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| 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.
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| 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 21st 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.
