On Wednesday, #2 Stanford women’s basketball defeated Cal State Northridge (CSUN) by a final score of 104-40. Stanford freshman center Lauren Betts was the top performer off the bench for the Cardinal with 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks while senior guard Hannah Jump was the top starter with 17 points on 6-9 shooting from the field and 5-8 shooting from 3-point range. Stanford improves to 2-0 on the season while CSUN falls to 0-2.
“I really was excited about our team improvement,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said after the game. “I thought we did a really good job moving the ball. Six turnovers with everyone playing. People really focused. I think that, to me this is a better team than maybe our team had them look. We were able to play a lot of different lineups, Hannah got her shot going. I thought her defense was really good. And Lauren was a difference maker. Going inside to Lauren, just great finishes, going seven for nine, making her free throws, rebounding, changing shots. So, this was a really exciting night for us.”
Stanford jumped out to a 6-0 lead early on as Jump hit a 3-pointer while Kiki Iriafen had 3 points at the foul line. That quickly ballooned into 14-3 lead as Haley Jones had couple of layups. At the end of the 1st quarter, it was a 23-11 lead for Stanford as Jones was up to 7 points.
Stanford kept their foot on the gas in the 2nd quarter as they closed it on an 11-0 run to lead 50-19 at halftime. Cameron Brink already had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, doing work inside. Iriafen was also up to 10 points of her own, having a very solid performance.
Midway through the 3rd quarter, it was a 62-24 lead for Stanford and by the end of the quarter, they led 72-31. Jump was up to 17 points, scoring 9 points in the 3rd quarter. She was starting to really heat up.
“I’m just playing as the game comes to me,” Jump said. “I’m not trying to force anything. But you know I’ll always look for my three. So, yeah.”
In the 4th quarter, it was the Brooke Demetre/Lauren Betts show as they combined for 26 of Stanford’s 32 points. Betts with 16. They both really found a rhythm and CSUN had no way of containing them.
In the end, Stanford walked out with a 104-40 victory, dominating CSUN wire to wire as was expected. This game was never in doubt two hours before tipoff. The only question was by how much would Stanford win.
The biggest story from this game for Stanford is Betts having the kind of night she had. To see Betts have the ability to the ball in the basket like this and do more than just rebound and block shots was really impressive to see. She was the top recruit in the nation for a reason and she certainly showed why in this game.
“I’m really proud of honestly the rest of the team,” Betts said. “I know they put a lot of trust in me in giving me the ball today and I know as a freshman sometimes it’s difficult to have all that faith in your freshies, but I’m just really thankful that my teammates trust me enough to give me the ball today. Brooke had some amazing passes, Haley did, Jzaniya did, so honestly just really thankful that I get to be on this amazing team and that they gave me the opportunity to hit all those shots.”
“It’s awesome,” VanDerveer said of having a freshman big who she can play right away. “Lauren has great hands, number one. She’s also, she keeps the ball high and she’s a great passer because you’ve been doubled before, huh? Yeah. So she’s used to getting doubled and triple-teamed. She’s running the floor better, she’s really learning, she catches anything people throw in there and finishes really really well.
“So, it’s awesome and I think she’s so smart because in some ways you’re not, she gets to go in there to be successful. Nothing succeeds like success and when she’s successful, that’s gonna be build her confidence. And that’s gonna build her teammates’ confidence in her, too. So what a great night for Lauren.”
As for Jump, this game was just another reminder of how far she has come from her freshman year. The shooting talent was always there, but now she truly has the greenlight and is comfortable taking whatever shots she needs. No fear, she just lets it fly.
“I think you come in here as a freshman and you’re just kind of like learning your role, learning what the coaches want and need from you and what your team needs from you. And I think over the course of my three years here, I’ve had the chance to kinda figure that out and I think Tara would say I have the green light. So, if I’m open I’m going to fire. So, yeah. I know my teammates had the confidence in me. They are great at finding me on that 3-point line. Especially in transition. Post players, Kiki today found me on an o-board. So, I know they have the confidence in me and that gives me confidence in myself just to be able to knock it down.”
Up next for Stanford is a road game at Pacific on Friday. That will begin at 6:00 PM PT on WCC Network and Varsity Network radio.
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