Author: joelami

By: Joe Lami

For the first time in 31 years, the Arizona State Sun Devils have won a game at Maples Pavilion, as they beat the Cardinal 60-57 on Monday afternoon.   The Sun Devils dominated the entire game, as they never lost the lead. However, Stanford did make it interesting down to the end, as they were able to erase the 17-point half time deficit.

The Sun Devils hit the shots when the mattered towards the end, as Sophie Brunner and Alisha Davis added four points from the charity strike in the last 11 seconds of the game. The Cardinal were trailing by three with two seconds remaining, and had possession after a controversial call on who touched the ball last before going out of bounds. Taylor Greenfield was set to in bound in her own end with Bonnie Samuelson awaiting at the other end of the floor set for a three, but good defense by the Sun Devils forced the short inbounds play to Amber Orrange. Orrange was forced to try and heave a last second prayer from half court that ended short.

Arizona State’s stymie defense gave Stanford fits in the first half, holding the Cardinal to just 29% shooting in the first half, and going two of ten from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Arizona State couldn’t miss finishing 52% from the field in the first half. However, it was a tail of two halves for both squads, as the Cardinal really upped the defense in the second half, holding the Sun Devils to just six second half field goals, as they dwindled the huge ASU lead to as low as one with five minutes remaining, but Arizona State started to heat back up and pulled away.

Greenfield, Orrange and Lili Thompson were Stanford’s leading scorers with 12 points each. Thompson was still able to hit 12 points, after going just 3 of 13 for the game. Guard, Briana Roberson came off of the bench to add nine.

Promise Amukamara led all scorers with 17 points, as she played a pivotal role in getting ASU the win. Davis and Brunner also got into double digits for the Sun Devils with ten.

It’s a huge win for Arizona State, as they remain undefeated in Pac-12 play, as they also defeated Cal earlier this weekend. Arizona State has only lost one game all year, to 13-3 Green Bay. Monday also marks the first time since 2006 where the Sun Devils have beaten the Cardinal.

By: Joe Lami

The struggling Arizona Wildcats took a trip to Maples Pavilion on Friday night, and it was all Stanford, as the Cardinal defeated Arizona 74-47. After struggling the last couple of games, Stanford shot the lights out, finishing 51% from the field. Including, 47% from beyond the arc.

Bonnie Sammuelson led the way with 14 points, but it was Erica McCall that finished the night with the double double, as she finished with 13 points and a career high 16 rebounds. Brianna Roberson, also matched her career high in points with 12.

After Arizona took the lead to start the game 4-2, the Cardinal shot out of a cannon going on a 15-0 run lasting seven minutes, to which they never looked back.

The bench was a high note for the Wildcats, as both Breanna Workman and Charise Holloway came off the bench to get into double digits. Workman led the way with 12, and Holloway finished with ten.

The win for the Cardinal marks their sixth straight, as it ups their record to 13-4, and 5-0 in Pac-12 play.  Arizona State completes their bay area trip with a contest against Stanford on Monday night.

By: Joe Lami

Stanford earned their fourth straight victory on Monday night as they defeated Utah 55-44 in a poor outing from both squads. The Cardinal outlasted the Utes, as they finished 36% from the field in one of their worst shooting performances of the season. Luckily, they held the injury plagued Utes to 28% from the field, including 19% from beyond the arc.

For the second straight game, Amber Orrange, led the Cardinal in scoring. As the senior finished the game with 17 points to finish the opening weekend of Pac-12 play with 43 points. She finished the night shooting 35%. “I’m just looking to shoot more. I don’t think I’ve ever shot this many times in a game before,” commented the senior point guard.

Lili Thompson followed Orrange in scoring with 14 points, as she was the only other Cardinal to get into double digits in scoring. Three separate players finished with seven rebounds helping Stanford own Utah on the boards 44-34.

Only eight Utes saw playing time, with seven of them seeing over 15 minutes of playing time. Taryn Wicijowski led Utah in scoring with 14 points, 12 of which came in the second half, while she finished 46% from the field. However, the other Utes greatly struggled with shooting, as they contributed to only ten more field goals bringing Utah their second loss of the Pac-12 schedule.

Stanford takes their first road trip of the Pac-12 season, as they take their annual trip up to Washington.   The first stop will be in Seattle, where they take on Washington on Friday night.

By: Joe Lami

Senior point guard, Amber Orrange, set a new career high Saturday night, as she scored 26 points in a 62-55 win over the Colorado Buffalos. Lili Thompson added 17 points, as the Cardinal earned their first win of 2015 and of the Pac-12 portion of their schedule.

The Cardinal entered half time with a seven-point lead, which the Buffaloes eliminated with ten minutes to go in the contest. The Cardinal came back to take the lead with a 5-0 run of their own, which kicked off a 19-12 run to end the game.

Jamee Swan came off of the bench for a double double, leading the Buffs in scoring with 12 and rebounds with ten. She also finished the night perfect from the free throw line (6/6).  Jen Reese capped off the double-digit scorers for Colorado with ten.

The Cardinal did a great job defensively, holding Colorado to just 34% from the field and 10% from beyond the three-point line.

Stanford will host Utah Monday night to end their first Pac-12 homestand of the year.

With the career high, Orrange also moved past Joslyn Tinkle and Jillian Harmon on Stanford’s all-time scoring list.

By: Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal finished off their non-conference schedule on Sunday afternoon with a blowout win over the UCSB Gauchos 90-34. The win ups the record of the 16^th ranked Cardinal to 8-4, including their fifth win at Maples Pavilion.

