Cardinal host and sweep Arizona schools

 

Anna contributed nine points, five rebounds, two assists and four steals against ASU. (AP/Jeff Chiu)

Returning to Maples Pavilion for the first time since the UC Davis game on Dec. 15, fans of Stanford women’s basketball, including the band, Tree and Dollies, saw  the team defeat Arizona State 78-50 on Jan. 28 and Arizona 75-69 on Jan. 30.

Stanford started the ASU game somewhat shorthanded with the unexplained absences of junior guard Hannah Jump and freshman guard Elena Bosgana.

Hannah had moved into the starting lineup recently, so sixth-year guard Anna Wilson stepped in for her.  Although she didn’t match Hannah’s usual output of points, she did produce nine points to go with five rebounds and two assists plus four steals, evidence of her usual tenacious defense.

Trailed by Kiki, Jana drives upcourt against ASU. (AP/Jeff Chiu)

Jana ably fills in for Hannah

Coming into the game later, sophomore guard Jana Van Gytenbeek did her best Hannah imitation with three 3-pointers for a total of nine points.

Four players were in double figures. Logging 12 points each were junior forward Fran Belibi, freshman forward Kiki Iriafen and junior guard Haley Jones, who also had 10 rebounds for a double-double. Sophomore forward Cameron Brink was close behind with 11 points.

Kiki’s 12 points came in only 10 minutes, when she also snared two rebounds and had a block.

The outcome was never in doubt. Stanford led 15-4 after the first quarter, 36-17 after the second and 60-29 after the third, when ASU didn’t make its first basket until more than five minutes into the quarter.

Starters get to rest

The Sun Devils actually outscored the Cardinal 18-21 in the fourth, when all of the starters were on the bench by the time three minutes had elapsed.

Besides Jana’s three 3’s, senior guard Lacie Hull added two more for the team’s total of five.

Head coach Tara VanDerveer used 13 players. As has been true in recent games, freshman guard Jzaniya Harriel was in uniform and warmed up with the team but didn’t play.

Video honors the late John Arrillaga

Before tipoff, Tara appeared in a video paying tribute to John Arrillaga, ’60, who died Jan 24 at the age of 84. After playing basketball on a scholarship at Stanford, he went on to become a successful Silicon Valley real estate investor and one of Stanford’s most generous benefactors.

His donations not only funded scholarships but also paid for renovation or construction of numerous campus facilities, including Maples and Stanford Stadium.

Tara saluted him as a longtime personal friend and said his No. 41 jersey would remain on his seat in the top row of Section 3 above the officials’ table for the rest of the season.

Afterward, the crowd of 2,551 was asked to give him a standing ovation.

Players and coaches celebrate another great play against Arizona. (AP/Josie Lepe)

Arizona rematch even better for Stanford

The Arizona game was a rematch of the national championship game that Stanford won 54-53 in April.

It wasn’t as close this time as Stanford led most of the way before a crowd of 3,479. The first quarter ended 17-16.  

Arizona led only twice, both times briefly in the second quarter, but the home team ended the half 41-33.

The third quarter ended 55-46, leading to the 75-69 victory.

Cameron likes what she sees against Arizona. (Stanford photo)

Cameron leads the way

Sophomore forward Cameron Brink had an epic game with 25 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks and two steals. As a result of her performance over the weekend, she was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the third time on Jan. 31.

Jana continued her Hannah imitation with a career-best 18 points on six 3’s.  Adding to the team’s total of nine 3's were Lacie with two and Cameron with one.

Jana and Cameron were the only two Cardinal players in double figures, but five others scored.

Haley had mixed results with only four points, but she had seven rebounds and a team-high six assists offset by six of the team’s 18 turnovers.

This Tara bobblehead honors the coach of the national champions. (Stanford photo)

Fans get Tara bobbleheads

The first 3,000 fans at Maples received a Tara bobblehead, which is likely to become a coveted collector’s item.

