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| The team celebrates after defeating Oregon. (Supryia Limaye/ISI Photos) |
Heading into the Christmas break, the Stanford women’s basketball team racked up two more wins, upping its record to 11-2.
Washington fell 67-62 on Dec. 19,
followed by Oregon 64-53 on Dec. 21.
No Nunu, no problem against Washington
Well, maybe a few, but Stanford came
out on top, defeating No. 22-ranked Washington 67-62 at home on Dec. 19.
Despite being short-handed – Nunu was
out along with freshman forward Nora Ezike and sophomore center Kennedy Umeh,
minus the sling on her right arm – all eight of the players who got into the
game scored. Four of them were in double figures.
They were led by freshman forward
Lara Somfai with 14 points. She was followed by freshman guard Hailee Swain
with 13, junior forward Courtney Ogden with 12 and junior guard Chloe Clardy
with 11.
Junior forward Mary Ashley Stevenson
replaced Nunu in the starting lineup. She was joined by Lara, Hailee, Courtney
and senior guard Talana Lepolo.
Stanford led the game for just over
six minutes. The lead changed nine times, and the score was tied seven times.
The fourth quarter was decisive as
Stanford outscored Washington by 13 points after trailing by eight points at
the end of the third quarter.
One fourth-quarter highlight came
with just under five minutes to go. Sophomore guard Shay Ijiwoye was driving to
the basket when she was fouled and sent sprawling to the floor.
An official review ruled the foul a
flagrant one. That meant that the Stanford coaches could choose any player to
try two free throws and that Stanford would get the ball afterward.
Talana stepped up to the line and
made both free throws, giving Stanford a 2-point lead.
Some deliberate fouls by Washington
gave Stanford more free throws that helped to secure the win. For the game,
Stanford made 14 of 18 free throws, compared with Washington’s four of five.
Washington capitalized from the
three-point line by sinking eight treys, while Stanford had only three – two by
Chloe and one by Talana.
Washington also outrebounded Stanford
36-29 but had more turnovers, 16 vs. 10.
Prior to tipoff, new Stanford
president John Levin was introduced. Then the video board featured Bri
Roberson, ’17, recalling when Stanford beat Washington 72-68 there on Jan. 29,
2017, before a crowd of some 10,000, according to my records.
During the third quarter, the camera zoomed
in on Krista Rappahahn Birnie,’06, a Stanford Medicine pediatrician, with her
husband and children.
Cardinal drop Ducks
Although her scoring was limited to 5
points, Nunu returned to action and snared 11 rebounds as the team defeated
Oregon 64-53 in the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic in San Francisco’s Chase
Center on Dec. 21.
Kennedy and Nora were still unavailable,
but 10 players got into the game, reflecting a team effort in the win.
Four players scored in the double digits,
led by Courtney with 20. She was followed by Lara with 14, Chloe with 11 and
Hailee with 10.
Stanford led for more than 36 minutes
in a game that saw only three lead changes and two ties.
Still, the game didn’t seem firmly in
Stanford’s hands until the fourth quarter, when the Cardinal outscored the
Ducks by 8 points, 20-12.
It was a somewhat sloppy game with
both teams committing 16 turnovers, but Stanford had more assists and steals. Three-point
shooting was mediocre with four by Stanford: Lara with two and Courtney and
Chloe with one each.
What’s on tap
After a quick Christmas break,
Stanford closes out its pre-conference schedule by hosting Cornell at 1 p.m.
Dec. 28.
Then it’s across the country for a
New Year’s Day date with North Carolina State at 11 a.m., followed by North
Carolina at 10 a.m. Jan. 4.
Both games will be streamed on ACC,
while the North Carolina game also will be shown on ESPN.
The team will have to hustle back to
campus for the start of winter quarter classes on Jan. 5.
