Cardinal Turns Away Trojan Onslaught, 72-65

In the pregame chalk talk, Tempe noted that the coaches were frustrated by the number of turnovers Stanford was allowing. She quoted Tara as saying, "You know, when you have the ball, they can't score." Frustration for the coaches would continue, as this game produced 18 Stanford turnovers.

The first quarter began with promise, when Marta unleashed a half-court pass to Maya at the basket for a layup. That was about the only highlight of the quarter. In the next three minutes Stanford ceded two turnovers and committed three fouls, allowing USC to take a 2-8 lead, and an 8-16 lead at the media timeout.

After that the Cardinal regained a bit of composure and the quarter ended at 15-20.

In the second quarter the turnover bug began to bite the Trojans and the Cardinal pulled up to 21-22, forcing Mark Trakh to call time at 7:38. Stanford took a brief lead on free throws by Alanna; then the lead changed hands twice more in the following minutes and the teams went into halftime with a score of 33-34.

The game began to turn Stanford's way in the third quarter. Alanna hit a three to take the lead. When USC tied the score, Brittany un-tied it with a three, and Stanford would hold that lead to the end, although it was still a close game when, at 6:48, USC's Kristen Simon expressed her opinion of a traveling call a bit too clearly and earned a "T".

The game was still tight, 53-50 when Stanford had the ball for the final possession of the quarter. For some reason, it was Brittany that ran the point, and she seemed confused, so Tara called time with 7 seconds left. When the ball was inbounded, Brittany again couldn't find anything to do with the ball, and it was almost a relief when USC's Aliya Mazyck stole it from her for a layup — which, fortunately, the referees ruled was not in time.

Brittany made up for that broken play by hitting a layup and then a three-pointer to open the scoring in the fourth quarter, giving the Cardinal some breathing room. Even so, the Women of Troy pulled within three twice more before the end. USC didn't start fouling for possession until very late, with less than 30 seconds on the clock. Stanford made 50% of their free-throws, and USC wasn't able to score, and the game ended 72-65.

Brittany led all scorers with 21 (her third consecutive 20-plus game), hitting 9 of 19 attempts (3-7 from long range). She also had three assists, two blocks, two steals, and eight rebounds,

Alanna had 13 points, three assists, three blocks, two steals, and six rebounds.

Kiana also had 13 points, the most important being two three-pointers in the first quarter that helped Stanford stay in the game when USC appeared to be running away with it.

Marta ran the point for 31 minutes and scored eight points. She made several long, dramatic passes for fast breaks. She had a career-high ten rebounds as well, and had six assists against only one turnover.

Although the Cardinal's turnover woes continued, their performance at the stripe got a lot steadier. They made their first seven free throws before slipping to 70% (14-20) by the end of the game.

They dominated the boards for the fifth consecutive game, out-rebounding the Trojans 41-31.

With two PAC-12 wins in the book and a likely return to a top-25 rating next week, Stanford heads out for its yearly trip to the desert.

Here are game reports and commentary:

• Stanford women's basketball sweeps LA schools with win over USC, the Pac-12 game recap video
• Stanford Steals The Lead From USC Women In New Year’s Eve Bash, the USC Athletics game recap
• Ending on a high note, the Stanford Athletics game recap
• Stanford women survive scare from USC for Pac-12 victory from Palo Alto Online
• Stanford holds off USC to complete sweep of L.A. schools by Henry Schulman (San Francisco Chronicle)
• WBB: Stanford 72 U SC 65 from the CARDboard

The game statistics,

The game highlights video,

A video interview of Brit on Stanford's depth after return from injury: "It's a deep breath — like finally",

The audio press conference with Tara, Brit and Marta.

Cardinal Cages the Bruins, 76-65

Stanford came into this first game of the PAC-12 season from a loss to Tennessee, with a record of 6-6 and dropped from the AP Top 25 for the first time in forever. A win was badly needed but would have to be taken from the consensus PAC-12 leader and national eleventh-ranked team, UCLA.

At the pregame meetup, Kate Paye said that UCLA was the PAC-12 team most like Tennessee in their size and athleticism, so that "all the things we could have done better against Tennessee, like getting back on defense, this is a second chance to get them right."

That lesson certainly seemed to have taken, because at the end of the first quarter, Stanford was up 14-9 and UCLA was shooting only 17%. In the end, UCLA was able to hit only 31%. They took half again as many shots as Stanford, but they missed many more; and that just created more chances for Stanford to scoop up rebounds, ending with 48 to to the Bruins' 33.

Several times during the game, UCLA almost closed the gap, but each time Stanford was able to shut the door with a scoring run and kept the lead for the entire game. Midway through the second quarter the score was 19-18; four minutes later it was 30-18. Early in the third quarter the score was 34-33; five minutes later it was 46-36. The third quarter ended at 46-44; five minutes into the fourth quarter it was 60-48, and UCLA couldn't threaten again.

Defense was not a one-way street; UCLA's style of aggressive, reaching, interfering defense gained them 11 steals and led to a total of 20 Stanford turnovers. Especially in the final minutes, the Bruins pressed every Cardinal inbound and got repeated turnovers. Fortunately for Stanford, UCLA was unable to capitalize on these. Kiana and DiJonai made their free-throws in the final minute to seal the result.

Brittany made 63% of her shots and led all scorers with 26 points. She played 27 minutes, so as with the Tennessee game (27 points in 28 minutes), she scored about a point per minute of play. She also had seven rebounds and four assists.

Alanna had notched a double-double early into the second half; she ended with 14 points (including two 3-pointers), 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Nadia scored 10 points, hitting four of six shots. More than once during the second half, when UCLA's defense spread the perimeter and made it hard to pass toward the basket, the answer was to toss the ball to Nadia on the free-throw line for an easy jumper. She also had six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.

