No. 6 Stanford women’s basketball (4-1) pulled off a 63-54 win at Texas on Saturday despite trailing 37-30 at halftime and only shooting 32.3 percent in the game. It was the Card’s defense that keyed the win and allowed Stanford to enter its next games in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on a three-game winning streak.
Despite a rocky shooting performance, the Card dominated on the defensive end, holding the Longhorns to just 16-for-61 shooting, forcing 20 turnovers and limiting their second-half output to just five field goals and 17 points.
“We had a rough first half; we had to make some adjustments at halftime, which I think our team did,” said Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer. “We came out and were much more aggressive in the second half. I’m proud of how our team battled. This wasn’t a pretty game, but a very big game for us to win.”
Senior forward Chiney Ogwumike led all scorers with 18 points but fell short of another double-double after collecting just six rebounds. While junior point guard Amber Orrange contributed successfully with her 13 points and eight rebounds, it was the double-double of redshirt senior forward Mikaela Ruef that provided the spark that the Cardinal needed to initiate some action on both the offensive and defensive sides.
“I’m just really proud of my team for helping me build my confidence back in the second half,” Ogwumike said. “Sometimes the big games are what people talk about, but this game really taught me, and our team in particular, how to be mentally tough and stick with things.”
Because Ogwumike was held to just four points in the first half, it was the 10 points from Ruef — all scored in the first half — that kept the Stanford offense alive before Ogwumike regained her rhythm in the second half. VanDerveer had been pleading for more of her players to step up and contribute, and in this game, Ruef was the one to deliver.
“We had great leadership with Chiney and Mikaela,” VanDerveer said. “I thought Mikaela really helped us out early, hitting her shots, and Chiney picked us up in the second half, hitting her shots.”
Stanford took advantage of a 15-0 run near the beginning of the second half to pull ahead for good after going up 47-40. Ogwumike scored 10 of those 15 points, while Orrange contributed five. On the other side of the ball, the defense once again came through and did not allow the Longhorns to hit a field goal in the second half until 10:40 left in the game.
“We changed the way we were playing screens [in the second half], and it forced them into turnovers and we got some steals,” Ruef said. “We stepped it up on defense and forced them into mistakes and got easy baskets in transition.”
The largest Cardinal lead was achieved was a nine-point advantage with 3:05 remaining. The Longhorns continued to struggle on the offensive end and finished out the final seven minutes of the game with just three field goals.
The Card will next travel to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for three games before returning to Maples in mid-December.
Contact Ashley Westhem at awesthem ‘at’ stanford.edu.