On Sunday, #2 Stanford women’s basketball fell to #1 South Carolina in overtime by a final score of 76-71 on The Farm. South Carolina forward Aliyah Boston led the way for the Gamecocks with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 1 blocks while Stanford forward Cameron Brink was the top performer for the Cardinal with 25 points, 5 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 1 steal. South Carolina improves to 4-0 overall while Stanford falls to 5-1.
“You know, they made big plays when they needed to,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said after the game. “They got o-boards, I thought we needed to do a much better job of taking care of the basketball, we turned it over too much. But I will give a shout out to Talana. I thought she played extremely well: Six assists, three turnovers, but our turnovers really really hurt us and that’s something that we have to do better.
“I thought Cam, when she was out there, she was, really did a great job on the block for us. I think Haley is more capable to help us more, she kinda struggled from the field a little bit. But we needed her out there to help run our offense. But it’s very disappointing to have the lead that we had and not be able to finish the job.”
Stanford got off to a strong start, leading 21-11 at the end of the 1st quarter. Brink was going wild for the Cardinal with 12 points, really finding a groove inside. As for South Carolina, it was not their quarter. They were shooting 5-17 (29.4%) from the field.
“Cam’s a very skilled player,” VanDerveer said of Brink. “She’s a very competitive player. Athletic, sized, she has it all. She can shoot inside. She’s working on just moving the ball a little bit better, she finishes on the block, seven for eight from the free throw line, just again, taking care of the ball and staying in the game. But, there’s not two better players in the country than the one on my right and the one on my left. They’re both fantastic basketball players, they’re team players, and great leaders of their team, so we have nowhere to go but up.”
Stanford would continue to push to remain in front, though South Carolina started to come back, outscoring Stanford 20-14 in the 2nd quarter. As a result, Stanford led 35-31 at halftime. Brink had 3 rebounds and 1 block to go along with her 12 points while Haley Jones had 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. It was an electric and packed atmosphere at Maples Pavilion.
With 4:26 to go in the 3rd quarter, Ashten Prechtel made a huge 3-pointer off an assist from Talana Lepolo. Lepolo was doing a wonderful job of running the offense and playing poised in such a high pressure game.
Stanford would lead 54-44 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Kiki Iriafen was up to 7 points after a huge bucket inside for the Cardinal. Brink was up to 15 points. Nobody from South Carolina was in double figures as they had really good scoring balance.
Things then started to tighten up as South Carolina was on a 6-0 run to start the 4th quarter, making it a 54-50 game with 6:58 to go.
After a pretty assist from Lepolo to Brink for the hoop plus the harm, it was a 60-54 lead for Stanford with 2:04 to go. South Carolina was making a push, but Stanford was staying in front. After a huge 3-pointer from South Carolina, it was a 60-59 lead for Stanford. 14.9 on the clock.
“I thought she was fantastic,” VanDerveer said of Lepolo. “I think that having that guard play going forward is just great for our team and our program. And I think that someone like Indya Nivar or Jzaniya Harriel can work and watch and see what she’s doing and will be able to help us more down the road, too. But I thought she played beyond what any freshman point guard I’ve seen do.”
After Haley Jones went 1-2 at the foul line, it was 61-59 before Boston scored inside to tie it up 61-61. That would be the final score of regulation, forcing overtime. Stanford tried to throw it into Brink for the final possession, but she wasn’t able to get a good look.
“Aliyah’s gonna be the number one draft pick,” VanDerveer said of Boston. “She’s tough in there, she’s really strong and aggressive. And I think that’s a great person for people on our team. Kiki and maybe Lauren Betts to really watch and say that’s what I need to be doing.”
After Brink fouled out, it was a 70-69 lead for South Carolina with 1:14 to go in overtime. Stanford had the ball. After a 3-pointer from Bree Hall for South Carolina and a pair of free throws made by Iriafen, it was a 73-71 lead for the Gamecocks with 28.8 to go.
Then, Victaria Saxton would get fouled by Francesca Belibi and go to the foul line, where she would shoot two foul shots. Saxton would miss both foul shots, but Laeticia Amihere was there to get the rebound, keeping the ball with the Gamecocks. On the next possession, Agnes Emma-Nnopu got a big steal leading to a timeout for the Cardinal with nine seconds left. Things were looking good for them.
Coming out of the timeout, Haley Jones was unable to get the ball inbounded, making it a five second violation. South Carolina would then get fouled while also chewing up four seconds, making it so that they were going to the foul line with five seconds left. Brea Beal would go to the foul line and miss both foul shots, giving Stanford one final bit of life as Iriafen got the defensive rebound.
However, Iriafen pulled a Chris Webber, calling for time when they had no timeouts left. This resulted in a technical foul, sending Zia Cooke to the foul line, where she would make both foul shots. This made it 75-71. South Carolina still had the ball and was able to inbound the ball to Cooke again with one second left. Cooke missed the missed the first free throw and made the second, making it a 76-71 final score.
“I think that was some unfortunate slippage,” VanDerveer said of their mistakes. “We didn’t have a timeout to call, we need to be able to get the ball in inbounds. People need to cut harder, understand the sense of urgency with that and get open and get the ball. The timeout was, that’s unfortunate, too. But again, Haley already said it’s November and it doesn’t come down to, it’s not one mistake. But it’s the combination of the turnovers. Like you said, not getting the ball in bounds, taking a time out, not boxing out, fouling out, all the things add up. But again, it’s an overtime game and we have to be hungrier.”
For South Carolina, this is a big time win. They picked up a road victory at the number two team in the nation and came from behind to win, much like they did last year. They found a way to win in a Maples Pavilion environment that was rocking.
“I think South Carolina is a great team,” Jones said. “And I think they just applied a lot of pressure, they are a physical team, and I think that we matched their physicality for the majority of the game, but you know, there’s always plays that you want back, but I think that they played a great game. Me personally, I think could have finished more. But I think they did a great job defensively. They stifled us as you said, but I think there was a lot that we left out there on the court that we wish we had back, but also in the grand scheme of things it’s November, it’s our first loss, but so I think there’s a lot left in the tank for this team.”
As for Stanford, this loss is disappointing, but one that they can learn a lot of lessons from. They certainly showed they have the pieces to beat this South Carolina team. It’s just a matter of them finishing strong and not making the kind of mistakes that they did down the stretch.
Haley Jones has to get the ball inbounded and then Kiki Iriafen has to know they don’t have any timeouts left. Between the two mistakes, Jones’ was more costly and less forgivable. Iriafen had only five seconds to work with and the clock was running, so I can see how she’d maybe panic and call for time as opposed to making a bad pass. But Jones had more time to think things through and find a time to at least get the ball into play. Not inbounding that ball is a cardinal sin of basketball.
At this point, all that Stanford can do is move on, live to fight another day, and get ready for three games in Hawaii at the Rainbow Wahine Showdown held in Honolulu. Up first will be Florida Gulf Coast on Friday at 2:00 PM PT.
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