DiJonai had seven points in only 10 minutes on the floor. In one highlight-reel play, Nadia drove toward the basket, drawing the defense, and at the last second flipped the ball horizontally four feet to DiJonai on the other side of the key for an open layup.

Three players had a greater effect on the game than their scoring might suggest. Kaylee had just four points on two of three layups, but played 33 minutes of defense with only two personal fouls.

Marta had four points, all from free throws, but played 40 minutes while keeping the ball away from the grasping hands of Jordin Canada and Japreece Dean. She conceded three turnovers, but had five assists.

Kiana had four points, also all free throws, but they came in the final minutes when UCLA was fouling for possession. Kiana's four-for-four free throws kept the Bruins from gaining ground at the end.

Here are game reports and commentary:

• McPhee scores 26; Stanford women upset No. 11 UCLA 76-65, the Associated Press game recap
• Stanford women's basketball topples No. 11 UCLA to open Pac-12 play, the Pac-12 game recap video
• Answered Every Charge, the Stanford Athletics game recap
• Stanford shoots 52 percent to beat UCLA in Pac-12 opener by Henry Schulman (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Cardinal women grab early advantage in Pac-12 opener from Palo Alto Online
• UCLA Women’s Basketball Falls to Stanford in the Pac-12 Conference Opener, 76-65 by Melissa Castro (Bruins Nation)
• WBB: Stanford 76 UCLA 65 from the CARDboard

The game statistics,

The game highlights video,

Brit highlights video: her ten field goals.

A video interview of Brit, "We just wanted to be fearless."

The video press conference with Tara, Brit and Nadia,

A gallery of photos by Richard Ersted (isiphotos.com).

Up next: Conference season kicks off on Friday

All twelve of the Pac-12 teams step on the court Friday to begin the conference season.

The good news for the Cardinal: They begin conference play at home.

The bad news: They continue their grueling schedule with a game against the team that has been predicted to win the Pac-12 — that would be UCLA — on Friday evening at 5:30, followed by a game against USC on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm.

There will be a chalk talk before each game in Kissick Auditorium

The media coverage for both games is:

• TV: Pac-12 Networks
• Video: Pac-12 Live
• Audio: Stanford All-Access, Sidearm Sports
• Stats: Stanford Live Stats, Sidearm Sports

The San Francisco Chronicle has published a collection of articles that evaluate the Pac-12 Teams:

• Stanford women may be tournament team, but they’re struggling as Pac-12 begins

• Cal women thrive even though Kristine Anigwe has not been at top of her game

• Oregon, UCLA appear strongest of Pac-12 women’s teams

Stanford's 17 year-run in AP women's hoops poll ends

The Cardinal on Monday fell out of The Associated Press women's basketball poll for the first time since the 2001 season, ending a streak of 312 consecutive ranked weeks... (Click here for more.)

Lady Vols victorious

Brittany celebrated her return from injury rehab by scoring 27 points in 28 minutes of playing time, including a number of crowd-pleasing drives. Nevertheless, despite solid defense, Stanford was unable to match the accurate shooting of the Tennessee squad, especially in the first half when the Volunteers hit 57% of their shots.

In the pre-game talk, Tempe said they expected a zone defense, and the way to beat it was to hit threes. Unfortunately the threes didn't drop; Stanford hit only two of 15 tries, so the zone didn't open up. And the free-throw woes continued — the team hitting 11-22 and leaving points on the table.

Stanford did out-rebound Tennessee, 48-35, which is the first time anyone has out-rebounded the Vols this season. And the Stanford defense did hold 6'6" Mercedes Russell to eleven points, well below her average.

As a result, in the final quarter Stanford came within six, at 62-68. But in the final minutes Tennessee hit 16-of-16 free throws and the Cardinal were unable to find even an opening for a three-point shot.

Brittany opened the game with a driving layup and ended with 27 points (one short of her career high) and two steals.

Marta had nine points, and nine assists (with only one turnover), and a steal.

Maya started for the first time in her career. She out-jumped Mercedes Russell in the opening tip-off and gave the Cardinal the first possession. She scored eight points, plus five rebounds and one emphatic block.

Nadia contributed 21 minutes of strong defense and offense, mostly in the second half, and scored eight points and seven rebounds.

Alanna played 24 minutes, mostly in the first half, scoring six points, seven rebounds, and five blocks.

Kaylee scored four points, with seven rebounds and a block.

Here are game reports and commentary:

• Nared scores 28 points, No. 17 Lady Vols beat Stanford, the Associated Press game recap by Rick Eymer
• Stanford women's basketball can't overcome Tennessee in top-20 clash, the Pac-12 game recap video
• Lady Vols outlast #18 Stanford, 83-71, the Tennessee Athletics game recap
• Tennessee Lady Vols end losing streak at Stanford with 83-71 victory by Dan Fleser (Knoxville News-Sentinel)
• Stanford’s McPhee enjoys terrific return, but Tennessee prevails by Susan Slusser (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Tennessee Lady Vols 12-0 after beating No. 18 Stanford: 3 Takeaways by Caleb Calhoun (All for Tennessee)
• WBB: Tennessee 83 Stanford 71 from the CARDboard

The game statistics,

The video press conference with Tara and Brittany (begins at 16:30),

And the game highlights video.

Kudos for Kiana

Michelle Smith has written an article about the top freshmen performers in the Pac-12 so far this season, including this evaluation of Kiana's achievements:

Kiana Williams, Stanford. With starting guard Brittany McPhee out of the lineup since the first weekend of the season with a foot injury, Williams, a 5-foot-8 guard from San Antonio, has made the most of her opportunity to play. Williams is the Cardinal’s second-leading scorer among active players, averaging 7.5 points a game. But Williams came up big of late, averaging 15 points a game over the past four contests and has hit 17 3-pointers over that same span. As the Cardinal have dealt with injuries, Williams has led the freshmen into more prominent roles on the floor for Tara VanDerveer’s team.

