For those filling out brackets, the Stanford women’s basketball team’s (29-5, 15-3) matchup against Norfolk State seemed like a straightforward pick. The Cardinal hold a No. 2 seed, feature two All-American level players and are led by the winningest coach in Division 1 history. But in their quest to atone from last year’s round of 32 exit, Stanford couldn’t afford to treat any game with complacency.
“From the time that we lost last year, it was very painful,” said head coach Tara VanDerveer after the game. “People took it very personally, and committed themselves to work hard in the gym and work hard on being better connected as a team, including [the] coaches.”
In their first round matchup against Norfolk State, the Cardinal left no stone unturned, defeating the Spartans 79-50 in front of a packed Maples crowd. Stanford played stifling defense throughout the game, forcing Norfolk State’s star players Diamond Johnson and Kierra Wheeler into inefficient shooting nights. On the offensive end of the court four players had double-figures for the Cardinal, including junior guard Elena Bosgana, who tallied 18 points.
“Elena really stepped up big for us, [with] knocking down her shot,” VanDerveer said. “I thought [she was] working really hard on defense, [and] made some big plays.”
“I think my teammates do a great job finding me,” Bosgana added.
The Cardinal shot 45% from three for the night, with graduate guard Hannah Jump and Bosgana knocking down four shots each from beyond the arc.
But Stanford didn’t rely just on their perimeter game. On the interior both Kiki Iriafen and Cameron Brink had 17 points apiece. Brink also grabbed 15 rebounds, while Iriafen grabbed nine, coming just short of a double-double.
Iriafen dominated in the first half, scoring 15 of the team’s 32 points. She scored just two points after the break, instead deferring to her teammates with the hot hand.
“My teammates took over,” said Iriafen about the second-half. “Tara always says it’s someone’s game. So I think the second half just wasn’t my half; it was Elena’s half; Cameron’s half, Hannah’s half, everybody else’s half, which is fine.”
At the beginning of the game, Norfolk State showed a 3-2 matchup zone, which disrupted Stanford’s ability to get the ball into the middle of the paint. However, as the game wore on, the Cardinal did a better job of finding shooters in transition and the soft areas of the zone.
“We watched every zone clip that [Stanford] had this year,” said Norfolk State head coach Larry Vickers. “We were going to show them something different. If I could do anything over again, I would go to my normal subpattern instead of letting my stars get to the point where they were just really, really fatigued.”
After holding a three point lead after the first quarter, Stanford progressively ballooned their lead throughout the game, leading by as many as 33 late into the fourth quarter. Despite the lively presence of their band and traveling fanbase, the Spartans saw their chances slip away quickly.
“I’d be lying if I said we weren’t a little disappointed with the result of the game,” Vickers said. “You know, things didn’t go the way we wanted them to but we know it’s only going to be one team at the end with a W next to it. So this moment might have come at another time.”
Up next, Stanford will face No. 7 seed Iowa State (21-11, 12-6 Big 12) on Sunday. The Cyclones are coming off a 20-point comeback win against No. 10 seed Maryland (19-14, 9-9 Big Ten). The game saw Iowa State’s freshman phenom Audi Crooks score 40 points. To defeat the Cyclones, the Cardinal will need to limit Crook’s paint touches. Tipoff is scheduled to start at 7 p.m PT.