On Sunday, #2 Stanford women’s basketball defeated Portland 87-47. Stanford senior forward Haley Jones led the way for the Cardinal with 17 points and 7 rebounds while junior forward Cameron Brink had 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Portland forward Liana Kaitu’u was the top performer for the Pilots with 13 points. Stanford improves to 4-0 overall while Portland falls to 2-1.
Stanford rolled with a starting five of Talana Lepolo, Hannah Jump, Haley Jones, Cameron Brink, and Kiki Iriafen. Lepolo getting the start is significant as she is only a freshman, showing how much Tara VanDerveer trusts her.
Stanford got off to a strong start leading 11-6 with 4:04 to go in the 1st quarter. Stanford was in a nice flow early as Haley Jones was getting her teammates involved. Stanford continued to stay in front as Stanford led 14-7 with 3:02 to go in the 1st quarter after Ashten Prechtel found Hannah Jump for a three with a diagonal pass from the block. At the end of the quarter, Stanford led 19-7 as Brink got an emphatic block on the final possession. She was fired up. Stanford was on an 8-0 run, starting to gain real momentum.
Stanford continued to keep the pressure on Portland as they led 33-11 with 4:06 to go in the 2nd quarter. Brink was up to 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks while Iriafen was up to 10 points, doing a great job scoring inside. At halftime, Stanford led 43-17. Jones was up to 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block, doing a little bit of everything for her team.
The 3rd quarter was more domination for Stanford. With 4:39 to go in the quarter, Stanford led 57-18 as Jones was up to 15 points and 7 rebounds. She was in the zone. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Stanford led 68-27. Jones was up to 17 points as she had eight points in the quarter. She really came alive.
Stanford would lead 73-34 with 4:59 to go in the game and ended up winning 87-47. Portland played hard, but Stanford’s talent and size made the difference. Stanford showed why they are a serious national championship contender.
After having a quieter start to the season in terms of scoring points, Haley Jones broke that trend in this game. She was much more assertive in looking for her own shot and her team really benefited. She did a great job of reading the defense and realizing she had a chance to go off in this game.
Up next for Stanford is a home game on Wednesday against Cal Poly. That will tip-off at 8:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and Varsity Network radio.
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