Category: Stanford Cardinal

Trojans Upset Cardinal on Ogwumike’s Record Setting Night

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By Joe Lami

For the first time ever the Stanford Cardinal will not be going to the Pac-12 Tournament championship game, as the USC Trojans defeated the Cardinal 72-68 in the semi-finals on Saturday night.  Stanford the number one seed and the favorite to win the Pac-12 Championship, is now unsure of how their NCAA Tournament is going to look.  If the Cardinal came out of the Pac-12 Tournament unscathed, they would have received an almost sure bid to a number one seed in their host west region.

The first half ended with the score tied at 32.  Stanford dominated the paint in the first half, with 18 points.  However, the Trojans led the first with points off of turnovers, bench points and 2nd chance points.

Coming out of the half, the Trojans jumped on the Cardinal early, going on a 14-4 run in the first 5:30.  Stanford would be able to crawl back slowly, and would eventually take the lead back with 6:46 remaining.  The Cardinal would push the lead to three, at 60-57 with 5:06 to go and be able to hold it for a couple of minutes.  However, the Trojans would once again march back, much in part to Cassie Harberts’ ten straight points.  This would get the USC lead to as high as seven before the Cardinal would find another bucket with 61 seconds to go.

The Cardinal pressed in the final minute to get the deficit as low as two, but the Trojans would be good enough at the foul line to be able to ice the game away and advance to the Pac-12 Championship game, where they will face the Oregon State Beavers.

Chiney Ogwumike led the way for the Cardinal with 30 points and 21 rebounds.  The 30 points ties her with Stanford Alum, Candice Wiggins as the all-time Pac-12 scorer with 2,629.  Unfortunately for Ogwumike, she scored career point 2,629 with over seven minutes remaining in the game, and couldn’t find another to break the record in game where every point mattered.

Stanford had an awful day from the field, finishing the game at just 32%.  Lili Thompson finished with 13 points, going 4 of 11 shooting.  Amber Orrange was the only other double digit scorer for the Cardinal, as she finished the night with 11 points and 3 of 11 shooting.  Mikaela Ruef was held scoreless for the first time in recent memory, as the fifth year senior went 0 for 8 from the field, but she did bring down five rebounds.  Taylor Greenfield was the only Stanford player to come off of the bench and contribute points, as she finished the game with five.

The Trojans didn’t shoot that much better, as they finished the game shooting just 39%.  USC also saw three different players get into double digits.  Alexyz Vaioletama led the way with 19 points.  She also contributed 15 rebounds, with five of them coming on the offensive side of the glass.  Guard, Ariya Cook, finished the game with 15 points.  Game MVP, Cassie Harberts only had 13 points, but ten of them came at the most opportune time, as she scored ten straight with under three minutes to go to give the Trojan’s a lead good enough to win the game.

The win for the Trojans gets them that much closer into the NCAA tournament, as ESPN’s Charlie Creme has the ladies of USC on his first four teams out of the tournament.  However, with this win it might just be enough to break the bubble and earn a bid.  That is if they don’t receive the automatic bid on Sunday afternoon by winning the Pac-12 Tournament.  Oregon State, their opponent on Sunday is looked at as already in the NCAA Tournament according to Creme.

Number four-ranked Stanford has their record drop to 29-3, and now they are a little unsure on how they will be entering the NCAA Tournament.  Some questions arise, is Stanford still a number one seed?  Does Stanford still deserve to be in the west region, their host region?  Only time will tell what the selection committee decides, but for now we sit back and prepare for another great day of Championship basketball on Sunday.

Stanford Snaps Losing Skid in Dramatic Fashion Over Utah, Ends Pac-12 Play on High Note

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DSC_0004By Matthew Harrington

STANFORD, Calif. – With the overflowing talent on display on a nightly basis in the Pac-12, it’s only fitting that it took Stanford literally until the last tenths of a second of conference play to better understand its Pac-12 tournament placement. While the conference tourney picture got a little clearer, it’s still about as blurry as a Monet masterpiece from ten feet out. As for the Cardinal odds for making its first NCAA tournament appearance under coach Johnny Dawkins in six seasons, those are as crystal clear as the scrambled channels on the higher ends of your TV guide.