Although Stanford gear dominated the stands, some fans showed up in 49ers apparel in anticipation of the NFC conference championship game against the Rams in Los Angeles. (The Niners lost.)

After the game, fans were treated to a Behind the Bench. Before it began, some players crossed the court to greet family and friends.

Brooke (left), Kiki and Jzaniya speak after the game. (Stanford photo)

Three freshmen meet fans

Associate head coach Kate Paye then came out with three freshmen: Kiki, Jzaniya and guard Brooke Demetre.

“It’s great to see the stands filled with people,” Kate said, calling the game “a huge team win.”

She said that she expects Jzaniya to be in action soon and classmate Elena to return next week. Tara later said that both Elena and Hannah are expected for the next game.

The three freshmen answered several questions from fans and said what their majors might be. Brooke is interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), Kiki in computer science or engineering, and Jzaniya political science.

Tara pleased with players

Tara then took the microphone to open with “I’m really proud of our team … a great team weekend. …The players on our team are really great people.

“Our guard improvement is the thing I’m most excited about.”

She noted that it was a physical game. During the game fans loudly disputed several calls that they thought were missed or wrong.

Nevertheless, “our team did not get discouraged,” Tara said. 

Stanford next takes to the road to face UCLA at 7 p.m. Feb. 3 and USC at 3 p.m. Feb. 6. ESPN will televise the UCLA game. The USC game will be on the Pac-12 Network.

 

Team downs Cal, but rematch postponed

Haley shoots over a Cal defender on her way to 26 points.

The Stanford women’s basketball team rolled over the visiting Cal team 97-74 on Jan. 21, but its Jan. 23 trip across the bay for a rematch was postponed because of COVID issues at Cal.

That postponement is the third that Stanford has faced in the Pac-12 because of COVID issues with an opponent. The first was the Dec. 31 game at Washington. The second was the Jan. 9 home game against Oregon State, but Gonzaga agreed to fill in.

During the Jan. 21 contest, Stanford was rolling right along in the first quarter, which ended 20-10.

However, the host team seemed to take its foot off the accelerator in the second quarter, allowing Cal to outscore it by 10 points. Thus the second quarter ended in a 42-42 tie.

Strong second half fuels the win

The Cardinal were having none of that for the rest of the game, outscoring Cal by 23 points, leading to the win.

Stanford’s 97 points were the most it has scored this season, but Cal’s 74 were the most it has allowed this season.

Junior guard Haley Jones was Stanford’s do-it-all player, scoring 26 points and snaring 10 rebounds for a double-double. Seven of her points came from perfection at the free-throw line. She also had five assists, but her seven turnovers accounted for nearly half of the team’s 16.

Junior guard Hannah Jump was next in line with 21 points, thanks to five 3’s and 4-for-4 free-throw shooting.

Fran has season-high 20 points

Junior forward Fran Belibi was right behind her with a season-high 20 points. Rounding out the quartet of double-digit scorers, sophomore forward Cameron Brink tallied 12 points.

Besides the five 3’s from Hannah, senior forward Lexie Hull, sophomore guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu and Haley each contributed one for the team’s total of eight.

Freshman forward Kiki Iriafen drives to the basket.

Head coach Tara VanDerveer inserted 14 players into the game. Sixth-year guard Anna Wilson was in uniform but didn’t play. Tara said after the game that she was slightly under the weather but would be ready for the next (now postponed) game.

Jordan fills in for Anna

Fifth-year transfer guard Jordan Hamilton seemed to fill in for Anna. She made only two points, but she had a team-high seven assists in 26 minutes.

With the second Cal game off the table for now, Stanford is next scheduled to host Arizona State at 6 p.m. Jan. 28 and Arizona at 1 p.m. Jan. 30, assuming no more glitches.

For the first time since Jan. 4, when admission was limited to players’ families and friends, all fans will be allowed into Maples. They must provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test administered within 48 hours and must wear a mask at all times except when eating or drinking.

