Stanford Cardinal
Overall Rank: #5
Conference Rank: #2 Pac-12
Stanford had another deep run in the NCAA Tournament as they advanced to the Elite Eight of the Chicago Regional. The Cardinal had another showdown with Notre Dame in the Elite Eight but were not able to slow down the Fighting Irish in an 84-68 loss. Stanford is going to be a threat to get back to the Elite Eight or Final Four as they bring back just about everyone from last year’s team that won 31 games.
2018-19 Record: 31-5, 15-3
2018-19 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Tara Vanderveer
Coach Record: 915-196 at Stanford, 1,067-247 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Alanna Smith, Forward, 19.4 ppg
Shannon Coffee, Center, 1.8 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Kianna Williams, Junior, Guard, 14.3 ppg
DiJonai Carrington, Senior, Guard, 14.0 ppg
Lacie Hull, Sophomore, Guard, 4.8 ppg
Nadia Fingall, Senior, Forward, 8.0 ppg
Maya Dodson, Junior, Forward, 7.0 ppg
Lexie Hull, Sophomore, Guard, 5.6 ppg
Alyssa Jerome, Junior, Forward, 3.0 ppg
Anna Wilson, Senior, Guard, 2.7 ppg
Key New Players
Francesca Belibi, Freshman, Forward
Ashten Prechtel, Freshman, Forward
Haley Jones, Freshman, Guard
Hannah Jump, Freshman, Guard
Projection:
The Cardinal were a solid shooting team last season as they made 44.2 percent of their shots last season. Kianna Williams and DiJonai Carrington are a strong 1-2 punch in the backcourt that averaged just over 28 points per game between them. Lacie Hull should take a step forward in her sophomore season as she started 30 games as a freshman and averaged 4.8 points per game. Hull will need to bump that shooting percentage up to around 40 percent or higher in order to average ten points per game this season. Nadia Fingall was productive early on last year as she averaged eight points per game in 12 contests before injuring her ACL. Fingall’s return from that injury will be very helpful for Stanford’s quest for interior offensive production. Maya Dodson and Lexie Hull will lengthen the rotation at forward and guard respectively as both players collected around just under five rebounds per game last season. The home schedule is loaded as Ohio State, Tennessee, Gonzaga, Oregon, Oregon State, and UCLA all visit Maples Pavilion. There is also a trip to the Victoria Invitational that could have potential games against Syracuse and Mississippi State. A road trip to Texas in December will be interesting as well for the Cardinal. Overall, if Stanford can stay healthy and get enough production from their forwards, they should be right back in the Elite Eight at a minimum this season.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.1(41st in nation, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 60.9 (90, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.2 (36, 5)
Field-Goal Defense: 35.8 (16, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.9 (18, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.8 (58, 6)
Free-Throw Percentage: 69.9 (162, 9)
Rebound Margin: 5.7 (41, 6)
Assists Per Game: 15.2 (68, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.9 (28, 5)
Madness 2020 WNBA Draft Rankings:
#21 DiJonal Carrington
Madness 2019 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#1 Haley Jones
#16 Francesca Belibi
#31 Ashten Prechtel
#41 Hannah Jump
