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| Backed by teammates and the band, Cam and Hannah are interviewed after the OSU win. (Stanford Athletics) |
Entering the last-ever Pac-12
tournament on March 10, the Stanford women’s basketball team had hoped for
another championship, but it wasn’t to be.
Leading up to the final game in
Las Vegas, top seed Stanford had defeated Cal 71-57 on March 7 and Oregon State
66-57 on March 8. In both games, the Cardinal had to come from behind.
They couldn’t do it again against
second seed USC, losing 61-74, even though USC had survived a grueling double
overtime win against UCLA in the semi-finals. USC also beat Stanford 58-67 on
Feb. 2.
Except for the third quarter,
when both teams scored 13 points, USC outscored Stanford the rest of the way.
Aside from the final score, one
glaring difference was rebounds, an area in which Stanford usually excels. USC
had 48, Stanford 28. Free throws also favored USC, which made 11 of 12 to
Stanford’s four of seven.
Senior forward Cameron Brink led
the team with 19 points, 10 rebounds and all six of the team’s blocks. Junior
forward Kiki Iriafen was right behind her with 18 points and seven rebounds.
No other Cardinal was in double
figures, but junior guard Elena Bosgana was close with 9 points. Five other
players scored.
USC had nine 3’s to Stanford’s
seven. Cam had three of them, while Elena, grad guard Hannah Jump, junior
forward Brooke Demetre and sophomore guard Talana Lepolo each had one.
After the game, Cam and Kiki were
among the five players named to the All- Tournament Team.
The tournament loss dropped Stanford
to No. 4 from No. 2 in AP’s March 11 national poll.
Here’s how the first two
tournament games unfolded;
Stanford wins final Pac-12 Battle of the Bay
Cal
had Stanford on its heels throughout the first half
of the quarter-final game before the Cardinal pulled out the 71-57 win on March
7.
Seeded No. 8, Cal had defeated ninth
seed Washington State 65-44 the previous day, while No. 1 seed Stanford had the
bye.
The Bears looked as if they might
continue in the victory column as they led 36-28 at the half. During that half
they launched a hail of 3’s and seemingly pulled down more rebounds.
Returning after the break, Stanford
outscored Cal in each of the next two quarters to win. The Cardinal also had
more rebounds for the game (50-44) and fewer fouls (10-18). All those fouls by
Cal led to an 11-point Stanford advantage at the free-throw line.
Kiki led the way with 28 points,
18 rebounds and five assists for her 15th double-double of the
season. She was the first Stanford player with at least 25 points and 15
rebounds in a tournament game since Chiney Ogwumike, ’14, against USC in the
2014 semi-finals.
Elena tied her career high with
16 points and contributed eight rebounds and four assists.
Cameron was right behind her with
15 points, 14 rebounds and the team’s only block. Her playing time was limited
to 27 minutes because she was in foul trouble with a total of four. The first
one was early in the first quarter when Cal was ahead 7-1.
Talana, the only other Cardinal
to score, had 12 points.
Elena with four and Talana with
three were the only Cardinal players to make 3’s. Usually sharp-shooting Hannah
was held scoreless.
Stanford wins season awards
Earlier in the week Stanford
dominated Pac-12 season awards. In a vote by the head coaches, Cam was named
Player and Defensive Player of the year. Kiki was named Most Improved Player. Head
coach Tara VanDerveer was named John R. Wooden Pac-12 Coach of the Year.
Both Cam and Kiki were all Pac-12
for the third year, while Hannah and Talana received honorable mention. Cam was
named to the conference’s all-defensive team. Forwards Nunu Agara and Courtney Ogden
received honorable mention for the all-freshman team.
On top of that, Cam was named the
national Player of the Week on March. 5.
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| Brooke and Hannah celebrate during the OSU game. (Stanford Athletics) |
Same slow start, same victorious outcome
It was déjà vu in the first half
of the semi-final game against fourth-seeded Oregon State on March 8, and it
was déjà vu in the second half as Stanford surged ahead to win 66-57.
OSU outscored Stanford 24-12 in
the first quarter, but Stanford had the edge in the second, leading to an
8-point deficit at the half. Stanford then had a huge third quarter, scoring 23
points to OSU’s 8. The Cardinal also prevailed in the fourth quarter to
advance.
In a turnaround from the previous
game, Hannah broke loose, leading her team with 20 points, thanks in large part
to her four 3’s.
Cam almost had a triple-double
with 16 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists. Kiki was close behind with 14
points, nine rebounds and four assists. Both were in foul trouble with four
each.
Completing the list of those in
double figures, Brooke had 10 points.
Unlike the previous game, in
which only four players scored, this time seven players added points.
One notable stat: Stanford had 25
assists and only seven turnovers, surpassing OSU in both categories.
Besides Hannah’s four 3’s, the
team’s other three 3’s came from Brooke with two and Cam with one.
After the game, Cam and Hannah
were interviewed by a TV crew while their jubilant teammates, the band,
cheerleaders, Tree and Dollies celebrated.
Now the team awaits the
announcement of NCAA tournament seedings on March 17. Stanford is expected to
be a top four seed with the chance to host the two first rounds starting March
22.
Before that, the players can
focus on academics along with basketball. Winter quarter finals are March
18-22. Spring quarter classes start April 1.
