Recap: #7 Stanford WBB pulls out gritty victory at Gonzaga
On Sunday, #7 Stanford women’s basketball defeated Gonzaga 66-62 on the road up in Spokane, Washington. Stanford forward Francesca Belibi (14 points & 4 rebounds) and Stanford guard Hannah Jump (14 points on 5-11 FG; 4-10 3PT) led the way for the Cardinal while Gonzaga forward Melody Kempton led the way for the Bulldogs with 16 points and 5 rebounds. Stanford improves to 3-1 overall while Gonzaga falls to 3-1.
Stanford was without Haley Jones, which led to a rocky start as Gonzaga jumped out in front to lead 23-13 at the end of the first quarter. Eliza Hollingsworth and Melody Kempton each had 5 points for Gonzaga while Francesca Belibi had 7 points for Stanford. The Cardinal were in some trouble early.
Gonzaga would then go on to lead 33-18 with 4:48 to go in the half. Kempton was on fire with 12 points. Stanford would shortly respond with a 6-0 run to make it a 33-24 game with 3:42 to go in the half thanks to back-to-back threes from Hannah Jump.
Stanford would close the gap even further, making it a 35-32 halftime lead for Gonzaga. It was a 14-2 run by the Cardinal to close the half. Kempton was up to 12 points for Gonzaga while Belibi was up to 10 points for Stanford.
With 4:48 to go in the 3rd quarter, Stanford would take the lead thanks to an 8-0 run. Hannah Jump was going wild with 14 points on 5-8 shooting from the field and 4-7 shooting from 3-point range. Thanks to her hot hand, the Cardinal were back in this game.
Stanford would lead 50-47 at the end of the 3rd quarter. Stanford outscored Gonzaga 18-12 in the period. It was still a battle. Cameron Brink and Francesca Belibi each had 10 points for the Cardinal while Kempton was leading the Bulldogs with 16 points.
With 5:50 to go, Stanford would lead 54-52. Brink was in foul trouble with four fouls. That was definitely something that had to have Stanford at least a little bit worried.
Stanford would then go up 56-52 with 4:52 to go as Belibi scored her 14th points of the night after getting a huge bucket. The game continued to be a battle.
The game would get tied up 58-58 with 2:57 to go as the game entered crunch time. Lexie Hull and Lacie Hull each going 1-2 at the foul line plus Cameron Brink getting a bucket inside made it a 62-58 lead for Stanford with 1:04 to go.
With 15.2 to go, Stanford led 63-62 after Cierra Walker made a huge corner three for Gonzaga. Anna Wilson would then go 1-2 at the line for Stanford to make it a 64-62 lead, leaving a window open for Gonzaga. Fortunately for Stanford, Kaylynne Truong’s 3-point attempt did not fall and from there, Lexie Hull nailed two foul shots to make it a 66-62 win for Stanford.
For Stanford, this is a win they should feel really good about. Especially when you consider the fact this was on the road and they were without Haley Jones. Gonzaga has been a tough opponent over the years and always brings their A-game against Stanford. This is a game where if you even walk out with a one point win, you feel good.
That said, there were things that Stanford did not do well that they need to clean up. 8-18 (44.4%) shooting from the foul line is just plain bad. Stanford has to shoot better at the line than they have and quite honestly are lucky they won this game when you look at those numbers. 13 turnovers was a step in the right direction, though you’d like to see more than 13 assists. A 1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio isn’t good, either. The bottom line for Stanford is a win is a win and it’s better to make mistakes in a win than it is to make mistakes that cost you a win.
Up next for Stanford will be a trip to the Bahamas over Thanksgiving weekend. Up first will be the Hoosiers of Indiana. That game will tipoff at 10:30 AM PT on Thanksgiving Day on FloHoops and Varsity Network radio.