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| The team won three trophies. This first one came after the Feb. 18 win at Oregon State, when it clinched the Pac-12 season championship. Then came the Pac-12 tournament and the Spokane regional. |
The Stanford women’s basketball team finished its
2021-22 season with an admirable 32-4 overall record, a perfect Pac-12 record,
the Pac-12 tournament championship and the NCAA Spokane regional championship
before a tight NCAA semifinal loss to UConn.
Several players and head coach Tara VanDerveer
accrued honors throughout the season.
COVID issues with opposing teams played havoc with
the schedule, and several Cardinal players missed games while in the COVID
protocol.
On the other hand, fans could attend nearly all of
the games after the 2019-20 tournaments were cancelled and the 2020-21 season
was played in empty venues.
Open
practice provides first look
Season ticket holders got their first look at the
team during an open practice and scrimmage Oct. 31.
All 17 players were in uniform, but only 16 took
part in the practice drills and 14 in the scrimmage. Redshirt junior guard Jenna
Brown and freshman guard Jzaniya Harriel, both of whom saw no action then and
the rest of the season, were sidelined, as was sixth-year guard Anna Wilson.
Afterward Tara said how great it was to have fans
back in person after they were bared last season because of COVID restrictions.
Fans had more reason to be glad when the team
breezed to a 105-35 exhibition win over Clarke on Nov. 6.
The starting lineup featured Anna, junior guard Haley
Jones, senior guard Lexie Hull, sophomore forward Cameron Brink and junior
forward Fran Belibi.
This game had fans not only toting the usual
clear plastic bags but also showing ID and proof of COVID vaccination at the
door, a requirement that continued all season.
Season
opens with rout of Morgan State, loss to Texas
The regular season started on a winning note at home Nov. 11 with a 91-36 victory over Morgan Sate from Baltimore, giving all 15
available players a chance on the court.
Starters this time were Lexie, Cameron, junior guard
Hannah Jump, Anna and Haley.
The team’s first loss came Nov. 14 against Texas at
home, 56-61. The starting lineup featured Lexie, senior guard Lacie Hull, Anna,
Cameron and Haley.
Twenty turnovers and 35.4 percent shooting played a
big part in the loss.
Before the game, the team's 2021 national
championship 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, the trophy was moved to center
court, where it was joined by the Naismith Trophy honoring Tara as women’s
coach of the year.
This is the 2001 national championship ring.
The 12 returning players received their championship
rings. Kiana Williams, ’21, who graduated, greeted the crowd via video from
Australia where she was playing professionally with Alanna Smith, ’19.
Staying home and ranking No. 7 in the AP
poll, the team righted the ship by defeating Portland 77-55 on Nov. 16.
Cameron had 21 points, followed by Haley, who had a
triple-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. It was the team’s
first triple-double since Nicole Powell, ’04, in 2002.
Seven-day
trip takes team from Spokane to Nassau
Next came a seven-day road trip that began in
Spokane, where the team defeated Gonzaga 66-62 on Nov. 21 even though Haley was
unavailable because of what Tara said was an injury.
Playing in a round-robin tournament in Nassau, The
Bahamas, the team celebrated Thanksgiving by squeaking past No. 4 Indiana 69-66
on Nov. 25.
The next day No. 18 South Florida topped Stanford
57-54.
Stanford got back on the winning track Nov. 27 by routing
No. 2 Maryland 86-67 for its largest margin of victory over a top two team.
However, Maryland had only seven available players.
On Stanford's side, junior forward Ashten Prechtel didn’t suit up because she was ill. Cameron didn’t start after having stomach problems, but she got in and added eight points in nine minutes. On Nov. 29 she was named Pac-12 Player of the Week. Starting in her place, Hannah topped everyone with 21 points, all from 3’s.
The 3-1 road record elevated Stanford to No. 4 in
the Nov. 29 AP poll.
Returning from a break for finals, the team swung
back into action with victories of 91-62 over Pacific on Dec. 12 and 68-42 over
UC Davis on Dec. 15.
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| Cameron drives to the basket on her way to 25 points against Pacific. |
In the Pacific game, Cameron was one of four
Cardinal players in double figures with a what was then a career-high 25 points plus 11
rebounds.
All 14 available players got into the game.
Sophomore guard Jana Van Gytenbeek wasn’t there.
Davis
game significant for Tara
The Davis game on Dec. 15 held special significance
for Tara. It was exactly one year earlier that she became the all-time
winningest women’s basketball coach, surpassing the late Pat Summitt of
Tennessee.
“Last year was a magical year,” she said, referring
to the team’s national championship despite the difficulties it faced. “I
believe we still have the magic.”
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| Greeted by the players at the Davis game, Tara wears the jacket the team gave her Dec. 15, 2020, when she surpassed the late Pat Summitt's winning record. |
Hannah led the team with 17 points. Also in double figures were Cameron with a double-double and Lacie.
Jana was back but wasn’t in uniform.
Taking to the road before the Christmas break,
Stanford beat Tennessee 74-63 on Dec. 18 and lost to South Carolina 65-61 on
Dec. 21.
After the Tennessee game, Haley was named Pac-12
Player of the Week by virtue of logging 18 points and 19 rebounds. Fran was
unavailable because she was in the concussion protocol.
However, she did play against South Carolina and had
12 points. Lexie had 17.
Despite the loss to No. 1 South Carolina, Stanford
retained what was then its No. 2 AP ranking, where it remained for the rest of
the season.
Photos by Stanford Athletics
Next:
Part 2, the Pac-12 season
