Devils in Detail
Fansided

ASU WBB: Devils in Detail Pac-12 WBB Rankings, 8-5

By Sam Ficarro

Mar 5, 2016; Seattle , WA, USA; General view of the Pac-12 womens tournament center court logo with the outline of the Space Needle at KeyArena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2016; Seattle , WA, USA; General view of the Pac-12 womens tournament center court logo with the outline of the Space Needle at KeyArena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 5
Next

7. Stanford Cardinal

Mar 25, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Erica McCall (24) passes the ball in front of Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Brianna Turner (11) during the first half in the semifinals of the Lexington regional of the women
Mar 25, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Erica McCall (24) passes the ball in front of Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Brianna Turner (11) during the first half in the semifinals of the Lexington regional of the women /

After dominating the Pac-12 conference for nearly two decades, Stanford has seen the Pac-12 get stronger and haven’t finished with a Pac-12 Championship since 2014 after earning at least a share of the Pac-12 title from 2001-14. Even with the absence of Pac-12 titles in recent years, Stanford has always made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Last season, their season ended in the Elite Eight versus fellow Pac-12 foe Washington after a 24-7 season. Looking to make the next step, Stanford is 9-2 this season with one non-conference game remaining versus Yale Wednesday. The record is impressive considering the daunting non-conference schedule the Cardinal faced. Stanford defeated then-No. 8 Texas at home and most recently won at George Washington last Wednesday. There were some bumps in the road as well with a home loss versus Gonzaga and a road loss at Tennessee.

More from Devils in Detail

Stanford is led by their star senior forward Erica McCall. McCall really broke onto the scene last season for Hall of Fame head coach Tara VanDerveer. McCall was named to the All-Pac-12 team and the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team last season and she has become the leader of the team as she was named team captain this season. McCall is averaging a team-high 16.5 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game. Stanford also has two other effective shooters in guards Brittney McPhee and Karlie Samuelsson. McPhee is averaging 14.8 PPG on 51.6 percent shooting. Samuelsson, the sister to UConn star Katie Lou Samuelssson, is averaging 10.3 PPG and is the team’s best three-point shooter as she averages 41.8 percent from behind the arc.

Stanford has always finished near the top of the Pac-12, but they are in a bit of unfamiliar territory this season as they are not the outright favorite in the Pac-12. McCall is a force inside the paint and Samuelsson is effective from behind the arc, but the question is whether they have enough scoring. Last season in Pac-12 play, they were hampered by low scoring nights and how to rely heavily on their defense to keep the score low. With that said, VanDerveer will have this team ready to go as Stanford opens up conference play this weekend at No. 18 Arizona State and Arizona.