On Monday, #3 Stanford women’s basketball defeated #17 UCLA 71-66 on Senior Night. Stanford junior forward Cameron Brink led the way for the Cardinal with 25 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks while senior guard Haley Jones had 18 points and 6 rebounds. UCLA freshman guard Londynn Jones was the top performer for the Bruins with 14 points. Stanford improves to 26-3 overall and 14-2 in the Pac-12 while UCLA falls to 21-7 overall and 10-6 in the Pac-12.
BOX SCORE: #17 UCLA at #3 Stanford
Video: Stanford Women’s Basketball: UCLA Postgame Press Conference
“Always more fun on senior day when you can put a W in the column,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said after the game. “And we were able to find a way. I think our free throws were really good. Cam I think a Stanford record with fifteen-for-fifteen. You know, I think our defense, except for maybe in the third quarter was really playing well. We struggled a little bit in the third quarter scoring and defending but you know Haley and Cam stepped up really big for us and got some great contributions from a lot of different people.
“Talana making her threes, Lauren Betts I thought came in and played really well for us. We needed that a lot of I think a great defense you know and just gritty. So, I’m really proud of our team and really excited to be going on the road to Colorado and playing Utah and then going to the Pac-12 tournament.”
With 4:33 to go in the 1st quarter, it was tied up 6-6 as Cameron Brink had four points already. The game was off to a bit of a slow start offensively as neither team was allowing the other to get going with much success.
At the end of the quarter, Stanford led 19-11 as Haley Jones got a huge bucket inside to beat the buzzer. Those were her first points of the night. Stanford freshman center Lauren Betts was already up to 7 points, doing work inside. The Cardinal were starting to heat up.
With 2:01 to go until halftime, Stanford led 34-24. Cameron Brink was leading the Cardinal with 10 points and 1 block while Haley Jones was up to 8 points and 4 rebounds. As for UCLA, Londynn Jones was up to 10 points, doing her part to keep the Bruins in the game.
At halftime, Stanford led 39-26. Overall, the Cardinal had to feel good about how the first half went. They were up by double digits and they were holding the Bruins to 2-11 shooting from 3-point range. Their defense on the perimeter was very effective.
To start the 3rd quarter, UCLA’s Charisma Osborne channeled her inner Reggie Miller, going on an 8-0 run all by herself. It was now a 39-34 game with 8:53 to go in the quarter. UCLA was back in this as Stanford called for time.
With 4:17 to go in the 3rd, it was now a 46-43 lead for Stanford. Brink was up to 14 points for the Cardinal while Betts had 10 points. UCLA was outscoring Stanford 17-7 in the quarter. Stanford needed to respond.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, UCLA led 51-50, taking away the lead from Stanford. Brink was leading the Cardinal with her 16 points. UCLA was doing work on the glass, out-rebounding Stanford 30-26.
With 4:22 to go in the game, Stanford led 61-58. Brink was going wild for the Cardinal with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 block. The Cardinal once again had the lead as Brink was carrying the team on her shoulders.
With 2:02 to go, UCLA led 65-64 after a huge 3-pointer by Lina Sontag. It was now Stanford’s time to draw something up out of the timeout. With 1:15 to go, Stanford once again had the lead thanks to Brink making a pair of free throws and Jones getting a bucket inside. It was now a 68-65 game. UCLA needed to respond.
With 12.3 to go, it was now a 70-66 lead for Stanford after Talana Lepolo made a couple of clutch free throws. Lady Luck was on Lepolo’s side for the first free throw as it rattled home a-la Kawhi Leonard’s game-winner over the 76ers in the NBA playoffs. It was an adventure to say the least. The second free throw she nailed. UCLA had the ball, but time was not on their side.
“I mean, she had 11 points, you know a couple of turnovers that are not characteristic but I thought she did, you know, those free throws were huge,” VanDerveer said of Lepolo’s performance. “And I mean you know she played she worked hard defensively you know she's a young player that's really growing a lot and a major contributor to our team.”
In the end, Stanford walked out with a 71-66 victory. Brink got a block at the very end to seal the deal while Lepolo got the rebound off the blocked shot before giving it to Jones, who was fouled with 0.4 to go. Jones would go 1-2 at the foul line, tacking on one more point for the Cardinal.
