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| Kiana shoots over a USC player on her way to a 22-point game. |
USC didn’t make things easy when it visited the
Stanford women’s basketball team Jan. 4, but the home team prevailed at the
final buzzer, 72-64, to begin Pac 12 play.
Thus AP’s No. 6-ranked Stanford extended its record
to 11-1 while dropping USC to 10-3.
Aside from the ups and downs in this seesaw
battle, the game marked player gains and losses for Stanford. On the plus side,
both freshman forward Lexie Hull and junior guard Anna Wilson were back in
uniform after missing some games. Anna played for five minutes, but her stat
line was empty.
On the minus side, sophomore forward Maya Dodson
was in street clothes for the first time this season because of a foot problem.
Senior guard Marta Sniezek remained out of action with the thumb injury that
has kept her out all season.
Moreover, junior forward Nadia Fingall had to
retire to the locker room after reportedly hyperextending a knee early in the
third quarter. She returned to applause several minutes later. She got back
into action in the fourth quarter only to apparently hurt a knee in a collision
with a USC player.
That’s when she went back to the locker room for
good. She had played a total of 18 minutes, scoring two points, snaring four
rebounds, dishing out two assists and blocking one shot.
Changes
in score lead to nail-biting
In a reflection of the game’s inducement of
nail-biting, the lead changed 13 times and the score was tied seven times.
Stanford trailed by two points after both the first and second quarters but
finished the third with a seven-point lead before polishing things off with the
eight-point victory.
Playing all 40 minutes, sophomore guard Kiana
Williams poured in a game-leading 22 points.
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| Alanna fights her way through the USC defense. |
Senior forward Alanna Smith
contributed 19 points (to go with 11 rebounds) in 39 minutes. Junior guard
DiJonai Carrington also was in double figures with 14.
Favoring Stanford were free throws, 10 vs. 7, and
three’s, 8-5, along with rebounds, 46-40; blocks, 7-5; and assists, 12-10. It
had fewer fouls, 11-18. On the other hand, it had more turnovers, 15-13, and
fewer steals, 3-8.
Kiana had four three’s, Alanna three and freshman
forward Lacie Hull one.
Head coach Tara VanDerveer stuck with the same
starters as in previous games with Alanna, Nadia, Lacie, DiJonai and Kiana.
Each team used only nine players.
Crowd
loud in support of home team
Even though the usual student contingents like the
band, Tree, Dollies and cheerleaders were still on the holiday break, the game
drew 2,557 fans. The pro-Stanford crowd was loud in supporting the team and
sometimes vocal in disagreeing with the officials in this very physical game.
Among the fans were girls from Torch Basketball
Academy, who scrimmaged at halftime. Their families were there, too, including
my next-door neighbors.
Stanford alum Melanie Murphy, ’11, is Torch’s
founder and CEO. She was there coaching one red squad.
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| Ros returns to her alma mater to annouce the game. |
Another alum on hand was Mel’s teammate and fellow
New Yorker, Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, ’10. Ros was an announcer for the Pac 12
Network’s TV coverage.
UCLA,
Arizona teams are next
The Cardinal will return to Maples at 1 p.m. Jan.
6, when UCLA comes calling after knocking off Cal 84-79 in overtime on Jan. 4.
The game will be covered by Pac 12 TV.
A Behind the Bench will follow the game.
The team is off to the desert the following
weekend to face Arizona State at 6 p.m. PST Jan. 11 and Arizona at 11 a.m. PST
Jan. 13. Pac 12 TV will show both.
Photos by John P. Lozano, isiphotos.com