Pac-12 Network will carry the first game. ESPN2 will show the second. That one will be a rematch of the Final Four contest that Stanford won by one point to capture the 2021 NCAA national championship in April.

As an extra incentive to fans, early arrivers to this game will receive a bobble head doll of Tara in the convertible she rode during the team’s celebratory parade on campus after the NCAA finals.

AP photos by Tony Avelar

 

 

 

 

Slow starts, but two more wins on the road

 

Hannah drives against a Colorado defender. (David Zalubowski/AP)

Chalk up two more wins for AP’s No. 2 Stanford women’s basketball team, now 13-3 overall and 4-0 in the Pac-12.

Hitting the road, the team defeated Colorado, which had been the only undefeated team in Division 1, 60-52 on Jan. 14 and Utah 83-73 on Jan. 16.

The Colorado game began with the team seemingly discombobulated by the Buffalo defense, leading to 15 turnovers in the first half and seven in the second, giving Colorado 21 points.

Thus Colorado led 15-8 after the first quarter and 28-24 at the half despite being outscored by 3 points in the second quarter.

Things improve in second half

Stanford continued to right the ship in the second half, outscoring Colorado in the final two quarters.

Ten of 15 available players saw action, and all 10 scored. Junior guard Haley Jones had 11 points, followed by junior forward Ashten Prechtel and sophomore forward Cameron Brink with 10 each.

Six 3’s helped to push Stanford ahead. Ashten and junior guard Hannah Jump each had two. Sixth-year guard Anna Wilson and sophomore guard Jana Van Gytenbeek added the other two.

Action took place in front of 3,744 fans, most of them cheering for the home team.

Still some Stanford fans were there mainly because three players, Ashten, Jana and junior forward Fran Belibi, are from Colorado.

Leah DuBois welcomes Stanford's three Coloradans. (Rick Bowmer/Denver Post)

Young fan cheers for Stanford

The Denver Post reported that one fan, 10-year-old Leah DuBois, sat in the third row behind the Stanford bench and held up a homemade sign reading, “Welcome home, Jana, Fran and Ashten.”

She told the newspaper she had met Jana in 2019 “through a Cherry Creek basketball teammate during” Jana’s high school team’s “run to a 5A state championship victory. A friendship blossomed.” Now she watches as many Stanford games as she can.

 

A highlight of the trip for head coach Tara VanDerveer was a chance to visit her mother, Rita, now in her 90s. A short Stanford video shows Rita walking out of a building using a cane and holding Tara’s arm to greet the team.

 

The TV announcer later said that Rita, who had often cheered Stanford in person, is no longer able to attend. However, it’s likely that she was cheering in front of her TV set.

 

Also not seen in the video or at the game was associate head coach Kate Paye. No reason was given. She was back for the Utah game.

 

Cameron shoots on her way to 24 against Utah. (Rick Bowmer/AP)

Team overcomes slow start in Utah

 

The Utah game was a seesaw affair with the lead shifting six times.

 

Leading by as many as 13 points in the second quarter, Utah had a 37-30 lead at the half. Not by coincidence, those 13 points came from 10 Stanford turnovers.

 

The second half was a different story. Stanford committed only two more turnovers and outscored the Utes in the final two quarters to emerge with the 83-73 win.

 

Another double-double for Cameron

 

Cameron led the team with another double-double, 24 points and 11 rebounds. She had 10 points in the fourth quarter alone, equalling Utah’s total output for the quarter. Her parents were among the 1,911 fans at the game.

Her efforts over the weekend led to her being named Pac-12 Player of the Week.

 

Lexie is undeterred by Utah. (Rick Bowmer/AP)

Senior guard Lexie Hull was responsible for 21 points, Anna had 12 and Haley had 10.

 

Each team had 11 3’s. Lexie had five, Hannah three, Anna two and senior guard Lacie Hull  one.

