| Alumnae salute their coach. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez The Chronicle) |
Chalk up another big win as the Stanford women’s
basketball team defeated the visiting Gonzaga Bulldogs 89-58 on Nov. 10 to
raise its season record to 3-0.
This win vaulted the previously unranked Cardinal
into #24 in AP’s Nov. 11 weekly poll.
The team started off strong and never looked back.
About 2 ½ minutes into the first quarter, the Cardinal were up 10-0,
necessitating a Gonzaga time out.
By the end of that quarter, Stanford led 26-4. The
hosts outscored the visitors in the next two quarters, while Gonzaga managed 25
points to Stanford’s 22 in the fourth quarter, when the game was well in hand
and bench players had taken over.
Thirteen
3’s are lucky
Once again 3-pointers made a solid contribution with
13. Redshirt junior guard Jzaniya Harriel had four, followed by sophomore guard
Chloe Clardy with three.
Junior guard Talana Lepolo and senior guard Elena
Bosgana each added two. One each came from sophomore forwards Mary Ashley
Stevenson and Courtney Ogden.
All 14 players got into the game, and 10 scored.
Double figures came from sophomore forward Nunu Agara, 16; Elena and Jzaniya, 12;
and Chloe, 11.
Of note is that freshman center Kennedy Umeh played
less than two minutes at the end of the game but still scored 6 points.
Oher noteworthy stats: Stanford had only five
turnovers to Gonzaga’s 18, and it had 19 assists to Gonzaga’s 11.
The starters were Nunu, Talana, Elena, Jzaniya and
senior forward Brooke Demetre.
On hand were the band, Tree, Dollies and
cheerleaders (with orange pompons).
Conga on the Court came back after the first
quarter.
Court
named after Tara VanDerveer
The crowd of 3,865 saw not only a winning game but
also the unveiling of Tara VanDerveer Court, in honor of the recently retired
coach who is the winningest basketball coach of all.
Wearing the jacket honoring her 1,000th win, Tara chats with Kate. (Karen Hickey/ISIPhotos)
The words “Tara VANDERVEER Court” appear twice on the floor next to the center line facing east.
Among the fans was Tara’s mother, Rita, who lives
in Colorado, as well as several alumnae. After the game, three of them – Alyssa
Jerome and Lexie and Lacie Hull, all ’22 – addressed the crowd.
Wearing the custom-designed jacket she received
after her 1,000th win, Tara then took the microphone to comment, “It
was a great game. … What a fabulous job Kate is doing,” she said, referring to
her successor, Kate Paye. She added that she’s working part-time in the office
of athletic director Bernard Muir.
Afterward fans lined up in the Hall of Champions for
a meet and greet with Tara.
Stanford’s home stand ends at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 against
UC Davis. ACCNX will stream the game.
