Recap: #2 Stanford WBB hangs on to beat Washington on Senior Day
On Saturday, #2 Stanford women’s basketball defeated Washington 63-56 on Senior Day. Stanford sophomore forward Cameron Brink led the way for the Cardinal with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 blocks while senior guard Lexie Hull finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals. Washington sophomore forward Lauren Schwartz was the top performer for the Huskies with 16 points. Stanford improves to 25-3 overall and 16-0 in the Pac-12 while Washington falls to 7-15 overall and 2-12 in the Pac-12. Stanford finishes the regular season with a perfect record in league play.
“If that’s our 12th best team, we got a hell of a league,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said after the game. “I wanted to give a shout out to Washington and what a great job Tina and her staff are doing. We had our hands full the whole game and it’s not a fluke. She’s doing a great job and their team really battled. We found a way to win. I think a lot of it had to do with the defense of Anna Wilson and her steal when she got, that was very timely. But I think we can learn from this game and I think we can play a lot better.
“Our defense can be a lot better, our offense can, we can execute a lot better, we did take care of the basketball, we did get on the o-boards, which was great. But, our field goal percentage was really abysmal and our shooting just wasn’t there. Not a two, not a three, or even at the free throw line. So, hopefully we can shore those things up.”
Early on, things were going Stanford’s way as they led 7-2 with 6:02 to go in the 1st quarter. Brink was already up to 5 points for the Cardinal nailing a second-chance 3-pointer and also making a fast break layup. Lexie Hull, who missed the previous game due to injury, was back and already had a bucket of her own.
To Washington’s credit, they found a way to battle back and actually led 17-16 at the end of the 1st quarter. The Huskies were hanging tough as Schwartz was up to 7 points. The Huskies were shooting 8-16 (50.0%) from the field. Brink was leading Stanford with her 5 points.
With 6:00 to go in the half, Washington led 24-23. The Huskies were shooting 11-21 (52.4%) from the field and out-rebounding Stanford 16-14. Brink was now up to 8 points and 3 rebounds for Stanford.
Washington continued to keep up their good play, leading 34-32 at halftime. Schwartz was up to 12 points for Washington. She was balling out. Brink (10 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 blocks) was leading Stanford.
The 3rd quarter started off strong for Stanford as they led 41-38 with 6:48 to go in the 3rd quarter. Stanford had pulled ahead and it looked like they might gain some real separation from the Huskies. Lexie Hull was coming alive with 13 points.
Washington would answer as junior guard Trinity Oliver nailed a tough triple for Washington. With 4:37 to go in the 3rd quarter it was now a 41-41 game.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, Stanford led 47-46 as they were still locked in a tight one. Brink (16 points) and Hull (15 points) were carrying the Cardinal. Schwartz (14 points) was leading Washington. The Huskies weren’t backing down, getting a better balanced attack.
Normally, the 4th quarter would prove to be a dominating performance by Stanford, but this one was different. With 3:58 to go, Washington led 54-53. Washington was making Stanford earn this.
With 2:02 to go, it was a 56-55 Washington lead. Ashten Prechtel got a tough bucket inside for Stanford and was up to 6 points, keeping the game close. Her stat line wasn’t super impressive, but this was the second tough shot inside she had made to keep Stanford within striking distance.
Stanford would get the lead by way of Washington throwing it away on an inbound. Sixth-year guard Anna Wilson got the steal and clutch layup. Brink got a block inside afterwards. With 34.7 to go, Stanford had the ball up 57-56.
“That was a fantastic steal,” VanDerveer said. “Anna to me is a defensive player of the year in our conference. She makes great plays all the time. Usually, it’s really just defending and forcing people into bad shots, but obviously this one was also a big steal and then she made the layup. She made some great things happen. She’s a competitor, she’s aggressive, and we need more of that from a lot of people.”
With 33.6 to go, Anna Wilson went to the foul line for Stanford and went 1-2. It was now a 58-56 lead for Stanford. Washington would get a clean look inside on their next possession, but it didn’t’ fall. Brink got the clutch rebound and Stanford called for time. 23.4 seconds were left in the game. Wilson would then go to the foul line and make both foul shots, giving Stanford a 60-56 lead with 22.9 to go.
In the end, Stanford escaped with a 63-56 win. The Cardinal had to play the full 40 minutes to win this game, but to their credit, they found a way to get it done. This wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but on Senior Day, you’ll take any win you can get. Stanford found a way to make big plays when they needed to and then capitalized on Washington’s inability to execute down the stretch.
“Well, I think everyone knew how important it was to the seniors,” VanDerveer said. “There wasn’t really any talk about it, but I think the play of the seniors, their aggressiveness, again you’ve got Anna, Lexie, and Lacie all playing 30 minutes and they’re, and then Haley did, too. But, their aggressiveness defensively. But you know, basketball, you score basketball points by putting the ball in the basket and we were not good at putting the ball in the basket today. Thank goodness we did some other things, but our offensive boarding was good, we forced turnovers, which is great, but our team, I recruited everyone of them for offense and that’s something that we’re going to have to get going.”
As for Washington, they deserve a ton of credit for the way they played. They came in hot having won two games in a row and they played with a lot of fight and belief. It would have been easy for them to get intimidated and lose their poise. But instead, they played well for nearly the entire game. It’s just that in the end, they lost to a team that is the best in the league and perhaps the best in the country.
Up next for Stanford is the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas. By winning the regular season championship, Stanford will get a first round bye in the Pac-12 tournament. That means they’ll play their first game in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament against either Arizona State or Oregon State. That game will tip-off on Thursday at 2:30 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks.
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