Hi Lady Vol fans, I'm a Stanford WBB fan who comes in peace. I wanted to complement your team on an outstanding game on Sunday, playing with heart and poise and giving us all we could handle through three quarters. After the game Tara stayed to talk to our core fans, and she was highly complementary of Tennessee, and reminded us that we have a very long way to go before we can hope to even up the series. Tara called our series one of the best rivalries in WBB, after more than three decades, and we certainly would like to see it continue. Pretty sure you will get us at your place next year,
As Tara put it, you have two WNBA players on your team surrounded by some excellent shooters, and your record does not begin to reflect your level of talent. She also said that she will be rooting for you to win every other game you play--unless we should meet again in the tournament, of course!
I thought I would comment on a couple of things that your team did well. I've noticed that several of you wondered why Jump was not defended better. In fact you forced Jump outside her normal comfort zone. Much of her scoring was on back door cuts and floaters in the lane. This is very rare for her--there are games where every shot she takes is beyond the arc--so your defense played her close enough to force her off the three point line. I think your scout on her was probably well executed, except she surprised all of us with a versatility we have not seen very much before.
Before the game one of our assistant coaches met with core fans for a "chalk talk" and discussed the strategy. One of our keys to success was to try to get scoring in transition, since the coaches knew that your defense in the half court would create problems for us. As it turns out, your coaching staff knew the same thing, and your defense did an excellent job of limiting our transition points. Somewhere I heard or read that it was a major point of emphasis in practice by Tennessee to stop our transition points and make us struggle in the half court with your close defense. As a result, we had only 8 fast break points compared with 18 for you. Furthermore, in those minutes when Brink was out, we really did struggle in the half court. Your plan mostly worked.
It was obvious to most of us at Maples that your team has elite talent and that you will have a successful season. For the first 3 quarters of the game you played us better than South Carolina did. I know I would not like Stanford to have to face you in the NCAAs again this year. I would not be surprised at all if your team went on some winning streaks this year and worked itself back into contention.
As Tara put it, you have two WNBA players on your team surrounded by some excellent shooters, and your record does not begin to reflect your level of talent. She also said that she will be rooting for you to win every other game you play--unless we should meet again in the tournament, of course!
I thought I would comment on a couple of things that your team did well. I've noticed that several of you wondered why Jump was not defended better. In fact you forced Jump outside her normal comfort zone. Much of her scoring was on back door cuts and floaters in the lane. This is very rare for her--there are games where every shot she takes is beyond the arc--so your defense played her close enough to force her off the three point line. I think your scout on her was probably well executed, except she surprised all of us with a versatility we have not seen very much before.
Before the game one of our assistant coaches met with core fans for a "chalk talk" and discussed the strategy. One of our keys to success was to try to get scoring in transition, since the coaches knew that your defense in the half court would create problems for us. As it turns out, your coaching staff knew the same thing, and your defense did an excellent job of limiting our transition points. Somewhere I heard or read that it was a major point of emphasis in practice by Tennessee to stop our transition points and make us struggle in the half court with your close defense. As a result, we had only 8 fast break points compared with 18 for you. Furthermore, in those minutes when Brink was out, we really did struggle in the half court. Your plan mostly worked.
It was obvious to most of us at Maples that your team has elite talent and that you will have a successful season. For the first 3 quarters of the game you played us better than South Carolina did. I know I would not like Stanford to have to face you in the NCAAs again this year. I would not be surprised at all if your team went on some winning streaks this year and worked itself back into contention.
