Comeback kids headed for Final Four

 

Jubilation breaks out as the team celebrates its comeback over Louisville. (Eric Gay/AP)

Overcoming a deficit that was 12 points at the half and 14 points early in the third quarter, the Stanford women’s basketball team staged an epic comeback to defeat Louisville 78-63 on March 30 and advance to the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.

The Cardinal will face the South Carolina Gamecocks in the semi-finals at 3 p.m. April 2. The game will be on ESPN.

Things looked bleak during the first half, when the team shot a dismal 35.29 percent in the first quarter, which ended with a 13-21 deficit; and an even worse 21.05 percent in the second, which left the team in a 26-38 hole.

Then came the third quarter with its improved 52.63 percent shooting, ending with the Cardinal behind only 48-50. During the fourth quarter, the team shot a sizzling 76.92 percent to hold Louisville to 13 points and ice the win.

As the SF Chronicle’s Ann Killion put it, “Sometime between the second and third quarters, the Cardinal players remembered who they were; the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed. They remembered what they had been through on this journey…”

Long, winding road to San Antonio

That journey was one that had allowed the team only one home game before Santa Clara County COVID restrictions sent it on the road. A video clip shown before recent games recounts the team’s 63-day odyssey covering more than 7,100 miles.

However, as the old saying goes, “As the going gets tough, the tough get going.” That’s just what the team did.

A determined Lexie scored 21 points. (Eric Gay/AP)

Junior guard Lexie Hull led the team with 21 points to go with nine rebounds and three steals.

Ashten adds 16 points in 16 minutes

Coming off the bench in the second half, sophomore forward Ashten Prechtel helped to spark the comeback with 16 points in 16 minutes, plus three rebounds and two blocks.

Also in double figures were senior guard Kiana Williams with 14 points, four rebounds, four steals and five assists; and sophomore guard Haley Jones with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Although limited to 21 minutes after a brief trip to and from the locker room, freshman forward Cameron Brink did her part with nine points, four blocks and five rebounds.

The team had seven 3’s, below its usual double-digit tournament output, but they were big. Ashten had three, Kiana two, and Lexie and fifth-year guard Anna Wilson one each.

In the end, the Cardinal’s dominance showed not only in the score but in other areas: rebounds 45-37; blocks 7-3; steals 8-5; assists 16-11; points in the paint, 38-24; and more.

Stanford had fewer fouls, 6-17, and fewer turnovers, 9-10.

After that, it was time to celebrate and cut down the nets.

Anna steals the ball in the Missouri State game. (Morry Gash/AP)

Easy Sweet 16 win over Missouri State

Two days earlier, Stanford easily advanced to the Elite Eight by defeating Missouri State 89-62 on March 28.

Missouri State scored first, but after that Stanford took control with a dominating, balanced attack.

All 12 players got into the action, and 11 contributed in some way.

Sophomore guard Hannah Jump led the scoring with 17 points, followed by Kiana with 16, Anna with 13 and Haley with 11.

Team pours in 15 3’s

Fifteen 3’s accounted for just over half of the final score. Seven players got in on that action: Hannah buried five, Kiana four and Ashten two. Cameron, Anna, Lexie and Haley had one each.

Stanford bested Missouri State in the first three quarters, ending the third with a 34-point advantage, 71-37.

The Cardinal had a big advantage with assists, 24-11, blocks, 7-3 (five by foul-limited Cameron in just 10 minutes), points in the paint, 28-14; fast break points, 18-8; and steals, 8-3. Rebounds were closer, 45-43, with 10 by Ashten, eight by Haley and six by Anna.

Missouri State had four more turnovers, but was better at the free-throw line, making 63.6 percent to Stanford’s 61.5 percent. Both teams had 12 fouls.

Russell Wilson cheers for his sister, Anna, against Missouri State. (Getty Images)

Families, friends add support

Among the reported 1,072 attendees were family and friends of Stanford players. They included Anna’s older brother, Russell, and because San Antonio is Kiana’s hometown, a large contingent of her family and friends was there.

Sideline reporter Holly Rowe noted that Kiana’s parents have supplied the team with some tasty food as well as a ping pong table and gear, inspiring a tournament involving players and staff.

Besides Stanford and South Carolina, UConn and Arizona advanced to the Final Four, giving the Pac-12 two entrants.

In the meantime, Kiana was named most outstanding player in the Alamo Region, and Cameron and Lexie were named to the all-tournament team, giving Stanford three of the five slots on that team.

