On Sunday at 6:00 PM PT on ESPN in Spokane, Washington, #2 Stanford women’s basketball will take on #6 Texas in the Elite Eight. The Spokane regional final.
Last time out: On Friday, Stanford defeated Maryland 72-66 in the Sweet Sixteen. Lexie Hull (19 points & 9 rebounds), Haley Jones (17 points, 10 rebounds, & 6 assists), and Cameron Brink (15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, & 1 assist) led the way for the Cardinal.
RECAP: (1) Stanford WBB advances to Elite Eight defeating (4) Maryland
On Texas: Texas defeated Stanford 61-56 back in November. The same day Stanford had their championship ring celebration at Maples Pavilion. That game proved that Texas can not only hang with elite teams, they can beat them as well. When the draw first came out, that was one of the things that stood out. The possibility of a rematch from November.
The top scorer on this Longhorns team is junior guard Aliyah Matharu (12.3 points), who actually comes off the bench most of the time. Freshman guard Rori Harmon (11.3 points) and senior guard Joanne Allen-Taylor (11.2 points) are also scoring in double figures, both of whom start.
As a team, the Longhorns average 72.5 points per game on 44.0% shooting from the field, 36.2% shooting from 3-point range, and 69.5% shooting from the foul line. They average 36.8 rebounds, 12.8 assists, 10.1 steals, 3.5 blocks, and 14.4 turnovers per game. They also average a +4.5 rebound margin and a +6.7 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 56.7 points per game on 38.9% shooting from the field, 28.5% shooting from 3-point range, and 73.7% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: The first key to the game for Stanford is play all four quarters strong. They got sloppy at the end against Maryland on Friday, getting outscored 30-13 in the 4th quarter. Against Texas back in November, they had a five point lead going into the 4th quarter before getting outscored 26-16, resulting in a five point loss. Stanford has to make sure they finish strong and not get complacent even if they get an early lead.
Secondly, Cameron Brink needs to stay out of foul trouble. She fouled out against Maryland, which is partly why Maryland made a bit of a comeback there. If she can avoid foul trouble and stay on the floor, that would be huge for Stanford.
Lastly, Stanford needs to crash the glass. They out-rebounded Texas 37-28 in their first meeting and that trend needs to continue in this game. If Stanford can once again win the battle inside, they should be fine.
Prediction: Given that Texas beat Stanford earlier this season, that obviously means they are capable of winning today. At the same time, I think that game also puts Stanford on heightened alert and there also has to be a certain element of wanting to get some pay back after the way Texas spoiled their ring ceremony. On top of that, Stanford to a certain extent kind of handed Texas a gift by having such a bad 4th quarter and I actually don’t think it helps Texas that a bad 4th quarter from Friday is fresh on Stanford’s mind. Given all that, I do think Stanford wins today and advances to the Final Four. 66-60 is how I see this one shaking out.
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