With a 61-60 win over visiting Utah (20-10, 9-9 Pac-12) Saturday afternoon at Maples Pavilion, the Stanford Cardinal broke a tie in the standings with their guests in a game with must-win implications. Also entering play with an identical 9-8 conference record were Oregon and Cal, a four-way tie for fifth in the Pac-12 standings. With Arizona State and Colorado boasting 10-7 entering Saturday, the Cardinal (19-11, 10-8 Pac-12) could secure a first-round bye in Las Vegas if Colorado, Oregon and Oregon State come away with wins in their regular-season finales. They could finish as high as tied for third, or as low as fifth depending on the rest of the weekend’s action.

“I know it’s important to finish at over .500 in conference,” said Dawkins after the game. “We’re in one of the best conferences in America. To finish over .500 should give you an opportunity to see what happens. That’s out of our hands. We just need to keep winning games.”

Stanford opened the morning with a heartfelt pregame ceremony honoring the senior stalwarts, players like all-time Cardinal blocks leader Josh Huestis and Dwight Powell, but after 40 minutes of basketball it was a junior, Chasson Randle, being lauded for his play while weathering the maelstrom of emotion.

“It’s a little emotional because of what the game meant and also because it’s Senior Day,” said Dawkins. “There’s a lot of family here. Senior Day is always interesting because of all the emotion. Our guys remained focus, stepped up and helped, the Chasson Randles, the Marcus Allens. I thought those guys really stepped up and helped the seniors.”

After an eye-popping 24-point night Wednesday in a loss to Colorado, Randle dropped 22 points over 39 minutes of play against the Utes, snapping Stanford’s season-high three-game losing streak to wrap up the last home game of the regular season.

“Chasson’s played terrific for us,” said Dawkins. “He’s doing everything for us. He scores. He makes guys better on our team based on how he goes out there and approaches it. I love coaching him. I’m proud of him because of the bounce back he had from last year. It says a lot about him, about his character, about who he is.

NBA draft hopeful Dwight Powell found himself in foul trouble for the second-straight game in a row, playing only 26 minutes Saturday after the forward saw action in only 24 Wednesday. He managed seven points on 3-of-8 shooting to accompany five rebounds. Stefan Nastic owned the paint in his absence, going 6-for-6 from the field to finish with 14 points. Guard Brandon Taylor led the Runnin’ Utes charge with 14 points, while fellow guard Delon Wright and center Dallin Bachynski notched 12 and 10 respectively.

Despite hitting over 55.6 percent of shots in the first half, Utah found itself trailing the Cardinal 33-25. Stanford made 14 shots on 31 attempts, only four fewer makes than Utah’s 18 attempts in the first. The Cardinal never trailed over the first 20 minutes of play, scoring on a Powell jumper 34 seconds in to take the 2-0 lead. Stanford outscored the Utes 27-16 over the first 14-plus minutes of play for the largest lead of the afternoon, but Utah finished the half with a 9-6 run to head into intermission trailing 33-25.

The Utes opened the second half with back-to-back field goals, including a Jordan Loveridge three, to cut the Cardinal lead to 33-30 just 1:05 in. It would be over ten minutes before either side made consecutive attempts from the floor after going nearly shot-for-shot when Nastic and Randle finally dropped consecutive jumpers to bolster Stanford’s edge 52-43. Nastic then took a Randle feed to the rim for a 11-point gap with 7:51 left in regulation.

“It was frustrating,” said Nastic. “We knew we had to come out with a higher energy level but for whatever reason, there were plays were weren’t making that the other team was making. It was very frustrating but we’ve been through a lot this season sticking together. We really tried to seize the opportunity at hand.”

Persistent Utah refused to yield with Wright and Taylor hitting shots from beyond the arc then Jeremy Olsen laid one up to cut the deficit to three points for the second time in the half. Randle made a pair from the stripe after Bachynski fouled the guard, but Olsen hit a jumper with 4:34 left in the half to make it 56-53. Nastic would hit one of two shots after Olsen fouled him on the floor with Stanford in the Bonus but Taylor ’s shot from downtown at the other end put Utah within one, the closest Utah disadvantage up to that point. Bachynski then hammered home the Utes first lead of the day, 58-56, with a heavy dunk after an offensive board 2:40 from a win.