 

 

 

Two wins send team to Sweet 16

 

Lacie and Haley celebrate the tough win over Oklahoma State. (Stephen Spillman/AP)

Designated the overall No. 1 seed, Stanford opened its NCAA tournament run with an 87-44 first-round drubbing of Utah Valley in San Antonio on March 21 but had a tougher time in defeating Oklahoma State 73-62 on March 23 to advance to the Sweet 16 and face Missouri State at noon March 28.

Stanford led throughout the Oklahoma State game except for a brief  time when the Cowgirls tied it in the second quarter.

OSU outscored Stanford 23-19 in the third quarter and equaled the Cardinal 12-12 in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Stanford’s momentum from the first half.

Anna shoots. (Stephen Spillman AP)

Anna opens the game with two 3’s

Fifth-year guard Anna Wilson started Stanford’s scoring with two consecutive 3’s. Fans were glad to see her back in action after she had suffered what turned out to be a minor injury in the Utah Valley game.

Then fans got a scare about halfway through the third quarter when senior guard Kiana Williams limped off the court after a fall, but she returned to action for the fourth quarter.

By game’s end, seven players had made 3’s for the team’s total of 13. Kiana had four, while Anna had three. Sophomore guard Haley Jones, who doesn’t usually try 3’s, had two.

Also making one trey each were freshman forward Cameron Brink, junior guard Lexie Hull, sophomore forward Ashten Prechtel and junior guard Lacie Hull.

Eight players score

In all, nine players got into the game, and eight scored. Those in double figures were led by Haley with 17, followed by Kiana with 13, Cameron with 12 and Anna with 11.

Both teams had 16 turnovers, but Stanford had more assists, 16-14; rebounds, 36-33; and blocks, 6-2. On the other hand, OSU had 10 steals to Stanford’s seven.

Nevertheless, a win is a win, and in the NCAA tournament, it means advancing to the Sweet 16.

Kiana takes the ball upcourt against Utah Valley. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

Easy win against Utah Valley

The Utah Valley game was no contest from the start as the Cardinal stayed ahead the entire game and outscored UV in every quarter.

It also was an epic homecoming for Kiana, a San Antonio native, who led the team with 20 points in just 23 minutes. Later she showed off a T-shirt emblazoned with “She’s coming home.” The first ‘S’ was formed by the Stanford logo.

Cheered by a large contingent of fans like her parents, other relatives and friends as well as other players’ families , she opened the game with a 3-pointer that tied the Stanford career record of 295 set by Candice Wiggins, ’08. Later in the quarter she added another trey to break the record.

She finished the game with six 3’s, raising her overall total to 300. It was the most 3’s in a tournament game by a Cardinal since Karlie Samuelson, ’14, also had six against Kansas in 2014.

15 3’s make big difference in win

In the meantime, six others also made 3’s. Anna, Lacie and sophomore guard Hannah Jump had two each. Cameron, freshman guard Jana Van Gytenbeek and Ashten each added one for a team total of 15 on 33 attempts, or 45.5 percent success. Overall, the team shot 55.9 percent on its way to the 87-44 victory.

Another impressive number: Eleven players accounted for 24 assists (seven by Haley), meaning that about 27.6 percent of its points were assisted. Head coach Tara VanDerveer has always touted the team’s unselfishness. Or as one of the TV announcers put it, “Sharing is caring.”

All of this came with only eight turnovers on top of eight blocks and eight steals. Ten players accounted for the team total of 39 rebounds.

Everyone plays; starters get some rest

Utah Valley was no match for Stanford’s depth as all 12 players had seen action before the end of the second quarter, and no one played more than 23 minutes. Thus the starters had a chance to rest for the next contest with the others gained valuable experience.

The only scary part of the game came with just over seven minutes to go in the fourth quarter when Anna was injured in a fall. She lay on the court for a few minutes before limping off to see trainer Kaitlin Knox. She later returned to the bench.

During the post-game news conference, Tara said that she’ll probably be OK.

Jenna with the team in San Antonio

On another note: Junior guard Jenna Brown is with the team in San Antonio. She has missed the entire season with an injury but appears to be on the road to recovery.

Some more numbers: Tara raised her career winning record to 1,120. This was the team’s 90^th tournament win and its 34^th tourney, according to Associated Press.

The Oklahoma State game added one more win for Tara and the team.

 

They're the champs, and they're headed for Texas

 

Confetti showers the team and coaches after the UCLA win. (Las Vegas Review Journal)

Cheered by family members, the Stanford women’s basketball team completed its sweep of the Pac-12 by winning the conference tournament in Las Vegas after finishing on top during the season.

The Cardinal defeated UCLA 75-55 on March 7 to clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Stanford began the conference tournament with a 92-53 blowout over USC on March 4.

Stanford dominates USC in first game

The outcome was never in doubt as the Cardinal dominated the Trojans in nearly every statistical category.

Haley and Cameron celebrate during the USC game.

