On this night in Seattle, Stanford: Hit 48% of their field goal tries; hit 12 of 29 three-point attempts, for 41%; massively out-rebounded their opponent, 38-22; had more than twice as many O-boards at 19-7; and led in blocks 4-0 ...
... and still the game was in doubt, and the Huskies had a good shot at winning, until the final minute.
That was mostly because UW sophomore Amber Melgoza had a career night, dropping 40 points on the Cardinal. If any other UW player had managed to get into double digit scoring, the game might well have gone the Huskies' way. Fortunately for Stanford, none did.
The game started well for the Cardinal with layups by Alanna and Kaylee, and threes from Kiana, DiJonai, Marta and then Marta again. But the Huskies were playing with confidence and high energy, and it seemed as if everything they (especially Melgoza) tossed up, fell through the hoop. Stanford's early lead was quickly erased and the first quarter ended with Washington up by eight, 18-26.
The Huskies enjoyed a lead until seven minutes into the second quarter. Then the Cardinal defense finally began to get control and the Huskies flat-lined for three minutes. At the half Stanford was up by seven, 42-35, and looking in charge.
But the Huskies were at home and Melgoza was unconscious and the game remained close. Whenever Stanford opened a lead, it seemed Washington would drop in a three to narrow the gap again. In the middle of the fourth quarter, Washington pulled within three points, 71-68.
From there, the game turned largely on offensive rebounds by Kaylee and Brittany, rebounds that extended Stanford possessions and led to second-chance scores. Without those the game would have been tight and might have swung Washington's way.
Brittany led all scorers not named Melgoza with 25 points, including three of eight long-range shots. She pulled in seven rebounds (three offensive, including two in the fourth quarter), and was credited with four assists and four steals.
Alanna had a good night, scoring 15 points, seven rebounds, three steals and a block.
Marta had a large offensive night for her, with 13 points including two early threes. She had three assists; unfortunately the Huskies' scrambling defense led her to commit four turnovers.
Nadia had ten points, hitting five of her five tries, plus four rebounds and a block.
Kiana had nine points, hitting three of seven three-point tries. According to Ros Gold-Onwude, commenting on the PAC-12 TV broadcast, Tara plans to have Kiana run "the one", the point-guard role, any time she's on the floor.
DiJonai played tough defense and scored eight points, including 2-2 three-pointers.
Kaylee had six points and thirteen rebounds, seven of them O-boards.
Having survived the season's penultimate game, the Cardinal hops over the hill to play at Washington State on Sunday. Then it's home to practice for the Tournament.
Here are game reports and commentary:
- No. 16 Stanford women win despite 40 from UW’s Melgoza, the Associated Press game recap
- No. 16 Stanford women's basketball edges Washington, the Pac-12 game recap video
- Melgoza Scores Career-High 40 Points in 86-79 Loss to No. 16 Stanford, the Washington Athletics game recap
- Stanford Survives in Seattle, the Stanford Athletics game recap
- WBB: Stanford 86 Washington 79 from the CARDboard
A video interview of Brittany, "We'll take the win as it is."
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