the Cardinal to a 74-68 win over the Merrimack Warriors.

The Warriors almost came back on the Cardinal whittling their 19 point lead down to just six points before time ran out and Merrimack dropped their record to 5-7. Stanford’s always reliable Maxime Raynaud came through leading with 16 points and 16 rebounds.

Jaylen Blakes contributed with 16 points to help improve the Cardinal record to 9-2. Blakes was 5-7 from the floor and was perfect in 3 point shooting going 4-4. Blakes had a pretty good night adding seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Sellers and Ryan Agarwal scored 11 points and each player had scored three of the Cardinal 11 pointers. The Cardinal were in control in the first half of the game with a 39-30 half time lead. The Warriors came back and lead the second half 38-35 but it wasn’t enough for Merrimack for the loss.

In the first half Blakes was unstoppable in the he hit a key 3 pointer that gave Stanford the lead for the rest of the game and fired up the Cardinal to make a 26-7 run for a31-12 score against the Warriors. The three players who made the difference in scoring Sellers with 19 points followed by Raynaud and Blakes who finished with 16 points each.

Cal Bears WBB podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal hopes to continue undefeated home record against Stanford Friday

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Cal Bears forward Marta Suarez (7) drives on the Alabama Crimson Tide on Thu Dec 5, 2024 at Haas Pavilion. Suarez finished with 21 points against the Stockton Tigers on Sat Dec 7, 2024 at Alex Spanos Center in Stockton (Cal Bears X photo)

Cal Bears WBB podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Cal Bears (9-1) guard Ioanna Krimili and Marta Suarez led the way with 22 points and 21 points respectively as they defeated the Pacific Tigers (5-5) 74-66 last Sat Dec 7th at the Alex Spanos Center in Stockton.

#2 Cal is rolling and they pick up another road win. Cal shut down Pacific’s offense in the second quarter allowing them only seven points and coming away with a 17-7 second quarter establishing their defense to hold off the Tigers.

#3 Cal chalked up their eighth straight win with the win over the Tigers and it matches the Bears best start since the 2018-19 season when they went 9-1.

#4 The Tigers tried to keep it close edging Cal in the third quarter 19-18 and Cal won the fourth quarter 20-19 for a 74-66 win for Cal.

#5 The Cal women get after once again as they host the Stanford Cardinal at Haas Pavilion for a 7:00pm PST tip this Fri Dec 13th. The Cardinal have struggled on the road losing two road games and this will be their third road game against Cal. Cal are 5-0 at home. Morris how do you see this match up this Friday night in Berkeley?

Cal Bears podcasts with Morris Phillips can be hear Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson: Stanford takes commanding win over Cal 89-81 at Haas Pavilion

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Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (42) with arms out stretched tied as leading scorer with 20 points against the Cal Bears at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Sat Dec 7, 2024

On the Stanford Cardinal podcast with Michael Roberson:

#1 Stanford Cardinal (8-2) Maxime Raynaud converted almost 50% of his shots leading the Cardinal with 20 points he was getting the open shot quite often today against the Cal Bears (6-3).

#2 The Cardinal pretty much were having their way in the first half outscoring Cal 47-31.

#3 The Cardinal defense held the Cal Bears to single digits the Bears Andrej Stojakovic and and Javon Blacksher were the only two players to get into double figures.

#4 Talk about Stanford’s defense they were able to keep the Bears at arms length for most of the game. The closest that Cal they tied it up but just couldn’t take the lead at any point in the contest.

#5 Stanford hosts the Merrimack Warriors (3-6) at Maples Pavilion on Tue Dec 17th. Merrimack has won their last two games but lost six in a row before that. How do you see this match up on Tuesday night?

Michael Roberson does the Stanford Cardinal podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Stanford Cardinal game wrap: Cardinal Trapped the Bears in Battle of the Bay & ACC Opener, 89-81; 1st conference game for both

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Stanford Cardinal guard Jaylen Blakes (21) directs his teammates against the Cal Bears at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Sat Dec 7, 2024 (Stanford Cardinal X photo)

By Michael Roberson

BERKELEY, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal (8-2, 1-0 ACC) opened their inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference season with a victory over their Cross-Bay rival California Golden Bears, 89-81, on Saturday Afternoon in the East Bay.

The Cardinal came out aggressively in Bear Territory and carried that all throughout the 40-minute contest. They also achieved the coveted 50/40/90 statline. They shot 53% from the field, 48% from beyond the Arc, and 90% from the charity stripe.

They opened the game on a 7-0 start., in which senior forward Maxime Raynaud had five of them. He hit a three to produce the game’s first points, then added another bucket during their initial run.

