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| Lexie shoots on her way to 11 points. |
Stanford women’s basketball started its season on a winning note by defeating the visiting Morgan State Bears from Baltimore 91-36 on Nov. 11.
With the score so lopsided, the game provided some
insights into the defending national champion’s strengths and weaknesses.
The strengths numbered many, starting with stingy
defense. It resulted in only half of Morgan State’s points coming from baskets,
just 19.5 percent efficiency. Stanford shot at a 58.2 percent clip.
The visitors made 18 of 25 free throws, resulting
from the hosts’ 15 fouls. Stanford made 17 of 26 free throws from Morgan
State’s 22 fouls.
All 15 available players got into the game, with 14
scoring and all contributing. Only redshirt junior guard Jenna Brown and
freshman guard Jzaniya Harriel were sidelined. Jenna was in street clothes, but
Jzaniya was in uniform and took part in warmups.
Coach
rotates players
No one played more than 22 minutes as head coach
Tara VanDerveer rotated players in and out, apparently looking for the best
combos for given situations.
Perhaps the changing combos contributed to the 21
turnovers (Morgan State had 27). Those turnovers came from passes that didn’t
get where they were supposed to go or from occasional failure to take care of
the ball, giving the opponent 10 steals (Stanford had 14).
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| Cameron, backed by senior guard Lacie Hull, defends against a Morgan State player. |
Even with limited time, five players were in double figures. They were led by junior forward Fran Belibi with 12; senior guard Lexie Hull and junior guard Hannah Jump with 11 each; and sophomore forward Cameron Brink and freshman forward Kiki Iriafen with 10 each.
Stanford outrebounded Morgan State 39-20 and had six
blocks to the visitors’ none. Morgan State had only one assist, Stanford 18.
Starters were Lexie, Cameron, Hannah, sixth-year
guard Anna Wilson and junior guard Haley Jones.
Visitors
have trouble making baskets
Morgan State didn’t score until about four minutes
into the game, nailing a 3. That was it for the first quarter, which ended
21-3.
It would have ended 18-3 if Lexie hadn’t been fouled
while trying a desperation shot from the backcourt with just one second left.
She then made all three free throws.
In the second quarter, which ended 39-19, free
throws and two baskets produced Morgan State’s points
The story was much the same in the third quarter,
which ended 63-22, with only free throws scoring for Morgan State.
Fran,
Hannah team up for last-second heroics
Like the second quarter, this one ended with
last-second heroics, thanks to a steal by Fran that led to a 3 by Hannah.
However, that quarter was marred when Anna fell
hard, got up holding her hip and headed to the locker room with trainer Katelin
Knox. She returned to the bench with an ice pack to start the fourth quarter
and didn’t play anymore.
Stanford’s 10 3’s were produced by Hannah and Lexie
with three each. Haley, sophomore guard Jana Van Gytenbeek, fifth-year guard
Jordan Hamilton and freshman guard Brooke Demetre with one each accounted for
the others.
Military
veterans are recognized
During halftime of this Veterans Day game, military veterans
in the crowd of 2,696 were asked to stand and be honored.
Only a few concessions were open. They don’t accept
cash, and customers submit orders on
tablets.
As with the exhibition game with Clarke, the band,
Tree, Dollies and cheerleaders were missing.
My complaint about both games was the deafening music during breaks. At times it even continued when play was to resume. It was hard to hear anyone seated nearby. It must have been doubly hard for the coaches and players. I wished I had tucked earplugs into my clear bag.
Up next are home games against Texas at noon Nov. 14
and Portland at 7 p.m. Nov. 16. ESPN will air the Texas game. The Portland game
will be seen on the Pac-12 Network.
The first 1,000 fans to arrive at the Texas game will receive championship T-shirts. The players will receive their championship rings in a ceremony after the game.
Photos by Tony Avelar, Associated Press
