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| 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.
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| 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
