Amber, Lili assure victory over Colorado

Thanks to starting guards Amber Orrange and Lili Thompson, the Stanford women’s basketball team managed a 62-55 win over Colorado at Maples to open Pac-12 play on Jan. 3.

Senior Amber scored a career-high 26 points, while sophomore Lili added 17. Their combined total of 43 points accounted for 69.3 percent of the final score.

They were the only two Cardinal players in double figures. Senior forward Bonnie Samuelson and sophomore guard Briana Roberson were the next-highest scorers with 7 each.

Game marred by 16 turnovers

The team had a total of 16 turnovers, 11 of them in the second half, while Colorado had a total of 13. In just over 7 minutes ending at the 11:06 mark of the second half, the team had a succession of eight TO’s. That’s just about when Amber took over, scoring 9 points in the final 7 minutes.

All 15 players were available, and 12 played. The starters were Amber, Lili, Bonnie, sophomore guard Karlie Samuelson and freshman forward Kaylee Johnson.

Of those five, Kaylee played the least – 19 minutes – after getting into foul trouble and fouling out with less than a minute left. Bonnie played a team-high 34 minutes, closely followed by Amber with 33 minutes despite four fouls during the final minutes of the game.

Free-throw accuracy only 57.1 percent

In total, the team had 17 fouls, compared with 23 by Colorado. However, the Cardinal made only 12 of 21, or 57.1 percent, of its free throws. Colorado made 14 of 19, or 73.7 percent.

The Cardinal had only a slight edge in rebounding, 37-35, led by Kaylee and Lili with five each. Stanford had six blocks, with two each by sophomore forwards Erica “Bird” McCall and Kailee Johnson, while Colorado had only one.

Likewise, Stanford led in steals with four – two by Lili – compared with one by Colorado.

Post play was a concern, with only 4 points – 2 each by Bird and Kailee.

At the half, Stanford led 32-25, but each team scored 30 in the second half, keeping the crowd of 3,507 fans in doubt about the final outcome until Amber took over.

Chiney, Sara cheer from stands

Among those fans were 2014 SWBB grads Chiney Ogwumike and Sara James, sitting in the front row of the family section. Chiney, Stanford’s all-time leading scorer, is playing professionally overseas and in the WNBA, while Sara is in Columbia University’s graduate school of nursing in New York City.

Chiney talked with fans and signed autographs after the game.

Redshirt junior guard Jasmine Camp was the game’s featured player, with Did You Know’s posted on the video board.

The game was broadcast by the Pac-12 Network with Anne Marie Anderson and SWBB grad Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, ’10, on the call. Ros interviewed Amber after the game.

Stanford returns to action at home against Utah at 5 p.m. Jan. 5.