Nice recovery after two painful losses

Freshman guard Agnes EmmaNnopu (right) and Kiana slap hands in the USC game.

After losing to Colorado on Jan. 17 and to UCLA on Jan. 22, the Stanford women’s basketball team bounced back by soundly defeating USC 86-59 on Jan. 24 at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz.

It seemed as if much of what had gone wrong in the 70-66 loss to UCLA went right against USC.

For example, the Cardinal had 53 rebounds against USC versus 31 against UCLA.

Bright spots against USC

Fouls were another area of improvement, 12 on Jan. 24, 18 on Jan. 22. Stanford cashed in on USC’s 14 fouls by making 10 of 12 free throws, or 83.3 percent.

And then there were the three-pointers. After making only two against UCLA, the Cardinal women made 10 against USC.

Senior guard Kiana Williams contributed five of those 3’s on her way to 16 points. Also getting into the trey game were junior guard Lexie Hull and sophomore guard Hannah Jump with two each, plus fifth-year guard Anna Wilson with one.

Kiana was second in scoring to sophomore guard Haley Jones, who had 18. Also in double figures were Lexie and sophomore forward Fran Belibi with 12 each.

The first quarter started slowly with the teams trading the lead until Stanford came out ahead 22-18. The Cardinal led in each quarter thereafter.

Cameron aims to score against USC.

Starting lineup changes

Head coach Tara VanDerveer tweaked the starting lineup, inserting freshman forward Camero Brink in place of Fran. Cameron produced eight points to go with nine rebounds and three of the team’s six blocks.

The team’s substantial lead gave Tara a chance to use all 12 players. No one played more than 30 minutes (Kiana).  

Foul trouble had hampered Stanford against UCLA. Three of the team’s most prolific players, Fran, Haley and Cameron, amassed four fouls each, thus limiting their  playing time.

In the second quarter, for example, both Fran and Haley had to sit out for several minutes because they already had two fouls apiece.

Although the Stanford bench is usually regarded as deep, this time it added only eight points.

Three games slated in Washington

Giving everyone a chance to play against USC was helpful because with only a few days’ rest, the team travels to the Evergreen State for three games.

Washington State is on tap at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 27 and noon Jan. 29. One of those games makes up for a game postponed because of COVID issues at WSU.

Then the team will cross the state to play Washington at 1 p.m. Jan. 31.

Pac-12 Networks will televise all three games.

Maya to play elsewhere

Maya

On another note: As allowed by a COVID-related NCAA policy, senior forward Maya Dodson isn’t playing this season. Instead she’s home in Georgia and taking her classes online.

She recently announced that she will graduate in March with a degree in engineering and ethics and will enter the graduate portal. That means she’ll play elsewhere next season.

“During these tumultuous times, I have found a new perspective on what matters to me the most. Family is the strongest of these things,” she tweeted. Therefore, she wants to play closer to home. “Even though my Stanford journey is coming to an end, Stanford will always have a piece of my heart no matter where I go,” she concluded.

USC photos by Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

 

 

Mixed results in the mountains

Lacie (left) and Lexie play defense against Utah. (Rick Bowmer/AP)

Visiting the Pac-12’s two mountain schools, the No. 1 Stanford women’s basketball team coasted over Utah 82-54 on Jan. 15 but lost to unranked Colorado 77-72 in overtime on Jan. 17 and fell to No. 5 in AP rankings on Jan. 18.

Thus the Cardinal’s season record was no longer unblemished, standing at 11-1. 

And the homecoming for the three players from Colorado – freshman guard Jana Van Gytenbeek and sophomore forwards Ashten Prechtel and Fran Belibi – was spoiled.

Stanford takes early lead over Colorado

The Colorado game started well enough with Stanford taking an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes before the Buffaloes scored. Six of those points came from junior guard Lexie Hull, who finished the game with a team-high 19 points.

Colorado's Mya Hollingshed tries to wrest the ball from Haley. (Cliff Grasmick/Boulder Daily Camera)

After that, things got tight. The first quarter ended 17-14 in Stanford’s favor. The half resulted in a similar margin, 32-29. The third quarter tightened even more with the Cardinal ahead 53-51, and the fourth quarter ended with a 67-67 tie.

The teams were fairly well matched in some statistics, like assists, 12-12; rebounds, 41-40 in Stanford’s favor; and turnovers, 14-15 in Colorado’s favor.

Bigger disparities were seen in fouls, 16-20 in Colorado’s favor. That disparity was seen in free throws, with Colorado cashing in with 15 while Stanford made nine, almost accounting for the difference in the final score.

Besides Lexie with 19, the only other players in double figures were sophomore guard Haley Jones with 16 and freshman forward Cameron Brink with 13. This game marked Haley’s return to the starting lineup after missing the Utah game for undisclosed reasons.

