28/32 STANFORD CARDINAL 13 -3 (1-1 ACC)
NCAA NET #37 (UNC #17); Massey rating 31 (UNC 24); RPI #23 (NOLAN) (UNC #38); Torvik 36 (UNC 10)
Last Season: 18-15; 0-1 ACC Tournament, 0-1 WBIT (lost to Portland 68-69 OT)
Sunday afternoon’s game for the #16/15 Tar Heels is with the Stanford Cardinal in Carmichael. Stanford is 13-3 on the season, going 12-2 in non-conference play. The Cardinal struggled last year in their first ACC season and was a disappointing 8-10. They have split two early games, beating archrival Cal back in December 78-69 but losing badly in their last game at NCSU, 46-74. They do get votes in both polls.
Stanford, officially The Leland Stanford, Junior University, and usually just called “The Farm”, has been one of the elite teams in WBB for many years and Carolina is just 2-3 against them. Last year’s first-ever ACC game, played at Maples Pavilion, was a Tar Heel win 67-69. UNC bombed the Card with a 9 for 17 performance (52.9%) from three.
Enrollment at Stanford is 15,000 and the school has an endowment of $16 billion. They feature 20 sports for women, including such things as Beach Volleyball, Sailing, Artistic Swimming and Water Polo.
Some of the more interesting non-conference games featured old-time rivals from Pac-12 days, like Washington State (W 54-48); Washington (W 67-62), and Oregon (W 64-53). The ACC/SEC Challenge was with Tennessee at home, and was a loss 62-65. The only other n/c loss was to FGCU 62-66, in a tournament played in Las Vegas.
For Sunday’s game Massey favors UNC by 7. Both Nolan and Torvik see Carolina a winner by 8 and 9 points respectively.
Five players have started every game. They are Nunu Agara, a 6-2 junior F (15.0 ppg/8.6 rpg); 5-11 freshman G Hailee Swain (9.3/2.1); Lara Somfai, a 6-3 freshman F (10.8/10.0); Talana Lepolo a 5-7 senior PG (4.8 ppg and the assist leader); and Courtney Ogden, a 6-1 junior F (10.5/3.5). Agara leads Stanford in scoring; Somfai leads the team (and the ACC) in rebounds. For good measure Somfai leads in blocks as well. Ogden was basically the 6th player last year. She is a McDonald’s AA, as are Swain, Somfai, and Eschmeyer.
It is a bit more complicated after the five above. Sophomore Shay Ijwoye, a 5-6 PG, has appeared in 11 games. Shay, whose real first name is “Wrenwick”, started a number of games last year. She is not a big scorer (2.4 ppg). The sixth player would normally be Chloe Clardy, a 5-9 junior G who at 11.8 ppg is the #2 scorer and leads the team in steals.
It should be noted that Clardy has missed the last two games. She is an important cog in the Stanford wheel, averaging over 30 minutes in reserve. The nature of her injury is unknown and equally unknown if she will play against UNC on Sunday. All media sources checked were, as usual, silent on that issue. UNC will find out at game time.
Also seeing time as a reserve is Purdue transfer Mary Ashley Stevenson, a 6-2 junior G (3.1 ppg). She adds a steady 3.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg. Size when needed is Freshman Alexandra Eschmeyer, a 6-5 freshman F (3.5 ppg). Six more players are on the roster but do not appear to be in the regular rotation.
Like Carolina, Stanford has over the years recruited several HS All-Americans. This year’s team has four. They are a tall team and although not as experienced as some years past they are no easy out. UNC will need to continue the defensive pressure they used on Ca in the 4th quarter. UNC will be off for a week before a trip to Notre Dame.
The current Head Coach, officially titled “The Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women’s Basketball” is Kate Paye. Paye took over the program after 17 years as assistant and associate coach. She is a dyed-in-the-wool Stanfordite, born in the Stanford hospital into a family all of whom attended the university. Paye attended herself and was a part of the 1992 NCAA Championship team. Paye is a two-time WBCA Assistant Coach of the Year. If you want to hate her it is OK: she is a lawyer too.
The game is Sunday at 1 PM EST. The TV coverage will be by ESPN and GoHeels will have live audio.
PS: Most folks know the Stanford mascot is a tree, unofficially. The tree is actually the mascot of the occasionally sober and always looney Stanford band. Every year the person selected to be the “tree” designs their own costume. This year it is Sonnet Van Doren, who’s from Lake Tahoe. There is usually a pine tree motif since Palo Alto in English is “tall stick” and is applied to a coastal redwood (El Palo Alto) near the campus. That didn’t bother Van Doren, and her costume features aspen leaves as they are native to the Tahoe area. Note: The Stanford band does not normally travel to basketball away games.