While USC had no players in double figures, Stanford had four: sophomore forward Ashten Prechtel with a team-leading15 plus 11 rebounds for a double-double, sophomore guard Haley Jones with 14 plus 10 rebounds for another double-double, sophomore guard Hannah Jump also with 14 and junior guard Lacie Hull with 10. 

USC managed only two 3’s, while Stanford had 15, tying a tournament record set by Oregon last year, according to the TV announcers. Hannah had four, Lacie had three, and junior guard Lexie Hull and Ashten had two each.

Freshman forward Cameron Brink, fifth-year guard Anna Wilson, senior guard Kiana Williams and senior forward Alyssa Jerome had one each.

Stanford dominated on the glass with 54 rebounds to USC’s 33.

Bench players add 54 points

Bench players, who took over in the fourth quarter, contributed 54 points, one more than USC’s total score.

Everyone played, including Lacie, who had missed the two previous games with an injury, and everyone contributed in some way. Everyone played at least nine minutes, and no one played more than 22.

One concern: Free-throw shooting could have been better, only nine of 14, or 64.3 percent. Also, there were 14 turnovers, but they were offset by 21 assists. In fact, the first score came from an assist when Cameron passed to Haley as she made a back-door cut.

Interviewed after the game, Haley was asked about the team’s arduous season when COVID-19 restrictions forced it to play 16 consecutive games on the road, moving from hotel to hotel and living out of suitcases for more than two months. “We’re never giving up,” she said.

Slow start over OSU

Certainly the team didn’t give up against Oregon State the next day, March 5, when the first quarter ended in a 13-13 tie. By the end of the fourth quarter, though, Stanford had a 79-45 advantage.

OSU scored first and initially grabbed most of the rebounds. Stanford’s first basket didn’t come until the 6:48 mark, when Lexie scored, was fouled and made the free throw.

The second quarter began going the Cardinal’s way, ending 33-22 at the half.

The gap widened to 55-32 after three quarters, leading to victory at the end, when most of the bench players were in.

Cameron gets a high-five from a teammate in the OSU game. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)

Cameron scores career-high 24

Cameron proved to be a major factor in this victory, scoring a career-high 24 points to go with 11 rebounds, four blocks and only one foul – a marked improvement from some past games. With her obvious energy and enthusiasm, the TV announcers called her fiery.

Kiana wasn’t far behind with 20 points, followed by Lexie with 12 and Hannah with 10.

Nine treys helped the cause, with five from Kiana, two from Hannah and one each from Cameron and Lexie.

OSU’s early rebounding advantage vanished, too. Stanford finished with 48, OSU, 32.

Then there was the tough defense, signified by 10 steals while allowing only one OSU player to score in double figures. Unselfishness helped, with 15 assists and only five turnovers.

The team got a boost from the presence of several family members. Those shown on TV included members of the Hull, Williams and Wilson families.

Interviewed after the game, Tara called the victory “a great team win for us.”

20-point win over UCLA

Stanford logged another great win two days later, March 7, with its 75-55 defeat of UCLA for the championship.

TV viewers were initially frustrated when ESPN2 was showing a college wrestling tournament at game time. The game’s start was delayed, but it was already under way with Stanford ahead by the time I managed to find the right station.

The first quarter ended 24-11. The Stanford defense held UCLA to only nine points in the second quarter, while the offense scored 19, closing out the half at  43-20.

Team lags in third quarter, but revs up

Things got dicey in the third quarter when UCLA outscored Stanford 20-11, but still the quarter ended with Stanford up 54-40. Cold shooting and turnovers plagued the Cardinal. It also hurt that Cameron had to go to the bench with four fouls.

The Cardinal righted the ship in the fourth quarter, allowing head coach Tara VanDerveer to send in the bench to finish the game. In the meantime, Cameron had returned to action but fouled out with under six minutes to go.

Stanford had 10 3’s, thanks to six from Kiana, three from Lexie and one from Lacie.

Kiana goes for 3 against UCLA. (Erica Chang/Isiphotos.com)

Kiana also led the team in scoring with 26 points, followed by Lexie with 24 and Haley with 10, plus 13 of the team’s 38 rebounds.

While the players received championship hats and T-shirts and were showered with red and white confetti, Tara was interviewed and said, “This is just the beginning of a great tournament run. … We were tough.”

Cardinal rack up conference, tournament honors

It came as no surprise to anyone when Kiana was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. In addition, Lexie and Cameron were named to the all-tournament team.

Anna's defense, as here in the OSU game, merited Pac-12 defensive honors. (Bryan Steffy/AP)

Earlier in the month, Stanford collected conference honors. Anna was named co-defensive player of the year and part of the all-defensive team. Lacie was named sixth player of the year. Lexie, Haley and Kiana were named to the 15-member all-conference team, and Cameron was named to the all-freshman team.

