March 11, 2024

Pac-12 tournament title evades team

 

Backed by teammates and the band, Cam and Hannah are interviewed after the OSU win. (Stanford Athletics)


Entering the last-ever Pac-12 tournament on March 10, the Stanford women’s basketball team had hoped for another championship, but it wasn’t to be.

Leading up to the final game in Las Vegas, top seed Stanford had defeated Cal 71-57 on March 7 and Oregon State 66-57 on March 8. In both games, the Cardinal had to come from behind.

They couldn’t do it again against second seed USC, losing 61-74, even though USC had survived a grueling double overtime win against UCLA in the semi-finals. USC also beat Stanford 58-67 on Feb. 2.

Except for the third quarter, when both teams scored 13 points, USC outscored Stanford the rest of the way.

Aside from the final score, one glaring difference was rebounds, an area in which Stanford usually excels. USC had 48, Stanford 28. Free throws also favored USC, which made 11 of 12 to Stanford’s four of seven.

Senior forward Cameron Brink led the team with 19 points, 10 rebounds and all six of the team’s blocks. Junior forward Kiki Iriafen was right behind her with 18 points and seven rebounds.

No other Cardinal was in double figures, but junior guard Elena Bosgana was close with 9 points. Five other players scored.

USC had nine 3’s to Stanford’s seven. Cam had three of them, while Elena, grad guard Hannah Jump, junior forward Brooke Demetre and sophomore guard Talana Lepolo each had one.

After the game, Cam and Kiki were among the five players named to the All- Tournament Team.

The tournament loss dropped Stanford to No. 4 from No. 2 in AP’s March 11 national poll.

Here’s how the first two tournament games unfolded;

Stanford wins final Pac-12 Battle of the Bay

Cal had Stanford on its heels throughout the first half of the quarter-final game before the Cardinal pulled out the 71-57 win on March 7.

Seeded No. 8, Cal had defeated ninth seed Washington State 65-44 the previous day, while No. 1 seed Stanford had the bye.

The Bears looked as if they might continue in the victory column as they led 36-28 at the half. During that half they launched a hail of 3’s and seemingly pulled down more rebounds.

Returning after the break, Stanford outscored Cal in each of the next two quarters to win. The Cardinal also had more rebounds for the game (50-44) and fewer fouls (10-18). All those fouls by Cal led to an 11-point Stanford advantage at the free-throw line.

Kiki led the way with 28 points, 18 rebounds and five assists for her 15th double-double of the season. She was the first Stanford player with at least 25 points and 15 rebounds in a tournament game since Chiney Ogwumike, ’14, against USC in the 2014 semi-finals.

Elena tied her career high with 16 points and contributed eight rebounds and four assists.

Cameron was right behind her with 15 points, 14 rebounds and the team’s only block. Her playing time was limited to 27 minutes because she was in foul trouble with a total of four. The first one was early in the first quarter when Cal was ahead 7-1.

Talana, the only other Cardinal to score, had 12 points.

Elena with four and Talana with three were the only Cardinal players to make 3’s. Usually sharp-shooting Hannah was held scoreless.

Stanford wins season awards

Earlier in the week Stanford dominated Pac-12 season awards. In a vote by the head coaches, Cam was named Player and Defensive Player of the year. Kiki was named Most Improved Player. Head coach Tara VanDerveer was named John R. Wooden Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

Both Cam and Kiki were all Pac-12 for the third year, while Hannah and Talana received honorable mention. Cam was named to the conference’s all-defensive team. Forwards Nunu Agara and Courtney Ogden received honorable mention for the all-freshman team.

On top of that, Cam was named the national Player of the Week on March. 5.

Brooke and Hannah celebrate during the OSU game. (Stanford Athletics)

Same slow start, same victorious outcome

It was déjà vu in the first half of the semi-final game against fourth-seeded Oregon State on March 8, and it was déjà vu in the second half as Stanford surged ahead to win 66-57.

OSU outscored Stanford 24-12 in the first quarter, but Stanford had the edge in the second, leading to an 8-point deficit at the half. Stanford then had a huge third quarter, scoring 23 points to OSU’s 8. The Cardinal also prevailed in the fourth quarter to advance.

In a turnaround from the previous game, Hannah broke loose, leading her team with 20 points, thanks in large part to her four 3’s.

Cam almost had a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Kiki was close behind with 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Both were in foul trouble with four each.

Completing the list of those in double figures, Brooke had 10 points.

Unlike the previous game, in which only four players scored, this time seven players added points.

One notable stat: Stanford had 25 assists and only seven turnovers, surpassing OSU in both categories.

Besides Hannah’s four 3’s, the team’s other three 3’s came from Brooke with two and Cam with one.

After the game, Cam and Hannah were interviewed by a TV crew while their jubilant teammates, the band, cheerleaders, Tree and Dollies celebrated.

Now the team awaits the announcement of NCAA tournament seedings on March 17. Stanford is expected to be a top four seed with the chance to host the two first rounds starting March 22.

Before that, the players can focus on academics along with basketball. Winter quarter finals are March 18-22. Spring quarter classes start April 1.