Read more here: Pac-12 women's basketball freshmen make big impact

Lady Vols seek perfect start before break

Here's hoping that the Cardinal fights like a wounded animal on Thursday night, as Lady Vols' assistant coach Dean Lockwood predicts: Lady Vols seek perfect start before break

Next up: Cardinal vs Orange

The Stanford Cardinal and the Tennessee Lady Vols will meet for the 35th time on Thursday evening at 6:00 in a series that began in 1988.

The meeting between these storied rivals is always a big game and that's especially so this season.

For the Cardinal, it's a chance to show that they're ready to play with the big kids. A loss on Thursday will quite likely drop them out of the AP Top 25.

Wear your cardinal sweater or shirt to Maples and make lots of noise to encourage our struggling team.

Tennessee, in the sixth season of the Holly Warlick era, is finally playing with the spirit and cohesiveness that led the Lady Vols to eight national titles. They are currently one of the eight remaining undefeated teams in the nation (11-0), are ranked 7/7 in the national polls, and have an RPI of 18.

The Lady Vols have lost their prior five games at Maples. A victory on Thursday will go a long way to prove that they are for real this season.

The Lady Vols are a big, strong team with seven of ten players taller than six feet. They lead the nation in rebounds with 51.3 per game.

Their aggressive play results in a lot of fouls — they receive more than they commit and lead the nation in free throws attempted and made. Although their success rate is only a mediocre 69%, they average twice as many made free throws as their opponents (19.0-8.2).

The Lady Vols are led by senior guard/forward Jaime Nared (17.0 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and 6'6" redshirt senior center Mercedes Russell (16.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg). Russell makes 66.1% of her attempted shots — the eighth-best in the nation.

The veteran leaders are ably assisted by four All-American freshmen — the No. 1-ranked recruiting class in the country in 2017.

Freshman guard Evina Westbrook runs the point for the Lady Vols. She averages 5.1 assists per game with 3.5 turnovers and adds 8.5 points per game.

Freshman guard/forward Rennia Davis has started every game and contributes 12.3 points and 8.4 rebounds.

Freshman guard Anastasia Hayes comes off the bench and adds 12.4 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.1 rebounds.

(Whatever happened to Diamond DeShields? She opted out of a redshirt senior season and is playing pro ball in Turkey.)

There are Tennessee's roster and season statistics.

This is the media coverage of the game:

• TV: Pac-12 Networks
• Video: Pac-12 Live
• Audio: Stanford All-Access, Sidearm Sports
• Stats: Stanford Live Stats, Sidearm Sports

Cardinal gives up comeback win to Leathernecks, 64-71

This game had an unusual plot line, and in the end a disappointing one. After scoring the first couple of buckets, the Western Illinois defense took effect, and after several turnovers, the quarter ended with Stanford down 14-21. Indeed it could have been much worse; the Leathernecks missed five three-point attempts in the quarter.

The second quarter started well and only got better for the Cardinal. Maya hit a layup, Alexa hit a three, Marta got a turnover and a fast break pass to Alanna, and the score was tied. The visitors seemed to be rattled and their shooting went completely cold. At the half, Stanford was ahead 33-24, having outscored Western Illinois 19-3 in the period.

Some sort of half-time "adjustment" was made by coach J.D. Gravina, because the team that had looked like anything but leathery now started a come-back. Despite a couple of crowd-pleasing hustle plays by Anna, the third quarter ended at a close 47-45.

In the fourth period the visitors pulled ahead while Stanford's ability to score seemed to evaporate. Particularly disappointing down this stretch was free-throw shooting: for the game, the Cardinal made 8 of 19, a poor 42% rate.

In a desperate attempt to close a seven-point gap, Kiana and Anna shot five 3-pointers in the last 35 seconds, but missed them all. However, Kiana was fouled on another attempt and made all three of her free throws.

Alanna worked very hard in the paint, being doubled every time she had the ball down low, often missing and getting her own rebound for another try. She ended with 18 points, 15 rebounds, three assistsa steal and two blocks.

Kiana scored 17 points., including three of eleven 3-pointers.

Anna also sank three 3-pointers (on 15 tries), a total of 13 points, six rebounds and three steals.

Alexa had eight points, hitting two of four 3-point tries.

Maya had seven points in limited minutes on 3-8 shooting.

Kaylee had the game-high 18 rebounds, as well as three blocks.

Here are game reports and commentary:

• Stanford Upset, the Associated Press game recap (posted by Stanford Athletics)
• History made: Western Illinois upsets No.18 Stanford, the Western Illinois Athletics game recap
• Western Illinois shocks Stanford women 71-64 by Tom FitzGerald (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Tara: We're not going to beat anybody playing like this from Palo Alto Online
• WBB: Western Illinois 71 Stanford 64 from the CARDboard

The game statistics,

And the audio press conference with Tara.

Cardinal romps past Lady Rebels 74-33

Before the game, Assistant Coach Lindy gave her first-ever "chalk talk" for fans, and reported that Brittany was still "day to day" but wouldn't suit up today. She did not mention DiJonai, but she also was in street clothes, although looking healthy. Lindy also mentioned a new starting lineup meant to reward recent good performances: Shannon, Anna, and Kiana joined Alanna and Kaylee in starting.

With Brittany and DiJonai on the sidelines, Tara had twelve available players. The result was a most unusual Stanford box score: twelve players played and all twelve scored.

The game opened disastrously badly for UNLV. In the first four minutes they were able to take only one shot, which missed. Other than that they gave up the ball on four successive turnovers and a steal. At 6:56, with the score 10-0, coach Kathy Olivier called time. It didn't really help. The half ended with Stanford up 35-13. At 8:28 into the third quarter Kiana hit a jumper that made her personal score of 14 equal to the UNLV team's score.

