Overcome in overtime

A determined Haley drives to the basket through a pair of defenders.

After breezing to five easy wins to start the season, the No. 2 Stanford women’s basketball team faced its first big test and faltered. No. 1 South Carolina prevailed 76-71 in overtime Nov. 20 at Maples.

Stanford had the edge for most of the nationally televised game, leading 21-11 after the first quarter, 35-31 at the half and 54-44 after the third quarter before South Carolina tied the score 61-61 at the fourth quarter buzzer.

The overtime score seesawed until the final few seconds when, as the SF Chronicle put it the next day, “Errors cost Cardinal.”

With 10 seconds left and Stanford trailing 71-73, senior guard Haley Jones failed to inbound the ball in time, giving possession to South Carolina.

With the clock showing 3.1 seconds, Stanford secured the ball in front of the opponent’s bench. Sophomore forward Kiki Iriafen called a timeout to advance to ball to home court, but there were no timeouts left. Kiki was called for a technical, and South Carolina was able to score three more points to ice the win.

“This was a game that could have gone either way,” associate head coach Kate Paye said afterward during the season’s first Behind the Bench.

Large crowd backs home team

Maples was packed with a reported crowd of 7,287 that lent vocal support to the home team throughout the game.

The starting lineup featured Haley, Kiki, junior forward Cameron Brink, senior guard Hannah Jump and freshman guard Talana Lepolo, who served as point guard.

Unlike previous games, the bulk of minutes went to the starters, with Hannah and Haley each logging 44 minutes. Talana was close behind with 41.

Of the six bench players who got in, only senior guard Ashten Prechtel had double-digit minutes with 32. Moreover, the bench added only 9 points, while South Carolina’s bench had 34.

Cameron is closely guarded by South Carolina's Aliyah Boston.

Cameron leads everyone in scoring

Despite foul trouble that limited her to 24 minutes (she fouled out in overtime), Cameron led both teams in scoring with 25 points. Kiki and Hannah were her only other teammates in double figures, each with 11.

Stanford had only six 3’s, in part because South Carolina guard Zia Cooke stuck to  sharp-shooting Hannah like Velcro throughout the game. Thus, Hannah had only two 3’s. Cameron also had two 3’s. Talana and Ashten added the other two.

Stanford had 47 rebounds to the Gamecocks’ 41, and had 15 assists to the opponent’s nine. Stanford led in blocks, 10-7, including five from Ashten, four from Cameron and one from Haley.

On the other hand, turnovers were costly with Stanford committing 22 to South Carolina’s 11.

Free-throw shooting also favored South Carolina, who made 15 to Stanford’s 11 – a 4-point difference that might have affected the final outcome.

Grads join the crowd

The crowd included 2022 SWBB alumnae Lexie and Lacie Hull and Alyssa Jerome, who were shown during the game and introduced at the Behind the Bench. Teammate Anna Wilson also was reported to be there, and I spotted several other grads.

Jayne Appel-Marinelli, ’10, associate director of player operations for the WNBA Players Association, was on the sidelines with her family. Jayne has been a leader in the campaign to free Phoenix Suns star Brittney Griner from Russian custody.

Jayne, several other alums, the two head coaches and others wore long-sleeve T-shirts supporting Brittney. A table in the west concourse had paper for people to write notes of support. A video before the game and a moment of silence also honored her.

At the Behind the Bench, Kate introduced the five freshmen: Talana, center Lauren Betts and guards Indya Nivar, Stavi Papadaki and Lauren Green.

During that session, head coach Tara VanDerveer praised Talana, calling her fantastic.

She called the game exciting and said, “We’ll only get better. We played toe-to-toe with them.”

SC coach praises Tara

She was followed by South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, who played on the 1996 USA Olympic gold-winning team coached by Tara.

“She led the way,” Dawn said of Tara, adding that she learned a lot from Tara.

With this game in the record books, the Stanford women now set their sights on Thanksgiving weekend at the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Honolulu. On the schedule are Florida Gulf Coast at 2 p.m. Nov. 25, Grambling State at 2 p.m. Nov. 26 and Hawaii at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 27. All times are Pacific Standard. Hawaii time is two hours earlier.

