Oregon teams fall to Cardinal

 

After posting a triple double against Oregon, Cameron (left) is congratulated by Brooke,
who was 3-3 on 3-pointers. (Paul Kurada/special to SF Chronicle)

Two wins over the visiting Oregon teams moved the Stanford women’s basketball team up from AP’s No. 3 to No. 2, the spot it had occupied for most of the season.

Oregon State fell first, 63-60 on Jan. 27, followed by Oregon falling 62-54 on Jan. 29.

Speaking after the Oregon game, head coach Tara VanDerveer said it was “a good weekend for us.”

Cameron posts triple-double with blocks, points, rebounds

Junior forward Cameron Brink was the headliner against Oregon, racking up a triple double, thanks to a team- and game-leading 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 of the team’s 13 blocks. Thus she was named  Pac-12 Player of the Week for the third time this season. 

Senior guard Hannah Jump was the only other player in double figures with 14 points, while senior guard Haley Jones had 16 rebounds.

Eleven players got into the game, and eight scored. Most notably, the bench added 16 points.

The team had eight 3’s, thanks in large part to sophomore forward Brooke Demetre, who was 3-3 from behind the arc for 9 points in her eight minutes on the court.

Also chipping in 3’s was Hannah with two. Junior guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu, sophomore guard Elena Bosgana and freshman guard Talana Lepolo had one each. This was Talana’s second game back after missing both games the previous weekend with an ankle injury.

Stanford led most of the way. Its largest lead was 16 points late in the fourth quarter.

Attendance totals 5,133

Game attendance was 5,133, bolstered by the groups invited to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day. They enjoyed activities set up by Stanford women’s teams in the concourses.

The video board showed the 49ers vs. Eagles conference championship game until about 30 minutes before tipoff. Many people in the stands kept up with the score, which ended in a 31-7 loss for the Niners and the end of their season.

After the game, Jeanette Pohlen, ’11, opened the Behind the Bench joined by Clare Bodensteiner, ’07, and Krista Rappahahn Birnie, ’06. They were among several alums at the game who had met for dinner the night before.

Joining them, Tara praised the contributions from a number of players, including Cameron.

“We are more of a gritty team this year,” she said, noting that different players step up at different games.

Haley goes for a mid-range jumper against OSU. (Stanford Athletics)

Oregon State proves tough

With 21 points from Cameron and 17 from Haley, the team eked out a 63-60 win over Oregon State on Jan. 27.

Attended by 3,890, it was a hard-fought game with numerous ties and lead changes. With the final seconds ticking down and Stanford clinging to a 62-60 lead, Haley made one of two free throws for the final winning score.

The drama didn’t end there, though. OSU had the ball with 18.7 seconds to go but couldn’t get off a tying shot. With 2.5 seconds to go, Stanford fouled, giving OSU the ball out of bounds and perhaps another chance. Instead, Talana stole the ball when it was inbounded, thus ending OSU’s hopes.

Besides 21 points, Cameron came up with 13 of the team’s 39 rebounds and six of its eight blocks.

In all, seven of the 13 players who got into the game scored. Several of those who didn’t score contributed in other ways with rebounds and defensive efforts.

Perimeter shooting came up short with two 3’s by Agnes and one each by Hannah and Brooke.

Free-throw shooting was crucial as the team made 15 of 18 shots, while OSU made 2 of 2, a difference of 13 points.

The first quarter ended 22-18 in Stanford’s favor. The Cardinal had a one-point lead, 33-32 at the half, followed by a 49-49 tie after the third quarter.

Stanford’s largest lead was 7 points early in the second quarter. OSU’s was 4 points about halfway through the first.

The team will be on the road for the next two weekends, visiting the Washington teams Feb. 3 and 5 and the Arizona teams Feb. 9 and 12.

The Washington State game is at 7 p.m. Feb. 3, followed by the Washington game at noon Feb. 5. Pac-12 Bay Area will air both games.

 

 

Team snaps back with wins over Utah, Colorado

 

Cameron gets a hand in her face as she tries to block a Colorado shot. (Jim Gensheimer/AP)

After the loss to USC the previous weekend had knocked the Stanford women’s basketball team down to No. 4 from No. 2 in AP’s weekly poll, the Cardinal moved up to No. 3 on Jan. 23 and gained sole possession of first place in Pac-12 standings thanks to two home wins.