 

March 3, 2024

Team returns from Oregon with two more wins

 

Playing OSU, Cam snared 24 rebounds, tying a record set by Chiney Ogwumike in 2013. (Stanford Athletics photo)


The Stanford women’s basketball team ended its last-ever regular season Pac-12 road trip by sweeping the Oregon schools. These two wins elevated Stanford to No. 2 from No. 3 in the March 4 AP poll. Senior forward Cameron Brink's dominant performance in both games led to her being named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the fifth time this season and 12th time in her career.

The trip started with a 67-63 win over Oregon State on Feb. 29 and a 76-56 win over Oregon on March 2.

In the Oregon game, the Cardinal were without the services of starting sophomore point guard Talana Lepolo, who reportedly was held out with leg issues. She was replaced by redshirt sophomore guard Jzaniya Harriel, who filled in nicely with 6 points and four assists.

The crowd of nearly 7,000 saw senior forward Cameron Brink lead the team with 18 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and three blocks despite amassing four fouls that limited her playing time.

Junior forward Kiki Iriafen was right behind her with 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Grad guard Hannah Jump had 12 points in her 161st game, a program record.

Junior forward Brooke Demetre also was in double figures with 11 points.

Nine 3’s helped to boost the score with three by Brooke, two each by Hannah and Jzaniya, and one each by junior guard Elena Bosgana and freshman forward Courtney Ogden.

During halftime of the Pac-12 Networks' Mary Murphy announced her season awards. Among them were Cam for Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year and Kiki for Most Improved Player.

Stanford stands alone as Pac-12 season champs

Playing in front of a highly partisan crowd of more than 8,100 in Corvallis, the team pulled out its 67-63 victory over Oregon State on Feb. 29, thereby assuring its claim to sole possession of the final Pac-12 season championship. At the time, Stanford was No. 4 in the AP national poll. Oregon State was No. 11.

“We’re greedy. We want it (the championship) all to ourselves,” Cam said in an interview immediately after the game. The team had assured itself of at least a share of the championship by defeating Arizona State on Feb. 25.

In the OSU game, Stanford was vastly aided by Cam’s 25 points and career-high 24 rebounds. Those rebounds tied the single game record set by Chiney Ogwumike, ’14, on Feb. 23, 2013, against Oregon.

Kiki was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 14 points. However, nine of the 10 players who got into the game added points.

Four of them had 3’s: Elena, Talana, Courtney and freshman forward Nunu Agara, each with one.

OSU’s only lead came when it scored the game’s first basket. After that, Stanford forged ahead to a 15-7 first-quarter lead that could have been greater except for some missed bunnies.

Cam collected her fourth foul in the fourth quarter and left the game for about a minute and a half. When she returned to action, the crowd booed.

The final three minutes were nail-biters. Stanford was nursing a 2-point lead at the three-minute mark and held the same advantage, 64-62, with less than a minute to go. That’s when Cam snared her 24th rebound.

Several seconds later, Talana made two crucial free throws to expand the lead to 66-62.

However, Cam fouled out with about seven seconds left, but OSU made only one of its two free throws, leading to a 66-63 score. Two seconds later, Kiki made one of two free throws to ice the win.

Now it’s on to the final Pac-12 tournament March 6-10 in Las Vegas. Because it has a first-round bye, Stanford will play its first game at 2:30 p.m. March 7 against the winner of the game between the eighth and ninth seeds on March 6.

If Stanford wins that one, it will play at 5 p.m. March 8. The championship game is at 2 p.m. March 10.

Selection Sunday for the NCAA tournament is at 5 p.m. March 17. Assuming Stanford gets a 1, 2, 3 or 4 seed, it will host the first two rounds of the tournament, playing either March 22 or 23, with the second round either March 24 or 25.


February 26, 2024

Team clinches at least a share of Pac-12 season title

Players and staff display the trophy, banner, hats and T-shirts honoring the Pac-12 season championship.

After a disappointing 61-68 loss to Arizona without senior forward Cameron Brink on Feb. 23, she and her teammates responded by defeating Arizona State 81-67 on Feb. 25 in the last-ever Pac-12 home game.

Afterward, as everyone awaited the start of the Senior Day ceremony to honor Cam and grad guard Hannah Jump, the videoboard showed the last few minutes of the USC-Utah game. Utah won, igniting a celebration because it meant that Stanford had clinched at least a share of the Pac-12 regular season title, its 27th.

Nevertheless, out came the championship T-shirts, hats, trophy and banner.

The weekend’s mixed results dropped Stanford to No. 4 from No. 3 in AP’s Feb. 26 national poll.

Although Cam was back in action to start the game, sophomore guard Talana Lepolo was in street clothes. It later was reported that she has had a knee problem and needed to take some time off.

Jzaniya replaces Talana

Redshirt sophomore guard Jzaniya Harriel started in her place as point guard and did well, becoming one of five Cardinal players in double figures.

Junior forward Kiki Iriafen led the way with 22 points plus 20 rebounds and four assists.

Cam added 14 points, nine rebounds and led the team in both assists with seven and blocks with five.

