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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