To top it off, Tara was named coach of the year.

Next up for the Cardinal is the NCAA tournament, which starts March 21 in the San Antonio area. It ends with the championship game April 4 in San Antonio.

Brackets and teams will be announced during the selection show March 15.

In the meantime, the players can focus on academics before classes end March 19. Spring quarter starts March 29.

Although Texas has lifted COVID restrictions, Tara told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Ann Killion that Stanford will continue to follow all the precautions that helped it get so far.

“The Stanford team is determined that, even in a state where the governor thinks magically declaring the pandemic over makes it so, it will keep all eyes on the ultimate goal,” Killion wrote.

“ ‘Our team has been very disciplined,’ VanDerveer said. ‘We’ve worked very hard to get here. We are focused on playing well. We do not want to test positive.’”

And as the TV announcer said during the USC game, “March is Tara time.”

Tuned up for tournament time

Tara joins Anna, Kiana and Alyssa right after Senior Day. (Stanford Athletics)

The Stanford women’s basketball team celebrated Senior Day and completed its regular season with a 72-33 home victory over Cal on Feb. 28.

Thus the team will take its 22-2 record and Pac-12 season championship to the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas March 3-7. As the No. 1 seed, Stanford has a bye and will meet the Arizona State-USC winner at 2 p.m. March 4. The complete bracket is on this Fast Break Club site.

The first half of the Cal game saw Stanford with only a 31-25 advantage after Cal outscored the host team 18-17 in the second quarter.

Team gets tough in the third quarter

However, after coming out of the locker room, the Cardinal turned up the pressure both offensively and defensively, including some full-court pressure. The result allowed only two points by Cal and gave Stanford a 58-27 advantage after three quarters.

Head coach Tara VanDerveer tapped bench players to complete most of the fourth quarter and clinch the win. For the game, the bench scored 36 points, half of the total and three more than Cal’s total for the game.

Although the young Cal team has won only one of its 16 games this season, Stanford fans have reason to be heartened by what the Cardinal accomplished in this game.

For example, all 11 available players scored. Junior guard Lacie Hull remained on the bench while recovering from an injury.

Hannah is congratulated by Haley and Kiana. (Stanford Athletics)

Hannah leads the way with 14

No one played more than 29 minutes. Perhaps by coincidence, that player was sophomore guard Hannah Jump, coming off the bench to lead the team with 14 points. Her four 3-pointers accounted for most of those points.

Also in double figures were sophomore guard Haley Jones with 10 and senior guard Kiana Williams with 12. During the game, Kiana rose to 10^th on the program’s all-time scoring list, passing Alanna Smith, ’19.

Besides Hannah’s four 3’s, the team got treys from Kiana and junior guard Lexie Hull with two each, and from freshman guard Jana Van Gytenbeek and senior forward Alyssa Jerome with one each for a total of 10.

The team had only six turnovers while logging 15 assists, four of them by sophomore forward Ashten Prechtel. The team had four blocks and 12 steals, with fifth-year guard Anna Wilson and Hannah snaring three each.

Stanford had 44 rebounds to Cal’s 37.

On the minus side, the team had 11 fouls, while Cal had five. However, the team (actually Anna) made both of its free throws.

For the game, Stanford shot 41.7 percent, Cal 25.9 percent.

TV airs Senior Day ceremony

The game ended in time for the TV broadcast to show the Senior Day ceremony, hosted by Tara.

It began with the other players’ video tributes to Kiana, a science, technology and society major; Alyssa, a human biology major; and Anna, an art practice major and now focusing on media studies.

Then each senior’s many accomplishments were enumerated.

Holding flowers, all three of them thanked their families, the fans and their teammates for their support throughout this unusual season, which kept the team out of Maples for 72 days because of coronavirus restrictions.

“Being on the road” for all that time was among Anna’s favorite memories of her time at Stanford, she said. It gave everyone a chance to bond.

Alyssa cited her sophomore year when Stanford defeated UCLA 65-51 on Feb. 15, 2019, just a few days after suffering a 40-point loss to Oregon, its worst-ever during Tara’s tenure.

Kiana recalled walking along Palm Drive early in her freshman year and feeling how blessed she was “to be here.”

The seniors’ families also saluted them via Zoom.

After the Pac-12 tournament, seeding for the NCAA tournament will be announced March 15. All of the tournament games will be played in Texas from March 21 to April 4.

The first-round games will be in San Antonio, San Marcos and Austin. Subsequent rounds will be in San Antonio. Last year’s tournament was scrapped because of the pandemic.