Team clinches at least a share of Pac-12 season title

Players and staff display the trophy, banner, hats and T-shirts honoring the Pac-12 season championship.

After a disappointing 61-68 loss to Arizona without senior forward Cameron Brink on Feb. 23, she and her teammates responded by defeating Arizona State 81-67 on Feb. 25 in the last-ever Pac-12 home game.

Afterward, as everyone awaited the start of the Senior Day ceremony to honor Cam and grad guard Hannah Jump, the videoboard showed the last few minutes of the USC-Utah game. Utah won, igniting a celebration because it meant that Stanford had clinched at least a share of the Pac-12 regular season title, its 27th.

Nevertheless, out came the championship T-shirts, hats, trophy and banner.

The weekend’s mixed results dropped Stanford to No. 4 from No. 3 in AP’s Feb. 26 national poll.

Although Cam was back in action to start the game, sophomore guard Talana Lepolo was in street clothes. It later was reported that she has had a knee problem and needed to take some time off.

Jzaniya replaces Talana

Redshirt sophomore guard Jzaniya Harriel started in her place as point guard and did well, becoming one of five Cardinal players in double figures.

Junior forward Kiki Iriafen led the way with 22 points plus 20 rebounds and four assists.

Cam added 14 points, nine rebounds and led the team in both assists with seven and blocks with five.

Jzaniya was next with 12 points. Hannah had 11, as did freshman forward Nunu Agara.

The team had eight 3’s, with four by Jzaniya, three by Hannah and one by junior forward Brooke Demetre, who also had eight rebounds.

Before the game started, head coach Tara VanDerveer gave flowers to ASU’s seniors, and the male practice players were introduced.

Early in the first quarter, the two Stanford honorees, Cam and Hannah, showed their signature moves. Hannah lofted a trey, and then Cam blocked an ASU shot.

ASU leads after one quarter, but that was it

The first quarter ended with a 13-15 lead for ASU, but Stanford finished on top in the next three quarters.

During the third quarter, the two senior cheerleaders were honored.

Senior Day honorees Cam and Hannah celebrate a teammate's accomplishment.

 

The Senior Day ceremony began with the introduction of Cam, her parents and godmother, Sonya Curry, mother of Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry. She and Cam's mother were college roommates. Both spoke about Cam. Brooke represented the team in saluting her.

Hannah was accompanied by her parents and aunt, who had flown from the UK to join the festivities. Her father and Talana did the honors in saluting her.

In both cases, announcer Betty Ann Hagenau ticked off their many accomplishments.

Closing the emotional ceremony, Tara said the team has a chance to be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Pac-12 tournament and hopes to host the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament.

Team misses Cam in loss to Arizona

The 61-68 upset loss to Arizona at home on Feb. 23 began with a feeling of unease. Cam was nowhere to be seen during warmups. It later was reported that she was ill.

Besides missing her offensive and defensive prowess, her teammates seemed to miss the energy and enthusiasm she brings to the game. They didn’t seem to smile and joke as much during warmups.

Still, they started well enough, ending the first quarter with a 17-9 lead. Late in the quarter, Kiki headed to the locker room with blood on her white leg wrap. She returned during the break and went back into action with no leg wrap as the second quarter began.

Stanford led at the end of both the second and third quarters. The latter ended well with an 8-point scoring spree in the final minute and 15 seconds. Kiki accounted for 6 of those points with 2 by Brooke.

Fourth quarter ends badly

Therefore, the team seemed to have the game well in hand as the fourth quarter began. Then the wheels started to come off. Arizona steadily ate into its host’s lead, outscoring the Cardinal 31-16 in the quarter to cement the win.

Arizona accomplished this despite having only seven available players, but they continually disrupted Stanford on defense, leading to 18 Stanford turnovers while having only nine of their own.

Kiki led her team with 21 points plus 15 rebounds, three blocks, four assists and a steal.

Brooke gets starting nod

Joining the starting lineup in Cam’s place, Brooke contributed 15 points, while Hannah had 13, thanks in part to her 3 3’s. Brooke also had a 3.

