Roger Miller gave it as an axiom in 1966 that You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd. Tonight, the Colorado Buffs did their best to prove that true, but Stanford strapped on their 'blades and rolled through an aggressive, obstructive defense to win.
Both sides opened with aggressive play, lots of grabbing and falling, but Stanford pulled ahead to a 9-3 lead at the first media timeout. Then the Buffs seemed to raise the level of their defense and pulled to a brief lead. The quarter ended at 13-10 Stanford.
The second quarter continued the rough, ragged play. In one zany possession two minutes in, Marta missed a layup, Kaylee got the rebound and missed the layup, Alanna got the rebound and also missed a layup; Colorado got that rebound and Kaylee fouled — all in the span of 10 seconds.
The score was tied at 17-all, then tied at 19-all. Brittany put Stanford ahead (for good, as it turned out), making the score 21-19 at the media timeout. For the remaining minutes of the half, Stanford reeled off a 14-2 run, for a half-time score of 35-21.
At the half the three point shooting was Stanford, 3 of 9, Colorado 2 of 15 — the Buffs were having a terrible shooting night against the Cardinal defense. Also at the half, the different styles of play were evident in the count of free throws: Stanford had taken 17 (making 10, tsk, tsk) while Colorado had taken exactly one.
Colorado's only answer to being down seemed to be, play harder; and rough play continued, with the crowd helpfully pointing out the many fouls the referees did not whistle at.
Then the officials seemed to tighten up and try to get control. Soon Alanna and Colorado's Maya Hollingshed tangled on an Alanna drive to the basket. On review, the referees awarded Alanna free throws for Hollingshed's foul, then awarded Colorado free throws for Alanna's arm swipe at Hollingshed during the foul (her third).
Half-way into the third quarter, Brittany grabbed a tenth rebound to secure a double-double.
Early in the fourth quarter Alanna was called for her fourth foul and apparently reacted too strongly, because she was immediately T'd-up for her fifth, and left the game.
The two teams played roughly (in two senses) equal the rest of the way and the game ended 62-53. In the final stats, Stanford had taken 35 free throws to Colorado's 12, a remarkable difference. Stanford conceded 21 turnovers, but so too did Colorado. It was a hectic night on the floor in general.
Brittany led all scorers with 25 points, seven of them from the 12 free throws she was awarded. She had 12 rebounds, and a steal and a block.
Marta had seven points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal, against one turnover. She spent a lot of her time flying or sliding across the floor being tackled by Buffalos.
DiJonai had seven points and seven rebounds, plus an assist and two steals; but she gave up four turnovers.
Alanna had six points on 2-11 shooting, and six rebounds.
Kaylee had five points plus 10 rebounds and two steals.
Following the game Brittany and Kaylee were honored by the fans.
Then the team went away to tend to their bruises and get ready for back-to-back games with Cal.
Here are game reports and commentary:
- McPhee scores 25 points, No. 17 Stanford women beat Colorado, the Associated Press game recap
- Stanford women's basketball rolls past Colorado on senior day, the Pac-12 game recap video
- Late Comeback Runs Out Of Time As Buffs Fall 62-53 At No. 17 Stanford, the Colorado Athletics game recap
- Streak hits six, the Stanford Athletics game recap
- WBB: Stanford 62 vs. Colorado 53 from the CARDboard
A video interview of Britt,
The video press conference with Tara, Brittany and Kaylee,
And a gallery of photos by Bob Drebin (isiphotos.com).
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