Tara was sending in substitutes in ASU-like waves from the middle of the first quarter. In the end, nobody had more than 23 minutes on the floor. One effect was to keep fresh legs on the floor, facilitating the new high-speed offense. UNLV gave significant time to only eight players and they were visibly dragging by the fourth quarter.

Kiana led the scoring with her 14, hitting 3 of 4 long balls.

Alanna had 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks.

Maya also had 11 points, four rebounds, an assist and two blocks. She repeatedly catches the fan's eye with athletic, twisting moves and put-backs that are strongly reminiscent of certain Cardinal alumnae.

Anna had eight points, including two early three-pointers that set the tone for the first quarter, and two steals, one of which ended in a fast break layup.

Nadia was the fifth Cardinal who scored from beyond the arc today. She made two of two. As a team, the Cardinal made nine of 21, for a very nice 43%.

In the third quarter, ten players had been on the floor and of them, only Alexa had not scored. But by the end, she had scored seven from a three-pointer, a layup, and two free throws.

By that point, twelve had played and only Estella and Mikaela were without points. Fans cheered when Estella hit a three, and then in the final seconds Alexa, who would normally have just dribbled the clock out, fired a pass to Mikaela so she could score a layup before the buzzer. Twelve played, twelve scored.

At the chalk talk, Lindy said that Shannon has one of the bast basketball IQs on the team, and she showed that today in the first start of her college career. Her efforts didn't contribute much to the box score (three rebounds, three assists and two points), but she played solid defense for 15 minutes, quite unlike her brief appearances in the past three seasons.

Also notable were Kaylee's ten rebounds, which she grabbed while committing just one foul. She (and other members of the team) have too often limited their playing time this season with careless fouls. Today the entire team committed only seven — just two more than the Stanford record low.

The next game, against Western Illinois, will be quite a different affair, but it was nice to have a good old home romp for a change.

Here are game reports and commentary:

• Williams helps No. 18 Stanford women shut down UNLV 74-33, the Associated Press game recap
• Road Loss For Lady Rebels At No. 18 Stanford, the UNLV Athletics game recap
• Rout of the Rebels, the Stanford Athletics game recap
• Stanford freshmen Williams, Dodson lead 74-33 rout of UNLV by Tom FitzGerald (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Freshmen lead the way for Stanford women in hoops victory from Palo Alto Online
• Stanford 74 UNLV 33 from the CARDboard

The game statistics,

The video press conference with Tara, Maya and Kiana,

And the game highlights video,

Up next: At home with UNLV and Western Illinois

Updated Dec 15: The Cardinal and UNLV have played each other before, but not since 1993.

The Cardinal return to Maples after finals week for a welcome run of five home games, beginning with a pair against teams they've never played before — the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 and Western Illinois on Monday evening at 7:00.

It's almost Christmas, and Stanford Athletics is collecting toys for tots at both games. Bring a new unwrapped toy, for kids 8th grade and below, to help brighten a child's Christmas — you can get a free general admission ticket for each donation.

There will be a chalk talk before each game. There will also be a Behind-the-Bench session after the game on Saturday and several of the players will be signing autographs.

Neither game will be televised. The media coverage for both is:

• Video: Stanford Live
• Audio: Stanford All-Access
• Stats: Stanford Live Stats

  UNLV Lady Rebels

UNLV plays in the Mountain West Conference, where they stand fifth in the league with a 5-3 record. In the NCAA rankings, their RPI is 151 and their schedule strength rank is 173.

The Lady Rebels just played their best game of the season — a 52-50 victory over Gonzaga in Spokane.

The Lady Rebels have a balanced offense with four players who score in double digits: Junior forward/center Katie Powell (14.9 ppg), senior guard Brooke Johnson (14.1 ppg), redshirt junior guard Nikki Wheatley (13.1 ppg) and junior forward Jordyn Bell (10.3 ppg).

Johnson is the only one who shoots much from beyond the arc — she averages just under two 3-pointers per game. Powell and Johnson are the leading rebounders — they each grab not quite ten per game.

UNLV is still coached by Kathy Olivier, now in her tenth year as head coach at her alma mater.

This is UNLV's roster and season statistics.

  Western Illinois Leathernecks

The University of Western Illinois is located in Macomb, Illinois, which is about 200 miles southwest of Chicago. It is a member of the Summit League along with seven other mid-western schools.

Its women's basketball team stands at the top of the league with a 9-2 record. They're ranked No. 19 in the Mid-Majors Top 25 by College Insider. In the NCAA rankings, their RPI is 137 and their schedule strength rank is 261.

The Leathernecks are led by junior guard Taylor Higgenbotham (17.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.4 apg) and senior point guard Emily Clemens (15.8 ppg, 8.5 apg, 3.9 spg).

The Leathernecks' strongest assets are their ball-distribution and handling. They average 20.5 assists per game and rank tenth in the nation in that category. Their assist-turnover ratio is 1.50, which ranks ninth. Emily Clemens' 8.5 per game ranks third nationally.

The Leathernecks rank fifth in the nation in steals, with an average of 14.5 per game. Clemens is the head thief with 3.9 steals per game, sixth-best in the nation.

The Leathernecks are prolific 3-point shooters. Taylor Higginbotham takes 42% of her shots from beyond the arc. Three other players each take more than 60%. As a team, the Leathernecks make 10.8 3-pointers per game, which ranks fifth in the nation.

This is Western Illinois' roster and season statistics.

USF, Baylor and moving forward

The Stanford Daily's weekly roundtable discussion of Stanford Women's Basketball: USF, Baylor and moving forward

Cardinal smothered in Waco, 57-81

Baylor's defense, especially the defense in the paint from 6-4 Lauren Cox and 6-7 Kalani Brown, smothered the Stanford offense, producing an awful first quarter. After six Baylor steals and seven Stanford turnovers, the Cardinal could be almost glad the score was no worse than 8-25.

