Making the most of its final road trip of the regular season, Stanford women’s basketball pulled away in the second half of two crucial Pac-10 contests last weekend, beating USC 78-64 and No. 9 UCLA 67-53. The pair of victories ensures a semifinal berth in the Pac-10 Tournament for No. 3 Stanford (24-2, 15-0 Pac-10) and marks a significant step toward earning a 10th consecutive regular season championship.
After losing by more than 40 points in Maples Pavilion last month, the Trojans (16-9, 8-6) put up a major fight in the Galen Center on Friday, keeping the Cardinal on its toes with just a two-point lead at the half.
“USC came out, and it looked like they wanted to slow the tempo a little bit,” said Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer. “They were more physical this time around.”
The Cardinal opened the second half on a 12-2 run, led by senior forward Kayla Pedersen and her classmate, point guard Jeanette Pohlen. The duo scored 17 and 19 points, respectively, and both shot over 50 percent from the field.
“Both Kayla and Jeanette, both seniors on our team, they made big plays for us and really battled,” VanDerveer said. “They did what they needed to make us successful.”
Their performance is especially encouraging following the pair’s lackluster performance in a 62-52 win over Washington on Saturday. Pohlen shot just 1-for-9 in that game, and Pedersen was 3-for-13.
“After playing Washington and seeing how physical they were with us, we pretty much expected that for the rest of the season,” Pohlen said.
The seniors’ return to form was timely for Stanford, which lost Nnemkadi Ogwumike to a sprained right ankle in the second half against the Trojans. At the time of her departure, the junior forward led the team with 16.8 points per game.
Despite initial optimism from VanDerveer, Nnemkadi Ogwumike wasn’t able to return for Sunday’s game against UCLA (22-3, 12-2), as sophomore forward Joslyn Tinkle got the call when the lineups were announced.
While the seniors made all the difference two days earlier, Stanford got a huge boost from a pair of freshmen at Pauley Pavilion on Sunday. Toni Kokenis, a rookie guard, played 37 minutes and scored 13 points off the bench, while starting forward Chiney Ogwumike, Nnemkadi’s younger sister, led the team with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
“We affectionately call our freshman ‘babies,’ and our babies grew up today,” VanDerveer said. “Toni and Chiney had just fabulous games, really just so poised, making big free throws and making big plays all game long.”
The younger Ogwumike scored 13 after halftime, when Stanford was in a 28-28 deadlock with the Bruins. In their last meeting, the Cardinal held UCLA to just 15 first-half points in a 64-38 victory.
VanDerveer, who said she was working with an unusually small and agile lineup in the absence of Nnemkadi Ogwumike, told the team to start driving the ball to Chiney in the post.
“A lot of times when Chiney is out there, the ball is going to Nneka, and Chiney’s getting the O-boards,” VanDerveer said. “And in this particular game, without Nneka, Chiney was our number-one low-block presence. In the first half, we didn’t really do a good enough job getting her the ball, and I don’t know if she understood that’s what we needed.
“But at halftime, it was made pretty clear,” she continued. “This is what you have to do.”
The Cardinal jumped out of the gate in the second frame, extending its lead to 47-37 on a Kokenis three-pointer. The Bruins, meanwhile, shot just 19-for-61 from the field, including a miserable 9-for-32 after halftime.
Stanford is the only Pac-10 team to defeat UCLA this year, and VanDerveer still holds the Bruins in high regard.
“They have a great team and a great season,” she said. “We could easily play them again in the Pac-10 Tournament, and they’re going to go on and do really well in the NCAA Tournament.”
The Cardinal made quick work of UCLA in their last postseason meeting, dealing the Bruins a 70-46 loss in the final game of the Pac-10 Tournament last March. Like last season, the conference championships are set to be played in Los Angeles next month.
In the near future, though, Stanford will play its final two-game series of the regular season against the Oregon schools this weekend. The Cardinal opens the weekend slate against Oregon State at 7 p.m. on Thursday night in Maples Pavilion.