On Sunday, #3 Stanford women’s basketball will welcome Arizona State to The Farm for Senior Day. Stanford comes in at 23-4 overall and 12-3 in the Pac-12 while Arizona State comes in at 11-16 overall and 3-12 in the Pac-12. After missing Friday’s game due to an illness, Stanford senior forward Cameron Brink (illness) will be available. Stanford sophomore guard Talana Lepolo (knee) will be out.
Last time out: Stanford fell to Arizona on Friday by a final score of 68-61. Not having Brink obviously didn’t help the Cardinal.
RECAP: #3 Stanford WBB falls to Arizona at Maples
On Arizona State: It’s been a rough season for the Sun Devils. Their record speaks for itself. League play in particular has been a challenge. The Pac-12 is a tough league and no win is given away for free. Their most recent win was last week against Washington, so they’ve at least recently tasted victory. They are currently riding a two-game losing skid having dropped games to Washington State at home and then falling to Cal in Berkeley on Friday.
Sophomore guard Jalyn Brown continues to lead the way for the Sun Devils, averaging 17.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. She’s playing fantastic. Sophomore guard Trayanna Crisp (11.6 points) and senior guard Jaddan Simmons (10.0 points) are also scoring in double figures. Nobody else is scoring above 7 points per game, so they lack depth.
As a team, the Sun Devils average 62.3 points per game on 38.2% shooting from the field, 31.7% shooting from 3-point range, and 68.3% shooting from the foul line. They average 34.5 rebounds, 9.7 assists, 7.3 steals, 2.4 blocks, and 13.1 turnovers per game. They also average a -6.2 rebound margin and a +2.1 turnover margin. Their opponents average 69.7 points per game on 42.6% shooting from the field, 33.2% shooting from 3-point range, and 70.8% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is make sure they get both Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen in a good flow. With Brink now back, they need to take advantage of the fact that their post presence has doubled in strength. If both Brink and Iriafen play well and get into a good groove, they’re gonna be extremely tough to stop.
The next thing Stanford needs to do is take better care of the ball. They got sped up against Arizona and turned the ball over 18 times. That can’t happen. With Talana Lepolo out, freshman Chloe Clardy is going to have to shoulder more of the point guard roles and handle the ball security duties.
Finally, Stanford needs to make sure they contain Brown. She’s going to look to have a big performance. If Stanford can hold her under her scoring average, they should be fine.
Prediction: It’s Senior Day and Cameron Brink is back. I gotta roll with Stanford in this one. 88-60 is how I see this one shaking out.
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