Junior guard Elena Bosgana started as usual, but played only three minutes and spent the rest of the game on the bench.

In recognition of Black History Month, the seven-member Stanford Gospel Choir sang the national anthem after a trumpet intro by one of its members. The choir then sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

Later the video board displayed photos and listed the accomplishments of some of Stanford’s most distinguished Black graduates.

Another focus of the game recognized the Stanford Organ Transplant Program, introducing two leaders of the program and a woman who received both a liver and kidney transplant at Stanford.

At halftime, fans who received the free Rec Day T-shirts convened on the court for a group Zumba session.

Stanford will wrap up its final Pac-12 regular season by visiting Oregon State at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, and Oregon at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 2. Pac-12 Networks will televise both games.

The final Pac-12 tournament is March 6-10 in Las Vegas.

Photos by isiphotos.com 

Cardinal coast over Cal 84-49

 

Kiki celebrates a teammate's accomplishment.

It didn’t take long for the Stanford women’s basketball team to overwhelm the visiting Cal Bears and close out the Feb. 16 game with an 84-49 victory.

Cal showed some resistance in the first quarter with two lead changes and one tie, but Stanford ended it by leading 22-16.

Cal didn’t score until nearly seven minutes had elapsed in the second quarter, when it put up a trey. The Bears managed only 5 points altogether in that quarter, while Stanford posted 18.

It was all Stanford after that, leading to the lopsided 35-point win.

Five Cardinal players scored in double figures, led by junior forward Kiki Iriafen with 23points plus 11 rebounds. Grad guard Hannah Jump and senior forward Cameron Brink both had 14 points, and Cam had four of her trademark blocks.

Elena was one of five players in double figures.

Joining them in double figures were junior guard Elena Bosgana with 12 points and junior forward Brooke Demetre with 11.

Brooke had three of the team’s five 3’s. Hannah and Elena each had one.

Stanford bested Cal in nearly every statistical category, including steals, 6-0. Redshirt sophomore Jzaniya Harriel had three of those steals.

Since it was Breast Cancer Awareness Day, pink was seen throughout Maples, both among the 4,604 fans in the stands and the personnel on the court. The Cal players were in pink, and the Stanford players’ white uniforms had pink accents. Some players sported pink hair ribbons and pink nail polish. Even the refs had pink whistles.

Perhaps because it was a holiday weekend with Presidents Day on Feb. 19, the band, cheerleaders, Dollies, Tree and even the emcee weren’t there.

The third quarter had some drama, starting about two minutes in when Cam got her third foul, a call that was roundly booed. Head coach Tara VanDerveer requested an official review, but when the play stood as called, Stanford was charged a timeout.

Fans got a scare with less than three minutes to go in the quarter when Kiki was hurt and hopped to the bench. Trainer Katelin Knox tended to her, and she returned to action early in the fourth quarter. In a post-game interview, Kiki said it was merely a muscle cramp.

This game and others in the Pac-12 Conference gave Stanford a two-game lead with four games left.

Coming up next, Arizona visits at 7 p.m. Feb. 23, followed by Arizona State at noon Feb. 25, Senior Day.

A trip to Oregon State at 7 p.m. Feb. 29 and Oregon at 2 p.m. March 2 will close out the final Pac-12 regular season. Pac-12 Networks will air all four games.

Stanford Athletics photos

Stqnford moves up to No. 3 after 2 more wins

 

Cam tries to steal the ball from WSU's Eleanora Villa. (Dean Hare/WSU PhotoServices)

The Stanford women’s basketball team returned from the Evergreen State with two more wins: 63-59 in overtime at Washington on Feb. 9 and 73-58 at Washington State on Feb. 11.

 These two wins, combined with other Pac-12 and national results, vaulted the Cardinal into first place in the conference and No. 3 in the Feb. 12 AP poll.

 Team prevails in overtime at Washington

 It took the season’s first overtime for Stanford to defeat a gritty Washington team 63-59 in Seattle on Feb. 9.