Jzaniya was next with 12 points. Hannah had 11, as did freshman forward Nunu Agara.

The team had eight 3’s, with four by Jzaniya, three by Hannah and one by junior forward Brooke Demetre, who also had eight rebounds.

Before the game started, head coach Tara VanDerveer gave flowers to ASU’s seniors, and the male practice players were introduced.

Early in the first quarter, the two Stanford honorees, Cam and Hannah, showed their signature moves. Hannah lofted a trey, and then Cam blocked an ASU shot.

ASU leads after one quarter, but that was it

The first quarter ended with a 13-15 lead for ASU, but Stanford finished on top in the next three quarters.

During the third quarter, the two senior cheerleaders were honored.

Senior Day honorees Cam and Hannah celebrate a teammate's accomplishment.

 

The Senior Day ceremony began with the introduction of Cam, her parents and godmother, Sonya Curry, mother of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry. She and Cam's mother were college roommates. Both spoke about Cam. Brooke represented the team in saluting her.

Hannah was accompanied by her parents and aunt, who had flown from the UK to join the festivities. Her father and Talana did the honors in saluting her.

In both cases, announcer Betty Ann Hagenau ticked off their many accomplishments.

Closing the emotional ceremony, Tara said the team has a chance to be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Pac-12 tournament and hopes to host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

Team misses Cam in loss to Arizona

The 61-68 upset loss to Arizona at home on Feb. 23 began with a feeling of unease. Cam was nowhere to be seen during warmups. It later was reported that she was ill.

Besides missing her offensive and defensive prowess, her teammates seemed to miss the energy and enthusiasm she brings to the game. They didn’t seem to smile and joke as much during warmups.

Still, they started well enough, ending the first quarter with a 17-9 lead. Late in the quarter, Kiki headed to the locker room with blood on her white leg wrap. She returned during the break and went back into action with no leg wrap as the second quarter began.

Stanford led at the end of both the second and third quarters. The latter ended well with an 8-point scoring spree in the final minute and 15 seconds. Kiki accounted for 6 of those points with 2 by Brooke.

Fourth quarter ends badly

Therefore, the team seemed to have the game well in hand as the fourth quarter began. Then the wheels started to come off. Arizona steadily ate into its host’s lead, outscoring the Cardinal 31-16 in the quarter to cement the win.

Arizona accomplished this despite having only seven available players, but they continually disrupted Stanford on defense, leading to 18 Stanford turnovers while having only nine of their own.

Kiki led her team with 21 points plus 15 rebounds, three blocks, four assists and a steal.

Brooke gets starting nod

Joining the starting lineup in Cam’s place, Brooke contributed 15 points, while Hannah had 13, thanks in part to her 3 3’s. Brooke also had a 3.

Junior guard Elena Bosgana started as usual, but played only three minutes and spent the rest of the game on the bench.

In recognition of Black History Month, the seven-member Stanford Gospel Choir sang the national anthem after a trumpet intro by one of its members. The choir then sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Later the video board displayed photos and listed the accomplishments of some of Stanford’s most distinguished Black graduates.

Another focus of the game recognized the Stanford Organ Transplant Program, introducing two leaders of the program and a woman who received both a liver and kidney transplant at Stanford.

At halftime, fans who received the free Rec Day T-shirts convened on the court for a group Zumba session.

Stanford will wrap up its final Pac-12 regular season by visiting Oregon State at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, and Oregon at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 2. Pac-12 Networks will televise both games.

The final Pac-12 tournament is March 6-10 in Las Vegas.

Photos by isiphotos.com 


February 17, 2024

Cardinal coast over Cal 84-49

 

Kiki celebrates a teammate's accomplishment.

It didn’t take long for the Stanford women’s basketball team to overwhelm the visiting Cal Bears and close out the Feb. 16 game with an 84-49 victory.

Cal showed some resistance in the first quarter with two lead changes and one tie, but Stanford ended it by leading 22-16.

Cal didn’t score until nearly seven minutes had elapsed in the second quarter, when it put up a trey. The Bears managed only 5 points altogether in that quarter, while Stanford posted 18.

It was all Stanford after that, leading to the lopsided 35-point win.

Five Cardinal players scored in double figures, led by junior forward Kiki Iriafen with 23points plus 11 rebounds. Grad guard Hannah Jump and senior forward Cameron Brink both had 14 points, and Cam had four of her trademark blocks.

Elena was one of five players in double figures.

Joining them in double figures were junior guard Elena Bosgana with 12 points and junior forward Brooke Demetre with 11.

Brooke had three of the team’s five 3’s. Hannah and Elena each had one.

Stanford bested Cal in nearly every statistical category, including steals, 6-0. Redshirt sophomore Jzaniya Harriel had three of those steals.

Since it was Breast Cancer Awareness Day, pink was seen throughout Maples, both among the 4,604 fans in the stands and the personnel on the court. The Cal players were in pink, and the Stanford players’ white uniforms had pink accents. Some players sported pink hair ribbons and pink nail polish. Even the refs had pink whistles.

