On Friday, December 20th at 5:30 PM PT on FS1, Stanford women’s basketball will head to San Francisco to battle No. 11 Ohio State at the Chase Center as part of the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic. Stanford comes in at 8-3 overall while Ohio State comes in at 11-0.
Last time out: On Monday, Stanford defeated UTSA 62-57. A clutch steal and layup at the end of the game by Jzaniya Harriel clinched the game for the Cardinal.
RECAP: Stanford WBB survives UTSA at Maples
Q&A with Land Grant Holy Land: I did a Q&A with Thomas Costello of Land Grant Holy Land, which is SB Nation’s Ohio State website to help preview the matchup.
READ: Land Grant Holy Land-Visiting Locker Room: Rivals talks Stanford Cardinal women’s basketball
On Ohio State: The Buckeyes are off to a strong start this season as is evident by their undefeated record. After starting the season ranked No. 14, they have risen to No. 11 in the latest AP Top 25 poll and hope to climb even further after this weekend. Seven of their games have been at home with two being true road games and two being neutral site games. Their top win is over Illinois at home earlier this month by a final score of 83-74. Illinois was ranked No. 21 at the time and has since fallen out of the Top 25, though they are still receiving votes.
The Buckeyes are led by junior forward Cotie McMahon, who is averaging 18.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. The number two scorer is junior guard Chance Gray, who is averaging 16.5 points per game. In addition to those two, three additional players are scoring in double figures in freshman guard Jaloni Cambridge (13.9 points), graduate student forward Ajae Petty (11.5 points & 7.8 rebounds), and senior guard/forward Taylor Thierry (10.5 points & 6.4 rebounds).
As a team, the Buckeyes average 86.9 points per game on 47.2% shooting from the field, 35.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 67.4% shooting from the foul line. They average 40.6 rebounds, 17.0 assists, 14.8 steals, 5.0 blocks, and 13.8 turnovers per game. They also average a +5.4 rebound margin and a +13.4 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 54.2 points per game on 35.3% shooting from the field, 26.8% shooting from 3-point range, and 70.7% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is take care of the ball. Ohio State is used to getting a lot of steals and decisively winning the turnover battle. Stanford in contrast wins the turnover battle on average by just +1.5. Stanford cannot expect to win this game if they are not taking good care of the ball.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is get their 3-ball to fall. Stanford is shooting 41.9% from 3-point range this season with shooters like Elena Bosgana, Jzaniya Harriel, Brooke Demetre, and Tess Heal all doing a great job of knocking shots down from the perimeter. Ohio State is not used to facing quality 3-point shooting teams, so that’s an area where Stanford could make things uncomfortable for them.
Finally, Stanford needs to be the more physical team inside. Nunu Agara has been playing great for Stanford, averaging 17.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while Bosgana has been fantastic on the glass for a guard with her 13.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. If Stanford can match Ohio State’s physicality inside, they’ll have an opportunity to win.
Prediction: I gotta roll with Ohio State in this one. Stanford looked great in their overtime loss at No. 5 LSU until the very end, but since then they’ve been in a funk. Maybe this is the game that turns it around for them, but picking Ohio State is the smart decision here. As a for a final score, I’ll say 80-70. I think Stanford will put up a good fight. Especially since it's in The Bay Area.
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