 With the first quarter ending with Stanford up 11-5, it looked as if this would be a cakewalk. The second quarter continued that view as the Stanford defense forced the Huskies into several shot-clock violations. When the buzzer sounded, Stanford still had a 6-point lead as both teams scored just 11 points.

 The lead swelled to 8 points in the third, but things turned around in the fourth quarter. Washington outscored Stanford by 8 points, leading to a 50-50 tie and sending the game into overtime.

 Stanford scored just enough in OT to eke out the 4-point win, resulting in a sigh of relief for Cardinal fans among the 4,454 people at the game and for those watching at home.

 Cameron pours in 22 points

 Once again, senior forward Cameron Brink led the scoring with 22 points plus nine rebounds, four assists, six blocks and a steal.

 However, junior forward Kiki Iriafen, her usually high-scoring teammate, managed only 9 points plus nine rebounds. She fouled out about halfway through the OT and had six of the team’s 18 turnovers.

 The next-highest scorer for Stanford was freshman forward Courtney Ogden, who came off the bench to add 11 points and five rebounds. Sophomore guard Talana Lepolo was the other Cardinal in double figures with 10 points, thanks to three of the team’s seven 3’s.

 Courtney, junior guard Elena Bosgana, junior forward Brooke Demetre and grad guard Hannah Jump had the others. It wasn’t Hannah’s best game. She played all 45 minutes but had only that trey for her scoring. A tough defender, she also had four fouls.

 Slow start against WSU

 Hoping for its first-ever victory over Stanford on Feb. 11, Washington State had a 7-point lead after the first quarter and ceded Stanford only a 3-point edge at the half in front of 1,304 people in Pullman.

 It outscored the Cardinal by a point in the third quarter, cutting the visitors’ advantage to just 2 points, but the fourth quarter told a different story. Stanford held WSU to just 7 points while scoring 20 points of its own to seal the 73-58 win.

 Once again Cam was the team leader. She scored 21 points to go with 11 rebounds, five assists, five steals and two blocks with only one foul.

 This time, though, her usually reliable teammates stepped up big time. Hannah had 20 points, thanks in large part to her four 3’s, plus four assists and a steal.

Kiki was next in the double-figure category with 17 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.

 For the game, Stanford shot 49.2 percent vs. WSU’s 44 percent.

 Stanford also had eight 3’s, one more than WSU. Stanford’s came courtesy of Hannah’s four, along with two by Cam, and one each by Talana and Courtney.

 Next up is a visit by Cal at 7 p.m. Feb. 16. The team then has a week off before hosting Arizona at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 and Arizona State at noon Feb. 25, Senior Day. Pac-12 Networks will air all three games.

Split decision with SoCal teams

 

Cam, Hannah and Kiki celebrate during the UCLA game. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

After a disappointing 58-67 loss to USC on Feb. 2, the Stanford women’s basketball team came roaring back to defeat UCLA 80-60 on Feb. 4, both at home.

The weekend’s games dropped Stanford to No. 6 from No. 4 in the Feb. 5 AP poll. USC rose to 10 from 15, and UCLA dropped to 9 from 7.

While Stanford had its full contingent of 12 players, UCLA had only eight of its 12 players available. Among the missing was 6’7” Lauren Betts, who transferred to UCLA from Stanford after last season. She reportedly was dealing with an undisclosed medical issue.

Since it was Woman and Girls in Sports Day, several women’s teams set up activities in the concourses before the game. The 2023 national champion women’s rowing team was honored during the second quarter, and the current women’s gymnastics team tossed T-shirts to the crowd during the third quarter. It was the day before the start of its season.

During their warmups, the Cardinal players wore  T-shirts reading “Play for Kay,” a reference to the late North Carolina State coach, Kay Yow, who died of breast cancer. Their white uniforms had pink accents.

The national anthem was sung by the youngsters of i-Sing of Silicon Valley, who were well received by the near-capacity crowd of 7,207 people who had braved the stormy weather.