NCAA NET #37 (UNC #17); Massey rating 31 (UNC 24); RPI #23 (NOLAN) (UNC #38); Torvik 36 (UNC 10)
Last Season: 18-15; 0-1 ACC Tournament, 0-1 WBIT (lost to Portland 68-69 OT)
Sunday afternoon’s game for the #16/15 Tar Heels is with the Stanford Cardinal in Carmichael. Stanford is 13-3 on the season, going 12-2 in non-conference play. The Cardinal struggled last year in their first ACC season and was a disappointing 8-10. They have split two early games, beating archrival Cal back in December 78-69 but losing badly in their last game at NCSU, 46-74. They do get votes in both polls.
Stanford, officially The Leland Stanford, Junior University, and usually just called “The Farm”, has been one of the elite teams in WBB for many years and Carolina is just 2-3 against them. Last year’s first-ever ACC game, played at Maples Pavilion, was a Tar Heel win 67-69. UNC bombed the Card with a 9 for 17 performance (52.9%) from three.
Enrollment at Stanford is 15,000 and the school has an endowment of $16 billion. They feature 20 sports for women, including such things as Beach Volleyball, Sailing, Artistic Swimming and Water Polo.
Some of the more interesting non-conference games featured old-time rivals from Pac-12 days, like Washington State (W 54-48); Washington (W 67-62), and Oregon (W 64-53). The ACC/SEC Challenge was with Tennessee at home, and was a loss 62-65. The only other n/c loss was to FGCU 62-66, in a tournament played in Las Vegas.
For Sunday’s game Massey favors UNC by 7. Both Nolan and Torvik see Carolina a winner by 8 and 9 points respectively.
Five players have started every game. They are Nunu Agara, a 6-2 junior F (15.0 ppg/8.6 rpg); 5-11 freshman G Hailee Swain (9.3/2.1); Lara Somfai, a 6-3 freshman F (10.8/10.0); Talana Lepolo a 5-7 senior PG (4.8 ppg and the assist leader); and Courtney Ogden, a 6-1 junior F (10.5/3.5). Agara leads Stanford in scoring; Somfai leads the team (and the ACC) in rebounds. For good measure Somfai leads in blocks as well. Ogden was basically the 6th player last year. She is a McDonald’s AA, as are Swain, Somfai, and Eschmeyer.
It is a bit more complicated after the five above. Sophomore Shay Ijwoye, a 5-6 PG, has appeared in 11 games. Shay, whose real first name is “Wrenwick”, started a number of games last year. She is not a big scorer (2.4 ppg). The sixth player would normally be Chloe Clardy, a 5-9 junior G who at 11.8 ppg is the #2 scorer and leads the team in steals.
It should be noted that Clardy has missed the last two games. She is an important cog in the Stanford wheel, averaging over 30 minutes in reserve. The nature of her injury is unknown and equally unknown if she will play against UNC on Sunday. All media sources checked were, as usual, silent on that issue. UNC will find out at game time.
Also seeing time as a reserve is Purdue transfer Mary Ashley Stevenson, a 6-2 junior G (3.1 ppg). She adds a steady 3.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg. Size when needed is Freshman Alexandra Eschmeyer, a 6-5 freshman F (3.5 ppg). Six more players are on the roster but do not appear to be in the regular rotation.
Like Carolina, Stanford has over the years recruited several HS All-Americans. This year’s team has four. They are a tall team and although not as experienced as some years past they are no easy out. UNC will need to continue the defensive pressure they used on Ca in the 4th quarter. UNC will be off for a week before a trip to Notre Dame.
The current Head Coach, officially titled “The Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women’s Basketball” is Kate Paye. Paye took over the program after 17 years as assistant and associate coach. She is a dyed-in-the-wool Stanfordite, born in the Stanford hospital into a family all of whom attended the university. Paye attended herself and was a part of the 1992 NCAA Championship team. Paye is a two-time WBCA Assistant Coach of the Year. If you want to hate her it is OK: she is a lawyer too.
The game is Sunday at 1 PM EST. The TV coverage will be by ESPN and GoHeels will have live audio.
PS: Most folks know the Stanford mascot is a tree, unofficially. The tree is actually the mascot of the occasionally sober and always looney Stanford band. Every year the person selected to be the “tree” designs their own costume. This year it is Sonnet Van Doren, who’s from Lake Tahoe. There is usually a pine tree motif since Palo Alto in English is “tall stick” and is applied to a coastal redwood (El Palo Alto) near the campus. That didn’t bother Van Doren, and her costume features aspen leaves as they are native to the Tahoe area. Note: The Stanford band does not normally travel to basketball away games.