Perhaps because it was a holiday weekend with Presidents Day on Feb. 19, the band, cheerleaders, Dollies, Tree and even the emcee weren’t there.

The third quarter had some drama, starting about two minutes in when Cam got her third foul, a call that was roundly booed. Head coach Tara VanDerveer requested an official review, but when the play stood as called, Stanford was charged a timeout.

Fans got a scare with less than three minutes to go in the quarter when Kiki was hurt and hopped to the bench. Trainer Katelin Knox tended to her, and she returned to action early in the fourth quarter. In a post-game interview, Kiki said it was merely a muscle cramp.

This game and others in the Pac-12 Conference gave Stanford a two-game lead with four games left.

Coming up next, Arizona visits at 7 p.m. Feb. 23, followed by Arizona State at noon Feb. 25, Senior Day.

A trip to Oregon State at 7 p.m. Feb. 29 and Oregon at 2 p.m. March 2 will close out the final Pac-12 regular season. Pac-12 Networks will air all four games.

Stanford Athletics photos

February 12, 2024

Stqnford moves up to No. 3 after 2 more wins

 

Cam tries to steal the ball from WSU's Eleanora Villa. (Dean Hare/WSU PhotoServices)

The Stanford women’s basketball team returned from the Evergreen State with two more wins: 63-59 in overtime at Washington on Feb. 9 and 73-58 at Washington State on Feb. 11.

 These two wins, combined with other Pac-12 and national results, vaulted the Cardinal into first place in the conference and No. 3 in the Feb. 12 AP poll.

 Team prevails in overtime at Washington

 It took the season’s first overtime for Stanford to defeat a gritty Washington team 63-59 in Seattle on Feb. 9.

 With the first quarter ending with Stanford up 11-5, it looked as if this would be a cakewalk. The second quarter continued that view as the Stanford defense forced the Huskies into several shot-clock violations. When the buzzer sounded, Stanford still had a 6-point lead as both teams scored just 11 points.

 The lead swelled to 8 points in the third, but things turned around in the fourth quarter. Washington outscored Stanford by 8 points, leading to a 50-50 tie and sending the game into overtime.

 Stanford scored just enough in OT to eke out the 4-point win, resulting in a sigh of relief for Cardinal fans among the 4,454 people at the game and for those watching at home.

 Cameron pours in 22 points

 Once again, senior forward Cameron Brink led the scoring with 22 points plus nine rebounds, four assists, six blocks and a steal.

 However, junior forward Kiki Iriafen, her usually high-scoring teammate, managed only 9 points plus nine rebounds. She fouled out about halfway through the OT and had six of the team’s 18 turnovers.

 The next-highest scorer for Stanford was freshman forward Courtney Ogden, who came off the bench to add 11 points and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Talana Lepolo was the other Cardinal in double figures with 10 points, thanks to three of the team’s seven 3’s.

 Courtney, junior guard Elena Bosgana, junior forward Brooke Demetre and grad guard Hannah Jump had the others. It wasn’t Hannah’s best game. She played all 45 minutes but had only that trey for her scoring. A tough defender, she also had four fouls.

 Slow start against WSU

 Hoping for its first-ever victory over Stanford on Feb. 11, Washington State had a 7-point lead after the first quarter and ceded Stanford only a 3-point edge at the half in front of 1,304 people in Pullman.

 It outscored the Cardinal by a point in the third quarter, cutting the visitors’ advantage to just 2 points, but the fourth quarter told a different story. Stanford held WSU to just 7 points while scoring 20 points of its own to seal the 73-58 win.

 Once again Cam was the team leader. She scored 21 points to go with 11 rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks with only one foul.

 This time, though, her usually reliable teammates stepped up big time. Hannah had 20 points, thanks in large part to her four 3’s, plus four assists and a steal.

Kiki was next in the double-figure category with 17 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.

 For the game, Stanford shot 49.2 percent vs. WSU’s 44 percent.

 Stanford also had eight 3’s, one more than WSU. Stanford’s came courtesy of Hannah’s four, along with two by Cam, and one each by Talana and Courtney.

 Next up is a visit by Cal at 7 p.m. Feb. 16. The team then has a week off before hosting Arizona at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 and Arizona State at noon Feb. 25, Senior Day. Pac-12 Networks will air all three games.


February 6, 2024

Split decision with SoCal teams

 

Cam, Hannah and Kiki celebrate during the UCLA game. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)


After a disappointing 58-67 loss to USC on Feb. 2, the Stanford women’s basketball team came roaring back to defeat UCLA 80-60 on Feb. 4, both at home.

The weekend’s games dropped Stanford to No. 6 from No. 4 in the Feb. 5 AP poll. USC rose to 10 from 15, and UCLA dropped to 9 from 7.

While Stanford had its full contingent of 12 players, UCLA had only eight of its 12 players available. Among the missing was 6’7” Lauren Betts, who transferred to UCLA from Stanford after last season. She reportedly was dealing with an undisclosed medical issue.

Since it was Woman and Girls in Sports Day, several women’s teams set up activities in the concourses before the game. The 2023 national champion women’s rowing team was honored during the second quarter, and the current women’s gymnastics team tossed T-shirts to the crowd during the third quarter. It was the day before the start of its season.

