Stanford Cardinal
Overall Rank: #3
Conference Rank: #1 Pac-12
Stanford has gone to the NCAA Tournament 31 straight times. They should make it 32 this March. The Cardinal have one of the most talented and experienced teams in the nation and they will be among the favorites to win it all. Stanford has been to the Final Four ten times since they last won the national championship in 1992. Another trip to the Final Four would be nice, but this group will want to win it all.
2019-20 Record: 27-6, 14.4
Coach: Tara VanDerveer
Coach Record: 942-202 at Stanford, 1,094-253 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Nadia Fingall, Forward, 6.7 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Kiana Williams, Senior, Guard, 15.0 ppg
Lexie Hull, Junior, Guard, 13.6 ppg
Haley Jones, Sophomore, Guard, 11.4 ppg
Ashten Prechtel, Sophomore, Forward, 7.2 ppg
Francesca Belibi, Sophomore, Forward, 6.6 ppg
Maya Dodson, Senior, Forward, 5.0 ppg
Hannah Jump, Sophomore, Guard, 4.6 ppg
Lacie Hull, Junior, Guard, 4.3 ppg
Alyssa Jerome, Senior, Forward, 2.8 ppg
Anna Wilson, Senior, Guard, 2.5 ppg
Jenna Brown, Junior, Guard, 2.0 ppg
Key New Players
Cameron Brink, Freshman, Forward
Agnes Emma-Nnopu, Freshman, Guard
Jana Van Gytenbeek, Freshman, Guard
Projection:
Kiana Williams proved to be one of the best point guards in the nation last season, averaging 15.0 points and 3.8 assists. She also knocked down a team high 67 three-pointers. The talent on the perimeter continues with Lexi Hull. The junior is another dynamic scoring threat who can score from anywhere on the floor. Haley Jones was off to a great start as a freshman, averaging 11.4 points per game before suffering a season ending injury. If she can stay healthy, Jones will be in for a breakout sophomore season. Lacie Hull, Hannah Jump and Anna Wilson were all in the regular rotation last season and should again play a role on this team. The frontcourt will hope to see increased production from sophomores Ashten Prechtel and Francesca Belibi. Both were quite productive in limited minutes as freshman and are expected to parlay that experience into even better sophomore seasons. Even without Maya Dodson, who is opting out of this season, Coach Tara VanDerveer has an amazing amount of depth; and that is not even counting incoming freshmen Cameron Brink and Jana Van Gytenbeek. They both have bright futures with Stanford, but even five-star recruits are going to have to fight very hard for playing time on this team.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 73.3 (33th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 60.2 (77, 5)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.5 (28, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 35.7 (21, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.5 (18, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.7 (31, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.8 (193, 10)
Rebound Margin: 6.4 (35, 4)
Assists Per Game: 14.6 (71, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.7 (50, 4)
Madness 2021 WNBA Draft Rankings:
#11 Kiana Williams
#19 DiJonai Carrington
Madness 2020 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#2 Cameron Brink
#30 Jana Van Gytenbeek
