Maybe it was expected that Stanford would struggle in the first game after head coach Tara VanDerveer won her 1,000th career game. But, VanDerveer did not dismiss the quality of the Bruins and what they were able to do on the court.
Some inconsistent play has affected UCLA's ranking throughout the year, but the Bruins at one point were in the top-10 and are legitimately one of the more talented teams in the country. They also had not won at Maples Pavilion since 1999, marking the third time this season that a Stanford loss at home had historic context.
The loss to Gonzaga at Maples Pavilion was the first for the Zags over the Cardinal in any venue. Most of the contests between Stanford and Gonzaga have been highly competitive and in front of lively crowds, whether on neutral courts in the NCAA tournament, Stanford or in Spokane.
The win by Oregon State, which is now No. 9 in the country and first in the Pac-12, was the first on the Farm in program history.
The sign of an elite program such as Stanford is that teams build impressive streaks that get passed on from one year to the next. Eventually those come to and end. And the Bruins' shot to end their stretch of futility that dated back to the 20th century coincided with the Cardinal coming off Tara1K.
"I think for our team, it feels a little bit like a hangover. Sometimes ... your kids are really excited and I just told our team just let it go."
Stanford's offense seriously stalled in the opening quarter and the Cardinal trailed 22-12 at the first break. But Stanford found their rhythm in the second quarter and surged to a 40-37 halftime lead. Alanna Smith came off the bench to give the Cardinal a spark. She finished the half with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Karlie "Karl" Samuelson also had 10 points in the first two quarters.
But Stanford returned to their struggles in the third.
"I thought we were rushing," VanDerveer said. "I mean, Bird (Erica McCall), she's not a 4-for-14 shooter. I thought Karl stayed in there really well with seven assists and 15 points. But we needed more and it just wasn't there."
"We were a step slow on defense. Our defense giving up 85 points, that's not what we've been doing all year."
"We didn't have the overall energy. It wasn't the bench that was at Washington. It wasn't the same bench as against USC. I don't mean just the bench, it wasn't the same team. I thought having an extra day would help us. We just didn't have the energy we needed to get it done."
The loss is a setback for the Cardinal, who in the NCAA committee projection of the top-16 seeds released hours before the game were moved up to a No. 2 seed. After the loss, ESPN women's basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme slotted Stanford back at No. 10 overall, where the Cardinal were before the Washington win.
Stanford has very little margin for error the rest of the season to get back to a No. 2 seed. The Cardinal host Colorado and Utah this week. The Buffaloes lost 79-75 to UW and are not to be taken lightly. After the mountain schools visit it's the back-to-back Battle of the Bay week. The final week of the regular season is a trip to the Oregon schools.
The opportunities are there for the Cardinal to make up ground. California and Oregon are each projected to be tournament teams, and of course Oregon State is a top seed. Stanford is currently third in the Pac-12 and the top four get first round byes in the Pac-12 tournament in Seattle from March 2-5.
But keep in mind that Stanford will not be able to host any NCAA tournament games -- which teams seeded No. 1-4 get to do -- because Stanford is hosting the Pac-12 gymnastics final that weekend.
Some inconsistent play has affected UCLA's ranking throughout the year, but the Bruins at one point were in the top-10 and are legitimately one of the more talented teams in the country. They also had not won at Maples Pavilion since 1999, marking the third time this season that a Stanford loss at home had historic context.
The loss to Gonzaga at Maples Pavilion was the first for the Zags over the Cardinal in any venue. Most of the contests between Stanford and Gonzaga have been highly competitive and in front of lively crowds, whether on neutral courts in the NCAA tournament, Stanford or in Spokane.
The win by Oregon State, which is now No. 9 in the country and first in the Pac-12, was the first on the Farm in program history.
The sign of an elite program such as Stanford is that teams build impressive streaks that get passed on from one year to the next. Eventually those come to and end. And the Bruins' shot to end their stretch of futility that dated back to the 20th century coincided with the Cardinal coming off Tara1K.
"I think for our team, it feels a little bit like a hangover. Sometimes ... your kids are really excited and I just told our team just let it go."
Stanford's offense seriously stalled in the opening quarter and the Cardinal trailed 22-12 at the first break. But Stanford found their rhythm in the second quarter and surged to a 40-37 halftime lead. Alanna Smith came off the bench to give the Cardinal a spark. She finished the half with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Karlie "Karl" Samuelson also had 10 points in the first two quarters.
But Stanford returned to their struggles in the third.
"I thought we were rushing," VanDerveer said. "I mean, Bird (Erica McCall), she's not a 4-for-14 shooter. I thought Karl stayed in there really well with seven assists and 15 points. But we needed more and it just wasn't there."
"We were a step slow on defense. Our defense giving up 85 points, that's not what we've been doing all year."
"We didn't have the overall energy. It wasn't the bench that was at Washington. It wasn't the same bench as against USC. I don't mean just the bench, it wasn't the same team. I thought having an extra day would help us. We just didn't have the energy we needed to get it done."
The loss is a setback for the Cardinal, who in the NCAA committee projection of the top-16 seeds released hours before the game were moved up to a No. 2 seed. After the loss, ESPN women's basketball bracketologist Charlie Creme slotted Stanford back at No. 10 overall, where the Cardinal were before the Washington win.
Stanford has very little margin for error the rest of the season to get back to a No. 2 seed. The Cardinal host Colorado and Utah this week. The Buffaloes lost 79-75 to UW and are not to be taken lightly. After the mountain schools visit it's the back-to-back Battle of the Bay week. The final week of the regular season is a trip to the Oregon schools.
The opportunities are there for the Cardinal to make up ground. California and Oregon are each projected to be tournament teams, and of course Oregon State is a top seed. Stanford is currently third in the Pac-12 and the top four get first round byes in the Pac-12 tournament in Seattle from March 2-5.
But keep in mind that Stanford will not be able to host any NCAA tournament games -- which teams seeded No. 1-4 get to do -- because Stanford is hosting the Pac-12 gymnastics final that weekend.
