Stanford Cardinal
Overall Rank: #2
Conference Rank: #1 Pac-12
Stanford has had a lot of great seasons since Coach Tara VanDerveer took over the program prior to the 1985-1986 season. But last year may have been their best ever. The Cardinal only lost twice during the regular season, falling to Colorado and UCLA in back-to-back games in mid-January. The 19-2 conference record was still good enough to win their first conference title since 2013-2014. And Stanford was not done with just a Pac-12 title; they cruised to the Final Four and slipped passed South Carolina and Arizona to win the national championship. With all but one player returning, Stanford will be looking to do it again.
2020-21 Record: 31-2, 19-2
2020-21 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Tara VanDerveer
Coach Record: 973-204 at Stanford, 1,125-255 overall
Key Departed Players (starters in bold)
Kiana Williams, Guard, 14.0 ppg
Key Returning Players (starters in bold)
Haley Jones, Junior, Guard, 13.2 ppg
Lexie Hall, Senior, Guard, 11.6 ppg
Cameron Brink, Sophomore, Forward, 9.9 ppg
Francesca Belibi, Junior, Forward, 7.4 ppg
Hannah Jump, Junior, Guard, 6.7 ppg
Ashten Prechtel, Junior, Forward, 5.8 ppg
Anna Wilson, Senior, Guard, 4.6 ppg
Lacie Hull, Senior, Guard, 3.0 ppg
Jana Van Gytenbeek, Sophomore, Guard, 2.1 ppg
Alyssa Jerome, Senior, Forward, 1.5 ppg
Agnes Emma-Nnopu, Sophomore, Guard, 0.8 ppg
Key New Players
Elena Bosgana, Freshman, Guard
Brooke Demetre, Freshman, Guard
Jordan Hamilton, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Northwestern
Jzaniya Harriel, Freshman, Guard
Kiki Iriafen, Freshman, Forward
Projection:
Technically, Stanford started four guards around forward Cameron Brink or Francesca Belibi last season. They have some big guards who are great rebounders and versatile defenders, but Brink and Belibi are the traditional post players who can score in the paint and block some shots. Ashten Prechtel is the forward who can come in and knock down some outside shots. Coach VanDerveer will likely liberally rotate through the frontcourt options again this year depending on the situation. Haley Jones, Lexie Hall and Anna Wilson will be on the floor more consistently. Jones is the team’s top returning scorer with 13.2 points per game. She also led the Cardinal with 7.4 rebounds per game. Hull has been an All-Pac-12 selection each of the last two seasons and averaged 11.5 points and 5.1 rebounds last season. Wilson is not a major scoring threat like Jones and Hall, but she can knock down three-pointers and handle the ball. Hannah Jump may be the best shooter on a team full of great shooters. She was second on the team to second round WNBA draft pick Kiana Williams with 57 made three-pointers. Replacing Williams will be difficult, but Stanford has brought in Northwestern transfer Jordan Hamilton to help in that regard. Hamilton spent four very productive years with the Wildcats and averaged 9.0 points and 3.2 assists in 2020-2021. As always, the Cardinal has some impressive recruits coming in, highlighted by wing Brooke Demetre and forward Okikiola Iriafen. There should be more than enough talent to replace Williams and for Stanford to make another trip to the Final Four.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 77.7 (14th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 53.7 (8, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.5 (14, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 32.9 (2, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.8 (16, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 38.4 (7, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 71.3 (138, 5)
Rebound Margin: 10.2 (13, 1)
Assists Per Game: 16.5 (19, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.8 (30, 4)
Madness 2022 WNBA Draft Rankings:
#13 Lexi Hull
Madness 2021 Women’s Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#9 Brooke Demetre
#17 Kiki Iriafen
#59 Jzaniya Harriel
