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| 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.
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| 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.
