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| 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
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
