On Sunday, #8 Stanford women’s basketball defeated Washington by a final score of 71-59. Stanford junior forward Kiki Iriafen (19 points, 9 rebounds, & 1 block) and senior forward Cameron Brink (16 points, 16 rebounds, & 3 blocks) led the way for the Cardinal. Washington junior forward Dalayah Daniels was the top performer for the Huskies with 15 points & 3 rebounds. Stanford improves to 14-1 overall and 3-0 in the Pac-12 while Washington falls to 11-3 overall and 1-2 in the Pac-12. This win was the 1,200th win of Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer’s career.
VIDEO: Stanford WBB Postgame Press Conference | Washington
BOX SCORE: Washington at Stanford-Sunday, January 7th
“I’m really proud of our team,” VanDerveer said after the game. “Washington has, they have a really talented team, they play with a lot of, I think they’re a very well coached team; they have great shooters on their team and I think our team really stepped up defensively. Worked really hard defensively and then I just think it was tough for them to defend both Kiki and Cam. Kiki got it going inside, she shot a great percentage, rebounding, almost a double-double right there. But, I think that getting it inside and then Hannah is trying to torture me. Just wait until the second half to make her threes, but she really got it going in the second half and what confidence Hannah has to keep shooting the ball and obviously playing great defense, too.
“I thought Elena gave us a big spark in the second half with her steals and getting out there. I thought Cam, our third quarter was excellent. That was really a great quarter for us and just I thought we rebounded well. We had to work really hard defensively and Talana was kinda the glue the whole time.”
Washington led 10-9 with 4:06 to go in the 1st quarter. Daniels was leading the Huskies with four points. As for Stanford, Iriafen was leading the way with five points and two rebounds. Both teams were in a battle.
Stanford would take a 15-13 lead at the end of the 1st quarter. Brink was up to four points and six rebounds, but she had two fouls. Dalayah Daniels and Elle Ladine each had four points for the Huskies.
“We don’t like that scenario,” VanDerveer said of Brink being in foul trouble. “But I think that Kiki just steps up. She understands hey we’re going inside to Kiki and I just think that we kinda won at the free throw line. When you look at some of the numbers, we won rebounding, too. Our rebounding.
“But Kiki, Nunu, Brooke, we’re not a one trick pony. And it’s just I think that whether it’s Hannah, Cam hit a three, Courtney hit a three, we’ve got a lot of different weapons and Cam obviously is really important to our success and we love her out there, but she’s gotta get a little rest, too. Hannah doesn’t get much rest, but we’re not all about Cam. I love Cam and she’s playing great, but Kiki steps in, Brooke steps in, Nunu’s playing well, so we’re really trying to play ten people a game.”
Stanford started to gain a bit of separation as they led 28-21 with 6:21 to go in the 2nd quarter. Iriafen was really stepping up with Brink on the bench. She was up to 12 points and three rebounds. Courtney Ogden and Nunu Agara each had a triple for the Cardinal, doing their part as well.
“I like how Nunu battled in there,” VanDerveer said. “One time, did she get like two or three of her own rebounds? Padding her own stats. But, I thought she did great. Nunu is not a freshman. I mean, that girl is so poised. She’s so dependable out there. And I thought Courtney came in and gave us some real good minutes, too. She was aggressive.”
At halftime, Stanford led 35-30. Iriafen’s 12 points and four rebounds led the Cardinal while Agara was up to 10 points and four rebounds. As for Washington, Dalayah Daniels and Lauren Schwartz each had eight points. They were doing their part to keep their team in the game.
“Yeah, I think she was physical,” Iriafen said of Daniels. “We battled back, it was a good matchup.”
Stanford got off to a strong start in the 3rd quarter, leading 43-32 with 7:06 to go in the quarter. They were on an 8-0 run sparked by a couple of threes by Hannah Jump. Jump didn’t score at all in the first half, struggling to find her shot. But coming out of halftime, she immediately found her groove.
“Yeah, I mean, mentally I’m just trying to tell myself to keep shooting,” Jump said. “Tara came up to me at halftime was like you could go 0 for a hundred and I’d still think the next one is in. So I know that I have the confidence in my coaches and my teammates and that really helps me continue to shoot and just stay positive.”
With 3:41 to go in the 3rd quarter, Stanford led 53-38. Stanford was outscoring Washington 18-8. Jump now had nine points, shooting 3-3 from 3-point range in the quarter.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, Stanford led 60-44. Iriafen (19 points & 6 rebounds) and Jump (13 points) were leading the way for the Cardinal. Daniels (13 points) was pacing the Huskies.
“I think Kiki’s pass out to Hannah Jump was the pass of the game, honestly,” VanDerveer said. “That was phenomenal. That really got the crowd involved.”
With 4:43 to go in the game, Stanford led 62-51. The Cardinal were in a good spot. They just needed to finish strong.
In the end, Stanford would win by a final score of 71-59. Washington actually outscored Stanford 15-11 in the 4th quarter, but it wasn’t enough. Stanford had done a good enough job of building a lead through the first three quarters that they could take their foot off the gas a bit and still win with ease.
For Stanford, this is a really nice win. Washington is a tough opponent who beat them last year in Seattle. To take care of business against them feels good. Especially after a tough win over Washington State on Friday.
Touching quickly on Tara VanDerveer and the history she is making, with 1,200 career wins, she is just three wins away from surpassing Mike Krzyzewski for most wins of any college basketball coach in Division I history. That’s phenomenal. It doesn’t get talked about enough on this site, but her ascension to the top of the record books is truly remarkable.
As for Washington, a disappointing loss, but they’ll have a chance to get even with Stanford later this season when they face off in Seattle. They got a tough team and will win a lot of games this year. Going 0-2 in their Bay Area road trip isn’t ideal, but they’ll bounce back.
Up next for Stanford is a road game at Utah on Friday, January 12th. That will tip-off at 5:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and Varsity Network radio.
CardinalSportsReport.com on Facebook & X (Twitter): @StanfordRivals
Ben Parker on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, & X (Twitter): @slamdunk406
Email: slamdunk406@yahoo.com
