Magnificent McPhee

Enroute to 24 points, Britt drives to the basket.

Scoring 24 points, Brittany McPhee led the Stanford women’s basketball team to a 74-50 home victory over Arizona State before a cheering crowd of 2,905 on Jan. 26.

In the process, the senior guard joined an elite group, becoming the 39^th player in SWBB history to notch 1,000 points.

Needing just 14 points to reach that mark, she hit it early in the fourth quarter. She had scored a buzzer-beater in the third and then hit the team’s next three shots in the fourth. 

In all, she hit nine of 11 shots, including 1-1 on threes, while notching three rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and no turnovers in 32 minutes.

Also recording threes were freshman guard Kiana Williams with two and junior guard Marta Sniezek and sophomore guard DiJonai Carrington with one each.

Team takes care of the ball

Overall, the team did well in the turnover department, committing only nine to ASU’s 14 while dishing out 12 assists to ASU’s eight. Eleven steals by the Cardinal accounted for most of ASU’s turnovers. The Cardinal also recorded 4 blocks while ASU had none.

Head coach Tara VanDerveer once again started two seniors, Britt and forward Kaylee Johnson; two juniors, Marta and forward Alanna Smith; and Kiana.

Marta is interviewed by former guard  Ros Gold-Onwude, '10, of the Pac 12 Network after the game. .

Marta’s 13 points were a career high, and she dished out six assists, half of the team’s total.

The third player in double figures was DiJonai, who had 13 points plus eight rebounds. Her rebounds were second only to Alanna’s nine. In all, the team had 33 rebounds to ASU’s 27.

Everyone was in uniform, and everyone had a chance to play.

Britt, Alanna score four quick points to start game

The very first play was a harbinger of what was to come. Rather than tipping the ball to Marta in the visitors’ court as usual, Alanna sent it in the opposite direction to Britt, who streaked to the basket for an easy layup.

Alanna then added a basket after stealing the ball, and it was off to the races on both sides of the court. ASU didn’t score its first basket until about four minutes into the first quarter, which ended with Stanford ahead 17-12. It never trailed.

With less than two minutes to go in the fourth quarter, ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne drew a technical. Britt made one of two of the resulting free throws before scoring another basket as Stanford won possession.

DiJonai, a solid defender, looks for an opportunity against ASU.

Defense was stingy, often preventing ASU from shooting until very late in the shot clock. Several times, however, the Cardinal bailed out their visitors by committing a foul and giving them a fresh clock or free throws.

In total, Stanford had 19 fouls to ASU’s 17. Kaylee accounted for five of them and had to leave the game with less than five minutes to go.

Nadia favors the band

During the first quarter, sophomore forward Nadia Fingall, who was the game’s featured player, was shown in the Get to Know the Cardinal video being asked what fires her up. The choices were Tara, dancing in the locker room, or the band. She named the band, bringing a cheer from the musicians.

A second-quarter time out honored the Stanford Graduate School of Education for its 100^th anniversary. The video board subsequently named several SWBB alumnae who earned their master’s degree at the school.

The Northern California Special Olympics basketball team, comprised mainly of young adults, provided halftime entertainment.

According to The San Francisco Chronicle, “No other team in the country has played as many games against ranked teams as Stanford, but Friday’s win was just its second against the top-25.” It also avenged the team’s 66-73 loss at ASU on Jan. 7.

Next up is Arizona at 5 p.m. Jan. 28.

(Photos by Bob Drebin/ISIPhotos.com)