Team makes 14 3’s against Utah

While Stanford had only five 3-pointers against Colorado (two by Lexie and one each by senior guard Kiana Williams, Cameron and Ashten), the Utah game was highlighted by 14 3-pointers. When the first quarter ended 23-8, the team had already amassed five of its 14 3’s.

Ashten fights for a rebound at Utah. (Rick Bowmer/AP)

When all was said and done, Kiana tossed in six, while sophomore guard Hannah Jump added five. Ashten joined the trey party with two, and Jana had one.

Kiana also was the team’s scoring leader with 18 points, followed by Hannah with 15, Lexie and Ashten with 14 each, and Fran with 13.

Two of the more encouraging statistics were only nine turnovers to go with 17 assists. On the other hand, the team had 19 fouls, while Utah had 15. Cameron fouled out in the third quarter after playing only eight minutes.

Everyone gets to play

Given the altitude and the team’s overall performance, head coach Tara VanDerveer was able to rotate players in and out, giving everyone at least eight minutes and no one more than 24.

Hannah, Lexie and senior forward Alyssa Jerome returned to action after being held out of the Oregon game for coronavirus contact tracing.

Thus the starting lineup featured Kiana, fifth-year guard Anna Wilson, Lexie, Alyssa and Fran. In her post-game press conference, Tara lavished praise on several players, including Ashten, who had one of her best games so far.

Interviewed after the game, Lexie said that the team stays together mentally because “our team is really close … We’re having fun.”

Up next: UCLA at 7 p.m. Jan. 22 and USC at 4 p.m. Jan. 24, both at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz and both televised by PAC-12 Networks.

 

  

More hurdles, yet another win

Anna displays the kind of determination that helped her team to win.

Despite missing three players and being down by as many as seven points in the second quarter, the No. 1 Stanford women’s basketball team kept its record unblemished at 10-0 by defeating No. 11 Oregon 70-63 on Jan. 8.

Listed as a Stanford home game, it took place in the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz. Home of the Golden State Warriors’ G League team, it’s also home for the Cardinal because of COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Santa Clara County.

Stanford Athletics had announced that because of COVID-19 protocols and contact tracing after the Arizona State game Jan. 3, three players would miss this game.

They were senior forward Alyssa Jerome, junior guard Lexie Hull and sophomore guard Hannah Jump.

Head coach Tara VanDerveer said after the game that “they’re doing very well.” AP reported that it was hoped they would return to practice next week and the Utah game on Jan. 15.

All three missing players have been key contributors. Lexie has been a starter all season, but she was replaced by her sister, junior guard Lacie, in the starting lineup. Otherwise the starters were the same with senior guard Kiana Williams, fifth-year guard Anna Wilson, sophomore guard Haley Jones and sophomore forward Fran Belibi.

Haley goes for the basket.

Haley leads in her hometown

Haley, whose home is close to the arena, led the relatively balanced scoring with 18 points. Kiana had 14 and Anna 11. The other five players who got into the game all scored.

Notably, freshman guard Jana Van Gytenbeek chipped in eight points on 3-3 shooting, and freshman forward Cameron Brink, who had missed the last game with an injury, returned to action with four points plus six rebounds and two blocks.

Oregon had seven 3’s, while Stanford had five. Anna contributed three, and Jana had two.

Stanford had the advantage with six blocks to Oregon’s one. And it had fewer fouls, seven to Oregon’s 18, several of them deliberate in the final minutes to try to stop the clock and perhaps gain possession.

On the other hand, Oregon had 15 turnovers, Stanford 17. Oregon made 12 steals, Stanford six.

Rebounding was close, 39-37 in Stanford’s favor.

Lead changes six times

It was a seesaw game that saw the lead change six times. The Ducks outscored the Cardinal in the first and fourth quarters, but leads in the second and third quarters were enough to clinch the win.

This was the first time this season that an opponent posted more than 61 points against Stanford.

There was no official word on the status of four staff members, including coaches, who had missed the two previous games because of COVID-19 protocols.

However, it appeared from the TV broadcast that assistant coach Britney Anderson was back. Associate head coach Kate Paye was not seen. It was difficult to discern much about the Stanford sideline because the TV cameras focused mainly on the Oregon sideline.

Haley’s mom supplies goodies

Interviewed after the game, Haley said that her mother was helping to fuel the team with oatmeal cookies and brownies. “My mom’s an elite baker,” she said.

It was reported that the team would have a practice in Santa Cruz on Jan. 9, then stay in San Mateo before leaving for Salt Lake City on Jan. 13.

The Cardinal visit Utah at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 15 and Colorado at 11 a.m. Jan. 17.

The team will host UCLA on Jan. 22 and USC on Jan. 24. Times  and locations haven’t been announced.

The Jan. 10 game against Oregon State was postponed because of COVID issues at OSU.

