Freshmen help Cardinal coast to win over Utah

The 1990 national championship team and staff are honored before the game.

When Stanford women’s basketball fans greeted each other at the Jan. 26 home game against Utah, their first words often were “have you recovered yet?”

They were referring to the nail-biting, 76-68 overtime win over Colorado at home on Jan. 24.

They won’t need to ask the same question the next time they meet because the Cardinal easily defeated Utah 82-49 on Jan. 26.

Stanford leads for most of game

Except for the first basket by Utah during the first few seconds of the game and a brief tie shortly thereafter, Stanford never trailed. The team led 21-12 after the first quarter, 31-22 at the half and 55-38 after the third quarter before widening the gap at the final buzzer.

Fran goes for a layup to add to her career-high 20 points.

Three freshmen were among the five players in double figures. Forward Fran Belibi scored a game-high and career-high 20 points. Guard Hannah Jump had 14 points, and forward Ashten Prechtel had 11.

Joining them in double figures were senior forward Nadia Fingall with 11 points and sophomore guard Lexie Hull with 10.

Hannah makes four 3’s

Hannah scored most of her points with four 3’s. She had made five unsuccessful attempts from beyond the arc before finally connecting with less than three minutes to go in the third quarter.

It worked so well that when she made two more before the quarter ended, the bench and crowd of 3,369 were ecstatic. She added another in the fourth for good measure.

Also contributing to the team’s total of eight 3’s were Nadia and Lexie with two each.

Stats favor Stanford

The Cardinal dominated the Utes in nearly every statistical category: rebounds, 42-29, led by Fran with eight; assists, 24-12, led by senior guard Anna Wilson with five; and steals, 11-3, led by Lexie with three. Utah prevailed only in blocks, 3-2.

Perhaps one of the most gratifying number was only five turnovers, compared with Utah’s 16. 

The Associated Press reported that it was “a season low and the program’s fewest since also committing five on Nov. 24, 2917, against Belmont.” It had four at Arizona on Feb. 27, 2010.

Mikaela returns to action

It also was gratifying that all 11 available players got into the game and contributed in some way. Those players included senior guard Mikaela Brewer, who saw action for the first time this season. She came onto the floor with about two minutes to go and snared a rebound.

Senior guard DiJonai Carrington, who has played in only five games, and junior forward Maya Dodson, who has played at all, were in street clothes. Junior forward Alyssa Jerome missed her second game after being injured in the Oregon State game the previous weekend.

Freshman guard Haley Jones was absent from this game, as she was for the Colorado game, after being injured at OSU. AP reported that head coach Tara “VanDerveer has remained optimistic of Jones returning this season.” No further word was available.

Starters were Nadia, Lexie, Ashten, junior guard Kiana Williams and sophomore guard Lexie Hull.

After a fall about five minutes into the game, Ashten briefly went to the locker room, but she returned to the huddle shortly thereafter and soon was back in action.

1990 national championship team honored

The afternoon started on a celebratory note as players and staff from SWBB’s 1990 national championship team were saluted at center court. Most of them stayed for the Behind the Bench after the game and spoke of their happy memories of playing at Stanford and for Tara.

At the start of the Behind the Bench, associate head coach Kate Paye called for a moment of silence for NBA great Kobe Bryant, who, with his daughter, died in a helicopter crash in Southern California earlier in the day.

Kate then turned to that afternoon’s victory, saying, “What an awesome game … a great team win.”

She noted that the team was highly motivated after a 68-75 loss at Utah on Jan. 27, 2019, potentially cost Stanford the Pac-12 season championship.

The team heads north next weekend to face Washington at 7 p.m. Jan. 31 and Washington State at noon Feb. 2. Stanford defeated both teams earlier this season.

The Cardinal are at home again to host UCLA at 8 p.m. Feb. 7 and USC at noon Feb. 9, which will be Senior Day with a Behind the Bench.

Pac-12 Networks will televise all four games.

Photos by Stanford Athletics and AP

Shorthanded team polishes off the Buffs in OT

Hannah hugs Ashten as Nadia (4) and Fran add their congratulations.  (Stanford Athletics photo)

Despite missing four players, the Cardinal women managed to corral the Colorado Buffaloes 76-68 in overtime on Jan. 24 at Maples.

