The Stanford women’s basketball team ended 2017 on
a winning note, defeating USC 72-65 on Dec. 31.
Thus the victory returned the host Cardinal to
AP’s top 25 after it had fallen out the previous week for the first time in 17
years. The Jan. 1 poll ranked 8-6 Stanford No. 24.
The win left the Cardinal
2-0 in Pac-12 play.
Winning didn’t come easily. USC ended the first
quarter up 20-15 and the half up 34-33. Thereafter the Cardinal edged ahead,
ending the third quarter up 53-50 and going on to
win.
Game
has three ties, six lead changes
In this highly physical, seesaw game, the score
was tied three times and the lead changed six times. However, Stanford led for
just over 23 minutes while USC led for just over 14 minutes.
Sharpshooting proved to be one of the differences,
with Stanford making 45.5 percent of its shots to USC’s 35.5 percent.
Rebounding also was a plus, 41-31; along with assists, 19-13; and blocks, 8-1.
On the negative side, turnovers were still a
problem, 18 for Stanford, 12 for USC. Free throws also were lacking, 70 percent
for Stanford versus 93.3 percent for USC.
But Stanford nailed eight threes for 42.1 percent,
while USC hit seven, 29.2 percent.
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| Brittany goes for a layup against a USC defender. (Richard Erstad/isiphotos.com.) |
Brittany
helps make a difference
Senior guard Brittany McPhee was responsible for
three of the treys, while freshman guard Kiana Williams had two. Junior forward
Alanna Smith, junior guard Marta Sniezek and sophomore forward Nadia Fingall
had one each.
Brittany led the team with 21 points plus eight
rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals in 30 minutes.
After missing several games with an injury, she has
scored at least 21 points in each of the three games she has played since
returning. Because of her outstanding play, ESPNW named her its National Player
of the Week.
Alanna and Kiana had 13 points each. Marta led the
team in rebounds with 10 and had 8 points along with a team-high six assists.
The starters were Alanna, Brittany, Marta, Kiana
and freshman forward Maya Dodson. Except for Maya, the starters logged at least
30 minutes each.
Twelve
players get into the game
With the team at full strength again, head coach
Tara VanDerveer had the luxury of using 12 of the 14, while short-handed USC
fielded only nine. During the third quarter, one USC player let a referee know
she didn’t like a call and was assessed a technical.
Many in the crowd of 2,494, which included the
band and Tree, apparently didn’t like some of the other calls or non-calls,
loudly booing several times.
With the winter quarter not scheduled to begin
until Jan. 8, the team has some time away from the books, but not from
basketball. A trip to the desert awaits with Arizona at 5 p.m. PST Jan. 5 and
Arizona State at 1 p.m. PST Jan. 7.
