Perhaps one fan expressed it best: “I’m shocked,”
she said.
She was reacting to the Stanford women’s basketball team’s 71-64 home loss to Western Illinois of Macomb on Dec. 18.
According to The San Francisco Chronicle, it was
only the 11th home loss in the past 11 years.
One of the most glaring differences between the
two teams came at the free-throw line. While the Leathernecks made 20 of 26, or
76.9 percent, of their free throws, the Cardinal connected on only eight of 19,
or 42.1 percent. That’s a loss of 11 potential points, while the visitors’
margin of victory was 7 points.
Another telling stat: The Cardinal had 19
turnovers, the visitors 13. The Cardinal also missed a number of what looked to
be easy layups.
Guards
contribute eight 3’s
On a more positive note, the hosts made eight
3-pointers, the visitors five. Sophomore guard Anna Wilson and freshman guard
Kiana Williams chipped in three each, while junior guard Alexa Romano had two.
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| One day after losing, the entire team -- including Mikaela Brewer and Shannon Coffee-- turned to giving by helping at St. Anthony's Padua Dining Room. (Stanford Athletics) |
Kaylee, Alanna, Kiana, Anna and junior center Shannon Coffee started the game, and 10 of the 12 available players saw action. Sharpshooting senior guard Brittany McPhee and sophomore guard DiJonai Carrington were still out while recovering from injuries.
Three Cardinal players were in double figures:
Alanna with 18, Kiana with 17 and Anna with 13.
Alanna,
Kaylee battle under the basket
Alanna played the most minutes, 35, and they
weren’t easy. Along with Kaylee, she often had to battle a swarm of
Leathernecks under the basket.
The first quarter ended with Stanford lagging
14-21. Head coach Tara VanDerveer sent in a smaller lineup of three guards and
two forwards to start the second quarter. Thus they held their opponents to
just 3 points and finished the half with a 33-24 advantage.
The team was still
ahead 47-45 at the end of the third quarter, but then the wheels came off with
WI outscoring Stanford 26-17 to end with the 71-64 win.
Therefore, there were no victory balls. Instead,
the players gathered in a circle at center court while Kaylee apparently gave
them a pep talk.
They’ll need all the pep they can get when they
host unbeaten Tennessee at 6 p.m. Dec. 21.
