This Conference is Loaded
The refrain all season long has been that in the PAC-12 there are no guaranteed-win games. That reality was on full display this weekend. Stanford began the weekend with a two-game lead over USC and Oregon State and games against Arizona (6-8 in conference play) and Arizona State (3-11 in conference play). Winning both games would give Stanford at least a share of the PAC-12 regular season championship. Of course, four of Arizona's losses were one-possession-losses by a total of eight points.
Against Arizona on Friday night Stanford was without Cameron Brink, out with the flu. Nonetheless, Stanford was in the lead for almost the entire game. Kiki Iriafen had an All-American worthy 21 points, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks, four assists, and a steal — despite being leveled by very aggressive fouls, including one frightening moment when she went down due to being undercut while in mid-air for a rebound. Hannah Jump went 3 of 5 from the 3-point line. Brooke Demetre, in her second start of the year, scored 15 points, grabbed five rebounds, and had 2 blocks. With under four minutes remaining Stanford had a nine-point lead on a Demetre three-pointer. But Stanford only scored three more points in the game while Arizona scored 19, taking their first lead of the game with less than two minutes remaining. Arizona's lead grew in the last twenty seconds as Stanford was forced to foul and Arizona hit their free throws.
It was a performance reminiscent of the game at Washington where an exceedingly aggressive defensive team turned a 7-point deficit with two minutes remaining into a tie. It almost appears that the CARD takes their foot off the gas, making sloppy passes and unnecessary fouls. Stanford was able to turn that tie into an overtime win against Washington. But against Arizona the CARD couldn’t take the lead back or even force overtime, losing 61-68. Postgame, Tara acknowledged being disappointed but noted that the CARD was still in first place in the PAC-12 standings. Unfortunately, that lead was down to one game with three games remaining. Stanford couldn't secure at least a share of the PAC-12 championship with one win unless red-hot USC and Oregon State both lost.
Senior Day
Gathering before the Senior Day Game
Cameron Brink was back on the court for Senior Day, although she was visibly less than her normal self. After the game she described herself as being about 60%, although the only place that really showed up on the stat sheet was in Cam's free throw shooting. Brink, a 90% plus free throw shooter on the season, hit less than 50% from the charity stripe, while scoring 14 points, collecting 9 rebounds, dishing out seven assists, and blocking five shots. Fellow Senior Day honoree Hannah Jump scored 11 points, including 3 three-pointers, four assists, and a block. Kiki had another All-American level performance, with 22 points, 20 rebounds, and four assists. The impressive cooperation between Brink and Iriafen was on full display in the clogged-up paint -- often finding each other for easy buckets. It is sad to think that this could have been the last regular season game these two play together!
For the Arizona State game point guard Talana Lepolo was the unavailable player. Most of Talana's normal minutes were covered by Jzaniya Harriel. "J," as she is often called, scored 12 points all on three-pointers. Harriel's ball handling was generally impressive. Against a solid defensive team, she had only one of Stanford's 12 turnovers, but she also only had one of Stanford's 19 assists. Bottom line, the CARD took care of business for Senior Day. Five players were in double figures, eight players scored, and every player in for more than a minute had a rebound.
Something Extra for Senior Day
The Stanford staff has done a great job preparing for celebrations this year -- and there have been some special ones. Sunday was no exception. Not only did Stanford take care of business on Senior Day, but also Oregon State and USC got caught by the "there are no easy games in the PAC-12.” With word that Washington had defeated Oregon State (playing without an injured Raegan Beers) and Utah holding onto a five-point lead over USC with time running out, the staff put the Utah-USC game up on the video board and brought out plastic containers. Once Utah secured that victory (which took a while because USC kept fouling) Stanford was assured at least a share of the final PAC-12 regular season championship. Those containers were opened and the staff started handing out blue PAC-12 Championship t-shirts and white PAC-12 Champions hats. So, the CARD had photos taken in front of a PAC-12 Champions banner and spent the Senior Day celebration in those Championship t-shirts and hats.
Senior Day was special and emotional! Cameron Brink went first. She was escorted by her parents and her Godmother, Sonja Curry. Her player introduction was by Brooke Demetre who talked about what a wonderful person Cam is. That theme was repeated over and over, particularly in comments about her leadership. The joy that this team plays with is a tribute to the team captains starting with Cameron Brink. Cam's mother told us about a moment in Cam's youth she was devastated because a pediatrician told her she was only going to be 5'10. Cam shared with the crowd that she is still undecided about whether to come back for her COVID year or declare for the WNBA draft. In the postgame press conference, she also spoke about her special friendship with Hannah Jump who had been her roommate during that Freshman COVID year.
For Hannah Jump there is no decision...there is no sixth year of eligibility. Hannah was escorted by her parents and her aunt who came from England for the game and ceremony. Her player introduction was by Talana Lepolo. Her father spoke about her and entertained the crowd with stories about Hannah's competitiveness and determination.
Next up for the CARD is a trip to play the Oregon schools. It will be an unusual schedule, Oregon State on THURSDAY night at 7:00 pm and Oregon on SATURDAY at 2:00 pm. Then it's off to Las Vegas for the final PAC-12 tournament, almost certainly as the number one seed. That should be a special time -- tickets are still available. Stanford will also almost certainly be back at Maples for the first round of the NCAA tournament, but that isn't settled yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment