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| Kiki led the team with a two-game total of 44 points. (Stanford Athletics) |
Playing the mountain teams for the only time this season, the No. 8 (as of Jan. 8) Stanford women’s basketball team emerged with a 66-64 win over No. 19 Utah on Jan. 12 and a 59-71 loss to No. 5 Colorado on Jan. 14.
Both games were played at high elevations: 4,265
feet in Salt Lake City and 5,430 in Boulder. It was cold, too. When the
Colorado game started at noon Mountain Time, it was -3 degrees, the TV
announcers said.
Stanford’s shooting was somewhat cold, too, only 33.9
percent, compared with Colorado’s 41.7 percent. Moreover, the Buffaloes had quick hands, making 11 steals, including three in a row in the first quarter, while
Stanford had only three for the game.
Turnovers
hurt
Turnovers were costly, with 18 by the Cardinal and
11 by the host team.
Things looked promising at first with Stanford
surging to an 8-point lead about halfway through the first quarter, but
Colorado finished the quarter with a 1-point lead.
The fourth quarter began with a 17-point Colorado lead.
Stanford refused to give up and actually outscored the Buffaloes 18-13, but it
was too little too late.
Junior forward Kiki Iriafen led the Cardinal with a
double-double, 19 points and 17 rebounds.
Cameron
snares 1,000th rebound
Senior forward Cameron Brink also had a
double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds despite being hampered by four
fouls. She recorded the 1,000th rebound of her career early in the
third quarter and finished the game with four blocks.
The only other Cardinal in double figures was junior
forward Brooke Demetre with 12 points.
Her points came from four of the team’s nine 3’s.
Cameron and redshirt sophomore guard Jzaniya Harriel each chipped in two.
Graduate guard Hannah Jump added the other one.
The game saw five lead changes and three ties.
The crowd of 9,111was the largest since 1994, the TV
announcers said. Included in that number was Boulder resident Rita VanDerveer,
mother of head coach Tara VanDerveer.
Down
to the wire with a win in Utah
Thanks in large part to Kiki, Stanford eked out its
66-64 victory over Utah on Jan. 12.
Despite accumulating three fouls, Kiki poured in 25
points, snared 16 rebounds and had four assists to go with a block in 32
minutes.
Hannah was the only other Cardinal in double figures
with 12 points and four assists in 40 minutes. Sophomore guard Talana Lepolo also
played 40 minutes and dished out seven assists to go with four points.
Cameron got the first of her two fouls less than two
minutes into the game, went to the bench, returned and got the second foul with
just over a minute to go in the first quarter. She wound up playing 27 minutes
and scored an uncharacteristically low 9 points, but had seven rebounds, two assists,
two blocks and a steal.
13
3’s boost the Utes
Playing before a loud crowd of 5,608, the Utes got
more than half of their points from their 13 3’s. Otherwise, they were
outrebounded 40-32. It was a tight game with eight lead changes and seven ties.
Stanford had six 3’s: two by Jzaniya and one each by
Hannah, Cameron, Talana and junior guard Elena Bosgana.
Nine of the 11 available players got into the game.
Freshman forward Courtney Ogden was there but reportedly had an injury and couldn’t
play.
Next up for Cardinal is a two-game home stand
against Oregon at 7 p.m. Jan. 19 and Oregon State at 2 p.m. Jan. 21, followed
by a Behind the Bench. Pac-12 Networks will televise both games.
If
Stanford wins both games, Tara will have 1,203 career wins, the most by any basketball
coach for either men or women, surpassing former Duke men’s coach Mike Krzyzewski.