 

Utah’s 73 points were the most any team has scored against Stanford this season.

 

Next up are two meetings with Bay Area rival Cal.

 

Assuming no complications, Stanford hosts the first game at 7 p.m. Jan. 21. Then it heads across the bay to visit Cal at 4 p.m. Jan. 23. Pac-12 Networks will televise both games.

Two wins in return to home

 

Lexie tries to shoot over an Oregon defender. (AP Photo/John Hefti)

After a prolonged absence because of the holiday break and road trips, the Stanford women’s basketball team made a welcome return home to Maples by defeating Oregon 80-68 on Jan. 7 and Gonzaga 66-50 in a nonconference rematch on Jan. 9.

Gonzaga was a last-minute fill-in for Oregon State, which had to cancel because of COVID issues there. In its first game against Gonzaga, Stanford won 66-62 in Spokane on Nov. 21.

In the Oregon game, the undoubted highlight was the game-high, career-high 33 points scored by senior guard Lexie Hull, who seemed almost unstoppable.

Lexie and Lacie open with 3’s

She and her twin sister, senior guard Lacie, opened the game by each launching a 3-pointer. Lexie went on to make seven of the team’s season-high 12 3’s. Besides Lexie and Lacie, the others came from junior guard Hannah Jump with three and sixth-year guard Anna Wilson with one.

Because of COVID rules imposed by Stanford, attendance was limited to players’ family and friends only. That meant 42 for the Oregon game and 32 for the Gonzaga game. Others had to be content with the Pac-12 Network telecast for Oregon and live streaming for Gonzaga.

It’s not known when all fans will be allowed to return.

Six players carry most of the load

Although Stanford built up what seemed to be comfortable leads, Oregon kept coming back. Therefore, head coach Tara VanDerveer stayed with a core of six players augmented by four others with no more than five minutes, but most of them contributed in some way.

Besides Lexie, those in double figures were Hannah with 11 and junior guard Haley Jones with 12.

The team was back with a nearly full contingent after missing six players for the Washington State win on Jan. 2. Tara attributed five of these absences to COVID protocols and one to an auto accident, but that player's OK, she said.

Stanford bested Oregon in most statistical categories, but had 18 turnovers to Oregon’s 14.

Hannah launches a shot on her way to 21 points against Gonzaga. (Stanford Athletics)

Hannah scores 21 against Gonzaga

Hannah led the way against Gonzaga on Jan. 9 by scoring 21 points. Haley had 15, and Cameron had a double-double with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

A big chunk of Hannah’s points came from five of the team’s seven 3’s. Haley and Anna had the other two.

One key difference between this game and the Oregon game is that Stanford had only five turnovers, while Gonzaga had 16.

Defense leads to 10 steals

Credit solid defense, such as 10 steals, for most of the visitors’ turnovers.

Other advantages for the Cardinal were eight blocks to Gonzaga’s one and 12 assists to Gonzaga’s six.

Although Stanford seemed to have comfortable leads, Gonzaga kept chipping away, but timely Cardinal baskets kept the visitors at bay.

It appeared that 15 players were in uniform, and 12 got into the game. Redshirt junior guard Jenna Brown was still in street clothes.

Assuming there are no postponements or cancellations, a road trip to Colorado is scheduled at 6 p.m. Jan. 14 and Utah at 11 a.m. Jan. 16. The Pac-12 Network will televise both games.

 

 

 

 

Easy win for depleted team at WSU

 

It was cold in Washington, but the short-handed team was hot. (Stanford Athletics)

Despite having only 10 players available, the Stanford women’s basketball team easily defeated Washington State 82-44 on the Cougars’ home court Jan. 2.

Thus the team started 2022 and Pac-12 Conference play on a winning note after the Dec. 31 game at Washington was postponed because of COVID issues there.

