March 19, 2020

Thanks for the memories, Part 1 of 2




The Stanford players always supported and cheered for their teammates. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

With apologies to T.S. Eliot, this is the way the season ends: “not with a bang but a whimper.”

The Stanford women's basketball season had been filled with memorable plays and games, but it  abruptly ended March 12 when the NCAA announced that it was canceling both the men’s and women’s tournaments because of the spreading coronavirus. 

Other amateur and pro sports also were shut down, along with much of the rest of the world.

After an 89-56 loss to Oregon in the March 8 final of the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas, the team was expecting a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament and a chance to host the first two rounds.

Instead, it had to settle for its 27-6 overall record, 14-4 in the conference.

Thus the players, especially the seniors, the staff and the fans were greatly disappointed that there would be no more games this season.

Freshmen bolster hopes for team

Tara is flanked by the freshmen, from left: Haley, Hannah, Fran, Ashten. (Stanford Athletics)
Everyone had high hopes for this team even though it was relatively young but with a highly promising freshman class with guards Haley Jones and Hannah Jump along with forwards Fran Belibi and Ashten Prechtel.

Fans got their first look at the team during an open practice Oct. 26. Afterward, head coach Tara VanDerveer said, “We’re going to have a good year.”

With the team ranked third in the AP poll behind Oregon and Baylor, the players gave an enticing preview of coming attractions by hosting a Chinese team, Beijing Normal, and defeating their guests 100-58 on Oct. 29.

And perhaps in a preview of coming un-attractions, three players were unavailable: Haley, senior guard Mikaela Brewer, who was wearing a walking boot on her left foot; and junior forward Maya Dodson, recovering from an injury sustained the previous season.


Stanford hosts Team USA in exhibition
Stanford and Team USA players get together before  the game. (Bob Drebin/ISIPhotos.com)
A sterner test faced the team in another exhibition Nov. 2. This time the guest was Team USA, on a tour of top colleges to get ready for the 2020 Olympics. Among the WNBA greats on Team USA was esteemed Stanford alum Nneka Ogwumike, ’12.

She had game highs of 23 points and 12 rebounds in just over 27 minutes, thus upping her Maples win-loss record to 65-0 as Team USA won 95-80.

Haley was able to play, but Maya and Mikaela were still unavailable. It would be months before either of them returned.

Games that counted started Nov. 5 when the Cardinal routed visiting Eastern Washington University 92-27.

Stanford, USF play in Warriors’ Chase Center

Stanford, technically hosted by the University of San Francisco, made Bay Area basketball history by playing the first college game ever in the Golden State Warriors’ shiny new Chase Center in San Francisco on Nov. 9.

Stanford won that one 97-71, led by sophomore guard Lexie Hull with 27 points. Also in double figures were senior guard DiJonai Carrington with 16 and junior forward Alyssa Jerome with 11.

Chalking up another win, Stanford defeated its Northern Colorado visitors 90-36 on Nov. 14. In what became a ritual before every game, Fran delivered a dunk.

Sophomore guard Lacie Hull led all players with 19 points.

It takes OT to beat Gonzaga

Winning was far more difficult Nov. 17 when Stanford eked out a 76-70 home win over Gonzaga in overtime. Lexie helped make the win possible with 8 points and an important rebound in the final three minutes of OT. Senior guard Anna Wilson helped, too, with three free throws during the final minute or so.

Junior guard Kiana Williams led the team with 22 points, while Lexie had 20 and Haley had 11.

Still at home, Stanford beat Buffalo 88-69 on Nov. 24. Lexie wound up with 21 points, and Kiana had 14. Ashten had her first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Three games, three wins during Thanksgiving break

The team spent Thanksgiving weekend at a tournament in Victoria, B.C., Canada, and returned with three wins: 83-78 over California Baptist on Nov. 28, 77-59 over Syracuse on Nov. 29 and 67-62 over Mississippi State on Nov. 30.

Senior forward Nadia Fingall was named the tournament’s MVP, and Haley was named to the all-tournament team. Her accomplishments in Victoria led to her being named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.

However, DiJonai didn’t play at all, nor did she play any games after that. Her hustle was sorely missed, but she exhibited leadership throughout the season.

Estella (left) and DiJonai like what they see in the Ohio State game. (Don Feria/ISIPhotos.com)

Back home, the team upped its record to 9-0 with a 71-52 over Ohio State on Dec. 15. It was the 1,100th win in program history. The victory propelled Stanford to No. 1 in AP’s weekly poll.

Although the team’s ranking moved up and down throughout the season, it never fell below No. 8 and finished at No. 7.

Lexie makes seven steals against Ohio State

Among highlights in this game, Lexie had a career-high seven steals while adding 13 points. Haley had a team-high 15 and was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the second time. Also in double figures were Fran with 13 and Kiana with 13.

As had become her habit, Hannah made three 3’s in seemingly effortless fashion – just catch and shoot – swish.

Yet another home win came Dec. 18 when Tennessee fell 78-51. During the fourth quarter, Kiana made a free throw that gave her 1,000 points for her collegiate career, the 41st player to do so in the program’s history.

Playing in all 33 games, she led the team with a total of 494 points, an average of 15 points per game.

Going on the road, the team suffered its first loss, 69-64, at the hands of Texas on Dec. 22.

Memorable play in win over UC Davis

Back from the holiday break, the Cardinal defeated UC Davis 67-55 at home on Dec. 28.
One of the game’s more memorable moments 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 to its feet.

Haley, trailed by Nadia, takes the ball upcourt. (Karen Ambrose Hickey/Stanford Athletics)
Haley had her first career double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

Thus the team ended the pre-conference season with an 11-1 record as it geared up for Pac-12 competition.

Next: Part 2, the Pac-12 season