By: Joe Lami

Just two weeks ago, the Washington Huskies upset Stanford in Seattle to give the Cardinal their only Pac-12 loss of the season.  Stanford sought out its revenge on Thursday night, and they got it, defeating the Huskies 83-60.

Chiney Ogwumike had an outstanding performance in her second to last home game on the farm.  The player of the year nominee had 32 points, 21 of which came in the first half.  Ogwumike also added 11 rebounds to complete the double-double.  She also had three assists, two blocks and a steal in the win.

Stanford had four total players get into double digits in scoring.  One of them being Ogwumike, but Bonnie Samuelson had 14 points, with 12 of them coming from beyond the arc.   Freshman, Lili Thompson added 11 points.  Thompson also had four rebounds, all of them coming on the defensive side of the ball.  Amber Orrange finished out the starters that got into double digits, as she contributed 10.  The only starter to miss double digits was Mikaela Ruef, but she made up for it in other areas, as she led the team in rebounds with 14.  The fifth-year Senior also led the team in assists with five, and she also had a steal.

Kelsey Plum was the leading scorer for the Huskies, as she had 21 points.  Jazmine Davis was the only other Washington player to get into double figures in scoring.  Washington head coach Mike Neighbors said after the game that “Their focus was definitely on the defensive side of the ball.  Their plan was to stop us from scoring 87 points again.”

The Washington Huskies did one thing tremendously well in the game, and that was shooting the ball from beyond the arc, as the Huskies finished the game 48% from downtown.  “If we didn’t go 12 of 25 from the 3-point line, this game would have been embarrassing” added Neighbors.

Tara VanDerveer came right into the press conference excited about how well their defense play.  “I’m very excited about how hard people worked on both sides of the ball this evening” added VanDerveer.  “We saw some great guards tonight, and were able to shut them down, we are also going to see some great guards in Washington State” said VanDerveer as she’s beginning preparation for the final regular season game of the year of Saturday.

When asked if this was payback Ogwumike stated “I believe that the loss brought more motivation to the team rather than a sense of wanting to pay them back.  We have had better preparation not just tonight, but ever since the loss.”  Ruef was asked the same exact question and responded “I’m a little less “P.C.” (politically correct) than Chiney, but I wanted to kill them.  No one ever wants to lose, so it was a little bit a sense of payback” to the chuckles of the media.

Stanford’s record improves to 27-2, 16-1 in Pac-12 play and they remain unbeaten at home this year.  The Cardinal look to keep that winning streak in tact, as they host the Washington State Cougars on Saturday night.  It will be the final home performance in a regular season game for one of the best Stanford players of all-time, Chiney Ogwumike.