The first was over then-No. 8 Utah 74-62 on Jan. 20, followed by a 62-49 win over then-No. 24 Colorado on Jan. 22. Utah subsequently fell to No. 9. Colorado dropped to 25.

The Colorado game featured a revised starting lineup with freshman guard Indya Nivar replacing freshman guard Talana Lepolo, who had injured her ankle in the Utah game. Talana was there with her ankle taped.

Also moving into the starting lineup for the second straight game, junior guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu replaced sophomore forward Kiki Iriafen. Eventually 12 players got into the game, with the bench supplying 11 points.

Hannah pours in 21 points

Scoring was led by senior guard Hannah Jump with 21 points, 15 of them coming from her five 3’s.

Junior forward Cameron Brink supplied 14 points, while senior guard Haley Jones had 11 points and a team- and game-high of 18 rebounds. After the weekend victories, Haley was named Pac-12 Player of the Week and Naismith Trophy Player of the Week.

Besides Hannah’s five, the team’s other two 3’s came from Agnes and sophomore forward Brooke Demetre.

Defense played a big part of the win, thanks to 14 blocks: six by Cameron, two each by Hannah and freshman center Lauren Betts, and one each by Haley, Agnes,  Indya and senior forward Fran Belibi.

Free throws were another major factor -- 17, or 77.3 percent, by Stanford; six, or 37.5 percent, by Colorado, or 37.5 percent -- an 11-point advantage.

Colorado never led even after outscoring Stanford 18-16 in the final quarter, but it was too little, too late. After the first quarter ended 18-8, Stanford led by double figures for the rest of the game. Its largest lead was 17 points in the second quarter.

Early in the fourth quarter, Brooke limped to the locker room but returned to the bench later.

A few minutes after that, Colorado’s bench was assessed a technical for jawing at a referee.

Elevator out of service

When the crowd of 4,122 people arrived, they learned that Maples’ only elevator was out of service. Hence many seniors and people with disabilities had to struggle up and down the stairs or, perhaps, go back home.

Once fans got into the arena, those in the lower levels found red T-shirts honoring the Lunar New Year draped over their seats. When it came time for Conga on the Court between the first and second quarters, the shirts came down to the knees of many of the youngsters.

Another change was that the usual announcer, Betty Ann Hagenau, was absent, replaced by someone else.

And the previously announced Behind the Bench was canceled so that fans could hustle home to watch the 49ers defeat the Dallas Cowboys and advance to the NFC championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles the next weekend.

Utah keeps score close but loses

It wasn’t until the fourth quarter of the Jan. 20 Utah game that Stanford fans could sit back and say, “OK, it looks like we’ve got this one.” The Cardinal went on to win 74-62 before a crowd of 3,730.

Until then, despite leading at the end of the first three quarters, No. 4 Stanford couldn’t be sure of victory because No. 8 Utah kept closing the gap but couldn’t quite pull ahead.

Agnes goes for a basket against Utah. (Santiago Mejia/SF Chronicle)

Coming off the loss at USC the previous weekend, the team got off to a slow start in the first quarter, trailing by as many as 8 points at the 7:26 mark, but it rallied to lead 24-22 at quarter’s end. It seemed that ball movement and defense both improved.

Talana leaves game with ankle injury

It was during that quarter that the team lost Talana to an injury. After going to the locker room, she returned with ice on her left ankle, sat at the end of the bench and elevated her leg. After the half, she was wearing a boot on her left foot.

Indya stepped in to replace Talana at the point.

Three players accounted for 63 points, or about 85 percent, of the final score.  Haley and Cameron had 25 each, while Hannah pitched in 13. Cameron also had 14 rebounds, and Haley had 12. Hannah’s 12 points in the first quarter went a long way toward the team’s lead then.

Hannah logged two 3’s, while Cameron and redshirt freshman guard Jzaniya Harriel had one each.

A game of Simon Sez, led by Steve Max with two lines of about 20 youngsters each, entertained the crowd at halftime.

Next up, Stanford stays home to host Oregon State at 8 p.m. Jan. 27 and Oregon at 1 p.m. Jan. 29. Both games will be carried by Pac-12 Networks.