The Cardinal seemed to regain some composure in the second quarter, which opened with a nifty reverse layup by Kiana, who at that point had scored all of Stanford's points. Shannon was put in, one assumes to defend Brown, but she began to hit threes, and the team put together a 9-0 run and got within nine at 24-33. The half ended at 26-39.

No magical adjustments happened in the locker room. The Cardinal continued to play competent basketball; Alanna began to find ways to the basket through the bigger trees; Shannon continued to defend and to hit threes; but the Bears were clearly the better team and widened their lead slowly, but inexorably, to the final score of 57-81.

Shannon led the Stanford scoring with 14 points (her personal best) including hitting four of eight three-point tries (another personal best). Her defense contributed to holding the Baylor juggernaut to its lowest field-goal percentage of the season (a mere 43%) while comitting only one personal foul. This was definitely a breakout game for Shannon, who will likely get more playing time in future games than she has previously.

Kiana had 13 points (including three of eleven three-pointers, all in the first half (when for about 12 minutes of the game, she had all of Stanford's points). She ran the point for 34 minutes and was credited with two assists and zero turnovers.

Stymied in the paint, Alanna tried her outside shot and sank two of six long ones. She scored 11 points, plus a steal, two blocks, and five rebounds.

Maya showed great promise with two blocks, seven rebounds, and seven points on 3-6 shooting, including a couple of rebound-and-put-back plays that looked very Ogwumike-like.

Kaylee got into early foul trouble and played only twelve minutes, during which she grabbed the team-high ten rebounds.

Stanford now returns to "dead" week and finals, before three home games that precede the PAC-12 season, which begins late in December.

Here are game reports and commentary:

• Brown, Bears Beat Stanford, the Associated Press game recap (posted by Stanford Athletics)
• No. 9 Lady Bears roll past No. 16 Stanford, the Baylor Athletics game recap
• Brown dominates as No. 9 Lady Bears thwart No. 16 Stanford by Krista Pirtle (Waco Tribune-Herald)
• Stanford women’s basketball falls again from the Mercury News
• Stanford women prove no match for No. 9 Baylor from San Francisco Chronicle
• WBB: Baylor 81 Stanford 57 from the CARDboard

The game statistics,

The audio press conference with Tara,

The game highlights video from Fox Sports,

And photos by Ernesto Garcia and Rod Aydelotte (Waco Tribune-Herald)):

Kiana launches one of her three-pointers

Kristy Wallace eludes Maya and Nadia

Kaylee grabs one of her ten rebounds

DiJonai drives to the basket

Alanna drives against pressure

Up next: A visit to the Baylor Lady Bears

The Cardinal have one more tough road game before they break for finals and dead week — against the Baylor Lady Bears in Waco, Texas on Sunday morning at 11:00 Pacific Time.

The last time Stanford and Baylor played was one of the most exciting games in recent Cardinal history.

It was five years ago in the championship game of the Thanksgiving tournament in Hawaii. Baylor was ranked No. 1 in both national polls. With three seconds left to play, the Cardinal was up 71-69 and the Lady Bears had possession. They inbounded to Brittney Griner, whose layup bounced off the rim. Chiney grabbed the rebound and the victory.

More reminiscences: Cardinal wins a nail-biter and The last 3 seconds revisited

But that was then, and Griner is long gone. Now Baylor is ranked No. 9 in the national polls, with a loss to UCLA and six wins. Kim Mulkey is still the head coach, now in her 18th season at Baylor, and the Lady Bears have another formidable 'big': 6'7" junior center Kalani Brown who is averaging 22.6 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. She has made 77% of her shots — the best field goal percentage in the nation.

Baylor has another star player in the front court: 6'4" sophomore forward Lauren Cox, who does quite a lot of everything — 16.7 points at .530 FG%, 10.2 rebounds. 3.7 assists and 3.2 blocks per game. She did not play in Baylor's loss to UCLA.

Here are Baylor's roster and season statistics.

This is the media coverage of the game:

• TV: Fox Sports 1
• Video: FoxSportsGo
• Audio: Stanford All-Access, Sidearm Sports
• Stats: GameTracker

Three-point barrage downs Dons, 86-66

The Cardinal started this game like people still a little fuzzy from a long weekend in Vegas. The Dons started with a couple of three-point makes and a vigorous, athletic defense. They took a lead that they maintained into the second half, while Stanford seemed to struggle. In fact, Stanford scored only 12 points in the first quarter, and again only 12 in the second, to end the first half trailing 24-28.

Maybe Tara came up with some of those famous "adjustments" during the break. At any rate, although the same players started the second half as started the first, they performed at a different level entirely.

DiJonai got it going with a crisp jumper; then Alanna and Kaylee made layups to tie the score 30-30. Then the threes started falling: Kiana hit one, then DiJonai did, then DiJonai again and Kiana again, then Alexa.

In all, Stanford scored 32 points in the third quarter, a third more than they scored in the entire first half. It wasn't a runaway yet because USF was making threes as well, so the third quarter ended 56-49.

But the Stanford blitz continued in the fourth with threes from Alexa, then Kiana, then Alanna and Alanna again, and DiJonai. That made the final score of 86-66 look like an easy win, but it was only easy for the final five minutes.

Alanna scored her third consecutive double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. She went 3-3 from beyond the arc.

DiJonai also had 19 points, plus 5 rebounds.

Kiana led the three-point barrage, hitting 5 of 9 long shots on the way to a personal best of 17 points.

Alexa had 13 points, equaling her personal best.

Kaylee grabbed the game-high 14 rebounds — quite likely the most since her freshman season.

As a group the team hit 15 of 31 three-point tries, or 48%. Eleven of those dropped in the second half — a school record for threes in a half.

The team now heads to Waco to play the Baylor Bears. Their success there will surely depend on which team starts the game, the one from tonight's first half, or that other, much better one. Then comes finals and "dead week" before the next home game.