Besides senior guard DiJonai Carrington, who has played only five games this season, and junior forward Maya Dodson, who hasn’t played at all, the inactive list included junior forward Alyssa Jerome and freshman guard Haley Jones. They were injured during the 61-58 win at Oregon State on Jan. 19.

Like DiJonai and Maya, Alyssa was in street clothes, but Haley was absent. On Jan. 23, columnist Michelle Smith tweeted: “Latest from @StanfordWBB on Haley Jones. Out this weekend. ‘Haley’s recovering from an injury sustained against OSU. We’re optimistic about her recovery. Timetable for her return is to be determined.’”

On the other hand, senior guard Mikaela Brewer was in uniform for the first time this season, but she didn’t play.

Three of the coaches -- Tara, Tempie and Kate -- keep close watch on the game. (Amanda Loman/AP)

Nerve-wracking game

This was a game that had the 2,829 fans biting their nails from start to finish. Stanford ended the first quarter in a 13-21 hole and eked out a 2-point advantage, 27-25, in the second, only to drop behind 41-39 in the third.

With just over three minutes left in the fourth, Stanford faced a 7-point deficit, 52-59. That’s when a few fans began to leave, but they hustled back as the outlook changed.

Sophomore guard “Lexie Hull, who scored a career-high 29 points, made a layup with under 20 seconds remaining to give Stanford a 62-61 lead. …She also had a layup in the final 41 seconds of overtime to give Stanford a 71-68 edge,” the Associated Press reported.

Ashten instrumental in forcing overtime

Then a Colorado player “hit a 3-pointer with less than 2 seconds to play in regulation to give Colorado a 64-62 lead, but Stanford tied it with a perfect inbound pass and layup by (freshman forward Ashten) Prechtel, who scored 12 points and had four rebounds — all in the final 5:01 — to send the game to overtime,” AP said.

In addition to her 29 points, Lexie had five rebounds, two assists and a steal in 37 minutes.

Ashten, who hails from Colorado, added four rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal to her credits.

Also in double figures with 11 points, freshman forward Fran Belibi, another Colorado resident, had five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Besides Lexie and Ashten, the starters were senior forward Nadia Fingall, junior guard Kiana Williams and sophomore forward Lacie Hull.

Nine players got into the game, and all contributed in some way.

Five combine for nine 3’s

Five players were responsible for Stanford’s nine 3-pointers. They were Lexie with three, Nadia and Ashten with two each, and Kiana and freshman guard Hannah Jump with one each.

Colorado overpowered Stanford with 36 rebounds to Stanford’s 32 and with three blocks to Stanford’s two.

On the plus side, Stanford had more assists, 17-9, and steals, 12-6. Colorado had 21 turnovers while Stanford had 14.

Fouls, free throws prove crucial

In this highly physical game, the home crowd loudly booed some calls, but in the end, fouls were telling: Colorado had 24, while Stanford had 13. The home team capitalized by making 19 free throws compared to the visitors’ 12.

Those free throws, like every other Stanford point, were crucial because Colorado led for nearly 30 minutes and the score was tied for nearly three minutes.

Operatic soprano Amelia Farber started the evening off right by singing the national anthem just as it was written, as opposed to the off-Key, improvised versions that some singers offer at Stanford and elsewhere.

Halftime was highlighted by a salute to the women’s tennis team, which received its national championship rings for the second year in a row. This team is reported to be the winningest team in Stanford athletics.

Next up for the Cardinal is a visit from Utah at noon on Jan. 26, when the 1990 SWBB national championship team will be honored. A Behind the Bench will follow. Pac-12 Networks will televise the game.

Battle of the Bay: Round 1 goes to Stanford

Lexie takes the ball upcourt. (John P. Lozano/ISIPhotos.com)

Stanford vs. Cal is traditionally billed as the Battle of the Bay, but in Stanford’s case on Jan. 10, it was a pleasure cruise as the Cardinal sailed to a 73-40 win over the visiting Bears.

Except for an opening basket in the early going, Cal never led. Instead, Stanford was up 20-5 after the first quarter. It went on to outscore Cal 19-10 in the second (39-14) and 19-3 (58-18) in the third.

While not enough to close the cumulative gap, Cal surged 22-15 in the fourth quarter, when the Cardinal starters were spending most of their time cheering from the bench.

Freebies add to festivities

There was a festive air overall, starting before the game when the 3,529 fans could avail themselves from any number of freebies: pens, pompons, rally towels, glow sticks and lighted headbands.