 

 

 

 

Team splits with SoCal opponents

 

Cameron makes one of her seven blocks against UCLA. (Jae C. Hong/AP)

After winning the first of two games on its SoCal trip, 72-59 over UCLA on Jan. 13, the Stanford women’s basketball team came back to earth with a thud, losing 46-55 to USC on Jan. 15.

Attended by 2,418, this game marked the team’s lowest point total since 2016, Stanford Athletics reported. The loss knocked Stanford down to AP’s  No. 4 from the No. 2 ranking it had held since the start of the season. 

Moreover, its 4 points in the first quarter were the fewest for any quarter this season. The loss ended the team’s 39-game winning streak over Pac-12 teams, and it ended USC’s 14-game losing streak to Stanford, AP reported. 

Junior forward Cameron Brink was the only Cardinal player in double figures with 11 points to go with a team-leading 14 rebounds. 

Freshman guard Talana Lepolo had 9 points, followed by senior guard Haley Jones with 8 points plus 12 rebounds. 

Treys were hard to come by with only four: one each by Talana, sophomore  forward Brooke Demetre, junior guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu and senior forward Ashten Prechtel. 

Closely covered senior guard Hannah Jump came up empty-handed, missing all five of her field goal attempts, including three beyond the arc, and scoring her only point on a free throw. 

Thirteen players got into the game, and nine scored. The bench added 13 points. 

Stanford never led. Some stats were close, but the most glaring difference came at the free-throw line, where USC logged 17 points to Stanford’s 8. Closely related numbers came with fouls: 23 for Stanford, nine for USC. Likewise, Stanford had 14 turnovers to USC’s seven. 

It wasn’t pretty.

UCLA gives team a tough victory

Stanford had started its SoCal trip with a tough 72-59 win over No. 8-ranked UCLA on Jan. 13 before a crowd of 6,855. 

The first three quarters might have had fans wondering if Friday the 13^th bad luck might be hitting the team, but the fourth quarter changed all that as the Cardinal outscored the Bruins 21-10 in that period. 

Prior to that, the first quarter ended with Stanford up 18-17. The first half ended in a tie, 32-32, and Stanford held a narrow lead, 51-49, after the third. 

The fourth-quarter difference might be credited to two players: Cameron had six of her seven blocks then, and Agnes came in to provide stellar defense along with 9 points (including one 3 and 4-4 at the free-throw line), along with a rebound and a steal all in just 10 minutes. 

For the game, Haley was the leading scorer with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Cameron had another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. 

Besides the trey from Agnes, the team benefitted from two 3’s each by Hannah and Talana, while Ashten and sophomore guard Elena Bosgana each had one. 

It was a tight game overall with 10 lead changes and seven ties. In the fourth quarter, though, Stanford held UCLA scoreless until less than two minutes to go. 

Thirteen players got into the game, and 10 scored. The bench had 19 points. 

Stanford had the most rebounds, 48-31, and the most points in the paint, 32-18, in part because of Cameron’s blocks. 

It was the team’s 39^th consecutive victory over a Pac-12 opponent. 

The team stays home for the next two games: Utah at 6 p.m. Jan. 20 and Colorado at 2 p.m. Jan. 22. Pac-12 Networks will air both games.

 

 

 

 

 

Cardinal survive Bear scare

 

Cameron tallies one of her three blocks against Cal. (Don Feria/Special to SF Chronicle)

Playing Cal for the second time since Dec. 23, this time at Cal, the Stanford women’s basketball team eked out a 60-56 win on Jan. 8.

The game was tight throughout as the lead bounced back and forth. Cal’s largest lead was 5 points in the third quarter. Stanford was up by 7 in the second quarter.

Stanford had only four 3-pointers, with two by senior guard Hannah Jump and one each by junior forward Cameron Brink and freshman guard Talana Lepolo.

Talana’s 3 opened the scoring, and Stanford held Cal scoreless until just after five minutes had elapsed, but by quarter’s end, the score was 13-12 in Stanford's favor.

The score was tied 26-26 at the half, and Stanford was ahead 47-43 after the third quarter.

Apparently because of Cal’s tight defense, Stanford recorded its lowest point total this season and shot only 32.3 percent.

However, improved free-throw shooting helped to preserve the win as the team made 16 of 19, or 84.2 percent.

Cameron was the game’s star, logging 25 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks with three fouls in 29 minutes. For her effort, she was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the third time this season and sixth time in her career.

Senior guard Haley Jones was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 12 points plus 11 rebounds, four assists and a block.

