On Friday at 7:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Mountain and Varsity Network radio, #2 Stanford women’s basketball will take on the Utah Utes at home. Stanford comes in at 19-3 overall and 10-0 in the Pac-12 while Utah comes in at 14-7 overall and 5-4 in the Pac-12. Stanford defeated Utah 83-73 in Salt Lake City last month.
Last time out: On Tuesday, Stanford defeated Oregon State 82-59 at home. Junior guard Hannah Jump led the way for Stanford with 19 points while junior forward Francesca Belibi finished with 16 points and 5 rebounds.
RECAP: #2 Stanford WBB routs Oregon State in afternoon contest
On Utah: After a 1-4 start to Pac-12 play, the Utes have won four games in a row and are now above .500 in league play. Three of their four Pac-12 losses have come to ranked teams (Oregon, Arizona, and Stanford), so they’re doing a great job of handling their business against non-ranked league opponents. Their only league loss to a non-ranked opponent was at home on Tik Tok Night against Colorado in which they fell 66-62 in overtime.
The Utes are led by junior guard Brynna Maxwell (12.0 points & 3.6 rebounds), freshman guard Gianna Kneepkens (11.5 points & 4.0 rebounds), and freshman forward Jenna Johnson (11.1 points & 4.7 rebounds). All three of them are forming a really balanced trio and what’s impressive is that two of them are freshmen.
As a team, the Utes are averaging 79.9 points per game on 45.3% shooting from the field, 36.6% shooting from 3-point range, and 77.4% shooting from the foul line. They average 40.3 rebounds, 16.7 assists, 7.4 steals, 2.5 blocks, and 14.9 turnovers per game. They also average a +8.7 rebound margin and a +/-0.0 turnover margin per game. Their opponents are averaging 66.1 points per game on 40.8% shooting from the field, 29.3% shooting from 3-point range, and 72.0% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is keep Maxwell, Kneepkens, and Johnson at or below their scoring averages. As a trio, they average 34.6 points per game. In their first meeting with Stanford, they combined for 32 points, which is slightly below their average. If Stanford can put up a similar defensive effort, they should be fine.
Secondly, Stanford needs to defend the perimeter. In Salt Lake, Utah made 11 threes on 28 attempts while Stanford made 11 threes as well on 27 attempts. By matching Stanford’s 3-point production, Utah was able to hang around a bit and make the game interesting. If Stanford does a better job of defending the perimeter and wins the 3-point battle, they should win this game with little trouble.
Lastly, Stanford needs to keep up the intensity inside. Stanford won the rebounding battle 41-28 in Salt Lake City and the offensive rebounding battle 17-6. Cameron Brink alone had 14 points and 11 rebounds, seven of which were on the offensive glass. She had more offensive boards than the entire Utah team. If Stanford once again dominates the paint, Utah is going to have a tough time stopping them.
Prediction: While Utah did play Stanford tough in Salt Lake City, this time they have to go on the road and play even better. I think Stanford will feed off their home crowd energy on a Friday night and win rather decisively. Stanford 85 Utah 62 is how I see this playing out.
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