Missing were sophomore forward Cameron Brink, a regular starter; fifth-year forward Alyssa Jerome; junior forward Ashten Prechtel; sophomore guard Agnes Emma-Nnopu; and freshman guard Brooke Demetre.

In addition, senior guard Jenna Brown and freshman guard Jzaniya Harriel, neither of whom has played all season, didn’t make the trip to snow-blanketed Pullman. However, Jzaniya has been in uniform and warming up with the team at recent home games.

COVID protocol, accident account for six absences

Head coach Tara VanDerveer was reported as saying after the game that five players were out for COVID protocols and another was in a car accident but is OK.

Defeating WSU is nothing new for the Cardinal. In fact, in the two teams’ 70 meetings, WSU has never won.

Junior guard Haley Jones was one of the major reasons for the shorthanded team’s victory. She scored 24 points and had 16 rebounds in 34 minutes.

Despite playing only 14 minutes, freshman forward Kiki Iriafen logged 13 points and eight rebounds.

Following the game, Haley was named Pac-12 Player of the Week, and Kiki was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week.

Also in double figures were junior guard Hannah Jump and junior forward Fran Belibi with 10 each.

All 10 players got into the game and all but one scored.

Lexie goes for 2 points against WSU. (AP Photo)

Dominating WSU in nearly every statistic, the team had seven 3’s. Hannah and sixth-year guard Anna Wilson had two each. Senior guards Lacie and Lexie Hull each had one, as did sophomore guard Jana Van Gytenbeek.

Defense makes a difference

Solid defense contributed to the win, as evidenced by 17 steals and the fact that only six of 10 Cougars scored.

This was the team’s first game since a pre-Christmas road trip that resulted in a 74-63 victory over Tennessee on Dec. 18 and a 61-65 loss to South Carolina on Dec. 21.

The latter game was a rematch of last season’s Final Four semi-final game that Stanford won by one point in the final seconds. It also was a clash between top-rated teams with South Carolina ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press and Stanford No. 2. Stanford retained its No. 2 spot despite the loss.

After the Tennessee game, Haley was named Pac-12 Player of the Week by virtue of logging 18 points and 19 rebounds. Fran was unavailable for that game because she was in the concussion protocol.

However, she did play in the South Carolina game and had 12 points in 15 minutes.

Lexie led Stanford’s scoring against the Gamecocks with 17 points.

Stanford lets big lead slip away

The Cardinal led by as much as 18 points in the second quarter but was outscored in the next two to drop the game.

The team had nine 3’s against Tennessee and seven against South Carolina.

Next up: The team is scheduled to host Oregon at 7 p.m. Jan. 7 and Oregon State at 3 p.m. Jan. 9. The Pac-12 Network will televise both games.

 

Two wins, including an anniversary for Tara

 

Haley shows off the USA Basketball plaque she got from Tara.

..

After a four-game road trip and a break for finals, the Stanford women’s basketball team swung back into action with victories of 91-62 over Pacific on Dec. 12 and 68-42 over UC Davis on Dec. 15.

Prior to the Pacific game, head coach Tara VanDerveer presented junior guard Haley Jones a plaque honoring her role on USA Basketball’s FIBA AmeriCup championship team, a role that earned her a gold medal.

Then in the present, Haley was one of the starters along with senior guards Lexie Hull and Lacie Hull, junior guard Hannah Jump and sophomore forward Cameron Brink.

By game’s end, she was one of the four players in double figures with 11 points in 17 minutes.

Cameron drives to the basket on her way to 25 points against Pacific.

Cameron scores career-high 25

Cameron led the way with a career-high 25 points plus 11 rebounds and four blocks. Lexie added 16 points, and Hannah had 12 points in a game-high 29 minutes.

Pacific stayed fairly close during the first two quarters, which ended with a 45-34 Stanford lead. After that, the Cardinal women turned on the jets.

Before the final buzzer sounded, all 14 available players had seen action and all contributed to the comfortable lead in some way. Freshman forward Kiki Iriafen scored the game’s final seven points, giving her a total of nine in just six minutes.

