On Friday, #2 Stanford women’s basketball defeated #13 Oregon State in the semifinals of the Pac-12 tournament by a final score of 66-57. Stanford fifth year guard Hannah Jump led the way for the Cardinal with 20 points and six rebounds while senior forward Cameron Brink had a near triple double with 16 points, 12 rebounds, nine rebounds, and two blocks. Oregon State sophomore forward Raegan Beers was the top performer for the Beavers with 17 points and seven rebounds. Stanford advances to the Pac-12 championship game against #5 USC on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 2:00 PM PT on ESPN.
BOX SCORE: Stanford vs. Oregon State-Friday, March 8th
VIDEO: Stanford Postgame Press Conference | Pac-12 Semifinals
Friday’s game was truly a tale of two halves. Oregon State was the better team in the first half while Stanford once again came roaring back to dominate the second half. It was the same case in Thursday’s game against Cal. For some reason, Stanford has really enjoyed making comebacks.
“The first thing I’d like to say is that Oregon State is a great team,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said after the game. “Not only do they play extremely well, but they’re really classy and we’ll really be cheering for them in the NCAA tournament.
“The second thing I guess I just like to say is I hope that being down at halftime is not a habit of our team, but I’m really excited. I think that this can be a game that can really help us a lot being down and being able to battle back. We have not had to really do this or we have not done this all year. We haven’t been down a lot.
“We have had to battle out of a big hole and so I was really impressed with the leadership that Cam showed and Brooke and Talana and Hannah Jump. Hannah had a great game. Brooke had a great game and Cam was out there battling the whole game. Played really well for us. Kiki stepped up. Everyone contributed. We did not have anyone not do something that helped us win the game and I’m really proud of our team.”
Stanford would led 10-9 with 4:09 to go in the 1st quarter. Brink was off to a hot start with six points already for the Cardinal. She was in a nice flow. Shortly thereafter, Oregon State went on an incredible 17-2 run to lead 24-12 at the end of the 1st quarter. Beers was up to 10 points for the Beavers. She was on fire having made her last four shots.
With 4:19 to go in the half, Oregon State led 35-24. Stanford was still in a hole but was finding a bit of life as they’ve made four of their last five field goals. Earlier in the quarter, they had trailed by 16 points, so they were trying to close the gap before halftime. Jump was a big part of that effort as she was up to eight points.
At halftime, Oregon State led 35-27. Stanford finished the half on an 8-0 run to get back within striking distance. Beers’ 10 points and three rebounds led the Beavers while Hannah Jump and Kiki Iriafen each had eight points to lead the Cardinal.
Stanford came out with a lot of fire in the second half as it was suddenly a 41-40 lead for Oregon State with 4:53 to go in the 3rd quarter. Jump (14 points) and Brink (12 points) were in double figures for the Cardinal. Stanford was outscoring Oregon State 13-6 in the 3rd quarter so far. Just like their game against Cal the day before, Stanford was quick to erase their deficit.
“Last game definitely gave us confidence that we can come back from anything,” Jump said. “You know, honestly, I don’t even think half of us knew we were down 16 at one point. We were just kind of continuing to play and I think at halftime Tara was like no, just continue playing Stanford basketball. If we’re getting good looks, they’re gonna fall and that’s what we did going into the second half. But I think games like this give us confidence. It shows us how resilient we are as a team and how if we really want it, we’re going to work for it and be successful in that second half.”
Stanford continued to dominate as they led 48-41 with 2:26 to go in the 3rd quarter. Stanford was on a 13-2 run over the last 3:38. Oregon State called for time.
Stanford led 50-43 at the end of the 3rd quarter as they outscored Oregon State 23-8 coming out of halftime. Jump was up to 16 points for the Cardinal while Brink had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“Yeah, I think we always just make it a point to be really positive,” Brink said. “So, we were in the locker room and you know, we kind of have this joke. Bird (Erica McCall), used to play at Stanford, great player and I forget what game it was, but Notre Dame and at halftime they were down by 17 and she was like, we got’em right where we want’em. So I kinda, we just say that whenever we’re down. We got’em right where we want’em. I think it’s just about being positive. So, really proud of Hannah. She came out and showed some real grit and Brooke. She’s two for two from three, which is crazy. So yeah, I just think we try to be really positive.”
With 4:40 to go, Stanford led 58-53. Iriafen had a much-needed jumper for the Cardinal as they were up to 12 points. Stanford’s offense had stagnated a bit. They really needed that. Beers was up to 16 points for the Beavers. She was keeping them in the game.
Stanford would start to pull away from there. With 2:09 to go, Stanford led 64-57. Talia von Oelhoffen hit a huge three for the Beavers, but it appeared to be too little too late. Jump was up to 20 points for the Cardinal, playing a huge role in helping them shut the door on the Beavers for good.
From there, Stanford would win 66-57. After trailing by eight points at halftime and as much 16 points early on in the 2nd quarter, the Cardinal pulled it out rather convincingly as they almost won by double digits.
For Stanford, it’s really huge they advanced to the Pac-12 championship game. They did want to go out in the semis or quarterfinals of the conference tourney as that would have had a negative impact on their NCAA tourney seeding and likely would have cost them a #1 seed. Now, they can all but guarantee themselves a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament if they are able to defeat USC in the conference title game.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s game against the Trojans, obviously JuJu Watkins will be the main focus for Stanford. She lit them up like a Christmas tree on The Farm with 51 points in their last meeting. USC won by a final score of 67-58. Containing her is going to be priority number one.
And then on top of that, Stanford’s offense needs to be better than it was the last time they played. Stanford didn’t score a ton of points in that game, so they’re going to have to make sure they are moving the ball well and getting good looks for each other.
Regarding a prediction, I’m going to pick Stanford to win by a final score of 72-67. I think they play much better offense and I also don’t see Watkins going off like she did. Stanford will be ready for her this time.
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