Stanford Cardinal
Overall Rank: #6
Conference Rank: #2 Pac-12
Stanford got off to a rough start last season by their standards as they were 6-6 heading into the Pac-12 conference schedule. Head Coach Tara Vanderveer and her staff were able to rally the troops and reaped the benefits of a tough non-conference schedule as the Cardinal won 14 conference games and went to the Sweet 16. Stanford returns three starters and nine other letterwinners this season and the Cardinal should be able to hit the ground running from day one this season.
2017-18 Record: 24-11, 14-3
2017-18 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Tara VanDerveer
Coach Record: 884-191 at Stanford, 1,036-242 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Brittany McPhee, Guard, 16.7 ppg
Kaylee Johnson, Forward, 4.7 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Alanna Smith, Senior, Forward, 13.5 ppg
Kiana Williams, Sophomore, Guard, 10.4 ppg
Marta Sniezek, Senior, Guard, 5.5 ppg
DiJonai Carrington, Junior, Guard, 8.8 ppg
Maya Dodson, Sophomore, Forward, 3.5 ppg
Anna Wilson, Junior, Guard, 3.3 ppg
Nadia Fingall, Junior, Forward, 3.3 ppg
Alexa Romano, Senior, Guard, 2.6 ppg
Alyssa Jerome, Sophomore, Forward, 2.0 ppg
Shannon Coffee, Senior, Center, 1.2 ppg
Estella Moschkau, Sophomore, Forward, 0.5 ppg
Mikaela Brewer, Junior, Guard, 0.3 ppg
Key New Players
Jenna Brown, Freshman, Guard
Lacie Hull, Freshman, Forward
Lexie Hull, Freshman, Forward
Projection:
Alanna Smith is the top returning overall player for Stanford as she averaged 13.5 points and seven rebounds per game and should see those numbers go up this season. Kiana Williams will look to pick up some of the lost scoring from Brittany McPhee, who graduated. Williams will need to get her shooting percentage up closer to 45 percent to average around 15-16 points per game for the Cardinal. Improving the overall offense efficiency will help Stanford get in position to get back to an Elite Eight or Final Four. Free-throw shooting and limiting turnovers will be two quick fixes for the Cardinal offensively as those were two glaring issues last year. As always, the schedule is loaded during the non-conference slate with games against Ohio State, Gonzaga, Baylor, and Tennessee, which will set them up nicely for the Pac-12 gauntlet. Stanford will have to deal with UCLA and Arizona State twice, but they do catch a break by only having to play the Oregon schools once. In addition, the Cardinal will get the Ducks and Beavers at Maples Pavilion. Bottom line, Stanford should contend for the Pac-12 title and get to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament without too much difficulty if they get back to being elite offensively.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 68.7 (97th in nation, 7th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 62.7 (118, 4)
Field-Goal Percentage: 42.4 (87, 7)
Field-Goal Defense: 36.7 (29, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.1 (76, 4)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 31.9 (154, 9)
Free-Throw Percentage: 64.2 (314, 12)
Rebound Margin: 5.3 (48, 7)
Assists Per Game: 13.7 (138, 8)
Turnovers Per Game: 14.8 (112, 9)
Madness 2018 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#10 Jenna Brown
#29 Lexie Hull
#114 Lacie Hull
