Things are looking very different for Stanford these days, but as she steps into her first year as head coach, Kate Paye is not lowering expectations for one of the most successful West Coast teams in women’s college basketball history.
“I think one thing I try to focus on is leaning into continuity. There are a lot of things changing out there, but we are trying,” Paye told CBS Sports. “We have the same values that we’ve always had: hard work, unselfishness, toughness, togetherness. Our goals have not changed. That is to win a conference championship, go to the Final Four, win a national championship.”
A conference championship in their first year in the ACC while they were voted to finish seventh? A Final Four without Hall of Fame coach Tara VanDerveer? Yes, Paye believes all of that is possible.
“We know it’s a journey and it’s about improving,” Paye said. “We have high goals and we feel like if we can stay healthy, stay happy and stay hungry, we can achieve them.”
So far, the journey is off to a good start. In Paye’s head coaching debut on Monday, Stanford beat Le Moyne 107-43 while registering a school-record 18 3-pointers. The Cardinal worked well together and recorded 25 assists against…