The team’s seven 3’s were produced by Hannah with three, Lexie with two, and Haley and sixth-year guard Anna Wilson with one each.

Redshirt junior guard Jenna Brown was still sidelined while recovering from an injury last season. Freshman guard Jzaniya Harriel was in uniform and warmed up with the team but has been sidelined all season. Sophomore guard Jana Van Gytenbeek wasn’t there.

Nneka visits Maples

Closely observing the action was former Stanford great Nneka Ogwumike, ’12, a WNBA player who was named one of the league’s 25 all-time best players this year. Sitting courtside next to associate head coach Kate Paye’s younger daughter, she was introduced to cheers by the crowd of 2,789 during the first quarter.

During a break during the first half, it was noted that it was a year ago when Stanford visited Pacific and won, tying Tara for the women’s coach with the most career wins.

This win moved Stanford up to No. 3 from No. 4 in the Dec. 13 AP poll.

Tara, wearing her T-Dawg jacket, is celebrated by the team.

Happy anniversary, Tara

The Davis game held special significance for Tara. It was exactly one year earlier that she became the all-time winning women’s basketball coach, surpassing the late Pat Summitt of Tennessee.

Since then, her career win total has reached 1,132, including the current Davis game.

Early-arriving fans received rally towels inscribed with “Tara at the Top.”

Videos from her career, including comments from present and former players, were shown during the game. Some of them cited their favorite Tara-isms, sayings unique to the coach.

Alumna Kaylee Johnson,’18, was on hand to watch the game.

Another video followed the final buzzer, and athletic director Bernard Muir paid tribute to Tara.

Tara believes in more magic

Tara then spoke briefly, saying, “Last year was a magical year,” referring to all the difficulties the team faced on its way to the national championship.

She was wearing the T-Dawg inscribed quilted jacket given to her by the team last year.

“I believe we still have that magic,” she said, as the team rushed her for a group hug.

The magic wasn’t always in place during the game as the team shot only 43.1 percent overall. However, stout defense limited the Aggies to 30.9 percent.

And the team limited its turnovers to eight while recording 13 assists, showing how well the magic can work. Rebounding also was a plus, 46 compared with 31 by Davis.

Hannah logs most minutes, points

Starters for this game were the same as for the Pacific game with Hannah again playing the longest, 37 minutes, followed closely by Lexie with 34 minutes.

Hannah also led the team in scoring with 17 points. Cameron logged 11 points plus 10 rebounds for another double-double. Lacie added 10 points.

Nine of Hannah’s points came from three 3’s. Lacie had the only other 3-pointer.

All 14 available players got into the game. As she did with Pacific, Jzaniya warmed up with the team but didn’t play. Jana was back but was in street clothes, along with Jenna.

Four-game road trip upcoming

Now the team hits the road again, this time to face No. 7-ranked Tennessee at 2:15 p.m. Dec. 18 and No. 1 South Carolina, the team it edged out in the semi-final game of the Final Four, at 4 p.m. Dec. 21. ESPN2 will televise both games, which conclude the pre-conference season.

After a short break for Christmas, it’s back on the road once more, this time to tip off the Pac-12 season by playing Washington at 7 p.m. Dec. 31 and Washington State at noon Jan. 2. Both games can be seen on the Pac-12 Network.

The first home games of 2022 are scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 7 against Oregon and 3 p.m. Jan. 9 against Oregon State. The Pac-12 Network will air both games.

Winter quarter classes start Jan. 3, but Stanford announced Dec. 16 that they will be virtual for two weeks. There was no word on whether fans would be allowed at games during that time.

Photos by Stanford Athletics

Team back to study for finals and road lessons learned

 

Cardinal players celebrate after the victory over Maryland.

After a grueling seven-day road trip, the Stanford women’s basketball team has returned to campus to focus on completing assignments and studying for finals while reflecting on the lessons learned from three wins and one loss on the road.

