On Sunday at 1:00 PM PT on ESPN2 and Varsity Network radio, #2 Stanford women’s basketball will take on #8 Arizona in a rematch of last season’s national title game. The first 3,000 fans will get a Tara VanDerveer bobblehead. Stanford comes in at 15-3 overall and 6-0 in the Pac-12 while Arizona comes in at 15-2 overall and 5-2 in the Pac-12.
Quick injury note: Stanford was without Hannah Jump on Friday due to COVID protocols. Elena Bosgana and Jenna Brown were out as well though we were not told specifically why. Whether or not they’ll be available for Sunday remains to be seen.
Last time out: On Friday, Stanford blew the doors off Arizona State 78-50. Haley Jones had a double-double for Stanford with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
RECAP: #2 Stanford WBB stifles Sun Devils at Maples Pavilion
On Arizona: The Wildcats are led by senior forward Cate Reese, who is averaging 14.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. She is one of the top forwards in the country and wins many a battle inside. Though it should be noted she has just five blocks on the year, so she’s not much of a rim protector. Reese is the only player on this Wildcats team scoring in double figures on average, but senior guard Shaina Pellington is the number two scorer on this team averaging 9.5 points per game.
The Wildcats do have some impressive wins this year, beating then-No.6 Louisville 61-59 in overtime at a neutral site and #21 Colorado 75-56 at home. So, they’ve definitely earned their #8 ranking. While probably not destined for the Final Four again this year, they’re a team that should make a deep run in March and be in the mix down the stretch.
As a team, the Wildcats average 71.2 points per game on 45.6% shooting from the field, 36.1% shooting from 3-point range, and 68.4% shooting from the foul line. They average 35.8 rebounds, 15.8 assists, 11.6 steals, 5.3 blocks, and 14.3 turnovers per game. They also average a +3.2 rebound margin and a +4.9 turnover margin. Their opponents average 54.1 points per game on 35.4% shooting from the field, 30.2% shooting from 3-point range, and 73.4% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do simply take advantage of the energy from the crowd. This is a prime time game on national television against a team who they faced in the national title game. The crowd should be electric and have their back. If Stanford can feed off that in a positive way, that’ll be huge.
Secondly, Stanford needs to take advantage of their depth. Arizona is really dependent on Reese to carry the load. Stanford doesn’t rely on one player like that. The have a lot more options and they need to take advantage of that. If Haley Jones, Francesca Belibi, Cameron Brink, and others are all doing their thing, Stanford should be too tough to stop.
Lastly, Stanford needs to make some threes. Especially if Jump is still out. On Friday, we saw Jana Van Gytenbeek go 3-7 from 3-point range and Lacie Hull go 2-2, but they were the only players to make a 3-point attempt all night long. Stanford shot 5-21 (23.8%) from deep as a team in that game. They have to shoot better from the perimeter than they did on Friday.
Prediction: Stanford is at home, they’re the #2 team in the nation, and I also think they’re eager to get some redemption after losing at home to Texas earlier in the year in a similar type of atmosphere. Stanford should be motivated and locked in. I got them winning this game by 10 points. 75-65.
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