The Stanford women’s basketball team defeated Utah 69-42 at Maples Pavilion on Senior Day on Saturday in the last home game of the Pac-12 conference season. After routing the Utes by halftime, the Cardinal struggled a bit in the second half, but ultimately the visitors’ resurgence was futile. When all was said and done, Stanford extended its winning streak on the Farm to 78 games, and head coach Tara VanDerveer won her 700th game in charge of the Card.
No. 2 Stanford (26-1, 17-0 Pac-12) had four starters score double figures in points — led by sophomore forward Chiney Ogwumike’s 16-point, 12-rebound double-double. The Utes’ (13-14, 6-10 Pac-12) two leading players coming into this contest faced foul trouble early on, and top-scoring redshirt sophomore Taryn Wicijowski, who scored 15 points, fouled out with 3:33 remaining in the contest.
In her Stanford career, senior forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike hasn’t lost once on the Maples Pavilion hardwood — and has only lost 11 of the 135 games she has played so far for the Cardinal. In fact, Stanford’s defense of its home court has been so successful in recent seasons that not a single player in the Cardinal’s lineup — including graduating seniors Nneka Ogwumike, guard Grace Mashore, guard Lindy La Rocque and redshirt junior forward Sarah Boothe — knows what defeat at Maples Pavilion feels like, and the squad now owns the nation’s longest active home winning streak.
“There’s just a culture about this place that I don’t think any other place can match,” Nneka Ogwumike said. “And especially with my teammates. I think my teammates are going to be my best friends for life. They’ve really taught me how to really cherish the important things, and I think defending Maples has been real important. We’ve had a lot of great teams come through here, and I think we’ve done a really good job of defending it, playing for each other and getting all the young players to understand how important it is for us to win here at Maples.”
That was evident on Saturday, especially within the initial four minutes. By the first timeout, with 15:43 left in the first half, Stanford led 9-0. Utah had been completely neutralized on its first two possessions, with the shot clock expiring both times, and had managed just two field goal attempts in the opening minutes. At the first-half buzzer the Cardinal led the Utes 36-14, and the writing looked to already be on the wall for the visitors.
However, the Utes came back strong after the break, dragging the lead back down to 15 with five minutes left. The comeback, though, started too late, and when Wicijowski fouled out the pendulum swung back in favor of the Card. As time ran down, seniors Nneka Ogwumike, Mashore and La Rocque joined up on court to play together at Maples for the second-to-last time and, to huge applause from the crowd, Mashore sealed the contest with a shot from beyond the arc.
“Every time she goes out there we look for her to score, and we had a good feeling,” said sophomore forward Chiney Ogwumike of Mashore. “I think it started before the game when we wanted to play for our seniors, for them to have that moment to all be out there on the court together, and honestly I think that’s the happiest I’ve felt almost all year. Grace works so hard, she is so central to our team, and for her to come out and hit a big shot like that, clinching a win on Senior Night. Grace always is there for us, and it’s great to see her hit that shot.”
Asked after the game about reaching 700 career wins with Stanford, VanDerveer quashed any thoughts that her own farewell is coming anytime soon.
“I’m enjoying coaching, I’m enjoying it a lot,” she said, “and [the 800 mark] is only three years if you can get 30 a year. I’ve got to hang around for some little siblings.”
Those siblings are the two youngest Ogwumike sisters, Chisom “Olivia” and Ernima “Erika,” who walked out onto the hardwood after the game with sister Nneka as she and her fellow seniors were honored by the fans. If they are any bit as good as their elder sisters, and should they decide to come to the Farm, life after Nneka won’t be getting any easier for the other Pac-12 schools.
Stanford will finish its home schedule on Wednesday against Seattle University at 7 p.m.