The latter two items cast a red glow throughout Maples when the home starters were announced. “It’s time to glow,” the videoboard said.

The fans included a sizable contingent in the student section as well as the band, Tree, Dollies and cheerleaders. There seemed to be only a smattering of Cal fans with no appearance by their band, etc.

Fran dunks before game

As the team prepared to finish its warmups with free throws, freshman forward Fran Belibi delighted the crowd with a dunk, which has become a staple for that routine.

The band delivered an impressive rendition of the national anthem, which began with a lone trumpet playing the first few stanzas before the other musicians joined in.

With the same three players out as usual – senior guards DiJonai Carrington and Mikaela Brewer along with junior forward Maya Dodson – the starting lineup featured Fran plus senior forward Nadia Fingall, junior guard Kiana Williams, sophomore guard Lexie Hull and freshman guard Haley Jones.

By game’s end, all 12 available players had seen action, and all contributed in some way.

Freshmen make a big impact

Just how important were the four freshmen in this game? Consider this: One more point from them would have tied Cal’s total output, and two more would have defeated the Bears.

Haley was the game-high scorer with 17 points. (Ben Margot/AP)

As it was, Haley with 17 points; forward Ashten Prechtel, 13; Fran, 6; and guard Hannah Jump, 3; combined for 39 points. That was more than half of the team’s total, yet the four rookies played just under a third (a combined 55 minutes) of the team’s total minutes (200).

Halftime entertainment was provided by Swift Shift, a two-person magic act with repetitious tricks, some of which became easy to predict.

There was a festive air to the game in general, especially during the second quarter when the women’s soccer team was honored with cheers and a standing ovation for its second national championship in two years.

Tara hits a conference milestone

Then there was the announcement just after the game that head coach Tara VanDerveer had just won her 500^th conference game, the most by any Division 1 head coach with one women’s basketball team.

Although they weren’t shown in the videoboard, several of her former players were on hand for the occasion.

They included Kaylee Johnson, ’18; Briana Roberson, ’17; Ashley Cimino, ’11; Jayne Appel-Marinelli and JJ Hones, ’10; Brooke Smith Easter and Clare Bodensteiner, ’07; and Azella Perryman, ’05.

On the coaching side there was Cal head coach Charmin Smith, ’97, who became assistant coach at Stanford from 2004-07. 

Stanford associate head coach Kate Paye was on the team through 1995; and assistant coach Lindy La Rocque, who has been an assistant coach since the 2017-18 season, graduated in 2012.

Therefore, she was teammates with Jayne, JJ and Ashley and coached Kaylee.

Alumnae join the team and coaches in the locker room after the game (Stanford Athletics)

Lindy invites alumnae to locker room

After the game, she went over to the family section where the player alums were seated and invited them to the locker room to meet the team.

Round 2 of the Battle of the Bay shifts to Cal at 5 p.m. Jan. 12.

After that is what could be the team’s toughest tests to date: road games at Oregon at 6 p.m. Jan. 16 and Oregon State at noon Jan. 19.

Stanford returns to Maples to play Colorado at 7 p.m. Jan. 24 and Utah at noon Jan. 26. That’s when Tara’s 1990 national championship team is slated for a reunion.

Pac-12 Networks will televise the Cal, Oregon State, Colorado and Utah games. The Oregon game is slated for ESPN or ESPN 2.

Cardinal collar the Huskies

Tara joins the team and Stanford Soul Line Dancers for a post-game celebration dance.

After the Stanford women’s basketball team defeated Washington 77-56 at Maples on Jan. 5, the players celebrated the usual way by tossing victory balls into the crowd.

But then the celebration became even more joyous when some of the men and women from the Stanford Soul Line Dancers, who had entertained at halftime, joined the players for a spontaneous line dance at center court. Even head coach Tara VanDerveer got in on the fun.

Kiana goes for a 3 on her way to 20 points.

For the most part, the game was fun, too, beginning when junior guard Kiana Williams  opened the scoring with a 3-pointer. The host team tallied 9 points before the visitors finally had their first basket, a 3, at the 6:40 mark.

Half ends in a tie

During the seesaw second quarter, though, Washington overcame Stanford’s 19-15 first-quarter lead to tie the game 32-32 at the half.

After the needed halftime adjustments, Stanford poured it on to end the third quarter up 57-47. The Cardinal allowed only 9 Huskie points in the fourth quarter to guarantee the 21-point win.