All three games will be broadcast on radio by Varsity Network. The Hawaii game also will be shown on Spectrum Sports.

After flying home, the team will host Santa Clara at 7 p.m. Nov. 30 and Gonzaga at noon Dec. 4. The Santa Clara game will be available on Stanford Live Stream. Pac-12 Bay Area will show the Gonzaga game.

Photos by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Team goes undefeated through first five games

Hannah was the 3-point ace with eight against Cal Poly. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/AP)

Upping its season record to 5-0, the Stanford women’s basketball team defeated Cal Poly 80-43 Nov. 16 at Maples.

Senior guard Hannah Jump headlined this game. She matched career-highs with 24 points and eight 3’s. In all, the team had 10 3’s.

She stayed with her long-range shot despite missing her first four attempts during the first quarter, but then connected on the fifth try. She electrified the crowd of 2,469 and her teammates by making three in a row during the third quarter.

Hannah was part of the starting lineup along with senior guard Haley Jones, junior forward Cameron Brink, sophomore forward Kiki Iriafen and freshman guard Talana Lepolo.

Height gives Stanford an advantage

Stanford’s superior height was no match for the much shorter Cal Poly players, who had several shot-clock violations, but they made up for it with tenacity and feistiness. Five of them hail from the Bay Area, so presumably they had family and friends on hand.

Kiki started the game by scoring the team’s first four points.  

Head coach Tara VanDerveer sent in five new players during the first quarter, starting with senior forwards Ashten Prechtel and Fran Belibi followed by freshman guard Indya Nivar, sophomore guard Elena Bosgana and junior guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu.

Collectively, the 10 players outscored Cal Poly 23-8 during the opening quarter.

Hannah, Lauren in double figures

Four more players got into the game overall, and 12 scored. Besides Hannah, the only other Cardinal in double figures was freshman center Lauren Betts, who scored 13 points in 14 minutes and added a team-high seven rebounds.

Talana and Hannah logged the most minutes with 23 each.

Stanford dominated Cal Poly in every statistical category even while committing 13 turnovers. (Cal Poly had 20.)

First road trip, two more wins

This victory followed a successful road trip with Pacific falling 98-44 Nov. 11 and Portland going down 87-47 Nov. 13.

Kiki led the team against Pacific with 15 points, followed by Hannah with 14 and Ashten with 11. Three-pointers hit a season high with 12, thanks to 4 of 4 by Hannah and the rest by six others.

After missing the Cal State Northridge game, assistant coach Katy Steding was back with the team.

Haley leads the team against Portland

For the first time this season, Haley led the team in scoring with 17 against Portland. Three other players were in double figures, too.

And for the first time this season, the starting lineup changed somewhat, with Talana stepping in for Agnes. Splitting point guard duties with Haley, she recorded nine assists.

According to Stanford Athletics, through Nov. 14 Cameron led the nation in total blocks with 17 while Hannah had the most 3’s, 12. Talana was second in assists with 26, and Kiki was ninth in field goal percentage at 78.6.

Including the exhibition game against Vanguard, four different players were the top scorers in five games: Hannah with 12 against Vanguard, Kiki with 16 against San Diego State and 15 against Pacific, Lauren with 18 against Cal State Northridge and Haley against Portland with 17.

South Carolina next on the schedule

Coming up is the No. 2-ranked team’s sternest test to date: hosting No. 1 South Carolina at noon Nov. 20 in a game nationally televised by ABC.

This game will be followed by the season’s first Behind the Bench. South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley is expected to speak.

Cardinal players will spend the Thanksgiving break at the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Honolulu. On the schedule are Florida Gulf Coast at 2 p.m. Nov. 25, Grambling State at 2 p.m. Nov. 26 and Hawaii at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 27. All times are Pacific Standard.

All three games will be broadcast on radio by Varsity Network. The Hawaii game also will be shown on Spectrum Sports.