Photos by Jed Jacobsohn/Associated Press

Dominant in the desert

Sophomore forward Ashten Prechtel shoots over an Arizona player. (AP photo)

The undefeated Stanford women’s basketball team brought its winning ways into the new year by defeating Arizona 81-54 on Jan. 1 and Arizona State 68-60 Jan. 3. Both games were in Arizona.

Tough defense and tenacious rebounding were key factors in the No. 1 team’s win over the No. 6 (but not for long, it seems) Arizona.

Stanford Athletics said it was the largest road victory against a top-six opponent in program history.

The Cardinal limited Arizona to 25.8 percent shooting versus Stanford’s 46.2 percent. As for rebounds, Stanford had 51 while Arizona had 32.

Stanford dominated in all other categories except for its 16 turnovers, compared with Arizona’s nine. Of special note is Stanford’s 89.3 percent success at the free-throw line, 25 of 28.

Everyone gets in on the act

All 12 players got into the game, and no one played more than 32 minutes (senior guard Kiana Williams).

Also noteworthy were the team’s eight 3’s with three from fifth-year guard Anna Wilson, two from sophomore guard Hannah Jump and one each from Kiana, junior guard Lexie Hull and sophomore forward Ashten Prechtel.

Four players were in double figures: sophomore guard Haley Jones with 18 points plus 10 rebounds for a double-double, Lexie with 13, sophomore forward Fran Belibi with 12 and freshman forward Cameron Brink with 11.

About halfway through the fourth quarter, Cameron was fouled, fell and was slow to get up. However, she went down to Stanford’s end of the court and made both of her free throws. She then limped to the bench and didn’t return.

Injury keeps Cameron out of ASU game

Later she reportedly was seen with ice on a knee. In her post-game press conference, head coach Tara VanDerveer said she’d probably play against ASU. However, she didn’t suit up for that game and was missed.

Prior to the Arizona game, Stanford Athletics announced that because of COVID-19 protocols, four members of the coaching and support staff wouldn’t be at either weekend game. Tara offered no further details in her press conference.

However, the TV broadcast showed that associate head coach Kate Paye and assistant coach Britney Anderson weren’t there. It wasn’t clear who the other two were.  

ASU gives team a hard time

Continuing the trip through the desert, the Cardinal had a tougher time against ASU, winning by only eight points, the closest game of the season.

The first quarter started like many other games with Stanford scoring 13 points before ASU made its first basket with 3:30 left. The Cardinal ended the quarter with a 19-4 lead. ASU had only that one basket plus two free throws.

Things got rougher after that, with the second half ending 34-25. The third quarter was close for a bit, but ended it 56-42.

Free throws and three-pointers kept ASU in the game.

Fran powers her way to a double-double. (Michael Chow/The Republic)

Fran gave her team a major boost with her career-high 23 points along with 12 rebounds. Kiana with 16 points was the only other Cardinal in double figures.

Three-point shooting was underwhelming with only four: one each from Kiana, Lexie, Lacie and Hannah. Turnovers were a problem, too, with 17, while ASU had 13.

And then there were the fouls, with a total of 20. ASU had 12, several of them coming late in the fourth quarter when the Sun Devils were trying to stop the clock.

Rebounding a bright spot

But once again rebounding was impressive with a total of 41 versus ASU’s 30.

So once again the team came away with a win, keeping its record unblemished at 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the Pac-12.

Celebrating her birthday, freshman guard Jana Van Gytenbeek played for four minutes during the first quarter.

Tara gives instructions to Kiana (left) and Lexie (right). (Michael Chow/The Republic)

Before the game ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne gave flowers to Tara to honor her becoming women’s basketball’s winningest coach. Charli, a 1988 Stanford graduate, played for Tara alongside now-assistant coach Katy Steding, ’90.

Schedule changes for Oregon and Washington schools

Stanford and the Pac-12 announced several updates to the Cardinal schedule on Jan. 4.

Listed as a home game for Stanford, the Jan. 8 game against Oregon will be played in Santa Cruz’s Kaiser Permanente Arena, home of the Santa Cruz Warriors, the Golden State Warriors' G-League affiliate. Tipoff has been moved to 11:30 a.m. from 6 p.m.

The team moved its training and competition off campus in early December after the Santa Clara County Public Health Department's Nov. 28 emergency COVID-19 directive, Stanford Athletics said.

The Jan. 10 game against Oregon State has been postponed indefinitely because of COVID-19 testing and contact tracing protocols within the Beavers' program.

The trip to Washington also has changed. Stanford will play at Washington State on Jan. 27 and Jan. 29 and at Washington on Jan. 31. The Jan. 29 game makes up for a postponement in December. Times have not been announced.

For the complete updated schedule, go to https://gostanford.com/sports/womens-basketball/schedule.