On Sunday, #6 Stanford women’s basketball defeated Arizona on the road in Tucson by a final score of 96-64. Stanford forwards Cameron Brink (25 points, 19 rebounds, & 2 blocks) and Kiki Iriafen (21 points & 9 rebounds) led the way for the Cardinal while guards Hannah Jump (15 points) and Jzaniya Harriel (14 points) also scored in double figures. Arizona guard Courtney Blakely was the top performer for the Wildcats with 24 points and four steals. Stanford improves to 19-2 overall and 8-1 in the Pac-12 while Arizona falls to 11-10 overall and 3-6 in the Pac-12.
BOX SCORE: Stanford at Arizona-Sunday, January 28th
This one was one-way traffic for the Cardinal from the opening tip. Stanford cruised to a 21-12 lead at the end of the 1st quarter as Cameron Brink (10 points &9 rebounds) and Hannah Jump (9 points) combined for 19 of their 20 points. Jump was 3-3 from 3-point range, really in a nice groove while Brink nearly had a double-double. Let me repeat that: Brink was one rebound shy of a double-double at the end of the 1st quarter. That’s crazy. As for Arizona, Blakely did not score at all in the 1st quarter as Jada Williams and Esmery Martinez each had four points.
“She is incredibly talented,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said of Brink. “She has great skillset, finishes well, shoots the ball well, timing, blocked shots, rebounds, and she’s just been playing really really well. So, I’m really excited that she’s out there.”
“Credit to my guards,” Brink said. “They do a great job of getting me the ball. Tara, she runs a great offense for us, but yeah, I think it’s my teammates. They do it for me.”
In the 2nd quarter, Stanford outscored Arizona 20-11, taking a 41-23 lead into halftime. Brink was up to 16 points and 16 rebounds while Jump had 15 points. Iriafen had just two points, so her production would come in the second half. As for Arizona, Blakely had just four points, so her production would come later as well. Stanford was sitting pretty.
In the 3rd quarter, both teams scored more points as Stanford outscored them 30-19. Arizona did a better job of scoring, but the problem for them was Stanford did the same. Brink was up to her 25 points, 19 rebounds, and two blocks while Iriafen was up to 11 points, scoring nine points in the quarter. Blakely was up to 11 points for the Wildcats, scoring seven points in the quarter. As a result, Stanford led 71-42 entering the 4th quarter.
In the 4th quarter, Stanford outscored Arizona 25-22, making it the one competitive quarter, though it was all garbage time. Kiki Iriafen scored 10 points in the quarter, giving her 21 points for the game. She did a nice job of padding her stats in the end, but if there’s anyone who has earned the right to pad their stats, it’s Iriafen. 96-64 would be the final score as Stanford cruised to a win.
“Oh man, she is playing so well,” VanDerveer said of Iriafen. “She got quick fouls, but she just stayed in the game when she needed to, made big plays, I think she was one rebound short of a double-double. She’s been a double-double machine. So, we’re really proud of how well she’s playing.”
For Stanford, this is a win that is impressive. Arizona had a strong crowd and had a home win over Utah this season while losing to Colorado at home by just one point. This is a game that could have been close but Stanford wasn’t having any of it. They shut the door on the Wildcats quickly. That’s what elite teams do.
As for Arizona, what can I say? The score speaks for itself. They need to go back to the drawing board as they are clearly trending in the wrong direction. They need to figure some things out and do some mid-season soul searching. Maybe they need to go climb a mountain together or something meditative.
It was really nice of Arizona head coach Adia Barnes to give Tara VanDerveer flowers before the game to honor her NCAA wins record, but maybe that kind of a gesture sent a message of submission to her squad. You don’t hand flowers to someone who is about to disgrace your team on the court in front of your fans. This ain't Y-Ball.
Up next for Stanford is a home game on Friday, February 2nd against USC. That will tip-off at 7:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and Varsity Network radio.
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