Here are game reports and commentary:

• No. 16 Stanford women's 3-point record sinks San Francisco, the Associated Press game recap
• Dons Fall to No. 16 Stanford After Early Lead, the USF Athletics game recap
• Sharp Shooting, the Stanford Athletics game recap
• Stanford warms up on 3s, pulls away from USF by Tom FitzGerald (San Francisco Chronicle)
• Stanford women use big second half to beat the Dons from Palo Alto Online
• WBB: Stanford 86 USF 66 from the CARDboard

The game statistics,

And a few photos:

Kiana was tough on defense too

Cardinal and Dons, always friends

Moving on from Vegas

From the Stanford Daily

Mikaela Brewer writes about what the team won in Vegas and how they continue to win every day: Thanksgiving tournament in Vegas

Ellie Chen and Alexandre Bucquet discuss how the team has improved since the beginning of the season and what they need to do to continue improving: Women’s basketball roundtable: Play4Kay debrief

Up Next: A trip to The City

The Cardinal have returned from Las Vegas, but not all the way to Maples. They'll play the San Francisco Dons at War Memorial Gymnasium on Wednesday evening at 7:00 pm.

This is the media coverage of the game:

• Video: WCC Live Stream
• Audio: Stanford All-Access, Sidearm Sports
• Stats: USF StatBroadcast

Two year ago, under the guidance of head coach Jennifer Azzi, the Dons went 18-11 in the regular season and entered the West Coast Conference (WCC) tournament as the No. 6 seed. They reeled off three straight wins to capture the conference championship, their first since 1996-97, then lost to Stanford in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Then their two star seniors graduated, Azzi resigned, and Molly Goodenbour (Stanford '93) took over as head coach. Last season the Dons went 18-13, placed fourth in the WCC and lost to Gonzaga in the tournament quarter-finals. They've begun this season 2-3.

The Dons have four players that are averaging double-digits this season: junior guard Shannon Powell, senior forward Michaela Rakova, senior guard Anna Seilund, and senior guard Kalyn Simon.

Here are the Dons' roster and statistics.

Alanna is Pac-12 Player of the Week

3 GP, 23.7 ppg, 11.7 rpg, 31-48 (.646), 7-9 FT (.778), 4 ast, 6 blk

• Averaged a double-double with 23.7 points and 11.7 rebounds in Stanford’s 2-1 week at the Play4Kay Showcase in Las Vegas.

• Shot 64.6 percent from the field (31-of-48), 40 percent from deep and averaged 2.0 blocks per game.

• Had the best performance of her career in the Cardinal’s 94-82 overtime loss to No. 9 Ohio State on Saturday, setting career highs in both scoring (33) and rebounding (16).

• The nation’s only 30-point, 15-rebound double-double against a ranked team this season and just the fourth such performance by a Pac-12 player against an AP top-10 team since 2000.

• Her 33 points is the highest single-game total in the Pac-12 this season and the most at Stanford since Chiney Oqwumike dropped 37 against Washington State on March 1, 2014.

• 106th weekly honor for Stanford and first honor for Smith.

Cardinal almost cracks the Buckeyes, 82-94 (OT)

The game started very well for Stanford, when Alexa, Dijonai and Alanna combined for a 9-0 run, forcing Ohio State to call an early timeout. The first quarter ended with Stanford up 19-13 and ahead on rebounds 13-7.

These trends continued throughout the first half. Aided by Anna hitting four of six three-point shots, and Alanna reaching an early double-double at 10 points and 10 rebounds, Stanford ended the half ahead 33-26.

This was a major advance in defensive play, to hold a team that had broken 100 in its two previous games to only 26 in the half. Even more remarkable was that Stanford had 26 rebounds to OSU's 12, and that the formidable Stephanie Mavunga had only two points and four rebounds.

The third quarter ended with Stanford up 58-49 and still ahead on rebounds, 37-25. Near the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, Ohio began to press every inbound, which resulted in some turnovers and began to turn the flow of the game. Stanford maintained a lead largely due to Anna hitting two more threes on consecutive possessions. The final two minutes were an exciting alternation of leads, with critical makes from Anna (her seventh trey), Alanna, and Dijonai to reach a 76-76 tie.

In the overtime period, OSU hit three-point shots on two successive possessions and the Cardinal were unable to answer either one. Down six in the final minutes Stanford had to foul, and the Buckeyes made their free throws. Those closing points add up to a final score that does not reflect the close contest this was.

Alanna led the Cardinal with 33 points and 16 rebounds, both numbers her personal best. She also had two steals, two blocks, and just one personal foul (which came in the final minute of overime).

Anna hit seven of eight three-point tries for 21 points, her personal best, although not quite a Stanford record

Six other players scored, although none in double digits. Dijonai had eight points, four rebounds and four assists. Kaylee and Marta each had six points. Alyssa had four points and Alexa and Maya each had two.

In the end the Cardinal out-rebounded the Buckeyes by 45-39, shot 45% from the field and (largely thanks to Anna) 35% from beyond the arc. Despite not coming away victors, the game demonstrated a major improvement, especially in defense, for this young team.

Alanna and Anna were named to the All-Tournament team.

Here are game reports and commentary:

• Topped in OT, the Associated Press game recap (posted by Stanford Athletics)
• Buckeyes comeback to down Stanford and win Play4Kay Showcase, the Ohio State Athletics game recap
• No. 9 Ohio State women 94, No. 14 Stanford 82 | Late rally carries Buckeyes to overtime win by Andrew Erickson (Columbus Dispatch)
• No. 9 Ohio State downs No. 14 Stanford for second time this season, winning Play4Kay Showcase final by Kevin Harrish (ElevenWarriors)
• WBB: Stanford 79 Kent State 54; Stanford 74 Belmont 53; tOSU 94 Stanford 82 OT from the CARDboard

The game statistics,

And the audio press conference with Tara,

Play4Kay, second day

First game: DePaul vs Memphis

DePaul grabbed a 12-point lead in the first quarter and then held on to win 81-67.