 

  

Season starts with two dominating wins

 

Indya goes for a layup against San Diego State. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/SF Chronicle)

The Stanford women’s basketball season got off to a strong start with home wins against San Diego State 86-48 on Nov. 7 and Cal State Northridge 104-40 on Nov. 9.

Starters for both games were the same as the exhibition against Vanguard with senior guards Haley Jones and Hannah Jump, junior forward Cameron Brink, junior guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu and sophomore forward Kiki Iriafen getting the nod.

With attendance at 3,012 with a sizable number of students, including the band, Tree, Dollies and cheerleaders, this game took on all the trappings of a regular game with Betty Ann Hagenau announcing.

The band offered a welcome respite from the too loud, canned rap sound tracks that substitute for real music.

Moment of silence for Brittney Griner

Before the teams’ starters were introduced at both games, Betty Ann asked for a moment of silence for the WNBA’s Brittney Griner, who’s imprisoned in Russia.

Cameron got the game under way with a 3-pointer. She went on to score 13 points and lead the team with eight rebounds and six blocks in 20 minutes.

She wasn’t the scoring leader, though. That honor went to Kiki, who had 16 points. Also in double figures were sophomore guard Elena Bosgana with 15 and freshman guard Indya Nivar with 13.

All 15 players contributed in some way, and no one played more than Haley’s 23 minutes.

As it did against Vanguard, the team had 11 3’s, led by Indya and Elena with three each and sophomore forward Brooke Demetre with two. Cameron, Hannah and redshirt freshman guard Jzaniya Harriel each had one.

Cardinal dominate statistically

The Cardinal dominated the Aztecs statistically. For example, the rebound advantage was 50-23.

One highlight came at the end of the second quarter, when Elena made a buzzer-beating 3, delighting her teammates.

Haley, who started as the point guard, made some long, pinpoint passes to Cameron, who was waiting under the basket and scored.

Freshman guard Talana Lepolo, who also served at the point, had 11 of the team’s 26 assists.

Overall, the team played at a fast pace, quickly passing rather than dribbling.

Head coach Tara VanDerveer substituted freely, apparently looking for the right combination in each situation.

Cal State Northridge falls to Stanford

In the team’s overwhelming defeat of Cal State Northridge before 2,421 fans, including the Warriors' Stephen Curry and his wife, Tara still substituted, but she kept some combinations together longer. (Associate coach Katy Steding wasn't seen.)

Nevertheless, everyone got in and contributed in some way. No one played more than 23 minutes (Haley).

When the fourth quarter opened, Stanford was leading 72-31 with three freshmen and two sophomores taking the court.

Lauren shoots over a Cal State Northridge defender. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/AP)

The Lauren Betts show

You could call that quarter the Lauren Betts show, as the 6’7” freshman center logged 16 of her game-high 18 points.

For a time, the plan for each possession seemed to be “give the ball to Lauren,” reminiscent of a time when the call seemed to be “give the ball to Jayne,” referring to Jayne Appel, ’10.

Lauren wasn’t the only one in double figures. Joining her were Hannah with 17, Brooke with 13, Cameron with 11 (plus 11 rebounds) and Kiki with 10.

Hannah records five 3’s

The bulk of Hannah’s points came from five 3’s, including three in a row during the third quarter. Also logging 3’s were Brooke with three, senior forward Ashten Prechtel with two and Elena with one.

Haley recorded seven of the team’s 22 assists. Cameron and Lauren with three each accounted for most of the team’s nine blocks.

Stanford again dominated in every statistical category while making only six turnovers.

Coming up next, the team is on the road to face Pacific in Stockton at 6 p.m. Nov. 11 and Portland at 2 p.m. Nov. 13. The Pacific game will be shown on the WCC Network, while ESPN2 will air the Portland game.

Then it’s back home for Cal Poly at 8 p.m. Nov. 16 (PAC-12 Networks) and the marquee game against defending national champion South Carolina at noon Nov. 20. This game will receive national coverage on ABC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easin’ into the season

Here's the 2022-23 team -- all 15 players. (Stanford photo)

“We don’t have any stars. We have a galaxy. We have great, great players,” head coach Tara VanDerveer said recently about the Stanford women’s basketball team.

