On Wednesday, #9 Stanford women’s basketball defeated UC Davis 92-52. Stanford senior forward Cameron Brink (21 points, 4 rebounds, & 2 blocks) and junior forward Kiki Iriafen (20 points & 11 rebounds) led the way for the Cardinal while junior guard Elena Bosgana (14 points & 6 rebounds) was the third leading scorer. While not the most explosive outing from her, fifth year guard Hannah Jump (10 points) passed Kiana Williams for most threes in program history.
The top scorers for UC Davis were guard Evanne Turner (17 points) and guard Tova Sabel (12 points). Stanford improves to 10-1 overall while UC Davis falls to 4-6.
BOX SCORE: UC Davis at Stanford-Wednesday, December 20th
VIDEO: Stanford WBB Postgame Press Conference | UC Davis
“I think that our team came out really in the first half and kind of set the tone,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said after the game. “Davis is a really good team if you let them do what they like to do. A lot of what they do is what we like to do because Jenn and Joe taught me kinda how to run the Princeton offense. So, internally grateful to them. They are just a really a great staff and I think they have a really nice team.
“You know, having said that, they don’t have anyone to guard Cam and they don’t have anyone to guard Kiki. And both Cam and Kiki kinda just took it at them inside. I thought that opened things up for Hannah and congratulations to Hannah to break the Stanford three-point record, which is just an incredible I think accomplishment considering all the great three-point shooters we’ve had at Stanford. Kiana being the latest one.
“But, we’re really so glad that Hannah is back. She’s really special to our team and on top of her three-point shooting, I think her defense was fantastic today. She worked really hard, had steals, aggressive, passing the ball inside, and I thought Elena had a really good game for us. I thought our last game, she made some great corrections in terms of taking better shots and I thought she shot the ball well. Going 2-4 from three; 5-7 you can do that every night, which is great. Plus she’s going to the boards. Had six rebounds for us, so I’m really excited about how both Elena and Hannah Jump played.”
Stanford got off to a strong start, leading 17-6 with 5:15 to go in the 1st quarter after Jump made her first three of the game. That three gave her the all-time mark for most threes in program history. After she made the three, a message from Kiana Williams came up on the jumbotron, congratulating Jump on the achievement.
“Yeah, I feel great,” Jump said of breaking the record. “I mean, like Tara said, there’ve been so many great three-point shooters to come through here. So to hold that record is really special, but I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do it without my incredible teammates. I think a lot of my shots come off assists from all of them. So, whether it’s screens or passing, I’m just so grateful to be able to play with all those special girls and be able to hold this record. It’s great.
“Yeah, Ki was a point guard you always wanted to play with. She could shoot the ball, she could pass, and I think her leadership on the court was really special and I think that’s really something that I’ve learned from her. Her body language, she was always a positive with us, and to get the message from her was really special. I didn’t really get a chance to really to what she said too much. We were in the huddle, but I’m sure I’ll get a chance to watch it and I’ll text her later.”
At the end of the 1st quarter, Stanford led 34-15. Brink was leading the way with 10 points, two rebounds, and one block while Jump had seven points. All things were going the Cardinal’s way.
Stanford continued to dominate, outscoring UC Davis 26-10 in the 2nd quarter, to take a 60-25 halftime lead. Iriafen was up to 16 points and seven rebounds, really doing work inside. Brink (12 points), Jump (10 points), and Bosgana (10 points) were also in double figures.
Stanford led 71-30 with 4:28 to go in the 3rd quarter. Brink was up to 21 points, continuing to dominate. At this point, Stanford was just looking to finish strong for its own sake. This one was in the bag.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, Stanford led 80-33. The only question now was whether or not the Cardinal would get to 100 points or not. UC Davis was getting crushed.
In the end, Stanford would win by a final score of 92-52. They took their foot off the gas in the 4th quarter as UC Davis outscored them 19-12. Considering the game was well over by halftime, the 4th quarter performance shouldn’t be of any concern. The goal entering the 4th was to give some other players a run and also make sure nobody got injured. Mission accomplished.
For Stanford, this went as expected. I predicted a 40 point victory and that’s exactly what happened. UC Davis played hard, but they just don’t have an answer for Brink and Iriafen inside. Stanford showed why they are a top ten team in the country.
Going back to Jump, truly an historic outing for her. She stands all alone as the greatest three-point shooter in program history with more threes made than anybody. And with Pac-12 play not yet underway, she’s got a chance to pad her stats and make it a very difficult mark to reach. It feels like she’s going to hold this record for a very long time.
“Well, I think that as a high school player, obviously there’s a big adjustment between high school and college,” VanDerveer said when looking back on Jump’s career. “But, Hannah decided that she wanted to be a great player. It wasn’t my decision. She put the work in and between her freshman and sophomore year, she really got in terrific shape so that she was quicker laterally and could be a much better defender. And she’s so you know, all players, they have things that they’re gonna work on and can improve on, and Hannah is still a great hard worker.
"She’ll first of all, she came back like six weeks early this year from surgery. So that’s great, too. Her work ethic is what has separated Hannah from other players. She’s always the first one in the gym working on her shot, she and Elena are usually the last ones in the gym working on their shots. And she’s doing a great job as our captain, a leader, she’s kind of a glue out there, so it’s more than just her shooting.”
Up next for Stanford is a road game at Cal to open up Pac-12 play. That will begin on Friday, December 29th at 2:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and Varsity Network radio.
“It’s the hundredth game between Cal and Stanford,” VanDerveer said. “So, we know that there’s, obviously we want everyone to have a great holiday and have a break, but Hannah and Elena will both be in the gym still working on their shot, working out, and wanting to come back and it’ll be a big challenge to play over at Cal. They’re playing very well and our goal is to win the Pac-12 and I believe that we can. But we have to play well and hopefully we also will have Jzaniya and Courtney back, too. So they should be back for that game.”
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