Tara VanDerveer was jumping out of her chair in celebration watching how well the reserves were playing up 30 points; Charli Turner-Thorne's head was hanging down near her knees, eye averted from the disaster. That was the story in visuals of Stanford's 80-41 thumping of the Sun Devils.
There were several excellent individual performances VanDerveer could highlight after the game, but she led off with the eight minutes that Agnes Emma-Nnopu was on the court. The Australian freshman was relentless in grabbing five rebounds and she converted her last into her only field goal. That play earned her a rare outburst of joy from associate head coach Kate Paye. (Watch the bench area in this video.)
Emma-Nnopu is buried on the bench because she has the bad luck to be a wing/small forward for Stanford at the same time as Lexie and Lacie Hull, Haley Jones and Hannah Jump. Not to mention everyone else available for a variety of lineup possibilities. However, she has made a strong impression almost every time she gets on the court because of her defense and rebounding, which she approaches with seemingly no regard for her physical wellbeing.
VanDerveer likes to say she doesn't recruit players for their defense. It's her way of reminding everyone that almost no top high school player really is challenged to be a good defender. Emma-Nnopu is different. She was recruited because of her defense and rebounding.
As for the rest of the action, ASU is limping to the finish line of the season with an offense that needs to be put out of its misery. Their execution on that end is tough to watch and the Cardinal also deserve credit for playing well on defense.
VanDerveer was pleased by the focus of the team through four quarters and that has been an emphasis for most of the season. She was particularly happy about it on defense and Haley Jones was one of the players she mentioned in this regard. Jones is a special offensive player but she coasts on defense at times and when it's happened in recent games it has led to her sitting on the bench for a few minutes.
Hannah Jump has made great progress toward becoming a complete player. She scored 17 points but its her defensive execution that is most important for her to stay on the court.
There were several excellent individual performances VanDerveer could highlight after the game, but she led off with the eight minutes that Agnes Emma-Nnopu was on the court. The Australian freshman was relentless in grabbing five rebounds and she converted her last into her only field goal. That play earned her a rare outburst of joy from associate head coach Kate Paye. (Watch the bench area in this video.)
Emma-Nnopu is buried on the bench because she has the bad luck to be a wing/small forward for Stanford at the same time as Lexie and Lacie Hull, Haley Jones and Hannah Jump. Not to mention everyone else available for a variety of lineup possibilities. However, she has made a strong impression almost every time she gets on the court because of her defense and rebounding, which she approaches with seemingly no regard for her physical wellbeing.
VanDerveer likes to say she doesn't recruit players for their defense. It's her way of reminding everyone that almost no top high school player really is challenged to be a good defender. Emma-Nnopu is different. She was recruited because of her defense and rebounding.
As for the rest of the action, ASU is limping to the finish line of the season with an offense that needs to be put out of its misery. Their execution on that end is tough to watch and the Cardinal also deserve credit for playing well on defense.
VanDerveer was pleased by the focus of the team through four quarters and that has been an emphasis for most of the season. She was particularly happy about it on defense and Haley Jones was one of the players she mentioned in this regard. Jones is a special offensive player but she coasts on defense at times and when it's happened in recent games it has led to her sitting on the bench for a few minutes.
Hannah Jump has made great progress toward becoming a complete player. She scored 17 points but its her defensive execution that is most important for her to stay on the court.