During their warmups, the Cardinal players wore  T-shirts reading “Play for Kay,” a reference to the late North Carolina State coach, Kay Yow, who died of breast cancer. Their white uniforms had pink accents.

The national anthem was sung by the youngsters of i-Sing of Silicon Valley, who were well received by the near-capacity crowd of 7,207 people who had braved the stormy weather.

Team starts strong, doesn’t look back

Stanford came out of the gate with high energy, leading 9-2 after just under 2  minutes into the game. By the end of the first quarter, the lead had ballooned to 21-12. The Bruins’ Charisma Osborne scored 10 of their points.

In the meantime, all five Cardinal starters had scored while not committing any fouls. However, Stanford had four turnovers, leading to 17 for the game.

In the second quarter, UCLA took 2 ½ minutes to score 2 points, both from the free-throw line. It wasn’t until the quarter was halfway over that UCLA had a bucket.

Grad student guard Hannah Jump was on the exercise bike for a while during that quarter but soon returned to action.

She was one of three Stanford players in double figures with 10 points, thanks to two 3’s and some nifty layups.

Cameron, Kiki combine for 37 points

Senior forward Cameron Brink led the team with 19 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks.

Junior forward Kiki Iriafen was right behind her with 18 points, seven rebounds and a block.

Freshman forward Nunu Agara added 9 points and four rebounds.

Besides the two 3’s by Hannah, redshirt sophomore guard Jzaniya Harriel had two of her own, and junior forward Brooke Demetre had one.

Stanford outscored UCLA in the first three quarters. UCLA had 3 more in the fourth, but by then it was too late.

For the game, Stanford shot a sizzling 63.5 percent, compared with UCLA’s 29.4 percent.

Kate praises Talana

The post-game Behind the Bench started with associate head coach Kate Paye and  sophomore point guard Talana Lepolo. Kate had high praise for her, saying, “There’s no doubt that Talana does so much for our team. … She’s an absolute warrior.”

As for the win, Kate said, “We really needed it. … We didn’t like the way things turned out Friday.”

After her post-game press conference, head coach Tara VanDerveer came out and praised the team’s younger players. She also said that Stanford hopes to host first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament. That honor goes to the four top seeds in each of the four regional brackets.


Cam reacts to a call during the USC game. JuJu Watkins is No. 12. (Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle)

USC’s frosh phenom pours in 51 points

The team’s 58-67 loss to USC on Feb. 2 can be attributed mainly to one player -- frosh phenom JuJu Watkins, who scored 51 points in 34 minutes, more than half of her team’s total.

Cardinal fans can only mourn the day she chose USC over Stanford. She’s from LA, so maybe she wanted to play close to home.

It didn’t help that Stanford’s two best players, Cam and Kiki, faced physical defense. Still, Cam wound up with 19 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks, and Kiki had 16 points and nine rebounds.

Hannah was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 10 points. She had two of the team’s four 3’s. Junior guard Elena Bosgana had the other two, her only scoring.

Three USC players foul out

Back to the defense: Three USC players fouled out. In all, USC had 22 fouls, Stanford 19. Talana fouled out with only seconds to go in the fourth quarter after scoring only 2 points.

Some fans seemed unhappy with the officiating, often accompanying calls with boos.

The game began on a celebratory note with Chef Joe, assistant director/executive chef Stanford Athletics, receiving a framed honorary jersey for his contributions to the well-being of Cardinal athletes.

Sea of red for Cardinal introductions

When the Stanford starters were introduced in the darkened arena, fans greeted them by waving red glow sticks that were given away in the concourses before the game.

Stanford outscored USC in the first and fourth quarters, and ended the second in a tie, but USC had a 10-point advantage in the third.

During a timeout in the second quarter, Jess Smith was introduced. She was recently named president of the WNBA expansion team coming to the Bay Area and beginning play in 2025. The team is owned by the Golden State Warriors and will use its Oakland practice facility and play at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Halftime was highlighted by the Los Altos Dance Academy. The young girls, most of them in glittery gold outfits, wowed the crowd of 5,371 with their routines.

The team next takes to the road to face Washington at 7 p.m.  Feb. 9 and Washington State at 1 p.m. Feb. 11. Pac-12 Networks will air both games.

January 29, 2024

Dynamic duo fuels two desert wins

The Stanford women’s basketball team finished its stint in the desert with decisive wins over Arizona State, 80-50, on Jan. 26 and Arizona, 96-64, on Jan. 28.These two wins vaulted Stanford to No. 4 from No. 6 in the Jan. 29 AP poll.

Senior forward Cameron Brink and junior forward Kiki Iriafen led the scoring in both games. They teamed up to add 20 and 27 points, respectively, against Arizona State and 25 and 21 points, respectively, against Arizona.

Cam returns to play against ASU

The Arizona State game marked Cam's return after missing the most of the Oregon game and all of the Oregon State game with a lower left leg injury the previous weekend

In addition to their points against ASU, Cam and Kiki led the team in rebounds, 16 and 14, respectively. If that weren’t enough, Cam had three blocks, Kiki one. Redshirt sophomore Jzaniya Harriel joined the block party with two of her own. In all, the team had seven blocks.