12 of the 15 players who saw action scored for Stanford, as Lili Thompson led them with 12 points. Three other Cardinal got into double digits, Karlie Samuelson and Briana Roberson each had 11, and freshman guard, Brittany McPhee added ten. Freshman forward, Eric McCall, once again led the team in rebounds with 12 on route to destroying UCSB on the boards 50-21.

The shooting was impressive for the Cardinal, as they finished 56% from the field, and 42% from three-point range.

The winless Gauchos got the first bucket on the game, but would immediately fall behind, as Kaylee Johnson would get the next bucket for the Cardinal, which kick started the Cardinal to a 8-2 run. UCSB was held to only 20% shooting in the first half, and finished the night 26% from the field. Jasmine Ware led the Gauchos with eight points.

Stanford will wait until the new year before they tip-off their Pac-12 schedule, as they host the Colorado Buffalos on Saturday.

By Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal had a two-game road trip from hell last week, as they saw losses to both Chattanooga and Tennessee to mark the first time they’ve had back-to-back losses since 2010. They returned to Maples Pavilion and to their normal form on Monday afternoon, as they defeated the UC Davis Aggies 71-59.

Bonnie Samuelson was the difference maker for the Cardinal, as she hit a new career high in points with 30. The three-point specialist had six of her eight made field goals come from beyond the arc. Bonnie’s younger sister, Karlie, added three more from downtown to contribute to the Cardinal’s ten made three-pointers.

UC Davis held in with Stanford, shooting 41% from the field. Alyson Doherty led the team with 17 points, while Sydnee Fipps added 13. The Aggies also outrebounded the No. 16 ranked Cardinal 35-30, as UC Davis overall just outrebounded Stanford.

The struggles continue for Lili Thompson, as the star guard was held to one of six shooting to finish the game with three points.

Stanford’s No. 16 ranking is their lowest in since January 2^nd, 2006, when they also had a No. 16 ranking. They continue into their holiday break until Saturday, when they will close out their non-conference schedule against UC Santa Barbara.

By: Joe Lami

Wednesday marked the first time Stanford has lost a non-conference game to an unranked opponent in 14 years, as Chattanooga defeated the Cardinal 54-46. However, the Lady Mocs are no slouches, as it is their second top-ten win victory of the season. On November 26, they beat cross-state rival Tennessee 67-63.

The Cardinal shot an abysmal 27% from the field, the worst percentage of the season. “I thought we had a lot of shots that we have to make if you want to win at this level,” commented head coach, Tara VanDerveer.

Chattanooga didn’t shoot all that better, finishing the night 32% from the field. However, the difference maker was the Mocs were able to get the three-ball going. Much thanks due to leading scorer, Chelsey Shumpert, who finished the game with 18 points and five of nine from beyond the arc.

No Cardinal got into double digits in scoring. Lili Thompson led Stanford with nine points, while shooting 23% from the field.

It marks the third loss of the season for the Cardinal, which is extremely disappointing. Especially due to the fact Stanford only lost four games all year last season. Stanford has another tough test in front of them as they travel to rocky top on Saturday to take on the Lady Vols of Tennessee.

By: Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal return to the floor after a two-week hiatus for finals, and that time off the court seemed to help on Sunday night, as they defeated the Santa Clara Broncos 82-43 at Maples Pavilion. Before the break, the Cardinal were handed two losses within the span of a week, which the timing of the break couldn’t have been better, as it allowed the team to regroup.

Senior point guard, Amber Orrange led the Cardinal in scoring with 20 points, as she shot 58% from the field. Freshman, Kaylee Johnson, once again was impressive on the boards, as she brought down 22 in the victory. Sunday night marked the second time this season where she has accomplished just that.

Bonnie Samuelson came off of the bench to add 11 points, including perfection at the charity strike. Freshman, Bonnie McPhee matched Samueson’s 11 from the bench as well to cap off the double-digit scorers for Stanford.

Most impressively, the Cardinal held Santa Clara to just 30% field goal shooting. The Broncos scoring was practically non-existent if it weren’t for guard, Nici Gilday. The senior led the way with 17 points, and was the only Bronco to score over four points.

The Cardinal travel to Chattanooga on Wednesday, before they take on Tennessee on Saturday.

By: Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal (3-1) were given a scare on Monday night in Albuquerque, as they defeated the New Mexico Lobos (0-4) in the first road game of the season 70-65. They did so without their leading scorer, as sophomore Lili Thompson, was scratched from the game due to illness. Thompson is averaging 26 points per game, and was voted ESPNW’s player of the week for the first week of the season.

Karlie Samuelson filled that void, however, as she led the team in scoring with 23 points. Head Coach, Tara VanDerveer, added “She’s usually kind of our sixth player. I love the energy she brings off the bench, you can depend on her and tonight she played really great”.

Two other Cardinal scorers achieved double digit scoring, as Amber Orrange contributed 18 points on 43% shooting from the field. Freshman, Kaylee Johnson finished the night with ten points, but more importantly brought down 23 rebounds, a career high in her young, impressive Stanford career.

Both teams depended on their starters quite heavily, as the Lobos edged the Cardinal in bench scoring 11-9.

New Mexico saw four different starters get into double digits. The fifth starter didn’t score at all. Guard, Bryce Owens led the way with 16 points, with nine of them coming from beyond the arc. Cherise Beynon followed with 14 points. Khadijah Shumpert was almost perfect from the field as she went six of seven to finish the night with 13 points. Antiesha Brown finished out the scorers for the Lobos with 11.

The Cardinal once again struggled with their free throw shooting, something that VanDerveer has been pressing all season. Monday night was one of their worst nights of the young season, as they finished the night 58% from the charity strike.