Huestis responded at the other end with a three to put the Cardinal up by two with 180 seconds remaining before Bachynski hit a pair of free throws to knot the game at 60 just 55 seconds from the final buzzer. Powell drew a foul with 36 seconds remaining and hit one of two freebies, the eventual game-winner, for a 61-60 edge. In total, Stanford hit only four of ten free throws over the closing five minutes.

“Utah is a very good basketball team,” said Dawkins. “They’ve been on the road, they’ve won six out of their last eight games. We knew it was going to be a tough game, we knew it was going to come down to the wire. Defensively, we got the stops that we needed. It offset some of the free throws we missed. Our guys didn’t hang their heads.”

With the shot and game clock down to one second, Brandon Taylor turned the ball over on a traveling call, seemingly icing the game for Stanford. Powell couldn’t find a way to inbound the ball, turning it over with .8 seconds of play, breathing new life into the Utes comeback bid. They would fail to get the ball back in play for a desperation heave, firing the inbound pass into two Stanford players’ grasp as time expired.

Dawkins predicted this game would be close, but even he had no clue how slim the margin of victory would be when he gathered his team at center court Friday to address some of his players for the last time on Stanford’s home floor.

“We stood at center court yesterday with the seniors,” said Dawkins. “I said ‘You know what, the game is about finding a way, finding a way to win, whatever it takes. All through your lives, you guys have worked hard. You worked hard to get into Stanford academically. You worked hard to play at this level in the Pac-12. It feels good because you were able to do something hard. The things you appreciate most as a player, as a coach, as a human being are the things where you had to fight and to struggle to make something work.’ It’s only fitting to win that way tonight.”

For now, Stanford will be scoreboard-watching as it waits to see who will try their luck against in the Cardinal in Las Vegas this Wednesday, or potentially Thursday if the cards fall just right for a first-round Stanford bye. With eyes on an uncertain bid for March Madness, Dawkins’ squad will look to leave the desert the big winners in the bracketology jackpot. Count Coach among the rare few not looking at the big board with bated breath.

Quipped Dawkins, “I may be the only person in the world, but I promise you, I’m not paying attention to it”.

Stanford Starts Pac-12 Tournament with Victory, Moves on to Semi-Finals

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By Joe Lami

After a first round bye, the Stanford Cardinal started their weekend in Seattle with a win.  The top-seeded Cardinal beat the Buffaloes of Colorado by the final score of 69-54 on Friday afternoon to move on to the semi-finals in the Pac-12 tournament.

The Buffaloes earned their contest with the Cardinal by beating the UCLA Bruins by the score of 76-65 on Thursday. They came out to play on Friday, as they held the Cardinal to it’s worst scoring first half of the year at 21 points.  The Buffaloes went into halftime leading 23-21, however a strong second half performance for the Cardinal would earned them the victory.  The key difference for Stanford was starting the second half on a 16-2 run, which was good enough for them to hold the lead the rest of the game.

The starters for the Cardinal were extremely impressive, as four of them got into double digits in scoring.  The Pac-12 player of the year, Chiney Ogwumike, paved the way for the Cardinal putting up 19 points and rebounding 11.  This was after Ogwumike was held to only six points in the first half.  Bonnie Samuelson and Lili Thompson each added 15 points.  Mikaela Ruef had another amazing performance and has a double double to show for it, as she scored ten points, and led the team in rebounds, bringing down 16.  After Amber Orrange had one of her most impressive performance of the year this previous Sunday, Friday afternoon was a way different story.  The Junior Point Guard scored three points on four shot attempts.

The Buffaloes were led by Brittany Wilson, who notched 16 points, with 12 of them coming from beyond the three-point line.  Wilson also put up the most shot attempts of any Colorado player, as she went 5 of 20.  11 of the 20 shots came from three-point range.  Haley Smith was the only other Colorado scorer to get into double digits with ten.  Arielle Roberson led all players in rebounds with 17, she would end just two points shy of the double double.

With the win, the Cardinal are unsure of their next opponent, as they will find out in the upcoming hours. They will take on the winner of the contest between Southern California and Arizona State for a chance at the final on Sunday.

Stanford Can’t Rebuff Buffaloes, Fails to Seperate from Herd in Pac-12 Standings

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DSC_0018 By Matthew Harrington

STANFORD, Calif. – That beeping sound you hear on Campus Drive isn’t the sign of construction and work trucks on Leland Stanford’s old stomping grounds; it’s the sound of the Stanford Cardinal backing into the Pac-12 and, possibly, NCAA tournament.