They accounted for more than half the team’s scoring with only 9 points from the bench.

Twelve players got in, but only nine scored. Everyone was available, including junior guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu, who had missed the previous two games with an injury.

As the game clock ticked down to 14 seconds and Stanford ahead 58-56, Cameron secured a rebound. With five seconds to go, sophomore forward Brooke Demetre was deliberately fouled. She stepped to the free-throw line and sank both shots, thus icing the game at 60-56.

Among the 3,442 people at the game were Golden State Warriors star Stephan Curry and his mother, who is Cameron’s godmother. She and Cameron's mother were college roommates.

Stanford is back in session for the winter quarter. Up next for the Cardinal is a trip to Southern California to face UCLA at 8 p.m. Jan. 13 and USC at 2 p.m. Jan. 15. Pac-12 Networks will show both games.

 

 

 

Arizona teams come calling, leave with losses

 

Fran awaits a rebound against Arizona. (Tony Avelar/AP)

The No. 2- ranked Stanford women’s basketball team bookended the switch from 2022 to 2023 with two wins: 101-69 over Arizona State on Dec. 31 and 73-57 over No. 15 Arizona on Jan. 2, both at home.

Junior guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu wasn’t available for either game, but everyone else was.

With attendance at 3,824, the Arizona game started inauspiciously with five turnovers in just under four minutes. The visitors already had 6 points before senior guard Hannah Jump broke the ice with a 3-pointer. She ended the game with four, while freshman guard Talana Lepolo had one.

Slightly more than five minutes had elapsed when the score was tied 6-6. The Cardinal took their first lead, 10-9, at the 3:21 mark and ended the quarter ahead 19-15. The team then was ahead the rest of the way to seal the deal.

Haley leads the way despite four fouls

Senior guard Haley Jones was the high scorer with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. She played 38 minutes despite picking up two fouls in the first quarter and finishing with four.

Coming off the bench, senior forward Fran Belibi, who has been limited by an injury, had her best game of the season with her own double-double: 14 points and 10 rebounds. She did so despite a nasty fall that sent her to the locker room late in the third quarter, but she returned to action in the fourth.

Hannah with 13 points and junior forward Cameron Brink with 12 rounded out the quartet in double figures.

The Wildcats had 26 fouls, compared with 15 by the Cardinal, but Stanford shot only 58.8 percent at the free-throw line, leading to 20 of a possible 34 points. Stanford also had 17 turnovers, while Arizona had 12. On the other hand, Stanford had more rebounds, 53-35, and more assists, 12-6.

Katy, Britney, Tara speak after the game

During the Behind the Bench after the game, assistant coach Katy Steding commented, “This was a great game. … We started out a little shaky.”

She was joined by assistant coach Britney Anderson and later by head coach Tara VanDerveer.

“It wasn’t a beautiful offense tonight,” Tara said, but “I’m really excited about this team.”

She likens it to an orchestra which might have different soloists every night, but in the end, everyone plays together. She praised the players, including those who serve as the scout team even though they might not get much playing time.

Cameron celebrates her 21st birthday with double-double against ASU. (Stephan Lam/SF Chronicle)

Hannah’s 3-pointers help to beat ASU

In the New Year’s Eve 101-69 victory over Arizona State, Hannah got the party started by launching a successful 3-pointer, the first of six she made that night, leading to a team-topping 20 points.

Adding to the 3-point total of nine, Talana had two, and sophomore forward Brooke Demetre had one.

Besides Hannah, four other players were in double figures: Cameron with 17 points plus 14 of the team’s 47 rebounds, Haley with 16, and Talana and freshman center Lauren Betts with 10 each. Cameron’s double-double was a great way to celebrate her 21^st birthday.

Overall, it was a dominating performance by the home team, which led from start to finish.

One footnote is that ASU had only nine available players while Stanford had 14 with 12 seeing action. Hence, the bench added 32 points, exactly the margin of victory.

Attendance was reported at 2,810 despite a storm that caused flooding, downed trees and traffic accidents. Add to that the possibility of drunken drivers, and some fans, including me, opted to stay home and watch the game on TV.

Up next for the Cardinal is a trip to Cal at 4 p.m. Jan. 8, the day before winter quarter starts. Pac-12 Networks will air the game. Tara said after the Arizona game that she expects everyone to be available.