Stanford led by as much as 16 points; however, Cal actually tied the game at 29, at the 4;53 mark of the first half. Stanford immediately responded to that with a 9-0 run on three 3-pointers by Jaylen Blakes (2) and Oziyah Sellers (1).

The Cardinal extended that advantage by seven by the end of the first 20 minutes/ At intermission, Stanford led 47-31. The Cardinal defense (tree) forced the Bears to shoot 38% from the field and 0% from Threeland. Cal also had 0 assist in the first segment of the game.

Three Stanford players reached double-figures by recess. Blakes (14), Raynaud (11) and Sellers (10) were the select few to eclipse that plateau. In a bit of irony, Cal’s only player to join the 10+ club, was former Cardinal hooper, Andrej Stojakovic. He transferred across the Bay after one year on the Farm. Coincidentally, his present coach, Mark Madsen, is also a former Stanford Cardinal.

In the second half, Cal scored the first bucket, but Stanin into a single digit deficit.ford was able to balloon the lead all the way to 20 points.late in the second half. The Bears did claw their way back into again in the second 20 minutes. They had a 9-0 run of their own to get them within a single digit (6) deficit. They also outscored the Cardinal by eight in half number two. However, wihen they trailed by 16 at intermission, making up eight points only cuts the gap in half.8-point win.

At the final whistle, Stanford settled for a victory of less than 10 points, but imitated their football brethren (Syracuse) and won their first ACC game ever on the road in a hostile environment.

The Cardinal are 1-0 in the opposite coastal ACC, and also has bragging rights for capturing the first half of the Battle of the Bay, 89-81.

Raynaud produced 20 points and prevented 5 shots with his hands. Blakes pitched in 20 points, 6 assists and 2 blocks. Sellers offered 16 poins, while both Ryan Agarwal (7 rebounds) and Chisom Okpara both gave 11 points to the team.

Stojakovic led all scorers with 25 points against his former school, while Jovan Blacksher Jr. scored 14 and Mady Sissoko tallied 11 points and 8 rebounds.

Stanford will next be in action Tuesday, December 17 at Maples hosting non conference opponent Merrimack Warriors at 7:00 PM PDT on ACC Extra/ESPN+.

Cal; will host the Cornell Big Red on Tuesday, December 10, at 7:00 PM PDT. also on ACC Extra/ESPN+

Cal Bears podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Cal just couldn’t surpass Stanford’s lead in 89-81 loss at UC Berkeley

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Cal Bears forward Rytis Petratis (31) drives on Stanford Cardinal guard Jaylen Blakes (21) at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Sat Dec 7, 2024 (Cal Bears X photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 Stanford Cardinal (8-2) Maxime Raynaud converted almost 50% of his shots leading the Cardinal with 20 points he was getting the open shot quite often today against the Cal Bears (6-3).

#2 The Cardinal pretty much were having their way in the first half outscoring Cal 47-31.

#3 The Cardinal defense held the Cal Bears to single digits the Bears Andrej Stojakovic and and Javon Blacksher were the only two players to get into double figures.

#4 Talk about Stanford’s defense they were able to keep the Bears at arms length for most of the game. The closest that Cal got they tied the game but just couldn’t take the lead at any point in the contest.

#5 Cal hosts the Cornell Big Red (5-3) in their next game here at Haas Pavilion for a 7:00pm PST tip on Tuesday night. Cornell won their last game against Colgate 84-57. Cornell has won three of its last five games. How do you see this match up this Tuesday?

Stephen Ruderman is a Cal Bears beat writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears game wrap: Stanford beats Cal 89-81 in wild and hectic first all-ACC game between two historic rivals

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Cal Bears forward Lee Dort (31) and guard Jovan Blacksher Jr (10) talk it over as they battle the Stanford Cardinal at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley Sat Dec 7, 2024 (Cal Bears X photo)

Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Stanford Cardinal 89 (8-2 Overall; 1-0 ACC)

California Golden Bears 81 (6-3 Overall; 0-1 ACC)

By Stephen Ruderman

BERKELEY–The Bears fell short in a weird and wild game against their hated rivals in their first all-ACC game, as the Stanford Cardinal came to Haas Pavilion to beat Cal 89-81.

It was only fitting that the Bears’ first ACC game would be against their longtime hated rivals, and the only other team that moved over with them from the Pac-12. During his announcement that this was the first all-Atlantic Coast Conference game for the Bears, Public Address Announcer Matt Foley could have made fans aware of the view of the Pacific Ocean from the upper level of Haas Pavilion, but with the smog outside, that would have been meaningless.