With a disappointing 59-56 loss to Colorado Wednesday night at Maples Pavilion on a missed game-tying shot at the buzzer, the Cardinal (18-11, 9-8 Pac-12) has now dropped three-straight games for the first time this season. The slump comes at an inopportune time as the season draws to its close and the selection committee reviews Stanford’s tournament credentials as a bubble team with an eagle-eye.

A tournament berth of in the air, Stanford entered play looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak all season after losses to Arizona State and Arizona last week. They ultimately couldn’t right the ship against Colorado (21-9, 10-7), finding themselves in foul trouble throughout Wednesday’s contest. Chasson Randle and Stefan Nastic finished the night with four infractions, while Dwight Powell finished the game watching from the bench with five personal fouls. Colorado made 17 free throws on 25 attempts, the same number of makes as Stanford had attempts.

“That’s very frustrating,” said Stanford head coach Johnny Dawkins. “They shot more free throws than we did. We’re a team that usually gets to the line quite a bit. Unfortunately we didn’t get to the line as much tonight. They converted on a number of them. They made 17, we shot 17. That’s difficult in a three-point ballgame.”

Randle, despite the foul concerns, continued his strong down the stretch by sinking 9 from the field on 18 attempts, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc for a game-high 24 points over 34 minutes. Josh Huestis came a point away from a double-double after pulling down a Stanford-leading 13 rebounds, two more than Josh Scott, Colorado’s top rebounder on the night. Scott also lead the Buffaloes with 17 points. Colorado won the battle of the boards 39 to 31.

“We’ve been out-rebounded the last couple games,” said Dawkins. “With our size and our front line that’s very disappointing. We challenge our guys. We have to do a much better job of rebounding the basketball.”

The two teams traded baskets and blows like prize fighters throughout the first, with neither side snatching a two-possession lead until Colorado’s Ben Mills hit a layup with 5:34 left in the half for a 22-17 edge. Stanford cut the lead to one with baskets from Powell and Randle but the Buffs outscored Stanford 11-7 over the final five minutes before the intermission.

“We were getting open looks,” reflected a dejected Randle on the Cardinal first-half. “We just needed someone to knock them down.”
The Stanford struggles in the first stemmed from poor shooting, as the Cardinal converted only 31 percent of its shots, including 1-for-9 from three-point range. Despite the shooting woes and Powell finding himself on the bench late in the period nursing three fouls, Stanford found itself fortunate to only be facing a five-point deficit at the half thanks to stout defensive work forcing seven Colorado turnovers.

On the poor shooting, Dawkins pointed at the defense first. “Overall, our defense needs to make sure if we’re not making shots, we need to make sure the other team’s not making them either.”

The Cardinal came back strong in the second half, holding the visitors to only 13 points while grabbing 17 of  its own over the first 11-plus minutes to cut it to a 46-45 Colorado advantage.

“Guys stepped it up in the second half defensively,” said Randle. “We did a really good job of bringing our effort and intensity, especially that second group that came in. We need more of that.”

The comeback was completed after a thunderous Stefan Nastic block on Xavier Johnson led to a Huestis bid for the lead at the other end. Huestis missed the shot, but Johnson fouled the forward on the attempt. Huestis hit one of two from the line to pull Stanford even 46-46 with 7:49 to go in the game. Johnson, who finished with 14 points, restored the Buffaloes lead on a jumper from the top of the key.

Red-hot Randle handed the home team its first lead of the half, 49-48, connecting on a trey, 3 of his 17 second-half points, with 4:50 remaining.

“We need more guys stepping up,” said Dawkins. “Chasson, offensively, has really stepped up and done what he has to do. We need more guys. It can’t just be one guy playing offensively. Our offense is built around a balanced attack so we need guys to step up and make plays.”