The team displayed some of its prowess Nov. 2, breezing to a 102-25 exhibition victory over Vanguard.

Although the game didn’t count in the season record, it did provide a chance for all 15 players to compete against someone other than their teammates.

Cameron, Hannah, Haley, Kiki, Agnes get the starting nod

The starting lineup featured junior forward Cameron Brink, senior guard Hannah Jump, senior guard Haley Jones at the point, sophomore forward Kiki Iriafen and junior guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu.

They started somewhat slowly, leading only 6-5 about halfway through the first quarter, but holding a 19-10 advantage when the quarter ended.

In the meantime, others began coming in, giving nine players some floor time. First off the bench was freshman guard Talana Lepolo, then senior forward Fran Belibi, quickly followed by freshman guard Indya Nivar and sophomore forward Brooke Demetre.

By the time halftime rolled around, the team was up 43-17, and 12 players had seen action. By contrast, Vanguard used only nine players for the game.

Vanguard was held to only 2 points in the third quarter as the Cardinal zipped to a 73-19 lead. By then everyone had played.

Thirteen players score despite their limited minutes

Statistics are impressive. No one played more than 18 minutes (Hannah and Talana), and everyone played at least six minutes.

Thirteen players scored with five in double figures: Hannah, 12; sophomore guard Elena Bosgana and senior forward Ashten Prechtel, 11 each; Cameron and freshman center Lauren Betts, 10 each. Everyone contributed in some way, though.

For example, Talana had no points, but she dished out a team-high six assists and had two steals. Playing the point guard position, she moved the ball quickly and efficiently (no turnovers) and seemed content to facilitate.

Eleven 3’s add to total

The team’s sharp-shooting was evidenced with 11 3’s, thanks to four by Hannah, two by redshirt freshman Jzaniya Harriel, and one each by Ashten, Elena, Brooke, Indya and freshman guard Stavi Papadaki.

With its superior height, Stanford snared 59 rebounds (eight by Elena), compared with 23 by Vanguard.

In short, it was an impressive first look.

Tara speaks during Buck/Cardinal Club event

Tara’s comment about the team’s galaxy came during a Buck/Cardinal Club event Nov. 1.

It started with an open practice with some welcome developments: Unlike the scrimmage on Oct. 29,  Hannah was making her 3’s.

In addition, Fran participated in this practice, unlike the earlier one. However, when the team did pushups, she did sit-ups, presumably to avoid pressure on her taped left hand. She removed the tape afterward.

There were two mishaps: Elena seemed to have hurt her hand, but she shook it off.  Lauren went down hard under the north basket and headed for the locker room. Tara said later that she had been hit in the eye.

And some bright spots: Jzaniya played point guard sometimes and looked good.  Cameron made several 3’s, as did several other players, and she even hit a half-court shot during a drill.

After the practice ended at 6:30, the team posed for a photo. Haley, Indya and Stavi weren’t there because they had to rush off to classes.

Panelists answer questions

Next there was a panel with Fran, Hannah, Brooke and Kiki, who answered questions by Kevin Danna, play-by-play radio broadcaster for SWBB games and others.

Because the sound system was distorted, it was hard to understand some  answers. Hannah did produce one quotable answer: “Anyone can go off on any night.”

Her comment was in line with Tara’s, which came as part of a fan Q&A during a reception in the Home of Champions after the practice and panel.

Among other notable information, Tara said that this year’s seniors have the option of another season because of the COVID-disrupted season two years ago. She didn’t say who might stay although Haley plans to turn professional.

Tara praises freshmen

Tara spoke highly of all five freshmen, especially Lauren, who was the No. 1-rated player last year. “She is a talent” with “fabulous hands. …She makes life miserable for the other posts,” Tara said.

Competition starts for real against San Diego State at 7 p.m. Nov. 7, followed by Cal State Northridge, a late addition to the schedule, at 6 p.m. Nov. 9.

Both home games will be shown via Stanford Live Stream.