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| Tara and the team celebrate with a line dance after the Texas win. (Young Kwak/AP) |
Texas had dealt Stanford one of its only three losses this season, 61-56 on Nov. 14, taking away some of the joy that followed the home game when the Cardinal players received their 2021 national championship rings.
Stanford got revenge in the Elite Eight by defeating
the Longhorns 59-50 in Spokane on March 27 to advance to the Final Four in Minneapolis
April 1 and 3.
Maryland
game gets tight
This victory followed a 72-66 Sweet 16 win over Maryland
on March 25. That game had appeared
headed for a blowout with Stanford enjoying a 26-point lead with less than two
minutes to go in the third quarter.
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| The players huddle after the Maryland victory. (Stanford Athletics) |
This big lead resulted from Stanford's shooting a sizzling
71.4 percent in the first quarter, while holding Maryland to 18.8 percent.
Next came a so-so 33.3 percent in the second quarter
and a respectable 50 percent in the third. In the fourth, however, Stanford
shot 20 percent while Maryland shot 43.5 percent.
Thus the game turned into a nail biter as Maryland
outscored Stanford 30-13 in the last quarter, but it wasn’t quite enough to
overcome the previous quarters, giving the Cardinal a victory.
Haley
gets things started
Junior guard Haley Jones gave her team a good start
by nailing two 3’s in the first three minutes. She finished the game with 17
points and 10 rebounds.
Senior guard Lexie Hull led Stanford with 19 points,
while sophomore forward Cameron Brink had 15points and five of the team’s 10
blocks.
Cameron’s production was limited not only by foul
trouble (she fouled out in the fourth quarter, as did senior guard Lacie Hull)
but also by a shot to the ribs in the second quarter, briefly sending her to
the locker room. Therefore, she played only 19 minutes.
Stanford
has advantage on the glass
Stanford out-rebounded Maryland 50-32 and had more
assists, 15-8. On the other hand, the Cardinal committed 18 turnovers to the
Terrapins’ seven. Free throws also were an issue, only 14 of 21.
Maryland also had lost to Stanford 86-68 on Nov. 27
in the Bahamas.
Besides Haley with two, others contributing to the
team’s six 3’s were Cameron, Lexie, Lacie and junior guard Hannah Jump with one
each.
Since Spokane is the Hulls’ hometown, their
Stanford-backing family and friends comprised a sizable contingent of the crowd
of 7,142.
Crowd
gets bigger for Texas game
The crowd was even larger, 7,739, on March 27 when
Stanford downed Texas 59-50.
In this tight contest, the lead changed six times,
and the score was tied six times, including 14-14 after the first quarter. Stanford
then outscored Texas in the next three quarters.
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| Haley shoots over a Texas player as Cameron awaits possible rebound. (Young Kwak/AP) |
Lexie led the team with 20 points. Haley was close
behind with 18 points and 12 rebounds for another double-double. Cameron rounded out the trio of double-digit
scorers with 10 points and six of the team’s 11 blocks.
Free
throws make a difference
In a game that saw 24 fouls by Texas and 22 by Stanford,
the free-throw line was a huge difference maker. The Cardinal made 18 free
throws, the Longhorns 11, a seven-point difference and very close to the margin
of victory.
Stingy defense by Texas limited Stanford to just
three 3’s: two by Lexie and one by Cameron. It also led to 20 Cardinal
turnovers while Texas had 10.
Although Lacie didn’t score, she played all 40
minutes and contributed five rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
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| The Hulls had the honor of cutting down the nets in Spokane. (Young Kwak/AP) |
Hulls
cut down the nets
In honor of the Hull twins’ playing in their hometown,
head coach Tara VanDerveer asked them to complete the traditional post-game
ritual of cutting down the nets.
The team also celebrated with the Electric Slide
line dance. According to ESPN, Tara had “proposed a group dance if
the team advanced to the Final Four.
“After an individual session with Jones as
VanDerveer’s lead teacher among a group that also included (fifth-year guard) Jordan
Hamilton and (freshman forward) Kiki Iriafen, the whole team went through practice after watching
film Saturday.”
Also after the game, Haley was named the regional’s
most outstanding player. She, Cameron and Lexie were named to the
all-tournament team.
Win
streak rises to 24 games
This win extended Stanford’s win streak to 24 games,
longest in the country. It ended Texas’ second-longest streak at 14 games.
Next up is a trip to Minneapolis for the Final Four
to face a No. 2 seed, UConn, at 6:30 p.m. April 1. ESPN will air the game.
In the meantime, the players returned to campus for
the start of spring quarter on March 28.