Colorado regained the lead and created some breathing room on three consecutive field goals, punctuated by a Xavier Talton trey to make it 55-51 with 130 ticks left on the game clock. Dwight Powell was then forced to the bench with his fifth foul on am offensive violation with just over two minutes to play. Powell watched as Randle pulled Stanford within two, his jumper finding the basket despite contact from Talton. Randle would convert the and-one play to make it a 55-54 Buffs lead with 1:12 left in the period. The Cardinal stifled Colorado with a shot clock violation with 45 seconds remaining but failed to take advantage. Colorado them hit four of six from the charity stripe down the stretch, setting up a Stanford a tying bid at 59 points aside. Randle’s three-pointer, potentially tipped on the way to the basket, fell just short of the rim as time expired.

The loss muddies up both the Pac-12 play-off picture and Stanford’s standing as a Big Dance bubble team (the Cardinal entered play in the no. 42 slot in RPI, a criteria used to determine the NCAA tournament field), what could be Stanford’s first appearance in six seasons under Dawkins. Of more concern on the Farm is where Stanford stands in the Pac-12 rankings. Stanford and Colorado entered play with identical 9-7 conference records, tied with Cal for fourth in the standings and a chance for a first-round conference tournament bye. Cal takes on Utah at home Wednesday night.

“I don’t keep up with that stuff at all,” said Dawkins when asked if he thought the loss hurt his team’s tournament standing. “We’re in a great conference. It’s so thick in our conference with competitive teams. Who knows what’s going to happen.”

Stanford continues its unusual stretch of facing unfamiliar conference foes late in conference play when Utah comes to Maples Saturday afternoon for an 11:30 am tip. The Cardinal will look to wrap up Pac-12 by avoiding a four-game losing skid on Senior Day before heading to Sin City for the conference tournament.

“That loss was very disappointing, coming home and having the crowd here,” said Randle. “It’s disappointing having a chance to get a first round bye. We have the opportunity Saturday, and we’re looking forward to that.”

Ogwumike Shines in Final Game, Cardinal Beat Cougars to Finish Undefeated at Home

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By: Joe Lami

Chiney Ogwumike enjoyed her final regular season game at Maples Pavilion.  As she led her team to victory over the Washington State Cougars by the final score of 84-64.  Ogwumike finished her Cardinal career with a new career high 37 points, 21 of them came in the first half.  Ogwumike also added 13 rebounds to achieve her 22nd double-double of the season.  She also achieved her 30th double figure scoring game of the year and later achieved her 13th 30-point game of the season.  She stated after the game “I really don’t care about points and statistics, all I care is that I do enough for us to win, even if I only score two points.”   She later added on her feelings of Saturday’s game “It just felt like another game.  I just care that we won, and that we are playing better basketball going into the post season.  We are growing as a team and that’s what matters.”

The Cardinal started the first half strong, getting the first five points of the game and forcing Washington State to call an early timeout.  Stanford led the entire first half, but did have struggles shooting from beyond the arc.  Stanford went 3 for 13 from three-point range in the first half with Bonnie Samuelson knocking two of them down.  Brianna Roberson drained the other.

Roberson, a freshman, had her most impressive half of her young Cardinal career.  She finished the first half with eight points, a new career high.  Roberson also added a rebound and an assist in the seven minutes that she played.  She finished the game with eight points, as she didn’t see much playing time in the second half.

The Cardinal shot the lights out from the free throw line, as they finished the first half going 14 of 15, for a 93%.

Stanford came out of the second half strong, as they went on a 10-0 run to start things up in the first 4:47.  The Cardinal defense came to play in the second half only allowing 23 points, forcing the Cougars to shoot a dreaded 28%.

Even though the Cardinal held Washington State to 64 points, three different Cougars got into double figures.  They were led by Lia Galdeira, who finished with 16 points.  Both Tia Presley and Sage Romberg finished the game with ten points each.

Amber Orrange went under the radar once again, but had one of her best performances of the year.  The Junior Point Guard finished just two points shy of her career high, scoring 20 points.  She also finished the game with eight rebounds.  “This was one of Amber’s best nights she’s ever had for us” stated head coach, Tara VanDerveer.  VanDerveer also pulled Orrange aside and congratulated her on a great performance.  The key to Orrange’s night “I was being a lot more aggressive.”

The Cardinal finish the year undefeated at home going into the Pac-12 tournament next week.  They will be ranked the first seed and will get a first round bye, and will play their first game on Friday, March 7.

The Cardinal Take Their Revenge on the Huskies

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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.

