No. 13 Stanford women’s basketball (20-6, 10-4 Pac-12) fell just short of a home sweep of the Arizona schools over the weekend. After putting up a 24-point win over the Wildcats (11-15, 2-10) on Friday, the Cardinal rallied back from a 17-point deficit on Sunday to force No. 9 Arizona State (22-4, 13-1) into overtime, in which the Sun Devils went on to win on a buzzer-beater.
“I’m really proud of our team’s fight and how we battled back, especially in the fourth quarter,” said head coach Tara VanDerveer. “I think our defense really stepped up. Unfortunately, we dug ourselves a hole. We just needed to execute better at the end.
“It was a very hard-fought game, and there’s no shame in losing to Arizona State,” she added. “They have an excellent team.”
The Cardinal’s fourth-quarter run, in which they outscored the Sun Devils 19-6, was initiated by three straight baskets — four in the first four minutes of the quarter — from forward Erica McCall. The junior ended the game with 22 points on 11-of-14 shooting.
“I thought Erica showed so much heart,” VanDerveer said. “She laid it all out there and gave us everything: offensively, defensively, rebounding.
“This was a big step for [McCall]. We went to her and she delivered.”
Following McCall’s four baskets, which cut ASU’s lead to five, two threes from junior guard Briana Roberson, bookending a pair of ASU free throws, brought Stanford within one with 1:34 to play. The Cardinal then gained their first lead of the game with 26 seconds to play on a three from junior guard Karlie Samuelson.
A foul by junior guard Lili Thompson sent ASU’s Sophie Brunner to the free-throw line with nine seconds left, but she went 1-for-2, maintaining a tie score. The Cardinal got off two shots down low as time expired in regulation, and the pair of misses extended the game another five minutes.
The Cardinal managed to gain the lead twice in overtime — a one-point lead following a three from Samuelson, her fourth of the game, and a two-point advantage off a layup from McCall, but Brunner scored the final four points of the game, including the game-winning basket.
Despite buckling down on the defensive end in the second half — Stanford held ASU to 17 points combined in the final two quarters — the team struggled throughout to secure rebounds while on offense, only gathering 11 throughout the game compared to ASU’s 27 defensive rebounds.
“We are not physical enough, we are not aggressive enough, we don’t want to box out,” VanDerveer said. “I think that’s where we lost the big battle right there, and then at the free-throw line. They’re things I think we can control.”
Stanford’s 5-for-10 shooting from the charity stripe certainly did not do it any favors. Thompson’s pair of misses with four minutes to go in the fourth quarter, at which point the Cardinal only trailed by two, led to an 11-0 ASU run to end the half. After freshman guard Marta Sniezek aggressively drove to the net and drew several fouls, she went 2-of-4 from the line, with one of those misses coming in overtime.
While Sunday’s game exhibited the team’s grit and perseverance, Saturday’s was a different story, as the Cardinal led the entire way and by as much as 34 before they ended with an 82-58 victory over the Wildcats.
The Cardinal’s showing against Arizona was among one of their best of the season, as the team shot a season-high 51.7 percent from the field and notched 80 points for the first time in Pac-12 play behind 12 different scorers.
Such a performance was spurred by a strong first quarter, in which Stanford shot 9-of-16 from the field and forced 6 turnovers.
“I think it was really important [to come out strong in the first quarter],” VanDerveer said. “It wasn’t just one person; it was nice to have some balanced scoring. It’s fun for people to experience success.”
And while Stanford’s offense dominated, much of its success was derived from the team’s defense: The Cardinal forced a season-high 13 steals, which led to a quarter of Stanford’s points.
Stanford will look to get back in the win column on the road this upcoming weekend against Colorado on Friday and Utah on Sunday.
Contact Alexa Philippou at aphil723 ‘at’ stanford.edu.