There weren’t any upsets in NCAAW last night, just a near-upset. No. 6 Stanford went to Seattle to face Washington, and without Cameron Brink‘s 22-point game, the Cardinal might well have walked away with a fourth loss. This was a game about who shot worse, not better, than the other team. Stanford overall shot 42.1% going 24-57 including 7-23 from beyond the arc. Washington shot 32.8% making 22-67, and 11-36 from beyond the arc.
Stanford had the edge in rebounds as well as turnovers and fouls. Even though Stanford came away with the win, it was not the kind of win of which one could be terribly proud. Did Stanford, or more appropriately, Brink, gut it out? Yes, especially in overtime. Did Washington make a valiant effort? Well, yes. They didn’t cave, and with Washington scoring the final seven points in the fourth to force overtime, the Cardinal had to dig deep, and so they did.
Some might say that this kind of game was a good test for Stanford. However, considering the lack of production from each team, it seemed more like an escape by the skin-of-your-teeth affair, from which the greatest lesson is “don’t play like that again.” Of course, a win is a win, but then one must consider the kind of win. For Stanford, Cameron Brink finished with 22 points and 9 rebounds, with 6 blocked shots. Courtney Ogden added 11 points and Talana Lepolo 10.
For the Huskies, Hannah Stones led the way with 17 points, followed by Lauren Schwartz and Salvia Sellers each with 11.
Colorado took care of Oregon in NCAAW action
No. 4 Colorado beat Oregon 90-57, going end to end. Colorado had 32 assists on 36 made shots, a season record. The Ducks had their sixth straight loss, and have gone 0-8 against Top 25 teams. Oregon coach Kelly Graves was realistic about his team’s chances of winning but expressed obvious disappointment in the lack of intensity on defense and overall ability to successfully compete.
Colorado coach JR Payne was pleased with the team’s effort, particularly with how they shared the ball and looked for the best shot rather than forcing anything. Maddie Nolan scored 19 points with 6 assists for Colorado, followed by Quay Miller, Aaronette Vonleh, and Frida Forman, each with twelve. Off the bench, Tameiya Sadler added 11, double her season average.
For Oregon, Grace VanSlooten scored 16 with 7 boards. Ula Chamberlin put in 13 off the bench, and starters Phillipina Kyei and Chance Gray added 11 and 10 respectively.
Oregon State defeated Utah in a top-20 matchup
In yet another low-scoring game, No. 17 Oregon State beat No. 20 Utah 58-44. With Utah having been ranked No. 5 in the preseason, this is quite a fall from grace. Alissa Pili shot well below her average with only 12 points. Kennedy McQueen was the only other player in double digits with 14 points. Overall, the Utes shot a disappointing 28.1%, going 6-33 from the 3-point line. The Beavers got something from everyone that played.
Raegan Beers scored 17 points with 8 boards, Donovan Hunter bagged 10 with 5 boards, and Time Gardiner added 10 with 6 boards from the bench. At the half, the score was 30-22 in favor of Oregon State. Not an insurmountable lead, yet the Beavers added another 3 points to the lead in the third, and another 3 in a fourth quarter that ended 9-6. Early in the second quarter, Alissa Pili got the layup to give Utah a very brief 16-14 lead, which was erased for good by Dominika Paurova’s layup.
The Beavers have won both games they’ve played against Utah. Oregon State next meets Colorado, and Utah will host Oregon.
UCLA and USC win in Pac-12 play
In the other two Top 25 games Friday, the State of California beat the state of Arizona by a score of 147-121, with No. 9 UCLA over Arizona 66-58, and No. 10 USC beating Arizona State 81-63. For UCLA, Charisma Osborne scored 8, well below her season average of 15, with 5 boards and 6 assists. Conversely, Kiki Rice, with a 12.8 average, had 20 points. Leading the way was Gabriela Jaquez off the bench, almost doubling her average of 11 points with 21, and almost tripling her rebound average of 6 with 15.
For the Wildcats, Emery Martinez scored 16, Kailyn Gilbert scored 14 off the bench, and starter Helena Pueyo 10.
Finally, No. 10 USC easily handled ASU. Going into the second quarter ahead 22-9, USC only gave up three points of their lead and were up by 10 at the half. ASU got within seven in the third, but then the Trojans went on a 12-2 run. Juju Watkins had a very slow start, scoring only 6 points in the first half. The jets were turned on, and Watkins added 25 in the second half. Her stat line was completed with 7 boards, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 8-9 from the stripe.
In addition for USC, McKenzie Forbes ended with 18 points, and Rayah Marshall had 13 points and 16 rebounds. USC only scored nine points from a bench of seven players. That should be a concern, especially heading into tournament time. ASU only played seven people, with Jalyn Brown ending with 24 points, Trayanna Crisp with 17, and Jaddan Simmons adding 12. Things don’t get any easier for ASU, as they will meet UCLA on Sunday. On Monday, USC will play host to Arizona.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben
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