Stanford Clinches Pac-12 Title

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By: Joe Lami

Sunday was an eventful day for the number five team in the country, as the Stanford Cardinal (26-2,15-1) defeated the UCLA Bruins (12-16,6-10) 65-56.  The win means that Stanford has officially clinched their 14th straight conference title and the number one seed in the Pac-12 tournament to be held in Seattle early next month.

Stanford hopes to continue its’ success in Seattle, as they will be going for their 12th straight Pac-12 championship.  Stanford is a shoe-in for the NCAA tournament, but hopes to win out to keep its’ hopes alive for a number one seed in the West Region, which will be held at Maples Pavilion this year.

Once again, the Cardinal had a poor start to the game.  They fell behind early, being down as much as five points multiple times in the first half.  However, with one minute remaining in the first half Stanford was able to catch up and take the 27-25 lead.  They wouldn’t give it up the rest of the game.

Stanford has been starting slow of late, but they have been able to comeback each and every time giving them adversity going late into the season.

Chiney Ogwumike led the Cardinal in scoring once again with 26 points.  The 26 points has brought her career point total to 2,511 putting her in second place on all-time Cardinal scoring list, as she surpassed her sister older sister, Nnemaki.  Chiney is now just 118 points away from tying Stanford’s all-time leading scorer, Candice Wiggins.  Ogwumike is going down in Cardinal history, as she is the all-time leading field goal percentage leader, as well as the Pac-12 all-time leading rebounder.  She added 15 more rebounds to her total in the win over the Bruins.

There were other players on the court besides Ogwumike, one of them being Amber Orrange, as she was the Cardinal’s second leading scorer on Sunday. She contributed 14 points.  The Junior Point Guard also had three rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 37 minutes played.  Mikaela Ruef came off of the bench for the first time this season to bring down 11 rebounds.

Nirra Fields was strong once again for the Bruins as she notched 24 points.  Thea Lemberger was the other Bruin that got into double digit scoring, as she put up 14 points.

The Cardinal officially end their Pac-12 regular season next weekend, as they host the two schools from Washington.  They look to get their revenge on Thursday, as they host the Huskies, who upset them earlier this month in Seattle by the score of 87-82.  On Saturday, Chiney Ogwumike will end her regular season career with Stanford, as they host Washington State in the final game of the year.

Michelle Richardson on the NCAA: Wichita State the fairest of them all at 29-0

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by Michelle Richardson

Michigan 79 Michigan State 70: This is always a great game when these two schools play each other they played at Michigain this time. The Spartans are ranked number 13 in the nation and Michigan is at number 20 and they both are at number one and two opponents respectfully in the Big Ten.

Michigan State is 22-6 and Michigan is 19-7 it might come down to these two teams meeting in the Big Ten finals. You really want to keep an eye on both of these teams and both of these teams are playing really well. This was a close, close game that was back and forth. I picked the Spartans to win this game and that might have upset my broadcast partner Jeremy Kahn but Jeremy is not to be too upset as the Wolves ended up winning this game by nine on Sunday.

Michigan State played better ball in the first half and Michigan was coming off a loss at Wisconsin but Michigan fought hard in the end of the game and got the points to win it at home. For Michigan top three scorers Nik Stauskas was the high scorer with 25, Chris LeVert finished with 23 and Glenn Robinson III had 15. For Michigan State Gary Harris 21, Denzel Valentine 13, and Adreian Payne with 12.

Wichita State 83 Drake 54: Wichita State are headed for some big records, I have been saying for the past month that people have not been giving Wichita State the respect they deserve. They are the number one team in the country. They have gone undefeated, Syracuse is the only team that’s standing in their way and they should have been a number two instead of a number three last week.

Florida happened to get in and jump above Syracuse which isn’t right, but Wichita State should be number one and if they don’t get selected to number one it would be a terrible travesty they are sitting on top of the mountain. Just because their playing in the Missuori Valley conference doesn’t mean their games are any less competitive.

Wichita State is blowing out their competition and they wupped up on Drake, Wichita State deserves to be number one and should be recognised as such. You got to get those AP voters from the big conferences like the SCC and thier going to do their best to keep Whicita State in their place.

New Mexico 58 San Diego State 44: The Lobos are not ranked right now and San Diego State are number six in the AP and New Mexico are not ranked but their up there in the Mountain West Conference with San Diego State and it most likely will come down to those two when it’s time for conference championships to come in.

