San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Deep Stanford will win title, Chronicle panel says
The Stanford Cardinal women’s basketball team will take the floor bidding to earn an NCAA Tournament title against the Arizona Wildcats in San Antonio on Sunday. Before tipoff (3 p.m. on ESPN), we asked The Chronicle’s basketball writers and columnists to make their predictions for who will win, the final score and provide the reasons behind their picks:
Bruce Jenkins: Stanford, 7570. I love the Wildcats’ spirit, but Stanford has too much depth, and I think they’ll defend Aari McDonald far better than UConn did. Look for Kiana Williams to have one of her best games and for Anna Wilson to get more playing time, all to the good.
Ann Killion: Stanford, 7268. Not yet grasshopper. Arizona head coach Adia Barnes considers Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer her mentor and Arizona’s run has been amazing, but this is Stanford’s moment. It will be a hardfought game, with the Pac12 codefensive players of the year going at it. In the end, VanDerveer will win her third title, 29 years after her last one.
Ron Kroichick: Stanford, 7969. The Cardinal are too skilled, too deep and too hungry to let this opportunity slip away. Not incidentally, VanDerveer is a master motivator and adept at adjusting during games; witness Stanford’s secondhalf turnaround to whip Louisville in the Elite Eight.
Steve Kroner: Stanford 6860. On Saturday, Barnes said, “We are very confident in our pressing, which I think can disrupt Stanford.” She has a good point; in the tournament, pressure defense led to 10 firsthalf Cardinal turnovers against Oklahoma State and eight firsthalf Cardinal turnovers against South Carolina. The Arizona defense will keep the game close, but Stanford’s rebounding edge and superior depth will enable the Cardinal to earn the program’s third national title.
Connor Letourneau: Stanford, 7567. As impressive as Arizona’s upset win over UConn was, teams that beat the Huskies in the tournament tend to struggle in their next game. Topping UConn is draining, both physically and emotionally, and I just don’t think the Wildcats will be able to replicate that superb defense against Stanford’s vaunted attack.
Scott Ostler: Stanford, 6660. The problem Stanford presents is that nobody, not even Stanford, knows who the star of this team is. They’ve got five or six players who can take over a game at any point. They’ve got players coming off the bench and going berserk. I won’t be surprised if the Tree runs onto the court and blocks an Arizona shot. Too many gnats, you can’t swat ’em all.
Rusty Simmons: Stanford, 6959. Stanford won the two regularseason meetings by an average of 20.5 points, but this appears to be an entirely different Arizona squad. Coach Barnes has been the star of the tournament, and McDonald has been the best player. Still, the Cardinal are simply too tenacious on the glass, which will allow them to control the tempo of the entire game.