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| Tara confers with the team during a time out against Colorado. |
Home sweet home. There’s no place like home.
No matter what cliché you choose, the Stanford
women’s basketball team is happy to be back at home in Maples Pavilion for the
first time since Nov. 25. After that, it was on the road for the next 16 games
because of coronavirus restrictions in Santa Clara County.
For a detailed look at the team’s odyssey, read
Mechelle Voepel’s “Inside Stanford women’s basketball’s nine-week road trip –
Six states, 12 flights and DIY haircuts” on espn.com.
The team celebrated its return to Maples by
defeating Colorado 62-54 on Feb. 5 and Utah 83-41 on Feb. 7.
Revenge
over Colorado
Beating Colorado was especially sweet because the
Buffaloes had handed the team one of its only two losses on Jan. 17.
However, it was a tale of two halves. The first half
was the best of times as the team cruised to a 37-15 lead by the end of the
second quarter.
The second half started well enough. The team
enjoyed its largest lead of 25 points about halfway through the third quarter,
which ended 49-26.
Fourth
quarter a nightmare
Then came the almost disastrous fourth, when
Colorado steadily closed the gap, came within four points and outscored Stanford
by 15.
Flustered by Colorado’s full-court press in the
latter part of the quarter, the Cardinal made only one basket the entire
quarter, but had a game-saving 10 free throws.
Several of those free throws came as Colorado
deliberately fouled to regain possession. Luckily, Stanford made most of the
freebies and came away with the win. Overall, Stanford made 76.5 percent of its
free throws, Colorado 62.1 percent.
Just to illustrate the difference in halves,
Stanford shot 46.67 percent in the first quarter, a sizzling 60 percent in the
second, 25 percent in the third and a dismal 12.5 percent in the fourth. For
the game, Stanford shot 38.9 percent, Colorado 36.4 percent.
Senior guard Kiana Williams led the way with 16
points, followed by freshman forward Cameron Brink with 13, fifth-year guard Anna
Wilson with 11 and junior guard Lacie Hull with 10.
Besides free throws, tough defense was instrumental
with nine blocks versus Colorado’s three. Cameron contributed six.
Offensively, the team had seven three-pointers
versus Colorado’s four. Lacie had three, Kiana two, and Anna and sophomore
guard Hannah Jump one each.
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| Fran and Jana do some celebrating during the Utah game. |
Utah
game a cakewalk
The 83-41 win over Utah on Feb. 7 was much easier,
as indicated by the score.
Head coach Tara VanDerveer substituted freely,
giving all 11 available players significant minutes. Sophomore forward Ashten
Prechtel didn’t play because she’s in the concussion protocol, the TV announcer
said. However, she was at the game.
Four players were in double figures: Kiana with 13
(in just 13 minutes), and Cameron, sophomore guard Haley Jones and freshman
guard Jana Van Gytenbeek all with 12. Everyone scored and contributed in some
other way.
Three-pointers
boost score
Nearly half of the score came from 10
three-pointers: Kiana with three; Lexie, Jana and Hannah with two; and Anna
with one.
Adding 38 points, bench players were on the court
for all of the fourth quarter and about half of the third. Jana logged the most
time with 27 minutes, followed by Hannah with 23. Otherwise, no one played more
than 19 minutes.
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| Agnes is greeted by Ashten at the end of the game. |
Of note: Freshman guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu played 17
minutes, had only one point but eight rebounds, second only to Cameron.
Some other bright spots among many: only seven
turnovers, 51.6 percent shooting, nine steals and 18 assists. Something to work
on: 19 fouls.
The team takes to the road again to play Oregon
State at 8 p.m. Feb. 12 and Oregon at 4 p.m. Feb. 15. The Oregon State game is
iffy because the Beavers had to cancel their Feb. 5 and 7 games against the
Arizona schools because of a coronavirus issue.
The Cardinal finish off the regular season at home
with games against Arizona State on Feb. 19, Arizona on Feb. 22 and Cal on Feb.
28. The next stop is Las Vegas for the Pac-12 tournament.
Photos
by Stanford Athletics
