After Arizona State’s double-digit comeback, No.19 Stanford women’s basketball was able to make the plays it needed to down the stretch to regain its lead and beat the Sun Devils 59-56. With this win, the Card avoided losing to ASU for the third time this season, all three games being decided by a total of seven points, and have advanced into Sunday’s Pac-12 Tournament championship game.
Stanford led 52-41 with 6:38 left in the game before ASU went on a 15-3 run. This run was capped by two free throws from Katie Hempen, putting the Sun Devils up by one, and included a three-minute stretch in which Stanford did not score.
A jump shot by senior forward Taylor Greenfield regained the lead for Stanford with 44 seconds left. Having only committed one foul thus far in the half, ASU was able to foul until they eventually forced a turnover and got the ball back with 21 seconds on the clock. Elisha Davis of the Sun Devils nearly scored from the right block, but freshman forward Kaylee Johnson slid over from the left side, blocked the shot- her fifth of the night- and grabbed the ball, forcing ASU to foul. Although Johnson went 1-2 from the line, Greenfield secured the rebound off of the missed second shot. Having been fouled, Greenfield also went 1-2 from the line, putting Stanford up by three with 11 seconds left. The Sun Devils attempted a three with one second left but it was no good, sealing the win for the Card.
Senior point guard Amber Orrange had a monstrous first half, in which she scored 15 of her 18 points. Greenfield contributed 17 on the night, including three key points in the last minute.
“Amber [Orrange] is just her usual steady self and I think Taylor [Greenfield] just likes tournaments,” said head coach Tara VanDerveer. “She played really well yesterday, even better today and I told her we’ll need her to play even better tomorrow.”
Another high point of the team’s play was its success in the paint: Stanford’s 30 points in the paint not only comprised more than 50 percent of the team’s total points, but also were higher than its season average of 24.9.
“We totally changed it [the team’s mindset entering the third game of the series against ASU],” said Greenfield. “Like we have to go to the basket. We’ve got to draw contact, and that really helped our momentum in general when we’re getting lay-ups.”
Besides allowing the Sun Devils to regain their lead and nearly win the game, foul trouble was an issue for the Card. Stanford had 17 second-half fouls and gave ASU 16 free throw attempts. The squad also lost the rebounding game, 37-30, and had 11 turnovers, 8 of which were after the intermission. While Greenfield and Orrange combined for 35 points, sophomore guard Lili Thompson and senior forward Bonnie Samuelson were the only other Stanford players to score more than five points.
Stanford will seek to win its 11th Pac-12 title tomorrow against the Cal Golden Bears, who beat Colorado in the second semifinal matchup. The Card split its regular season series with Cal, winning at Haas Pavilion, 59-47, but losing to the Bears at home at Maples Pavilion, 63-53.
“I feel like with the schedule that we’ve played with the success that we’ve had it’s all good tomorrow,” said VanDerveer. “There is no underdog. You’re playing for a championship.”
Catch Stanford in the Pac-12 championship game Sunday, March 8 at 6pm PT. The game will be aired on ESPN.
Contact Alexa Philippou at aphil723 ‘at’ stanford.edu.