Pulled back from the brink by Brink

It pays to have two All Americans

 

            The weather has been ugly lately, but Stanford's game against CAL might have been uglier. Just as the Bay Area was battered by rain and high wind this week, Stanford was battered by Cal's defensive intensity.  But great teams win games even when they aren't playing their best.  That's what Stanford did at CAL, beating the Bears 60 to 56. 

 

            Of course, when the going gets rough, it helps to have two All American's on the roster -- two players who refuse to lose and have the talent to back up that focused will.  Stanford's two All Americans, Cameron Brink and Haley Jones, accounted for 37 of the team's 60 points, 28 of the CARDS's 46 rebounds, and four of the CARD's seven blocks.  Brink was a warrior! Her numbers are eye-popping; 25 points, 17 rebounds, and three blocks. Time and again, especially in the second half, despite being hounded and battered by CAL's swarming defense, she answered CAL's baskets with one of her own. Haley Jones' numbers are slightly less impressive, "only" a double-double (12 points, 11 board, 4 assists, and a block); but her play was AMAZING.  This woman has all-world focus, body control, court vision, basketball skills, and will-to-win. Perhaps the most striking sequence came late in the 3rd when Haley corralled the rebound from a Brink miss, was knocked to the floor by CAL's defense (no foul called), kept her dribble alive from her knees, and from the floor passed the ball out to Hannah Jump.  Jump knocked down the three-pointer to give Stanford a four-point lead with ten minutes and 23 seconds left in the game.  

 

            Jump and Kiki Iriafen were the only other Stanford players to score more than one basket. Although FIVE others scored at least two points, and collectively corralled five steals and 10 rebounds.  Hannah, like Haley, played all 40 minutes of the game, scoring seven points and dishing 3 assists. Brooke Demetre made particularly valuable contributions in her 24 minutes on the floor; including solid defense, plus four rebounds, three assists, and a steal.  Perhaps Brooke's most important contribution was hitting two free throws in the game's waning seconds to give the CARD a four-point margin, putting the game basically out of reach, eliminating the possibility of a miracle ending for CAL.

 

            The going was rough in this game because the CAL defense was VERY physical.  Even though much of the rough play went uncalled, CAL put the CARD on the free-throw line frequently.  Stanford's plus nine at the charity stripe (16 of 19 compared to 7 of 10) was greater than the margin of victory. That physical defense contributed to the game's general ugliness -- it had a disjointed and hectic feel.  The lack of flow is reflected in Stanford's low score total (over 23 below their season average) and uncharacteristically low assist total -- only 11 compared to an average of over 17.  

 

            In addition to escaping with the win, the good news for Stanford was how well the CARD defense played.  Only one CAL player, Leilani McIntosh, scored in double figures (19).  CAL star Jada Curry was held to nine points, that's six under her season average, and hit only one of five from three. 

 

            Rivalry games as generally considered "special" -- with frequent upsets.  Unfortunately for Stanford, every team looks at their game against Stanford as a rivalry game.  Every team wants to knock off the defending Pac-12 champion, ranked #2 in the nation! That means that Stanford had better get ready for the type of intensity CAL brought at Hass. 

 

Questions

 

1. How well will this young team travel?

            The CAL game was Stanford's first Pac-12 road game, and it was only across the Bay. Friday night Stanford will be playing #12 UCLA on their home court and a tough USC team on theirs.  Hopefully the lessons from this tough win will carry over.