On Thursday, #3 Stanford women’s basketball defeated #21 Colorado on the road in double overtime by a final score of 73-62. Stanford senior guard Haley Jones led the way for the Cardinal with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists, playing in all 50 minutes of the game. Stanford senior guard Hannah Jump (14 points) and freshman center Lauren Betts (14 points, 8 rebounds, & 2 blocks) also finished in double figures.

Colorado senior guard Jaylyn Sherrod was the top performer for the Buffaloes with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Stanford improves to 27-3 overall and 15-2 in the Pac-12 while Colorado falls to 21-7 overall and 12-5 in the Pac-12.

BOX SCORE: #3 Stanford at #21 Colorado

The 1st quarter was all Colorado as the Buffaloes scored the first thirteen points of the game. With 2:17 to go in the quarter, it was a 13-0 lead for the Buffaloes after a second chance 3-pointer by Jada Wynn. All was going the Buffs’ way.

At the end of the 1st quarter, it was a 13-5 lead for Colorado. After allowing Colorado to jump out to a 13-0 lead, Stanford was able to crawl back into the game a bit as they were able to score in the final minute and change of the quarter. Haley Jones nailed a pair of free throws while Brooke Demetre drained a corner 3-pointer.

In the 2nd quarter, Stanford would outscore Colorado 13-11, but they made up most of their game in the final couple of minutes. With 2:25 to go in the quarter, it was a 21-10 lead for the Buffs after Aaronette Vonleh made a bucket inside. From then on, Stanford was able to close the quarter on an 8-3 run to make a 24-18 game at halftime. Those eight points consisted of a layup by Haley Jones and a pair of 3-pointers from Hannah Jump and Elena Bosgana. Tayanna Jones was leading the Buffs with 9 points while Jones and Jump each had 6 points for the Cardinal.

With 6:24 to go in the 3rd quarter, Stanford finally took their first lead of the game as Jump made a clutch 3-pointer. After digging themselves into quite a hole, Stanford had new life.

At the end of the 3rd quarter, Stanford led 38-33. Betts was up to 9 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 block after getting a huge rebound off a missed shot by Jump and getting the quick put back to beat the buzzer plus the foul. She made the foul shot. Betts was on quite a roll, having made her last four shots. It was a 7-0 run for the Cardinal.

With 7:04 to go in the 4th quarter, it was a 40-37 lead for the Cardinal as the Buffs were slashing into their lead. Stanford called for time hoping to get things going in a more positive direction.

With 2:40 to go, Colorado had tied up the game 46-46 after Quay Miller scored four straight points at the foul line. Stanford was trying to finish this game off in regulation, but Colorado did a good job of answering.

With 53.6 to go, it was a 48-46 lead for Stanford after Betts went to the foul line and made both of her foul shots. Colorado had the ball. Colorado would find a way to tie it up, forcing overtime at 48-48 after Sherrod got a huge layup off a Stanford turnover.

Overtime would be very back and forth as both teams traded baskets. Neither was able to gain an edge over the other. It was like a tennis match that couldn’t leave deuce.

With 58 seconds to go in overtime, it was a 56-56 game as Jones made two huge free throws. This came after she missed two free throws after which Francesca Belibi also missed two free throws all in the same possession. Stanford was lucky to get three trips to the foul line and the third time was the charm. Truly a wild sequence.

The game would then go to double overtime after Betts kept the game alive by going 1-2 at the foul line. At this point, Cameron Brink had fouled out with 8 points. It just wasn’t her night. 60-60 was the score.

In double overtime, Stanford finally pulled away as they led 70-62 with 59 seconds left. Jump made a huge 3-pointer to give Stanford the breathing room they needed. In the end, Stanford would walk out with a 73-62 victory after Haley Jones split a pair of free throws and Kiki Iriafen made a layup in the closing seconds. The final score looked solid, but boy was this a tough game for the Cardinal.

For Stanford, this is a huge win because it guarantees they’ll at least get a share of the Pac-12 championship. If they want to win it outright, they have to beat Utah on Saturday and that’s where I want to now shift my focus.

Utah Preview: Stanford will face Utah on Saturday at 11:00 AM PT on Pac-12 Networks and Varsity Network radio. If Stanford wins, they’re the Pac-12 champions outright. If they lose, they’re co-champions with Utah. That seems fair if you consider that Stanford won earlier in the season on their home floor. The bottom line is if they split the season series, they split the league title. There’s a certain simplicity to it that’s nice.

In their previous meeting with Utah, Stanford won 74-62, Haley Jones and Cameron Brink each had 25 point double-doubles. Jones with 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks; Brink with 14 points, 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 1 steal. As for Utah, Alissa Pili (25 points & 5 rebounds) and Gianna Kneepkens (19 points & 4 rebounds) were the top performers.

Since that game, Utah has done enough to put themselves in a position to earn a share of the league title, going 9-1. They are also 13-0 at home, so Stanford is coming into Salt Lake City trying to be the first team to defeat this Utah team on the road.

As a team, the Utes are now averaging 84.4 points per game on 49.1% shooting from the field, 35.6% shooting from 3-point range, and 78.0% shooting from the foul line. They average 37.5 rebounds, 18.7 assists, 7.1 steals, 3.4 blocks, and 14.2 turnovers per game. They also average a +6.5 rebound margin and a +1.7 turnover margin per game.

Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is make their free throws. At Colorado, they shot 13-22 (59.1%) from the foul line. Had they made a few more free throws, this game would have been much less dramatic. Free throw shooting almost lost them the game at Colorado and it could cost them a win at Utah if they’re not careful.

The second thing Stanford needs to do is keep Cameron Brink on the floor and out of foul trouble. Brink played in only 21 minutes at Colorado and wasn’t able to have the kind of impact she was hoping to have. If Brink plays a full game and avoids foul trouble, Stanford should be fine.

Finally, Stanford needs to rebound. Stanford won the rebound battle 53-42 at Colorado, which in key moments saved their bacon. If Stanford rebounds well, that will really help them win this one.

Prediction: Given that Utah is 13-0 at home on the season and Stanford is coming off a tough double overtime victory in Boulder, I’m actually going to give Utah a slight nod and pick them to win by one point: 70-69. Utah is balling out right now and should have a good crowd showing support. If Stanford wins this, it’ll be their most impressive win of the season by far.

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