Fans of Stanford women’s basketball had their first chance to see the 2022-23 team in action at a scrimmage Oct. 29 and liked a lot of what they saw.
Speaking to several hundred fans and several dozen
students, head coach Tara VanDerveer started the gathering by introducing all
15 players plus the other coaches, support staff, managers and male practice
players.
The men and 14 of the women practiced in two teams,
red and white. Senior forward Fran Belibi, whose left hand and wrist were
bandaged, was sidelined.
Tara coached the white team with assistant coach
Britney Anderson, while associate head coach Kate Paye oversaw the red team
with assistant coach Katy Steding.
The scrimmage followed game format with four
quarters and three referees.
White team starters were senior guards Haley Jones (point)
and Hannah Jump, junior forward Cameron Brink, junior guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu
and sophomore forward Kiki Iriafen.
Representing the red team to start were senior
forward Ashten Prechtel, sophomore forward Brooke Demetre, freshman center
Lauren Betts, freshman guard Talana Lepolo (point) and redshirt freshman guard
Jzaniya Harriel.
Thereafter other players subbed in and out, and
several switched sides. Thus neither
side was the clear winner. Instead everyone had a chance to play in different
combinations.
One scare came late in the third quarter when Haley
had a hard fall after scoring. She limped to the locker room with trainer Katelin
Knox but soon returned to loud applause and played in the final quarter with no
apparent problem.
Otherwise, here are some impressions about
individual contributions:
Haley and Cameron, who were outstanding last year,
are even better this year. Both are quick to the basket. Haley made some tough,
acrobatic shots under the basket, and Cameron has added 3-pointers to her
repertoire.
Kiki, who was impressive as a freshman, was even
more so this time with quick, smart moves on both sides of the court.
Going into this season, there were questions about
who would handle point guard duties. Haley was the first choice, but two
freshmen, Talana and Indya Nivar, looked like two excellent candidates. Speedy Talana
seemed especially confident and in command.
Jzaniya also had some good minutes at the point.
Hannah, who made so many 3’s last season, didn’t
fare well with them this time, but she scored quite a few points from
midrange and under the basket, two new skills for her. After the scrimmage, however, she was at the north basket making one 3 after another.
On the whole, everyone did well and made some good
plays on both offense and defense, especially the returnees. We didn’t see much
of 6’7” Lauren Betts, who sat out most of the second half.
In short, this team has a lot of potential and a
boatload of talent. It will be fun to watch.
Next up for the team are an open practice for Buck
Cardinal Club members on Nov. 1 and an exhibition game against Vanguard at 7
p.m. Nov. 2.
Competition starts for real against San Diego State
at 7 p.m. Nov. 7, followed by Cal State Northridge, a late addition to the
schedule, at 6 p.m. Nov. 9.
All three games will be available via Stanford Live
Stream.
