Preview: Stanford Women’s Basketball welcomes Quinnipiac to Maples for WBIT
On Sunday at 2:00 PM PT on ESPN+, Stanford women’s basketball will take on Quinnipiac in the second round of the WBIT at Maples Pavilion. Stanford comes in at 20-13 overall (8-10 in the ACC) while Quinnipiac comes in at 27-6 overall (19-1 in the MAAC).
Last time out: On Thursday, Stanford defeated LMU 80-76. Nunu Agara led the way for the Cardinal with 26 points and 16 rebounds, surpassing the 1,000 career points mark.
RECAP: Stanford Women’s Basketball defeats LMU in opening round of WBIT
On Quinnipiac: The Bobcats have had a strong season overall with just the one loss in conference play in the regular season. They got the top seed in the MAAC tournament, losing in the championship game to Fairfield 51-44. Fairfield got an 11 seed in the NCAA tournament, losing to Notre Dame 79-60.
The Bobcats are led by a quartet of graduate student guard Jackie Grisdale (12.5 points & 3.5 rebounds), senior forward Ella O’Donnell (11.2 points & 5.7 rebounds), fifth year guard Ella Ryan (10.6 points & 4.1 rebounds), and junior guard Karson Martin (10.0 points & 3.6 rebounds). The four of them are all scoring in double figures on average. Junior forward/center Anna Foley (9.6 points & 5.6 rebounds) is right behind them.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is exert their will inside. Nunu Agara and Alexandra Eschmeyer should both be able to be effective down low and control the paint. As long as that happens, Stanford should be in a good position to win.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is play clean basketball. Make good decisions with the ball, execute out of bounds plays, etc. This has been a challenge all year for Stanford and it nearly did them in against LMU. If Stanford can clean those issues up, that will go a long way towards winning this game.
Finally, Stanford should look to get to the rim and the foul line. If Stanford is shooting more free throws and knocking them down, it should be a wrap. Simple as that.
Prediction: Stanford is at home and on paper is the better team. I think Quinnipiac will put up a legit fight, but Stanford will sill come out on top by a final score of 77-70.
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