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| Kiki and others on the bench celebrate during the game. (Karen Hickey/ISIPhotos.com) |
Five players scored in double figures as the Stanford women’s basketball team defeated the visiting Indiana Hoosiers 96-64 on Nov. 12.
This resounding victory vaulted Stanford to No. 6 from
No. 15 in the weekly AP national poll. It bumped Indiana down to No. 18 from
No. 9.
With “great performances all the way around, (this
was) a great team win,” associate head coach Kate Paye said during the Behind
the Bench that followed the game. “Our team was really, really focused.”
Starting forwards senior Cameron Brink and junior
Kiki Iriafen shared scoring honors with 20 points each. Both recorded
double-doubles, too, with Cameron snaring 17 rebounds and Kiki 11. Kiki
garnered cheers when she dunked during warmups.
Joining them in double figures were two other
starters: grad student guard Hannah Jump with 12 points and junior guard Elena
Bosgana with 10. Coming off the bench, freshman forward Nunu Agara poured in 13
points.
Except for the fourth quarter, when mostly bench
players were on the floor and were outscored 22-21, the Cardinal dominated the
visitors. The domination extended to other areas, especially rebounds, where
Stanford enjoyed a 50-27 advantage.
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| Cameron leaps toward the basket. (Nhat V Meyer/Bay Area News Group) |
Four of Stanford’s six blocks were courtesy of
Cameron, who notched the 300th block of her college career just over
halfway into the first quarter.
And then there were the 11 3’s: two each by Cameron,
Hannah, Elena and the other starter, sophomore guard Talana Lepolo. Chipping in
one each were Nunu, freshman guard Chloe Clardy and redshirt sophomore guard Jzaniya
Harriel.
The crowd of 3,678 did not include the band, Tree,
cheerleaders and Dollies. Usual announcer Betty Ann Hagenau also was absent,
replaced by a man who was too rah-rah in the introductions but toned down
during the game. On the other hand, DJ Hatt did not tone the “music” down,
making it difficult to talk with other fans. Earplugs helped.
Stat boards were off and on, mostly off. When they
did come on, they flashed too briefly for complete reading – very annoying.
As players left the locker room after the game, they
toted new athletic shoes courtesy of Nike, according to head coach Tara
VanDerveer, an IU graduate.
After praising the “tremendous unselfishness of this
team” to start the Behind the Bench, Kate introduced the three “super
sophomores”; Talana and guards Stavi Papadaki and Lauren Green.
She also commented on the team’s defense, which Tara
called “a big emphasis this year.” The game plan for this opponent and all
others is to “take away their favorite stuff,” Tara said. She wants the team to
play up-tempo and employs a tag team strategy with liberal substitutions. And
she wants the players to stay healthy and happy and to play for each other.
Despite this early season win, “we have a lot to
work on,” she said.
The work undoubtedly will focus on the Cal Poly game
at 7 p.m. Nov. 16 and the Duke game at 1 p.m. Nov. 19, both at home. ABC will
televise the Duke game.