“Yeah I think basketball is a game of spurts,” VanDerveer said. “You know we kind of went on one at in the first half and ended up you know being up thirteen: Talana hit a big three at the end of that and then you know Haley made a big shot at the end of the, I think it was the first quarter and then third quarter we just needed to come out with more intensity. But you know, UCLA's a very talented team they're an NCAA team and whether it's UCLA, USC, Arizona it doesn't matter, you've got to play for 40 minutes and I think you know Haley and Cam led the way and that was great for our team to have that leadership.
“So I think we stepped up and again Cam, she was getting clobbered, but she stayed with it, knocked her free throws down, Haley going to the basket. So you know, we can just get better because of the battle that we were in.”
For UCLA, this game is not how they wanted it to go, but to give them credit, they responded well coming out of halftime and really made it a game. Considering this was on the road and Senior Day for Stanford, they can hold their heads high after this game.
As for Stanford, it’s really nice for them to get the win on Senior Day as they were able to send off the Funky Four (Haley Jones, Hannah Jump, Francesca Belibi, and Ashten Prechtel) with a victory in their final regular season home game at Maples Pavilion. The four of them have meant a ton to the program and they did not want to end their Stanford careers with a loss at Maples.
After the game, all four of them and members from their family got to speak to the crowd that was on hand. There were some fun facts that were learned about all of them:
Haley Jones grew up wanting to play both soccer and basketball, dreaming of playing both sports in the summer Olympics. When she first got to high school at Mitty, she intended on playing both sports before eventually having to choose between the two.
Jones’ dad talked about how great it’s been to live so close to Stanford as the family comes from Santa Cruz. That’s allowed their family to form a really close bond with the entire team and feel connected to the team throughout the entire year.
Hannah Jump actually grew up playing softball and her dad thought she would be better suited for that sport. She was hitting .600 and was a really good catcher, possessing a cannon for an arm. When Jump chose basketball, he wasn’t sure it was the right decision, but she of course ended up proving that she did indeed made the right decision.
Jump grew up in England before moving to the United States for her high school years. Her dad talked about the importance of having different chapters in your life and not just having one long chapter.
Fran Belibi didn’t pick up basketball until she got into high school and her parents being more academic oriented with roots in Africa and Europe weren’t sure if basketball was going to take her anywhere. Belibi first played in open gyms behind her parents’ back and it took them a bit of time to understand the doors that basketball would open for her. But once they understood her potential, they were all in.
Belibi first dunked when she was 15 years old, so she was a quick study to stay the least. Belibi talked about how there was an adjustment for her to learn the game and how she wasn’t sure Stanford would be back to see her after she quickly fouled out in the first game they came to watch her play.
Ashten Prechtel originally wanted to be a football player growing up, wanting to be a quarterback. When she was a kid, she played on a flag football team as the quarterback and they went undefeated as she towered over the boys she was playing against. Her team executed the Statue of Liberty to perfection.
Prechtel also has the first 200 digits of pi memorized. A friendly reminder that this is Nerd Nation. Prechtel is graduating with both an undergraduate and master’s degree in Management Science & Engineering (MS&E).
As far as how they got the “Funky Four” nickname, Haley Jones explained how associate head coach Kate Paye assisted in making that happen in the post-game press conference.
“Yeah we were tricked and we were told that every class had a name like that and so we spent like hours discussing and we were like Fierce Four, Fab Four, and those were all really lame and so we never heard Funky Four before and so I think I coined it,” Jones recalled. “And I was like oh Funky Four and they're like well we're not stinky. I was like yeah but you know like we’re all different, funky this and that, so it came from that but Kate, Kate tricked us and then we came to the team and we were like ok so what's your class name? And they’re like, oh she got you. Yes, it’s Kate’s fault.”
On top of sending out the Funky Four on a high note, this win is also big for Stanford as they are gunning for a regular season Pac-12 title. By winning this game, they still control their own destiny. If they are able to sweep Colorado and Utah on the road this week, they’ll win the title.
“It’ll be a challenge for them too,” VanDerveer said of the upcoming road trip. “We're excited about it. We're excited to go there. I know, you know, we just want to keep getting better. That's our goal and you know, we're just, we want to improve and we have a lot of depth so we don't worry about the altitude. We'll drink water and you know take it at them, you know. So we want to be aggressive, play well, play hard, and have a lot of momentum going into the Pac-12 tournament.”
Up next for Stanford will be a road game at #21 Colorado on Thursday. That will tipoff at 2:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and Varsity Network radio.
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