Second game: Gonzaga vs Kent State

Gonzaga built a 17-point lead in the first quarter, slowed down for two quarters, then closed the game out at 77-57.

Third game: Ohio State vs Florida Gulf Coast

We arrived in the arena a few minutes into the game and the score was Buckeyes 11, Eagles 6. By the time we'd gotten comfortable in our seats it was 18-6. At the end of the first quarter it was 30-9, and things were not looking good for the feisty Floridians. We noted that Ohio ran a wide-spread zone on every possession. FGCU rarely got the ball inside the perimeter without turning it over.

In the second quarter FGCU regained some composure and hit a few threes. At the half the score was 58-34 but in the third quarter the Buckeyes pulled further ahead to 85-49.

During the third quarter Ohio's Kelsey Mitchell hit her 401st three-point goal and became the NCAA all time leader in that category. Mitchell finished the game with 34 points, making 7-11 on three-point attempts, and five free throws and a couple of layups.

When the Ohio score topped 100, they subbed in the scrubs, but FGCU couldn't make much headway and the final score was 104-62.

Fourth game: Stanford vs Belmont

Belmont had shown a lot of skill in beating Gonzaga the day before and we were concerned about Stanford's chances. However the game started well with a 9-0 run by Stanford. Points were coming from Alanna, Alexa, and Dijonai. Around the 5-minute mark Tara began to bring in subs: Nadia, Maya, Alyssa. But then the Belmont shooters began to hit and the lead disappeared. With a minute left in the quarter, all the starters had subbed back in! The quarter ended at 18-16.

The second quarter started with exciting action: Belmont tied the score at 18; Dijonai un-tied it with a three; Belmont tied it with a three; Alexa hit a layup; Belmont hit a layup to tie at 23; Alanna hit a three for a Cardinal lead of 26-23.

About this time a visiting relative who hadn't seen a lot of college basketball asked, "Do they keep up this pace the whole time?"

Yeah, they do. The game was close for the rest of the quarter. Stanford pulled out a 37-29 lead, then went cold while Belmont caught up, and the score at the half was a tie, 37-37.

The third quarter began with three more minutes of rapid scoring. It started when Marta hit a three to give Stanford a lead that in fact they would not relinquish. At 06:29, three and a half minutes into the quarter, Belmont called time. At that point there had been 20 points scored in the quarter, 13 by Stanford and 7 by Belmont, and the score stood at 50-44.

Then remarkably, Stanford's defense simply smothered Belmont, who went nearly ten minutes of game time without another bucket. The score was 64-44 in the fourth quarter before Belmont made its next goal. That ten-minute drought changed what had been a close competition into an easy win. However, Tara didn't sub in the B-team until the 2-minute mark.

Some good things in the Cardinal stats: Six players sank at least one three-pointer, the team shot 43% in all and 32% from long range, and committed only five turnovers.

Alanna led all scorers with 23 points, as well as eleven rebounds (her first double-double of the season). Alexa had eleven points (in 35 minutes). Dijonai had nine points and seven rebounds. Kaylee had eight points and eight rebounds.

Marta scored eight points, six rebounds, and seven assists (to one turnover). Marta's passing was remarkable: she created several fast-break buckets by firing from near mid-court to Alanna, Dijonai or Maya running to the basket for an easy layup. One pass to Maya was just a bit too high and too long, but Maya leaped for it and twisted in the air to make the layup as her body floated over baseline.

Tomorrow's games ...

... line up this way: At noon Kent State plays Memphis for seventh place. At 3pm DePaul and Gonzaga play for fifth. At 5:30 Belmont and FGCU play for third place.

At 8pm Stanford plays Ohio State for the championship. Odds have to favor the Buckeyes' zone defense and balanced inside and outside attack. But Stanford will try to show that they have learned a thing or two in the three weeks since they lost to the same team 64-85.

Here are game reports:

• No. 14 Stanford women cruise past Belmont 74-53, the Associated Press game recap
• Belmont outlasted by Stanford in Gritty Performance, the Belmont Athletics game recap
• Second-half shackles, the Stanford Athletics game recap

The game statistics,

And the audio press conference with Marta.

Play4Kay, first day

Although the seating layout at the Mandalay Bay Event Center is similar to many college arenas, it has not been used for basketball before this year. As a result it has no big screen and no scoreboard! The only score presentation was by small illuminated signs on the floor beside each basket, and from one side of the floor they were partly blocked by the basket support itself.

Presumably this lack will be remedied before the former San Antonio Stars of the WNBA begin play in this facility next season.

Fortunately we could get statistics on the internet. We had been told that there was "no wi-fi in the arena" but in fact the Mandalay resort wi-fi system worked just fine and we could get live stats on our phones.

Florida Gulf Coast University over DePaul, 87-84 (OT)

Both teams in this entertaining contest were athletic and aggressive on defense. The lead changed many times, and the result could have gone either way until the very end. The game was still tied 84-84 on a desperation three-point shot by DePaul with 6 seconds to play, but FGCU made their free-throws to seal the game.

Ohio State over Memphis, 100-69

Stephanie Mavunga, who had a career-high 26 rebounds against Stanford two weeks ago, today notched a career-high 35 points (and 16 rebounds) as Ohio State dominated their game. We did not actually watch this one.

Stanford over Kent State, 79-54

Stanford countered a salvo of three-point makes by the Kent State Golden Flashes with strong inside play from Dijonai and Alanna for a decisive win.

The game opened in unusual but encouraging fashion when, less than twenty seconds in, Marta made a three-point shot from the top of the key. A minute later, she drove for a layup, and later hit another three and another layup. At the end of the first quarter Stanford had 18 points, ten of them by Sniezek.

Opening the second quarter, Kent State hit four consecutive three-point shots to take the lead, 20-25. Stanford then got serious, and Alanna, Dijonai and Nadia combined to put on a 22-0 run. That quarter ended with Stanford ahead 48-30.

