On Friday, #8 Stanford women’s basketball defeated Washington State 74-65 at Maples Pavilion. Stanford senior forward Cameron Brink led the way for the Cardinal with 20 points, 18 rebounds, five blocks, and two steals while junior forward Kiki Iriafen (17 points & 8 rebounds), sophomore guard Talana Lepolo (13 points & 4 assists) and junior forward Brooke Demetre (12 points & 4 rebounds) also scored in double figures.
Washington State senior guard Charlisse Leger-Walker (22 points, 9 rebounds, & 4 assists) was the top scorer for the Cougars. Stanford improves to 13-1 overall and 2-0 in the Pac-12 while Washington State falls to 11-4 overall and 0-2 in the Pac-12.
VIDEO: Stanford WBB Postgame Press Conference | Washington State
BOX SCORE: Washington State at Stanford-Friday, January 5th
“Washington State is defending Pac-12 conference [tournament] champions and they brought back a lot of those players,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said after the game. “They played with a lot of confidence Murekatete played very well, especially in the first half. We know Leger-Walker is a great player and she was due for a good game and she had one. They brought in a nice transfer player that helped them and Kamie is a great coach. So we knew we were going to have our hands full and we did.
“I think we were much better when Cam was on the floor and she did a great job with playing in the second half. She battled. 18 and 20, rebounded, scored; Talana knocking down her threes. So, I think that offensively those were our big weapons out there. Kiki scored for us, who did a great job at the free throw line. Our rebounding I thought was a really big key. I thought we could do an even better job of getting o-boards. But, they’re a really good team and we’re really excited to be in first place and get ready for Washington.”
Early on the game was tight as Stanford led 14-12 with 2:41 to go in the 1st quarter. Brink was leading the way for the Cardinal with seven points and four rebounds. She was doing a good job of establishing her presence from the opening tip.
At the end of the 1st quarter, Stanford led 18-12. Brink was leading the Cardinal with nine points, four rebounds, and one block. Iriafen was up to six points and two rebounds. It was a strong start for the Cardinal.
With 4:22 to go in the 2nd quarter, Stanford led 30-21. Lepolo was up to six points and two assists on 2-2 shooting from 3-point range. She was starting to heat up a bit. Bella Murekatete was pacing the Cougars inside with six points.
“Well, Kiki and Cam are great scorers, but I think their passing is widely underrated,” Lepolo said when asked about her 3-point shooting. “I think their ability to find all of our spot up shooters is really amazing. So basically just whenever they’re being doubled, I know it’s my job to knock down an open three. The team needs me to make those threes. That’s where it’s coming from.”
To the crowd’s astonishment, Washington State would claw their way back to take a 35-34 lead at halftime. Murekatete was up to 11 points while Jessica Clarke had eight points. Brink’s nine points, six rebounds, and one block was leading the Cardinal.
Midway through the 3rd quarter it was tied 44-44. Brink was up to 13 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks for the Cardinal. As for Leger-Walker, she was starting to catch fire for the Cougars with 14 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Washington State was doing a great job of responding every time Stanford delivered a punch.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, Stanford led 59-50. Brooke Demetre (10 points) and Hannah Jump (8 points) were coming alive for the Cardinal. As for Brink, she was leading the charge with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks. Leger-Walker was doing all she could to keep Washington State alive with 17 points and seven rebounds.
“I thought Brooke really helped us a lot,” VanDerveer said of Demetre. “I thought Brooke had a great game. Got that big steal and brought a lot of energy. Had some nice plays…I think she’s fabulous. One of the things, she’s so steady. You can really depend on her. She’s a high energy player whether she plays the three, the four, comes in off the bench, I thought she was a real difference maker. Making the free throws, when it was tied in the third quarter, she was out there when we pulled away and I thought she did great.”
Stanford got off to as strong start in the 4th quarter, leading 66-54 with 4:50 to go. Brink was up to 20 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks, and two steals. Leger-Walker was doing her part for the Cougars with 19 points. She needed more help.
Washington State would go on a bit of a run to make it interesting down the stretch. With 1:05 to go, Stanford led by just four points (69-65). Washington State had converted a rare five-point play courtesy of a 3-pointer followed by two foul shots as the foul occurred after the shot. The player fouled was not the one shooting the ball.
At this point, it looked like Stanford might be in some trouble. But suddenly, Stanford found a way to go back up by nine points (74-65) with 42.0 to go: Demetre made a pair of free throws, Lepolo made the first of two free throws, and Iriafen cleaned up Lepolo’s missed foul shot for a putback.
“Yeah, I think like Tara said, Brooke was a huge spark for us,” Brink said of the key to closing out the game. “I think playing with Talana, like I love playing with T, she just keeps us steady. I think our communication also we did a great job talking. But yeah, I don’t know. I think we just fought through; I think there were some bad calls. We’re always going to get bad calls. We fought through them. Our freshmen came in and they played great. Always super proud of them. So yeah, and Hannah is always super steady for us. She only took two three-pointers today, but she was talking and defending.”
In the end, 74-65 would be the final score. Washington State put a nice little scare into Stanford, but it wasn’t enough. They just weren’t quite able to pull off the comeback.
For Stanford, this was a solid win. Washington State is a feisty opponent who is the defending Pac-12 tourney champions. They have a lot of pieces back from last year and so it’s no surprise this one was a fight.
As for Washington State, clearly a bummer. They’ve still never beaten Stanford in women’s basketball, which is pretty crazy. No doubt that was on their minds going into the matchup. A chance to make history in their final season of being in the same league as Stanford. They would have liked to have won this one on those grounds alone. The good news for them on that front is they’ll get a chance to get even with Stanford in Pullman later this season. And who knows, maybe they’ll cross paths in the Pac-12 or NCAA tourney.
Up next for Stanford is a home game against Washington on Sunday. That will tip-off at 1:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Bay Area and Varsity Network radio.
“They shoot the ball really well,” VanDerveer said of the Huskies. “Our defense is gonna have to be on point. They’re a very good team and we’re gonna have to play very well. We owe them. We lost to them last year up there.”
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