Anyway, it was a matchup between two evenly-matched teams that were off to great starts. Cal came into today’s game at 6-2, following a tough 98-93 loss at Missouri on Tuesday night. Stanford is also off to a great start this season, as they came into today at 7-2. As evenly matched as this matchup was, the game would be both evenly matched and far from it.

Stanford just took it to the Bears out of the gate, and Maxime Raynaud hit a three to open the scoring. Oziyah Sellers then slammed one down after intercepting a pass from Jovan Blacksher Jr., and Raynaud hit a jumper.

Just a minute and 20 seconds in, Stanford already held a 7-0 lead. Stanford extended their lead to 14-4 three minutes and 40 seconds in, and they would remain comfortably ahead throughout most of the first half.

However, the Bears suddenly caught fire in the latter part of the first half. Andrej Stojakovic made a pair of layups, and Mady Sissoko dunked one to close the deficit to just four at 27-23.

Raynaud made a jumper to extend Stanford’s lead to 29-23, but Joshua Ola-Joseph hit a jumper and a layup, and Stojakovic made a layup. In just three minutes and 12 seconds, the Bears went on a 12-2 run to suddenly come back and tie the game.

However, in just under two minutes, Jaylen Banks hit a pair of threes, and Sellers hit a three of his own to put Stanford back ahead 38-29. It was a very interesting five-plus minutes to say the least, but Stanford was back in control of the game.

Stanford went into the half up 47-31 after closing out the first half with a remarkable 18-2 run. The Bears started the second half with an 8-2 run, and the raucous crowd at Haas Pavilion was certainly feeling it. However, Stanford remained in command throughout most of the second half.

However, to the Bears’ credit, they never gave up, and fought until the bitter end. Stanford extended their lead to 20 points at 77-57 with 5:37 to go, but Cal made one last charge in the final minutes.

A three by Rytis Petratis closed it to 81-71 with 2:47 to go. 34 seconds later, Ola-Joseph hit a three to make it 81-74. In a game of many dominant scoring drives, the Bears were on a 17-4 run, and in position to pull off a comeback for the ages.

The crowd at Haas Pavilion was on fire and ready to bring the place down. Chisom Okpara was fouled and hit two from the line, but Stojakovic hit a three to make it 83-77 with 1:21 remaining. It was certainly more than enough time for the Bears to tie the game, or even take the lead, considering the crazy drives the two teams went on throughout this game.

However, it was not meant to be. After the score stagnated for the next 29 seconds, a foul by Ola-Joseph sent Sellers to the line. Sellers made both shots, and that pretty much did it. Stanford won by a final of 89-81.

Cal has now dropped two-straight to fall to 6-3, and they are 0-1 in ACC play. However, as tough of a loss as this was for the Bears, they should hold their heads high. They never gave up, and they believed that they were going to come back and win this game until the bitter end.

Stojakovic led the scoring with 25 points for the Bears, as he was 11-for-25 in field goals, and 3-for-7 from beyond the arc. Blacksher scored 14; Sissoko scored 11; and Ola-Joseph and Petraitis both scored nine.

Raynaud and Blakes led the scoring for Stanford with 20 points each. Sellers was not too far behind with 16 points.

The Bears will have another non-conference game against the Cornell Big Red at Haas Pavilion on Tuesday night. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m.

Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast with Michael Roberson: Cardinal tip off against Cal Saturday at noon in Berkeley

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Stanford Cardinal guard Oziyah Sellers (4) drives on Utah Valley Wolverines guard Kylin Green (3) at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Tue Dec 4, 2024 (Stanford Cardinal photo)

On the Stanford Cardinal basketball podcast with Michael Roberson:

#1 The Stanford Cardinal’s Jaylen Blakes led with 18 points and had a career high of six rebounds, four assists, and three steals and is in the top ten in the nation with with free throws.

#2 Oziyah Sellers scored 15 points while going 6-11 shooting and Maxime Raynaud scored 14 points and tied his career high in rebounds with 17.

#3 Stanford’s defense held the Utah Valley Wolverines to just 36.9 points and 29.4 from behind the three point arc.

#4 The Cardinal who were down by six points down 12-6 in the first 4:45 of the game came back 12-3 and got scoring from Blakes, Sellers, and Raynaud for the 77-63 win at Maples Pavilion.

#5 It’s the basketball version of the Big Game this Saturday at Cal for a 12pm PST tip off. The Cardinal are 7-2 and are 1-0 on the road. The Bears are 6-2 and are 5-0 at home. Michael how do you see this match up Saturday at 12 noon at UC Berkeley.

Michael Roberson is a Stanford Cardinal beat writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com