Players and fans watch the selection show. (Stanford Athletics)
As expected, Stanford is a No. 1 seed in the NCAA
women’s basketball tournament. As such, it will host the first two rounds.
Entering the tournament for the 36th
time, the Cardinal team will play No. 16 Montana State at 7 p.m. March 18. Assuming
Stanford wins, it will face the winner of the 4:30 p.m. game between No. 8
Kansas and No. 9 Georgia Tech on March 20.
Winning then will send the team to Spokane for the
Sweet 16 March 25-26 and Elite Eight March 27-28, followed by the Final Four in
Minneapolis on April 1 and, if all goes well, the championship game April 3.
The team and fans, including some 100 or so who were
at Maples, learned their seeding after a practice March 13.
Players
practice their shots
Because a principal aim is to avoid injury, the
practice focused on shooting and an offensive review, said head coach Tara
VanDerveer.
Shots ranged from free throws and close-ins to 3’s
and half-courts, a shot that senior guard Lexie Hull made to loud cheers
Freshmen and sophomores were at the north basket.
Juniors and seniors were at the south basket in front of fans in the bleachers.
Redshirt junior guard Jenna Brown was in uniform but
didn’t participate except to pass to her teammates. Freshman guard Jzaniya
Harriel was a full participant. Neither has played all season.
When the practice ended, the players headed to the
locker room to shower and change.
Things
changed two years ago
Tara then spoke and answered questions. She noted
that everything had shut down exactly two years earlier, March 13, 2020,
because of the coronavirus epidemic.
Maples is getting ready for the NCAA games with such
changes as a line of courtside tables for press and coaches on the east.
While preparing for the tournament, Tara said, the
players will be taking finals, which end March 18.
Carrying takeout food containers, the players took
their seats in front of the fans to watch the TV selection show on the video
board.
Besides Stanford, the No. 1 seeds are South
Carolina, Louisville and North Carolina State.
Pac-12
well represented
The Pac-12 will be represented by Stanford, Arizona,
Washington State, Utah, Colorado and Oregon.
As a No. 4 seed, Arizona will face No. 13 UNLV,
coached by Lindy La Rocque, ’12. Lindy went there after a stint as an assistant
coach at her alma mater.
As the players left to hit the books, they were
loudly cheered by the fans.
