Stanford forward Cameron Brink, left, and Utah forward Alissa Pili compete for possession of the ball during the first half at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Fri Jan 20, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Daniel Dullum
Friday, January 20, 2023

Stanford bounced back from its first Pac-12 women’s basketball loss of the season, as the No. 4 Cardinal defeated No. 8 Utah 74-62 Friday at Maples Pavilion.

Though the Cardinal (18-2 overall, 6-1 Pac-12) lost starting point guard Talana Lepolo to an ankle injury early in the first half, Indya Nivar filled in and effectively ran the Stanford offense, scoring four points and getting three assists.

Cameron Brink led the Cardinal with 25 points, 14 rebounds and three blocked shots. Haley Jones also scored 25 points while grabbing 12 rebounds and blocking two shots.

Hannah Jump, who hit her first five shots, added 13 points for Stanford, which lost to USC last Sunday, snapping a 12-game winning streak

The Utes (15-2 overall, 4-2 Pac-12) were led by Alissa Pili and Gianna Kneepkens with 25 and 19 points, respectively. Utah, which had been averaging 86.8 points per game, has never defeated a top-five opponent.

Utah had leads of 10-2 and 12-5 early before the Cardinal came back with a 7-0, 1:15 run. Stanford held the Utes to 10 points in the second quarter and 12 in the fourth.

Stanford is 11-1 at home this season.