The trip began in Spokane, where the team defeated Gonzaga 66-62 on Nov. 21. This victory was notable because junior guard Haley Jones, one of the team’s best players, was unavailable from what head coach Tara VanDerveer said was an injury.

Junior forward Fran Belibi and junior guard Hannah Jump helped to replace some of Haley’s scoring with 14 points each. Sophomore forward Cameron Brink added 12 points, and senior guard Lexie Hull had 11.

It then took the team an unexpectedly long 19 hours to get from Spokane to Nassau, The Bahamas, because of delays and a diversion caused by weather in Florida.

Team enjoys victory for Thanksgiving

Playing in a round-robin tournament at the Baha Mar Grand Hyatt, the team, ranked No. 7 in the Nov. 22 AP poll, celebrated Thanksgiving by squeaking past No. 4 Indiana 69-66 on Nov. 25. Haley was back in action but not quite back to her usual form, scoring 8 points in 22 minutes.

Cameron with 21 points (plus 22 rebounds) and Fran with 14 points did the heavy lifting on scoring.

The team’s loss came in the next game, when No. 18 South Florida topped Stanford 57-54 on Nov. 26. Once again, Cameron led the team in scoring with 23 points (plus 11 rebounds). Freshman guard Brooke Demetre came off the bench to add 14 points.

Although many factors go into a win or loss, the most glaring one in this game came at the free-throw line. Stanford cashed in on only four of 12 attempts, while South Florida made eight of 11, a 4-point advantage in its 3-point win.

Maryland falls 86-67

Stanford got back on the winning track the next day, Nov. 27, routing No. 2 Maryland 86-67 for the largest margin of victory over a top two team.

Giving Maryland the benefit of a doubt, however, it had only seven available players.

On the other side, junior forward Ashten Prechtel didn’t suit up because she was ill. Cameron didn’t start the game after reportedly throwing up in a trash can.  Nevertheless, she got in and managed to add 8 points in nine minutes. On Nov. 29 she was named Pac-12 Player of the Week.

Haley was closer to her usual self with 15 points (plus 13 rebounds) in 31 minutes. Also scoring 15 points were Fran and Lexie.

Hannah was the heroine against Maryland.

Hannah starts, makes seven 3’s

Starting in Cameron’s place, Hannah topped everyone with 21 points, all of them from her seven 3-pointers. All told, the team had 10 3’s.

The 3-1 road record raised Stanford to No. 4 in the Nov. 29 AP poll.

After about a two-week break, the team returns to action at home against Pacific at noon Dec. 12 and UC Davis at 7 p.m. Dec. 15.

Then it’s back on the road to end the nonconference season against Tennessee at 2:15 p.m. Dec. 18 and South Carolina at 4 p.m. Dec. 21. ESPN2 will televise both games.

Photos by Stanford Athletics

 

Home stand ends with loss, win

Standing between the team's trophy and hers, head coach Tara VanDerveer speaks
during the ring ceremony after the Texas game. (Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle)

The Stanford women’s basketball team concluded its four-game home stand by losing to Texas 56-61 on Nov. 14 and defeating Portland 77-55 on Nov. 16.

Starters for both games were senior guards Lexie and Lacie Hull, sixth-year guard Anna Wilson, sophomore forward Cameron Brink and junior guard Haley Jones. Eleven of 15 available players saw some action.

The Texas game was a rough-and-tumble affair with a total of 38 fouls for the teams.

Perhaps Stanford’s biggest problems were turnovers and poor shooting. The game ended with 20 turnovers and 35.4 percent shooting. Texas had only 10 turnovers but 37.7 percent shooting.

On the plus side, Stanford had 37 rebounds to Texas’s 28 and 10 blocks to none by Texas.

Lexie led the team with 16 points plus 11 rebounds, followed by Haley with 15 points.

