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| Haley, trailed by Nadia, takes the ball upcourt. (Karen Ambrose Hickey/Stanford Athletics) |
The first two quarters were the most
anxiety-producing with merely a 2-point cushion, 19-17, after the first quarter and
a 2-point deficit, 30-32, at the half.
At that point, too, the Aggies had outrebounded the
Cardinal 21-14.
Full-court
press helps make the difference
And then came the third quarter, after head coach
Tara VanDerveer probably had given the team a good talking-to and instituted a
full-court press that worked in its favor.
After some more back and forth, Stanford finally
went ahead for good when freshman guard Haley Jones made a basket to put her
team up 42-40.
Right after that, an Aggies player was assessed with
a technical for an intentional foul. Freshman guard Hannah Jump made a free
throw to add another point to the margin, and the quarter ended 46-41.
The final score, 67-55, was the team’s largest lead.
Stat
sheet shows Stanford’s advantages
Stanford’s more aggressive stance in the second half
led to a rebound advantage of 35-33. Stanford also had more assists, 12-11;
more blocks, 8-1; more steals, 7-3; more free throws, 11-5; and fewer
turnovers, 14-20.
On the other hand, UCD’s 10 3-pointers on 50 percent
shooting helped to keep it in contention, while Stanford managed only four,
30.8 percent. Sophomore guard Lexie Hull contributed three of the 3’s. Her
twin, Lacie, had the other.
Not only did Haley put the team ahead in the third
quarter, she led it in both total points, 21, and rebounds, 11, for the first
double-double of her college career.
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| Nadia goes for a layup. (Tony Avelar/AP) |
Lexie also was in double figures with 14 points.
Senior forward Nadia Fingall had 11.
Starters were Haley, Lexie, Nadia, junior guard Kiana Williams and freshman forward Fran Belibi.
Three
players still out
Two senior guards, DiJonai Carrington and Mikaela
Brewer, were still in street clothes. Junior forward Maya Dodson, who has yet
to play this season, was absent. No reason was given, but during the Behind the
Bench after the game, Tara said, “We’ve gotta heal the heel. It’ll be a while.”
One of the game’s most memorable plays came during
the second quarter. Fran blocked a shot, Lacie grabbed the rebound, took a few
steps and hurled the ball to Fran, who scored, bringing the crowd of 2,871 to
its feet.
Fran followed that up with yet another block on
UCD’s next possession. She later had one more to reach her total of three for
the game.
UCD
coaches taught Tara the Princeton offense
After the game, assistant coach Tempie Brown started
the Behind the Bench by saying that Tara learned the team’s present offense,
the Princeton, from Aggies coaches, including head coach Jennifer Gross.
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| Anna scored 9 points and played tough defense. (Tony Avelar/AP) |
Tempie was joined by the four seniors, Mikaela,
DiJonai, Nadia and guard Anna Wilson, who answered several questions from fans.
When Tara came out after the post-game press
conference, she complimented the seniors. “Our seniors are doing a great job of
mentoring our younger players.”
She then said she was glad the game wasn’t on TV.
Still, “this is a great game for us to learn from them,” she said, referring to
the advice from UCD coaches.
As for the 11-1 team’s lone loss at Texas, 64-69 on
Dec. 22, she said, “They took it to us.”
Tough
conference schedule lies ahead
Nevertheless, “we’ve had a great preseason. … We’re
going to be ready for conference play,” which will be challenging.
In addition to Stanford at No. 5 in AP’s Dec. 23
rankings, four other Pac-12 teams are in the top 25. They are Oregon No. 2, Oregon State
No. 3, UCLA No. 10 and Arizona 18.
Conference play starts with Stanford hosting
Washington State at 7 p.m. Jan. 3 and Washington at 2 p.m. Jan. 5. Both games
will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