Kiana’s opening basket was only the beginning for her as she went on to tally game highs of 20 points and nine assists.

Hannah gets free in the corner to shoot for a 3.

Hannah makes five 3’s

Also in double figures for Stanford were freshman guard Haley Jones with 11 and freshman guard Hannah Jump with 17. The bulk of Hannah’s points came from five 3’s, half of the team’s total.

Also recording 3’s were sophomore guard Lexie Hull with one and Kiana with two. Sophomore guard Lacie Hull also had two 3's plus a 2 in just six minutes of playing time. Lacie made her first 3 during the third quarter, right after she had entered the game after sitting out the Washington State game with a sore ankle on Jan. 3.

Lexie leads a fast break.

Lexie came close to a double-double with 9 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

The starters were Kiana, Haley, Lexie, freshman forward Fran Belibi and senior forward Nadia Fingall.

By game’s end, all 12 available players got in. Senior guards DiJonai Carrington and Mikaela Brewer were again in street clothes, as was junior forward Maya Dodson, who had been absent for the past two games. None of them wore a boot.

Band and Tree return

Because Stanford’s winter quarter classes were to start the next day, the students were back on campus, thus heralding the return of the band and Tree.

Many in the pumped-up crowd of 3,273 wore the free T-shirts that were available in the concourses before the game, but they were all one size, extra-large. That didn’t deter one small boy who joined the traditional Conga on the Court after the first quarter . He happily wore his shirt, which came down to his ankles.

Overall, Stanford dominated the stat sheet in rebounds, 38-29; assists, 16-10; blocks, 4-1. Steals were even at eight apiece. Stanford had 17 turnovers (more than usual), but Washington had 19.

Stanford shot a respectable 52.5 percent overall, 50 percent from behind the arc and 83.3 percent at the free-throw line.

Thus Stanford started the Pac-12 season 2-0 and upped its overall record to 13-1.

Up next, Cal visits at 7 p.m. Jan. 10 and hosts Stanford at 5 p.m. Jan. 12. Both games will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.

Photos by John Lozano/ISIPhotos.com

Nadia wows the crowd

Nadia towers over a defender.

Senior forward Nadia Fingall helped to get Stanford women’s basketball’s Pac-12 season off to a good start by scoring 20 points, her season-high, in the team’s 77-58 home victory over Washington State on Jan. 3.

Nadia’s accomplishments came almost exactly one year after she had suffered a torn ACL at home against USC on Jan. 4, 2019.

Nine of her points resulted from three 3’s. She got the crowd of 2,643 roaring late in the first quarter when she made two 3’s in a row to help put Stanford up 22-12.

She then made another 3 to start the second quarter. Topping off this behind-the-arc binge, junior guard Estella Moschkau, getting into action earlier than usual, followed up with a 3 of her own.

DiJonai high-fives teammates on the bench after a Stanford 3.

Team notches 9 treys

In all, the team made nine 3’s. Besides Nadia’s three and Estella’s one, junior forward Alyssa Jerome had two, while sophomore guard Lexie Hull, senior guard Anna Wilson and freshman guard Hannah Jump had one each.

As the game began, senior guards DiJonai Carrington and Mikaela Brewer were again in street clothes. Junior forward Maya Dodson, who hasn’t played all season, was absent, as she was for the UC Davis game on Dec. 28. Sophomore guard Lacie Hull was in uniform but, unlike past games, didn’t play.

Backed by Nadia, Kiana drives to the basket.

Besides Nadia, those in double figures were junior guard Kiana Williams with 12, and Alyssa and freshman guard Haley Jones with 10 each.

Starters were Nadia, Lexie, Haley, Kiana and freshman forward Fran Belibi.

Although the Cougars never gave up, they never led in this one either. They lagged Stanford in nearly every statistical category except steals, snaring 11 to Stanford’s seven.

Two Cougars produce lion’s share of points

Moreover, only two WSU players produced 48 of the team’s 58 points. Two others were responsible for the other 10. The first WSU basket didn’t come until the 5:33 mark of the first quarter.

Meanwhile, 10 Stanford players scored, and all 11 who played contributed in some way.

WSU has not defeated Stanford in any of the teams’ 66 meetings.

Washington visits Maples at 2 p.m. Jan. 5. Pac-12BA will televise the game.

Photos by John Lozano/ISIPhotos.com