By: Ben Leonard
The state of Washington has not treated the #15 Stanford Cardinal very well, although Stanford escaped with two victories. The Cardinal needed another comeback to beat an obviously inferior Washington State Cougars team, one that sits eighth in the Pac-12. The Cardinal’s 86-76 victory in overtime was the program’s 58th consecutive victory over Washington State, but Stanford looked nothing like the team that has won fourteen straight Pac-12 championships.
Stanford fell behind at the half for the second consecutive game, this time 33-28. The Cardinal shot well enough, making 38% of their shots, but turned the ball over too much, nine times to the Cougars’ zero in the period. Stanford was 2-4 overall when down at the half this season, but managed to pull off their third such comeback victory, down eleven points as late as 13:24 to go in the second half.
Amber Orrange’s shooting prowess was a big reason for the comeback. The 5’7″ senior guard did not score in the first half, but really turned things around in the second half and overtime, scoring nineteen points on 9-20 shooting. Orrange also pitched in with five assists and pulled down four rebounds.
The momentum swung in the Cardinal’s favor when Dawnyelle Awa “fouled” Stanford forward Bonnie Samuelson with 1:09 left in the game. Stanford was down 67-66, and when Awa dove for a loose ball, Samuelson essentially fell on top of Awa, injuring her, and insulting her in being called for a foul. The foul was Awa’s fifth of the game, and she consequently fouled out. Samuelson knocked down both free throws, giving the Cardinal the 68-67 lead. Samuelson finished with 18 points on 5-8 shooting. The half would end tied at 71-71, and Stanford would dominate overtime to cruise to the victory. Looking ahead, the Cardinal will come back home and play the Arizona Wildcats on January 16th.
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