Category: Stanford Cardinal

First Four: Sacred Heart Women’s Basketball makes history for school

The Sacred Heart University Pioneers women’s basketball team makes history.

The Sacred Heart University Pioneers women’s basketball team notched their first NCAA Tournament win at the Division I level, which is a first for either the men’s or women’s basketball programs. It was also the first March Madness win for a Northeast Conference women’s team.

They played against Southern University, one of two HBCUs in the 2023 March Madness Women’s D1 NCAA tournament, and defeated them 57-47. They are now the underdog of the West Regional as the No. 16 seed and play No. 1 seeded Stanford at 7:30 p.m. ET on March 17th airing live on ESPN2.

Senior guard Olivia Tucker led the Pioneers with 13 points and freshman guard Ny’Ceara Pryor had 10 assists, eight rebounds, and 11 points. Junior forward Kelsey Wood added 10 points.

“I am so proud of our team’s effort. It was a true battle tonight. I am so proud of how our team rallied to make history tonight,” said SHU’s 10th year head coach Jessica Mannetti.

“We just made history, and we are not done with this story,” said Ny’Ceara Pryor, the NEC Player, Rookie and Defensive Player of the Year.

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Stanford football schedule in 2023 is no picnic, but it’s much better than nasty 2022 gauntlet

David Shaw is out of the picture at Stanford, and the Cardinal have a 2023 schedule which is nowhere near as brutal as last year’s slate.

The Stanford Cardinal will be without David Shaw for the first time in a long time. Troy Taylor came to Palo Alto, and the Cardinal watched quarterback Tanner McKee go to the NFL.

The Cardinal might not win many games, but they do have a comparatively favorable schedule in 2023 when measured against last year (h/t Jon Wilner of The Mercury News).

“Compared to the brutal 2022 schedule, this edition feels like a garden stroll on a warm summer evening,” Wilner wrote. “The bye for new coach Troy Taylor comes in Week Six, not Week Three; Utah is nowhere to be found; and the Cardinal plays seven weeks in a row, not 10. Also, the odd-year rotation means Oregon, Washington, UCLA and Notre Dame are at home, not on the road.”

Stanford lucked out with four of their biggest games being played at home, which definitely helps Taylor and his team.

Still, the Trees probably won’t win many games in 2023. The Cardinal will be a popular pick to finish last in the Pac-12, especially with Arizona and Colorado looking much improved.

Things could’ve been much worse for Stanford’s schedule, so Taylor has to be a little bit relieved as he begins a new journey and tries to change the Stanford program.

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