On Friday, #2 Stanford women’s basketball defeated Utah 91-64 at Maples Pavilion. Senior guard Lexie Hull led the way for Stanford with 15 points on 3-6 shooting from 3-point range while junior guard Haley Jones finished with 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists on 7-10 shooting from the field. Stanford sophomore forward Cameron Brink matched her career-high in blocks with 6 to go along with 10 points and 7 rebounds. Freshman guard Gianna Kneepkens led the way for Utah with 12 points and 4 rebounds while sophomore forward Peyton McFarland had 12 points and 4 rebounds as well. Stanford improves to 20-3 overall and 11-0 in the Pac-12 while Utah falls to 14-8 overall and 5-5 in the Pac-12.
“I first want to compliment Utah, they’re really a great team and we had to have a great game to play and win the way we did,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said after the game. “I think their coach Lynne Roberts is doing a fantastic job, they’ve improved a lot, and those women can shoot and we had to really play lock down defense and the people on both sides of me really made a great effort defensively. Both Anna and Lexie. I think our whole team really stepped up. They bought into scouting report and they really played hard and did what we needed to do defensively.
“But what you can you say about Anna? Just having a fantastic senior-plus year. Her defense is outstanding. I don’t think there’s anyone that plays harder defensively than Anna does. Plus, she has great assist-to-turnover ratio, she made big shots, made her free throws.
“Having six people in double figures. We got out running, we had some great plays, nice passes to Anna and to Fran. I thought Haley helped us run, Lexie gets out really well. I think Lexie, you just know that she’s always going to play hard: Made her free throws, was one of our leading scorers, didn’t have any turnovers, gets on the glass, is a scrappy scrappy player. So, I think we’re improving. We just gotta keep doing what we’re doing.”
Stanford got out to an 11-9 lead with 4:36 to go in the 1st quarter. Sixth year guard Anna Wilson was off to a hot start for the Cardinal with 5 points on 2-2 shooting from the field and 1-1 shooting from 3-point range. Gianna Kneepkens was up to 5 points for Utah on 2-2 shooting from the field and 1-1 shooting from 3-point range as well. Stanford was shooting 5-7 from the field while Utah was shooting 4-6.
“I think that our team just in general played really well on defense, which then obviously opened up a lot of stuff on offense,” Wilson said. “For me personally, I think it was just kind of getting comfortable on defense and being aggressive on defense allowed for me to do kinda some stuff on offense. But yeah, mostly just focused on the game in general rather than scoring.”
“I personally like Anna’s attention to detail,” VanDerveer chimed in. “Six assists, no turnovers. Guarding whoever is hot on their team. I just love how competitive she is.”
Stanford would soon go on a 10-0 run over the last 2:49, giving them a 17-9 lead with 2:28 to go in the 1st quarter. Senior guard Lacie Hull was up to 5 points for the Cardinal on 2-2 shooting from the field and 1-1 shooting from 3-point range. Utah called for time.
Utah would respond with a 6-0 run of their own. Junior guard Brynna Maxwell got on the board for the Utes with a 2-point jumper to beat the buzzer. 19-17 Stanford led at the end of the 1st quarter. It was a tight game.
Stanford would get off to a strong start in the 2nd quarter, leading 28-19 with 5:57 to go in the quarter. Lacie Hull was up to 7 points and 3 assists. Stanford was shooting 4-7 from deep. Utah was shooting 1-2. 3-point shooting was making a difference.
At halftime, Stanford led 41-31. Junior guard Haley Jones and Lexie Hull each had 8 points for Stanford. Kneepkens led Utah and all scorers with 10 points. Utah was hanging tough, but Stanford was still in a good position overall.
Stanford would lead 56-45 with 4:21 to go in the 3rd quarter. Lexie Hull and Haley Jones each had 10 points for Stanford. Gianna Kneepkens was up to 12 points for Utah while sophomore forward Kelsey Reese had 10 points. Utah was shooting 12-14 at the foul line; Stanford was shooting 4-6. Utah was doing a nice job of getting to the rim.
Stanford continued to expand their lead up 62-45 with 2:35 to go in the 3rd quarter. Junior forward Francesca Belibi had a nice transition bucket for Stanford, who was now on a 6-0 run. Utah called for time.
Stanford would lead 67-50 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Lexie Hull was leading the way for the Cardinal with 15 points on 3-6 shooting from 3-point range and 4-4 shooting from the foul line. She was really coming alive. Utah was battling hard, but Stanford’s depth was wearing them down.
Stanford’s lead grew to 30 points as they led 85-55 with 4:06 to go. Lexie Hull (15 points), Haley Jones (15 points), Anna Wilson (11 points), Cameron Brink (10 points & 6 blocks), Francesca Belibi (10 points), and Lacie Hull (10 points) were all in double figures for the Cardinal. It was truly a great team effort.
In the end, Stanford walked out with a 91-64 win. Utah put up a legit fight for much of the game, but in the end, Stanford’s depth, talent, and experience prevailed. Truly a great all-around team win for Stanford with so many players getting in double figures.
Stanford has been stepping it up offensively as of late, scoring 80+ points in five of their last eight games. It does seem like they’re starting to click more as an offensive unit as the season goes on. Everyone is settling into their role and everyone is doing a great job of stepping up when called upon.
“I mean the teams we’re playing are all really good,” VanDerveer said of her team’s recent offensive explosion. “I agree. I think we have really improved over the last couple [games]. We’re playing great competition and our team is rising to the challenge of playing the great competition. Arizona is obviously a final two game last year, Final Four team. Every team we’re playing, it gets our best effort and credit Anna, Lexie, Lacie. Those are the people that just say hey, we’re gonna play hard tonight and when we play hard and then it’s contagious, I think it’s fun to watch.”
Up next for Stanford is a home game against Colorado on Sunday. That game will tip-off at 12:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Bay Area and Varsity Network radio.
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