Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer probably enjoys a good practice as much as a game and holds her teams to the same high standard when there is no one in the seats cheering on the Cardinal. After a recent practice the Hall of Fame coach couldn’t find fault in her team’s overall progress.

“No is doing doing poorly,” she said. “No one is even doing fair. Everyone is doing really well, exceptional, off the charts. Our freshmen are phenomenal. It’s really fun to see how well they’re doing and how their classmates are helping them.”

VanDerveer said there has been progress in the Warrior-ization of the Cardinal, who hope to match the spirit of Golden State's system with better ball movement, offensive flow and superior outside shooting. In a recent scrimmage the team hit 22 threes, according to VanDerveer, and DiJonai Carrington accounted for seven of them.

A big part of being able to stretch an opposing defense is the versatility of such players as sophomore Nadia Fingall.

“Everyone has taken big steps, but she has taken leaps,” VanDerveer said of the forward. “She is really focused. Our sophomore class, I have been really impressed. They get it at a different level and they’re being challenged by really tough freshmen. And I think they’re being led by great upperclassmen.”

The freshmen class continues to impress and Canadian Alyssa Jerome’s basketball IQ seems to bring smiles to the faces of the coaches on a daily basis.

“Alyssa is catching on so quickly to two positions it’s mind boggling, honestly,” VanDerveer said. “Kate (Paye) was so funny because she (Jerome) is asking questions that we’re like, ‘Wow.’ We’re so impressed with the question we don’t have the answer.”