On Thursday at 7:00 PM PT on ACC Network, Stanford women’s basketball will take on the Syracuse Orange at Maples Pavilion. Stanford comes in at 11-12 overall and 3-9 in the ACC while Syracuse comes in at 10-13 overall and 4-8 in the ACC.
Last time out: Stanford fell to Louisville on the road on Sunday by a final score of 74-65. Chloe Clardy was the top scorer for the Cardinal with 16 points while Mary Ashley Stevenson had 15 points. Stanford won the 1st quarter 15-13 and the 4th quarter 31-22, so they started and finished strong. Their problem was the middle part of the game. Louisville outscored them 17-8 in the 2nd quarter and 22-11 in the 3rd quarter.
Stanford also shot a hideous 2-16 from 3-point range. They just weren’t able to get their shots to fall and credit to Louisville for defending the perimeter as well as they did.
Sophomore forward Nunu Agara did not play in the game as she was injured against Notre Dame due to falling on her tailbone. Hopefully for Stanford she’ll be back this week.
On Syracuse: The Orange have not had a good season, but they do have a better league record than Stanford. They also are coming in with a bit of momentum having won two games in a row against Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. The Orange are led by senior guard Georgia Woolley, who is averaging 15.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Senior forward Kyra Wood (12.3 points & 7.3 rebounds) and sophomore guard Sophie Burrows (11.6 points & 5.5 rebounds) are also scoring in double figures. As a tie to the Super Bowl, former Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Donovan McNabb’s daughter Lexi McNabb is a junior guard on the team. McNabb played both basketball and football at Syracuse.
As a team, the Orange average 71.48 points per game on 42.2% shooting from the field, 32.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 73.6% shooting from the foul line. They average 39.6 rebounds, 16.3 assists, 9.0 steals, 4.5 blocks, and 16.2 turnovers per game. They also average a +2.5 rebound margin and a +0.8 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 71.4 points per game on 42.4% shooting from the field, 35.0% shooting from 3-point range, and 75.0% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is simply get shots to fall. They tend to go into lulls where they struggle to score and when that happens, they give their opponent a golden opportunity to pounce.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is hold their own on the glass. This is when it would be huge to have Nunu Agara back as she’s the top rebounder for the Cardinal, averaging 16.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. If Stanford can win the rebounding battle and control the boards, that would be huge.
Finally, Stanford needs to defend Woolley. She’s the top player for the Orange and she’ll look to get going in this one. If Stanford contains her, they should be in a good spot to win.
Prediction: I gotta roll with Stanford in this one. Even though Syracuse has a better overall league record, on paper they’re pretty even and with Stanford being at home, I gotta think they find a way to pull this one out. Stanford 75 Syracuse 70 is my prediction.
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