Graduate student guard Hannah Jump got her shooting touch back, scoring 13 points with three of the team’s six 3’s. Junior guard Elena Bosgana, sophomore guard Talana Lepolo and freshman forward Courtney Ogden had the other three. Talana also had seven of the team’s impressive 24 assists.

Stanford dominated the stat sheet in all categories, including rebounds, 49-33. Further evidence of the team’s strong defense was seen in its eight steals, including three each by Kiki and junior forward Brooke Demetre.

All 12 players got into the action. Courtney had to go to the bench for a while after she suffered a bloody nose late in the first quarter. One of Cam’s four fouls was a technical assessed against her about halfway through the second quarter when the refs determined she had thrown the ball at her defender after scoring.

Playing Arizona, Cam and Kiki team up again

In the 96-64 win over Arizona on Jan. 28, Cam had 19 rebounds to go with her 25 points. Kiki was close to a double-double with nine rebounds to go with her 21 points. She played only about seven minutes in the first quarter because of fouls. Overall, she was limited to just 19 minutes, but she made the most of them in front of the loud crowd of 7,692.

Retaining her shooting touch, Hannah had three of her four 3’s in the first quarter, leading to 15 points overall.

Jzaniya also was in double figures with 14, including two more of the team’s seven 3’s. Cam had the other trey.

Wildcats play tough despite shortened roster

Despite having only seven available players, the Wildcats played tough defense, especially when it came to their 10 steals. That defense is part of the reason why Stanford had 16 turnovers, while Arizona had 12. On the other hand, Stanford had 19 assists, six of them from Talana.

With Stanford outscoring Arizona in every quarter, no one played the whole game. Talana had the most time with 33 minutes.

Stanford dominated Arizona in all the positive stats, especially rebounds, 49-21.

These two wins helped the Cardinal to maintain their top spot in Pac-12 standings.

Coming up next, the team returns home for two potentially tough games, hosting USC at 7 p.m. Feb. 2 and UCLA at 1 p.m. Feb. 4. Pac-12 Networks will air the USC game. ESPN2 will show the UCLA game.

In case of rain, newly revised rules allow umbrellas in Maples if they’re small enough to fit into the clear bags.

 

 

January 23, 2024

Tara on top after weekend's games

Alums join the team and staff in honoring Tara. (Stanford Athletics)


It rained outside over the weekend, but inside Maples the Stanford women’s basketball team reigned, defeating Oregon State 65-56 on Jan. 21 and Oregon 88-63 on Jan. 19.

Thus head coach Tara VanDerveer’s career record vaulted to 1,203 wins, surpassing former Duke men’s coach Mike Krzyzewski to become the all-time winningest college basketball coach for either men or women. She surely would have beaten the record much sooner if she hadn’t taken a year off to coach the U.S. women’s team to an Olympics victory in 1996.

It wasn’t an easy game, especially since senior forward Cameron Brink was out after injuring her left leg in the Oregon game. However, she seemed to be in good spirits and walking without a limp.

Kiki fills the void and then some

Junior forward Kiki Iriafen stepped up in her place, scoring a career-high 36 points, more than half of the team’s total. She also had a game-high 12 rebounds.

Six of Kiki’s points came from the two 3’s she made late in the third quarter. They were the first of her career.

Sophomore point guard Talana Lepolo also had two 3’s in her total of 14 points, along with six assists, one steal and only one turnover.

The team’s other two 3’s came from junior forward Brooke Demetre, contributing to her 10-point total. She started in place of Cameron. This was the first time the starting lineup had changed all season.

Fans in the near-capacity crowd of 7,022 noted tenacious defense by redshirt sophomore guard Jzaniya Harriel, who had three of the team’s seven steals.

The game started slowly with neither team finding its shooting touch. Thus the first quarter ended with a 10-10 tie, one of six ties in the game along with eight lead changes. Stanford finished the next three quarters on the plus side, leading to the 9-point victory.

The weekend wins moved Stanford up to No. 6 from No. 8 in the Jan. 22 AP poll. They also led to ESPN naming Kiki and Tara Player and Coach of the Week, respectively. The Pac-12 named Kiki its Player of the Week.

Alums return to honor their coach

Among the crowd were a number of former Stanford players, who were there to honor Tara. Some of them were with their children and spouses.

Afterward, a ceremony complete with showers of gold confetti commemorated Tara’s accomplishments. Ros Gold-Onwude, ’10, served as emcee. She noted that everyone was there to honor the “historic achievement of our coach. … She’s so humble, that’s why they brought me here.”

Ros sat on a center court podium in front of lighted letters “1203” to question fellow alums Chiney Ogwumike, ’14, and Jennifer Azzi, ’90, who was one of Tara’s earliest recruits.

Players, coaches, staff and alums all received T-shirts reading “1,202 ... And One.” Tara also got a commemorative jacket and jersey.