Scoring was slow for both teams in the third quarter and Kent State crept back in to trail by only eleven, 57-46. In the fourth quarter the Flashes seemed to run out of steam and Stanford cruised to the final score of 79-54.

Dijonai led all scorers with a career-best 24 points, plus 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. She hit eight of eight inside shots, and two of six three-point tries, and also recorded four assists, a block and a steal.

Alanna scored 15 points. She hit six of nine inside shots and one of two three-point tries. She recorded three assists, three steals and three blocks.

Nadia scored eleven in only 15 minutes playing time, plus four rebounds and a steal.

Marta's ten points were all in the first quarter, but she played 37 minutes and recorded a career-best eight rebounds, seven assists (with only two turnovers) and three steals.

Kiana had seven points, two assists and a steal. Kaylee and Alyssa had five points each.

The team could have wished for more consistency, but in the stretches when they were good, they were dominant. Tomorrow's game against Belmont will be more of a challenge.

Belmont over Gonzaga, 71-63

The Belmont Bruins turned out to have both a strong 3-point attack which was most effective in the first half, and strong post play that maintained their lead in the second half. The Zags stayed in the game to the end, getting to within four points in the final two minutes, but though they got the defensive stops they needed, they couldn't make the buckets.

The Cardinal watched most of this game, so along with Lindy's having coached the Bruins for two seasons, should be well-prepared for tomorrow's game. (Brit was present, still wearing a boot.)

Here are game reports and commentary:

• Carrington scores 24 in No. 14 Stanford women's 79-54 win, the Associated Press game recap
• No. 14 Stanford Uses Big Run to Top Kent State in Play4Kay Showcase Opener, the Kent State Athletics game recap
• Cardinal KO's Kent State, the Stanford Athletics game recap
• A big second quarter leads Stanford women to hoops win from Palo Alto Online

The game statistics,

And the audio press conference with Tara.

Up next: Thanksgiving in Vegas

The Cardinal are spending the Thanksgiving weekend Playing 4Kay in Las Vegas after eating their Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday.

Their first game is on Thursday at 5:30pm PT vs Kent State. On Friday afternoon or evening (3:00 or 8:00), they'll play either Gonzaga or Belmont.

Their final game, on Saturday, will be against a team from the other side of the bracket, where the winner is likely to be Ohio State (the other contenders are DePaul, Florida Gulf Coast University, and Memphis).

There will be no TV coverage of the tournament, but all the games will be streamed live by FloHoops. A $12.50 subscription is required. The Stanford games will be broadcast by Sidearm Sports at Stanford All-Access.

   The Kent State Golden Flashes
are located in Cleveland, Ohio and play in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They won the East division of the MAC last season and have been picked to place second this season. They've begun the season with three wins and a loss.

The Flashes return a core of four starters from last season's team and are led by one of the MAC's most experienced frontcourt tandems: Senior forward Jordan Korinek (22.3 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and graduate forward McKenna Stephens (7.8 ppg, 8.8 rpg).

Also starting this season is sophomore guard Ali Poole , who likes to shoot the three and is currently their second-best scorer with 10.5 ppg.

Of their upcoming game vs Stanford, Poole said, “It’s a good opportunity. What do we have to lose? We’re not expected to win this game so we have to give them heck.”

Here are Kent State's roster and season statistics.

   The Belmont Bruins
are located in Nashville and play in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).

Lindy began her coaching career at Belmont. She was an assistant coach for two seasons before returning to Stanford this season.

The Bruins won the conference title the past two seasons and have been picked to do so again although it may take time to adjust to a new coach. They're currently ranked eighth in the mid-majors by Graham Hays (espn) and ninth by CollegeInsider.

They lost their opening game of the season to No. 22 Oklahoma, then won the next three.

Belmont returns four starters from a team that went 27-6 and nearly upset Kentucky in the NCAA tournament a season ago:

Junior guard Darby Maggard is the reigning NCAA 3-point field goal percentage champion, registering a .487 mark from beyond the arc last season. She's at .480 this season and averaging 16.3 ppg and 4.5 apg. She was named OVC Preseason Co-Player of the Year, along with:

Senior center Sally McCabe (13.3 ppg, 8.8 rpg).

Senior guard Kylee Smith (18.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.8 apg) was named on the Preseason All-OVC team.

Junior guard Jenny Roy (6.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg).

Here are Belmont's roster and season statistics.

   The Gonzaga Bulldogs,
West Coast Conference (WCC) powerhouse, have won 12 WCC regular-season titles and seven WCC Tournament championships in the past 13 years. They've made it to the NCAA Elite 8 once and to the Sweet 16 four times.

For the fifth-straight season, the Zags were picked as the WCC preseason favorite. They're ranked second in the mid-majors by CollegeInsider.

They've played only two games this season, losing to Colorado State and beating Montana.

The Zags are led by a pair of juniors who were named to the All-WCC Preseason Team:

Guard Laura Stockton averaged 8.0 points and 4.4 assists per game with a 1.9 assist/turnover ratio last season.

Forward Jill Barta was the Zag's leading scorer (16.8 ppg) and second-best rebounder (6.0 rpg) last season.

The Zags lost a vital member of their team just before the season began when redshirt senior center Emma Wolfram suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Here are Gonzaga's roster and season statistics.

   The Ohio State Buckeyes
have continued their successful season start. Their record is now 4-1, with a loss only to No. 5 Louisville in "Countdown to Columbus", and they're still ranked ninth in the AP Top 25.

Should a Cardinal/Buckeye re-match occur, I won't be surprised if the Buckeyes win again. At this point in the season, they're still a better team than the young Cardinal. But I'm sure they won't out-rebound the Cardinal 64-41 this time nor limit them to two second-chance points.

Here are Ohio's roster and season statistics.