In NCAAW action, the Cardinal sat on a branch in a tree, taunting the Wildcats below saying, “You can’t catch me.” But Wildcat Jada said, “Sooner or later, this game will belong to me.”
And so it was that No. 3 Stanford blew a lead and allowed Arizona to carpe diem and win an upset victory. Arizona never had the lead, although they did tie the game twice in the third quarter. But later in the fourth quarter, two successive three-pointers from Jada Williams, a Courtney Blakely layup, and finally a Jada Williams jumper gave the Wildcats the lead with just under two minutes to go. Kiki Iriafen tied it back up for Stanford, but another Jada Williams three sealed the win.
Williams also had three more free throws, with one from Helena Pueyo at the buzzer for good measure. This is a perfect example of how crucial free throws can be. Plus, Stanford turned the ball over 18 times, with the Wildcats scoring 16 points off turnovers. Stanford shot 23-47, while Arizona shot 26-61. I call that relentless on Arizona’s part. Stanford was without Cameron Brink and Arizona only played even. At this point in the season, none of that matters.
Everyone who played scored for the Wildcats and only two of Stanford’s nine did not. Evenly matched? I would say so, regardless of each team’s record. What I appreciate about Arizona here is that everyone contributed at an opportune moment. Stanford’s players did as well, and it just came down to the intangible source of the intensity that pushed Arizona across the finish line first.
For Stanford, Kiki Iriafen had a double-double of 21 points and 15 boards, Brooke Demeter had 15 points, and Hannah Jump scored 13. For Arizona, Jada Williams led the charge with 23 points and Breya Cunningham had 17.
Colorado falls to USC in a matchup of top-15 teams
The No. 11 Colorado Buffaloes had visions of stampeding into Los Angeles to avenge their loss to Utah, but the No. 7 USC Trojans called upon the power of Zeus (aka Juju Watkins) to quash all Buffalo hopes. It was a close game and not an easy battle, with USC leading only by four points at the half. But the Buffaloes did not just come to lazily roam the plains of USC.
Something ruffled their collective hides, and halfway through the third quarter managed to take the lead on two Frida Formann free throws and a Jaylyn Sherrod layup. But a jumper from Kaitlyn Davis and a pair of free throws from Juju Watkins tied the game. Buffalo Charlotte Whittaker hit a jumper, and again, Kaitlyn Davis made a layup to tie the game again.
Free throws from both teams kept it close, and as USC pulled ahead, Juju Watkins made a jumper at 1:58, and the score stayed at 61-61 USC until the end of the quarter. Colorado fought valiantly in the fourth, but the prowess of Juju Watkins spearheaded the attack, and although Colorado had a slight surge toward the end, it was not to be, and the Trojans won by a score of 87-81. Watkins scored 42 points, breaking a couple more records along the way.
McKenzie Forbes scored 24 with 7 assists, and Kayla Padilla scored 12. The USC bench took one shot between three players and ended with 0 points. The only other scorer for USC was Kaitlyn Davis, scoring 9 points with 5 boards. For Colorado, Aaronette Vonleh scored 18, Quay Miller 12, Kindyll Wetta and Jaylyn Sherrod each scored 11, and Maddie Nolan bagged 11 off the bench.
Oregon State wins close versus Washington State in NCAAW action
Finally, No. 9 Oregon State faced Washington State, and in a tight game, eventually won 65-52. Through the first three quarters, Oregon State only led by single digits, with WSU always climbing back. In the fourth, an early WSU bucket brought it to within four, but a Time Gardiner jumper took it to six, and from there, while neither team was particularly shooting lights out, the Beavers managed to increase their lead as WSU went cold from the floor. No one scored in the last minute of the game.
The tanks on both sides were apparently empty, and ORST walked away with the win. For the Beavers, no starters were in double figures, but Lily Hansford 11, and Time Gardiner scored 10 off the bench. For the Cougars, Bella Murekatete scored 14 points with 8 boards, and Eleonora Villa scored 10. So what was the discrepancy? ORST had twelve turnovers to WSU’s five. Not that. The Beavers made 6-17 from three and WSU 2-10. Maybe that. ORST out-rebounded the Cougars 39-28.
Hmm. Washington State has had some gritty wins, particularly over UCLA on the road and Washington on the road, but perhaps it is time to invoke the old mantra from the Brooklyn Dodgers – “Wait’ll next year.”
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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