A video featured tributes from such people as Billie Jean King, Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Hoover Institute director Condoleezza Rice. Coach K himself, Chiney and her sister Nneka, ’12, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and Lisa Leslie. Like Jennifer, Dawn and Lisa were on the 1996 Olympic team that Tara coached to a gold medal.

As the current team listened from the bench, Tara began her remarks by thanking everyone for being there and noting that her record couldn’t have been possible without so many great players and coaches at a great university. “I am very overwhelmed,” she said.

Team registers win over Oregon despite loss of Cameron

The 88-63 victory over Oregon on Jan. 19 was marred by a left leg injury to Cameron during the latter half of the first quarter. Limping, she was helped off the court and to the locker room after contributing 6 points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal in six minutes.

At that point, her team led 20-2 after holding the Ducks scoreless before then. She walked slowly to the bench a few minutes later as the crowd of 4,556, including the band, Tree, cheerleaders and Dollies, cheered. She then spent some time watching the game from an exercise bike.

Cameron and Kiki lift Tara after the Oregon win tied her for all-time best. ((Bob Drebin isiphotos.com)


She was missing at the start of the third quarter. When she returned later in the quarter, there was a brace on her leg. It didn’t seem to hinder her after the game when Kiki and she hoisted Tara to celebrate her tying Coach K’s record.

During the national anthem, which was whistled by Taein Kim to a band recording, the on-court camera showed Cam whistling along with her. As the team returned to its warm ups, she high-fived the little girl.

Courtney misses her third game because of injury

Another missing piece of the roster was freshman forward Courtney Ogden, who didn’t play in the Utah and Colorado games the previous weekend because of an injury. She warmed up with the team and sat on the bench for this game, but when she returned after halftime, she was in sweats. She did play briefly in the Oregon State game.

Despite missing those two players, the rest of the team rallied with nine players scoring, five of them in double figures. They were led by Kiki, who had 21 points, 15 rebounds and two emphatic blocks before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

Talana tallied 13 points plus eight assists and three rebounds with only one turnover. Freshman forward Nunu Agara had 12 points, junior guard Elena Bosgana 11 and Brooke 10.

Talana and Elena each had three of the team’s 10 3’s. Graduate guard Hannah Jump and Jzaniya each had two. To most of the crowd, it appeared that Nunu had three 3’s, but the box score shows no 3’s for her.

Stanford led throughout the game, several times by more than 20 points.

Coming up next is a trip to the desert to play Arizona State at 5 p.m. Pacific Time on Jan. 26 and Arizona at 11 a.m. Pacific Time on Jan. 28. Pac-12 Networks will show both games.

 

 

 

 

 



 

January 14, 2024

Split decision in snowy mountains

 

Kiki led the team with a two-game total of 44 points. (Stanford Athletics)


Playing the mountain teams for the only time this season, the No. 8 (as of Jan. 8) Stanford women’s basketball team emerged with a 66-64 win over No. 19 Utah on Jan. 12 and a 59-71 loss to No. 5 Colorado on Jan. 14.

Both games were played at high elevations: 4,265 feet in Salt Lake City and 5,430 in Boulder. It was cold, too. When the Colorado game started at noon Mountain Time, it was -3 degrees, the TV announcers said.

Stanford’s shooting was somewhat cold, too, only 33.9 percent, compared with Colorado’s 41.7 percent. Moreover, the Buffaloes had quick hands, making 11 steals, including three in a row in the first quarter, while Stanford had only three for the game.

Turnovers hurt

Turnovers were costly, with 18 by the Cardinal and 11 by the host team.

Things looked promising at first with Stanford surging to an 8-point lead about halfway through the first quarter, but Colorado finished the quarter with a 1-point lead.

The fourth quarter began with a 17-point Colorado lead. Stanford refused to give up and actually outscored the Buffaloes 18-13, but it was too little too late.

Junior forward Kiki Iriafen led the Cardinal with a double-double, 19 points and 17 rebounds.

Cameron snares 1,000th rebound

Senior forward Cameron Brink also had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds despite being hampered by four fouls. She recorded the 1,000th rebound of her career early in the third quarter and finished the game with four blocks.

The only other Cardinal in double figures was junior forward Brooke Demetre with 12 points.

Her points came from four of the team’s nine 3’s. Cameron and redshirt sophomore guard Jzaniya Harriel each chipped in two. Graduate guard Hannah Jump added the other one.

The game saw five lead changes and three ties.

The crowd of 9,111was the largest since 1994, the TV announcers said. Included in that number was Boulder resident Rita VanDerveer, mother of head coach Tara VanDerveer.

Down to the wire with a win in Utah

Thanks in large part to Kiki, Stanford eked out its 66-64 victory over Utah on Jan. 12.

Despite accumulating three fouls, Kiki poured in 25 points, snared 16 rebounds and had four assists to go with a block in 32 minutes.

Hannah was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 12 points and four assists in 40 minutes. Sophomore guard Talana Lepolo also played 40 minutes and dished out seven assists to go with four points.

Cameron got the first of her two fouls less than two minutes into the game, went to the bench, returned and got the second foul with just over a minute to go in the first quarter. She wound up playing 27 minutes and scored an uncharacteristically low 9  points, but had seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.