Only 4 3-point shots go in

Three-point shooting was a dismal 14.8 percent with only four total: two each by Lexie and junior forward Ashten Prechtel. The first 3-point shot didn’t go until about six minutes into the second quarter, when Ashten nailed one to energize the crowd of 3,681.

The first two quarters ended in ties: 10-10 and 25-25. The third quarter ended with Stanford ahead 40-35, but the lead evaporated in the final quarter.

Texas’s defense was tough and physical. Just inbounding the ball was often a challenge for the Cardinal.

2020-21 national champs honored

At halftime, the national championship men’s gymnastics team and women’s artistic swimming teams were introduced.

The afternoon also was a chance to honor the women’s basketball team’s national championship. Before the game, the trophy was displayed in the west concourse where fans could pose for selfies. The first 1,000 fans to arrive received championship T-shirts.

After the game, that trophy was moved to a table at center court, where it was joined by the Naismith Trophy honoring head coach Tara VanDerveer as women’s coach of the year.

The post-game ceremony began with video highlights from the championship game, a 54-53 nail-biter over Arizona.

The championship ring. (Stanford Athletics)

Persis Drell, Stanford provost, presented championship rings to the 12 returning players. Kiana Williams, ’21, the only one who didn’t return, greeted the crowd via video from Australia, where she’s playing professionally with a former Stanford teammate, Alanna Smith, ’19.

Rings also went to athletic administrators, team staff and coaches, ending with Tara.

“We have a great young team,” Tara said. “We’re going to keep improving.”

Co-captains Anna and fifth-year forward Alyssa Jerome spoke briefly before the updated championship board was unveiled on a wall in the southeast corner of Maples.

Portland tries to emulate Texas defense

The game against Portland wasn’t all smooth sailing. After prevailing 43-24 at the half, the host team was nearly hijacked when the Pilots outscored the Cardinal by four points in the third, which nevertheless ended 61-46.

However, Stanford righted the ship in the final quarter and came away with the 22-point win.

Portland apparently took a page from the Texas playbook by applying near-relentless pressure throughout the game, but it didn’t work.

Besides scoring more points, Stanford had more steals, 19-8, and more assists, 20-11, as well as fewer turnovers, 15-32, and fewer fouls, 16-23.

Portland actually had more blocks, 4-6, and rebounds were close, 33-31 in Stanford’s favor. Likewise, Stanford had a slightly higher shooting percentage, 49.2 percent vs. 48.8 percent.

Playing before 2,352 fans, the team was led by Cameron with 21 points.

Haley drives to the basket on her way to a triple-double. (Stanford Athletics)

Haley records a triple-double

Haley added 17 to go with 12 rebounds and 10 assists for a triple-double. She nearly had 20 points when she sank a half-court shot with 2.6 seconds left in the third quarter, but it was negated by a travel call. It was the team’s first triple-double since Nicole Powell, 04, accomplished the feat in 2002.

Freshman guard Brooke Demetre had 11 points. Freshman forward Kiki Iriafen kicked in nine, adding to accolades for their class.

Stanford had an uncharacteristically low two 3’s, with one each by Lexie and Ashten. Lexie reached the 1,000-point mark for her collegiate career when she made two free throws during the third quarter.

Tara used 10 players throughout the game until the final minutes when the outcome was clear. That’s when the rest took over.

Next four games are on the road

After playing its first four games at home, the team takes to the road for the next four, not returning until the Pacific game at noon Dec. 12.

In the meantime, the team will go to Gonzaga at 1 p.m. Nov. 21 (available on SWX), followed by a three-game tournament in the Bahamas during the Thanksgiving break.

Like Stanford at No. 7, the other three teams were ranked in AP’s Nov. 15 poll.

Thus the schedule features Indiana (No. 4) at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 25, South Florida (No. 23) at 9 a.m. Nov. 26 and Maryland (No. 3) at noon Nov. 27. All three games will be available on FloHoops, a subscription service.