Team starts strong, doesn’t look back

Stanford came out of the gate with high energy, leading 9-2 after just under 2  minutes into the game. By the end of the first quarter, the lead had ballooned to 21-12. The Bruins’ Charisma Osborne scored 10 of their points.

In the meantime, all five Cardinal starters had scored while not committing any fouls. However, Stanford had four turnovers, leading to 17 for the game.

In the second quarter, UCLA took 2 ½ minutes to score 2 points, both from the free-throw line. It wasn’t until the quarter was halfway over that UCLA had a bucket.

Grad student guard Hannah Jump was on the exercise bike for a while during that quarter but soon returned to action.

She was one of three Stanford players in double figures with 10 points, thanks to two 3’s and some nifty layups.

Cameron, Kiki combine for 37 points

Senior forward Cameron Brink led the team with 19 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks.

Junior forward Kiki Iriafen was right behind her with 18 points, seven rebounds and a block.

Freshman forward Nunu Agara added 9 points and four rebounds.

Besides the two 3’s by Hannah, redshirt sophomore guard Jzaniya Harriel had two of her own, and junior forward Brooke Demetre had one.

Stanford outscored UCLA in the first three quarters. UCLA had 3 more in the fourth, but by then it was too late.

For the game, Stanford shot a sizzling 63.5 percent, compared with UCLA’s 29.4 percent.

Kate praises Talana

The post-game Behind the Bench started with associate head coach Kate Paye and  sophomore point guard Talana Lepolo. Kate had high praise for her, saying, “There’s no doubt that Talana does so much for our team. … She’s an absolute warrior.”

As for the win, Kate said, “We really needed it. … We didn’t like the way things turned out Friday.”

After her post-game press conference, head coach Tara VanDerveer came out and praised the team’s younger players. She also said that Stanford hopes to host first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament. That honor goes to the four top seeds in each of the four regional brackets.

Cam reacts to a call during the USC game. JuJu Watkins is No. 12. (Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle)

USC’s frosh phenom pours in 51 points

The team’s 58-67 loss to USC on Feb. 2 can be attributed mainly to one player -- frosh phenom JuJu Watkins, who scored 51 points in 34 minutes, more than half of her team’s total.

Cardinal fans can only mourn the day she chose USC over Stanford. She’s from LA, so maybe she wanted to play close to home.

It didn’t help that Stanford’s two best players, Cam and Kiki, faced physical defense. Still, Cam wound up with 19 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocks, and Kiki had 16 points and nine rebounds.

Hannah was the only other Cardinal in double figures with 10 points. She had two of the team’s four 3’s. Junior guard Elena Bosgana had the other two, her only scoring.

Three USC players foul out

Back to the defense: Three USC players fouled out. In all, USC had 22 fouls, Stanford 19. Talana fouled out with only seconds to go in the fourth quarter after scoring only 2 points.

Some fans seemed unhappy with the officiating, often accompanying calls with boos.

The game began on a celebratory note with Chef Joe, assistant director/executive chef Stanford Athletics, receiving a framed honorary jersey for his contributions to the well-being of Cardinal athletes.

Sea of red for Cardinal introductions

When the Stanford starters were introduced in the darkened arena, fans greeted them by waving red glow sticks that were given away in the concourses before the game.

Stanford outscored USC in the first and fourth quarters, and ended the second in a tie, but USC had a 10-point advantage in the third.

During a timeout in the second quarter, Jess Smith was introduced. She was recently named president of the WNBA expansion team coming to the Bay Area and beginning play in 2025. The team is owned by the Golden State Warriors and will use its Oakland practice facility and play at Chase Center in San Francisco.

Halftime was highlighted by the Los Altos Dance Academy. The young girls, most of them in glittery gold outfits, wowed the crowd of 5,371 with their routines.

The team next takes to the road to face Washington at 7 p.m.  Feb. 9 and Washington State at 1 p.m. Feb. 11. Pac-12 Networks will air both games.