13 3’s boost the Utes

Playing before a loud crowd of 5,608, the Utes got more than half of their points from their 13 3’s. Otherwise, they were outrebounded 40-32. It was a tight game with eight lead changes and seven ties.

Stanford had six 3’s: two by Jzaniya and one each by Hannah, Cameron, Talana and junior guard Elena Bosgana.

Nine of the 11 available players got into the game. Freshman forward Courtney Ogden was there but reportedly had an injury and couldn’t play.

Next up for Cardinal is a two-game home stand against Oregon at 7 p.m. Jan. 19 and Oregon State at 2 p.m. Jan. 21, followed by a Behind the Bench. Pac-12 Networks will televise both games.

If Stanford wins both games, Tara will have 1,203 career wins, the most by any basketball coach for either men or women, surpassing former Duke men’s coach Mike Krzyzewski.



 

January 7, 2024

1,200 wins for Tara after the Washingtons




Tara is on the verge of becoming the winningest college basketball coach. (Stanford Athletics)


Defeating Washington 71-59 on Jan. 7 and Washington State 74-65 on Jan. 5, both at home, the Stanford women’s basketball team handed head coach Tara VanDerveer her 1,200th career victory, two away from matching the record 1,202 wins by former Duke men's coach Mike Krzyzewski.

On her way to a team- and game-high 19 points against Washington, junior forward Kiki Iriafen scored the game’s first 4 points, both resulting from passes by senior forward Cameron Brink. As for Cameron, she had 16 points and 16 rebounds along with three of the team’s five blocks. The other two were by Kiki and junior forward Elena Bosgana.

Although Elena had only four points, she had four rebounds and three assists while playing ferocious defense, like her teammates.

Hannah adds four 3’s

Graduate guard Hannah Jump also was in double figures with 13 points, most of them from her four 3’s, all of which came in the third quarter.

Freshman forward Nunu Agara added 12 points, including one of the team’s seven 3’s. Cameron and freshman forward Courtney Ogden had one each.

It was a tight game, especially in the first half, when Stanford held a 2-point lead after the first quarter and a 5-point lead in the second.

The third quarter was decisive as the Cardinal outscored the Huskies by 11 points, leading to a 60-44 advantage. Washington outscored Stanford by 4 points in the final quarter, but Stanford prevailed.

Overall, the lead changed six times, and the score was tied five times, leading to some nail-biting by the crowd of 3,924.

During the Behind the Bench after the game, associate head coach Kate Paye said, it was “a great game for our team.  … Our team had to work extremely hard to prepare for them.”

Kate expects ‘a dog fight every night’

Commenting on the strength of the Pac-12, Kate said, “It’s going to be a dog fight every night.”

She was joined by Cameron and junior forward Brooke Demetre, who answered fans’ questions. Their answers were hard to discern because of distortion by the microphone.

When Tara arrived, she was greeted by a standing ovation, but as usual, she focused on the team and its big win. “Our team worked hard defensively,” she said.

Talana launches one of her four 3's against WSU. (Stanford Athletics)


WSU game goes up and down

In the Jan. 5 WSU game, the team and crowd of 3,084 had to endure 12 lead changes and four ties before the Cardinal pulled out the 74-65 win.

It was a game marred by 17 Stanford turnovers and 19 fouls, some of which the crowd loudly booed. By comparison, the Cougars had 14 turnovers and 15 fouls.

On the other hand, Stanford was tops in assists, 19-14, and rebounds, 43-28.

Cameron led the team with 20 points, 18 rebounds and all five of its blocks despite being limited by four fouls. She briefly went to bench for attention by trainer Katelin Knox after being hit in the face in the third quarter, but she returned after the time out and scored right away.

Cameron opens scoring with a trey

She had scored the team’s first points by nailing a 3. Kiki had 17 points, followed by Talana with 13 and Brooke with 12.

Playing all 40 minutes, Hannah logged an uncharacteristically low 8 points, none of them from her two 3-point attempts, but she was being covered like a second skin. 

Sophomore guard Talana Lepolo helped to make up that gap with four of the team’s seven 3’s. Brooke had two, and Cameron had the other one.

Because the game was so tight throughout, Tara used only nine players from the 12-woman roster. Speaking of rosters, WSU’s has a strongly international flavor with only four of its 13 players from the United States.

Although the home team had a 6-point lead after the first quarter, the visitors dominated the second, putting Stanford behind 34-35. A 10-point advantage after the third quarter preserved the win because both teams scored 15 in the fourth.

WSU has never defeated Stanford in all 73 of the teams’ meetings since they started playing each other in 1983, AP reported.

Fans could get fanny packs with “Cardinal” on them at tables in the concourses. They also saw the construction equipment that took up several spaces along Campus Drive in the Maples parking lot.

After starting winter quarter classes on Jan.  8 and taking that day off from practice, the team hits the road to play Utah at 5 p.m. PST Jan. 12 and Colorado at 11 a.m. PST Jan. 14. Pac-12 Networks will air both games.