 |
| Hannah drives against a Colorado defender. (David Zalubowski/AP) |
Chalk up two more wins for AP’s No. 2 Stanford
women’s basketball team, now 13-3 overall and 4-0 in the Pac-12.
Hitting the road, the team defeated Colorado, which had
been the only undefeated team in Division 1, 60-52 on Jan. 14 and Utah 83-73 on
Jan. 16.
The Colorado game began with the team seemingly
discombobulated by the Buffalo defense, leading to 15 turnovers in the first half
and seven in the second, giving Colorado 21 points.
Thus Colorado led 15-8 after the first quarter and
28-24 at the half despite being outscored by 3 points in the second quarter.
Things
improve in second half
Stanford continued to right the ship in the second
half, outscoring Colorado in the final two quarters.
Ten of 15 available players saw action, and all 10
scored. Junior guard Haley Jones had 11 points, followed by junior forward
Ashten Prechtel and sophomore forward Cameron Brink with 10 each.
Six 3’s helped to push Stanford ahead. Ashten and
junior guard Hannah Jump each had two. Sixth-year guard Anna Wilson and
sophomore guard Jana Van Gytenbeek added the other two.
Action took place in front of 3,744 fans, most of
them cheering for the home team.
Still some Stanford fans were there mainly because
three players, Ashten, Jana and junior forward Fran Belibi, are from Colorado.
 |
| Leah DuBois welcomes Stanford's three Coloradans. (Rick Bowmer/Denver Post) |
Young fan cheers for Stanford
The Denver Post reported that one
fan, 10-year-old Leah DuBois, sat in the third row behind the Stanford bench
and held up a homemade sign reading, “Welcome home, Jana, Fran and Ashten.”
She told the newspaper she had met Jana in 2019 “through a Cherry Creek
basketball teammate during” Jana’s high school team’s “run to a 5A state
championship victory. A friendship blossomed.” Now she watches as many Stanford
games as she can.
A
highlight of the trip for head coach Tara VanDerveer was a chance to visit her
mother, Rita, now in her 90s. A short Stanford video shows Rita walking out of
a building using a cane and holding Tara’s arm to greet the team.
The
TV announcer later said that Rita, who had often cheered Stanford in person, is
no longer able to attend. However, it’s likely that she was cheering in front
of her TV set.
Also
not seen in the video or at the game was associate head coach Kate Paye. No
reason was given. She was back for the Utah game.
 |
| Cameron shoots on her way to 24 against Utah. (Rick Bowmer/AP) |
Team overcomes slow start in
Utah
The
Utah game was a seesaw affair with the lead shifting six times.
Leading
by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, Utah had a 37-30 lead at the half.
Not by coincidence, those 13 points came from 10 Stanford turnovers.
The
second half was a different story. Stanford committed only two more turnovers
and outscored the Utes in the final two quarters to emerge with the 83-73 win.
Another double-double for Cameron
Cameron
led the team with another double-double, 24 points and 11 rebounds. She had 10
points in the fourth quarter alone, equalling Utah’s total output for the
quarter. Her parents were among the 1,911 fans at the game.
Her efforts over the weekend led to her being named Pac-12 Player of the Week.
 |
| Lexie is undeterred by Utah. (Rick Bowmer/AP) |
Senior guard Lexie Hull was responsible for 21 points, Anna had 12 and Haley had 10.
Each
team had 11 3’s. Lexie had five, Hannah three, Anna two and senior guard Lacie Hull one.
Utah’s
73 points were the most any team has scored against Stanford this season.
Next
up are two meetings with Bay Area rival Cal.
Assuming
no complications, Stanford hosts the first game at 7 p.m. Jan. 21. Then it
heads across the bay to visit Cal at 4 p.m. Jan. 23. Pac-12 Networks will
televise both games.
