The Final Washington Trip

Moving Into First Place

 

        This final season for the PAC-12 is full of "lasts." This weekend was almost certainly Stanford's and CAL's last weekend trip to play the Washington schools. It is hard to imagine that the CARD's future schedule will include a regular trip to play Washington and Washington State and equally hard to believe that CAL would be making the same trip in reverse. For the Washington schools that may well be the good news as they were swept by the two Bay Area programs this weekend.

 

            The Stanford Cardinal boarded their plane for the trip to the Washington schools in a tie with Colorado for first place in the PAC-12.  By the time the CARD boarded their plane to come home they were in sole possession of the PAC-12 lead. With only three weekends left in PAC-12 play (and only five games for Stanford), the CARD has a one-game lead over Colorado and Oregon State, a two-game lead over USC and UCLA, and a three-game lead over Utah. Not bad for the team picked to place third in the Conference. 

 

 

Two Games - Two Wins

 

        Neither game was an easy win -- especially the game against the University of Washington. Stanford started the game on a nine-zero run and appeared to be cursing to an easy win. Battling back was Washington's MO for the game, reminding us that basketball is a game of runs. With three minutes remaining in the first half, Stanford had a 14-point lead. But the Huskies battled back to cut the lead to six by halftime.  That fight from Washington was on full display at the end of regulation.  The CARD had a seven-point lead with less than a minute remaining.  What happened next is both a testament to the Huskies' grit and a worrisome series of events for Cardinal fans. The CARD struggled to get the ball inbounded. Stanford didn't score while turning the ball over three times, allowing the Huskies to tie the game.  Stanford took control in the overtime period, never trailing and never allowing Washington to tie the game. 

 

            Although the CARD survived that scare, the difficulty handling the Huskies swarming press brought back memories of leads lost in past seasons. Of course, Washington is a top defensive team, holding opposing teams to the lowest scoring total in the PAC-12. The good news is that this experience gives Stanford time to work on more out-of-bounds plays. We expect they will fix the problem.

 

Washington State Goes Down Again

 

            The game against Washington State was a short turnaround from the exhausting overtime game against Washington.  Stanford started slow, trailing by seven at the end of the first quarter. But a 27-point second quarter put Stanford in the lead at the half. The third quarter was evenly played. The Cougars appear to be figuring out how to play without their star, Christine Legar-Walker, now out with a torn ACL. Stanford had begun to pull away in the 4th quarter when a frustrated Bella Murekatete threw an elbow into Cam's chest. That foul, Murekatete's fifth, was ruled to be flagrant giving Cam two free throws and Stanford the ball.  Without Murekatete, Washington State just didn't have the ability to catch up and the CARD cruised to a 15-point win.  

 

            For Washington State the loss to Stanford must have been especially disappointing as it was the Cougars's last chance to defeat the CARD as members of the PAC-12. Washington State is now 0-74 against Stanford! Without Legar-Walker they are unlikely to repeat their Cinderella performance in the PAC-12 tournament from last year.  

 

Encouraging Signs

 

            There were a number of encouraging signs this weekend.  Cameron Brink continues to demonstrate the ability to show up big when she is needed most.  Kiki Iriafen continues to demonstrate that she is the most improved player in the country. Lepolo and Jump continue to be key cogs in the team -- they took turns being a third double-digit scorer this weekend.  What is most encouraging is that other players are starting to show that they can be important pieces of a post-season run. This weekend Courtney Ogden showed why she was a highly regarded player coming out of high school.  Her performance against Washington was critical to the Cardinal's victory.  She also made valuable contributions on Sunday against Washington State.  This team seems to have all the pieces -- and they are starting to come together.  

 

Questions

 

1.  With only five games remaining, can the CARD hold on for the final PAC-12 Championship?

 

The way the schedule shapes up it looks possible that Stanford will need to defeat Oregon State on the final week of PAC-12 play to claim the title.  Stay tuned.  Of course, Oregon will need to defeat both UCLA and USC -- as well as the Washington schools for that game to matter. And, Stanford will need to beat CAL and the Arizona schools.  Hold onto your hats.