Standing between the team's trophy and hers, head coach Tara VanDerveer speaks
during the ring ceremony after the Texas game. (Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle)
The Stanford women’s basketball team concluded its four-game home stand by losing to Texas 56-61 on Nov. 14 and defeating Portland 77-55 on Nov. 16.
Starters for both games were senior guards Lexie and
Lacie Hull, sixth-year guard Anna Wilson, sophomore forward Cameron Brink and
junior guard Haley Jones. Eleven of 15 available players saw some action.
The Texas game was a rough-and-tumble affair with a
total of 38 fouls for the teams.
Perhaps Stanford’s biggest problems were turnovers
and poor shooting. The game ended with 20 turnovers and 35.4 percent shooting.
Texas had only 10 turnovers but 37.7 percent shooting.
On the plus side, Stanford had 37 rebounds to
Texas’s 28 and 10 blocks to none by Texas.
Lexie led the team with 16 points plus 11 rebounds,
followed by Haley with 15 points.
Only
4 3-point shots go in
Three-point shooting was a dismal 14.8 percent with
only four total: two each by Lexie and junior forward Ashten Prechtel. The
first 3-point shot didn’t go until about six minutes into the second quarter,
when Ashten nailed one to energize the crowd of 3,681.
The first two quarters ended in ties: 10-10 and
25-25. The third quarter ended with Stanford ahead 40-35, but the lead
evaporated in the final quarter.
Texas’s defense was tough and physical. Just
inbounding the ball was often a challenge for the Cardinal.
2020-21
national champs honored
At halftime, the national championship men’s
gymnastics team and women’s artistic swimming teams were introduced.
The afternoon also was a chance to honor the women’s
basketball team’s national championship. Before the game, the trophy was
displayed in the west concourse where fans could pose for selfies. The first
1,000 fans to arrive received championship T-shirts.
After the game, that trophy was moved to a table at
center court, where it was joined by the Naismith Trophy honoring head coach
Tara VanDerveer as women’s coach of the year.
The post-game ceremony began with video highlights
from the championship game, a 54-53 nail-biter over Arizona.
The championship ring. (Stanford Athletics)
Persis Drell, Stanford provost, presented
championship rings to the 12 returning players. Kiana Williams, ’21, the only
one who didn’t return, greeted the crowd via video from Australia, where she’s
playing professionally with a former Stanford teammate, Alanna Smith, ’19.
Rings also went to athletic administrators, team
staff and coaches, ending with Tara.
“We have a great young team,” Tara said. “We’re
going to keep improving.”
Co-captains Anna and fifth-year forward Alyssa
Jerome spoke briefly before the updated championship board was unveiled on a
wall in the southeast corner of Maples.
Portland
tries to emulate Texas defense
The game against Portland wasn’t all smooth sailing.
After prevailing 43-24 at the half, the host team was nearly hijacked when the
Pilots outscored the Cardinal by four points in the third, which nevertheless
ended 61-46.
However, Stanford righted the ship in the final
quarter and came away with the 22-point win.
Portland apparently took a page from the Texas
playbook by applying near-relentless pressure throughout the game, but it
didn’t work.
Besides scoring more points, Stanford had more
steals, 19-8, and more assists, 20-11, as well as fewer turnovers, 15-32, and
fewer fouls, 16-23.
Portland actually had more blocks, 4-6, and rebounds
were close, 33-31 in Stanford’s favor. Likewise, Stanford had a slightly higher
shooting percentage, 49.2 percent vs. 48.8 percent.
Playing before 2,352 fans, the team was led by
Cameron with 21 points.
Haley drives to the basket on her way to a triple-double. (Stanford Athletics)
Haley
records a triple-double
Haley added 17 to go with 12 rebounds and 10 assists
for a triple-double. She nearly had 20 points when she sank a half-court shot
with 2.6 seconds left in the third quarter, but it was negated by a travel
call. It was the team’s first triple-double since Nicole Powell, 04,
accomplished the feat in 2002.
Freshman guard Brooke Demetre had 11 points.
Freshman forward Kiki Iriafen kicked in nine, adding to accolades for their
class.
Stanford had an uncharacteristically low two 3’s,
with one each by Lexie and Ashten. Lexie reached the 1,000-point mark for her
collegiate career when she made two free throws during the third quarter.
Tara used 10 players throughout the game until the
final minutes when the outcome was clear. That’s when the rest took over.
Next
four games are on the road
After playing its first four games at home, the team
takes to the road for the next four, not returning until the Pacific game at
noon Dec. 12.
In the meantime, the team will go to Gonzaga at 1
p.m. Nov. 21 (available on SWX), followed by a three-game tournament in the
Bahamas during the Thanksgiving break.
Like Stanford at No. 7, the other three teams were
ranked in AP’s Nov. 15 poll.
Thus the schedule features Indiana (No. 4) at 10:30
a.m. Nov. 25, South Florida (No. 23) at 9 a.m. Nov. 26 and Maryland (No. 3) at
noon Nov. 27. All three games will be available on FloHoops, a subscription
service.