New Mexico is a hard team to beat when your in the Pit and it’s just not the team, it’s that crowd at University Arena with 15,411 behind you screaming and supporting the Lobos. UNM fans get there and they cheer and they cheer loud. The Pit is loud and you have to laugh when the Lobos play a hard half of basketball.

At the Pit you have to run up the tunnel to get to the dressing room that takes more out of your legs. You have to give credit to New Mexico head coach Craig Neal he’s got these players playing hard and you have to expect them to get a large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Michelle Richardson does commentary on the NCAA each week for Sportstalk radio

Upset Over Bruins Bolsters Cardinal Case for Tournament Place

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By Matthew Harrington

The wait may finally be over for coach Johnny Dawkins and Stanford. With selection day looming, the Cardinal pieced together a statement win at the right time, beating 23rd-ranked University of California Los Angeles 83-74 at Maples Pavilion Saturday afternoon, the Cardinal’s third win over a ranked opponent this season. The upset, Stanford’s third-straight win and fifth in six games, presents the NCAA tournament selection committee with another reason to move Stanford off the bubble and into the big dance on an at-large bid for the first tournament appearance in six years under Dawkins.

The veterans have led the way of late for Stanford (18-8, 9-5 Pac-12), understanding the importance a strong finish has on their tournament hopes. One game after setting a career-high in rebounds while also moving into first place all-time in school history in blocks, senior Josh Huestis once again forged an amendment to his biography in the programs, netting 22 points to match his single-game best. His 22 points were second only to guard Chasson Randle’s 26 on the day. Randle, a junior, put on a three-point clinic with 7 treys on 10 attempts, the most he’s made in a single game. Fellow junior Anthony Brown pitched in 18 points for Stanford who clicked at an eye-popping 62.2 shooting percentage as a team. Starting guard Norman Powell matched freshman Zach LaVine’s 14 points off the bench to lead UCLA (21-6, 10-4) while Tony Parker chipped in 13 points for the Bruins.

The opening 10 minutes saw both teams refuse to cede an inch of the court, with no team leading by more than three points. Randle potted a shot from downtown with 9:46 left in the half to give Stanford the first five-point lead of the day for either team to make it 23-18 Cardinal before the home team closed the half out on a 15-12 for a 38-30 edge after 20 minutes of play.

The Bruins clawed back into the game, outscoring Stanford 35-33 over the first 15 minutes of the second half then proceeded to make it a two possession game on three LaVine free throws made with 2:48 left to play and Stanford leading 72-68. The Cardinal finished out the game with 11 points to UCLA’s 6 split the two regular season games with its Southern California foes. The Bruins previously routed a vastly Stanford squad vastly different than the one they faced Saturday afternoon 91-74 on January 23rd in Los Angeles. Stanford made 38.6 percent of shots that night and turned the ball over 19 times.

Continuing its march to a potential place in the Madness to come next month, Stanford moves on to the final road trip in Pac-12 play, a trip to Tempe that sees the Cardinal face Arizona State University Wednesday followed by a Sunday showdown in Tucson against fourth-ranked University of Arizona. After that, the Cardinal returns to Maples for one last home game against Colorado March 5th to wrap up Pac-12 play before the conference tournament tips off in Las Vegas.

Stanford Completes the Comeback to Defeat USC

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By: Joe Lami

The Stanford Cardinal (24-2,13-1) traveled to USC (16-10,9-5) Friday night to start their final road trip of the season.  Stanford had one of the worst starts of the season, but was able to overcome it and complete the huge comeback to defeat the Trojans 64-59.

Stanford struggled tremendously in the first half as they fell behind early.  USC was pouring it on, as the Cardinal couldn’t buy a bucket.  Stanford was trailing as much as 18 in the first half.  USC had the 32-13 lead with six minutes to go in the half.  Stanford would be able to cut the deficit before the half to seven, as they finished out the half on a 17-5 run.

Stanford would come out of the half hot as well, as they would cut the lead to just two only three minutes into the second half.  USC would be able to hold their lead until the 11-minute mark, when a made Chiney Ogwumike layup would give the Cardinal a 45-43 lead.

Stanford would be able to stretch their lead to nine with just over a minute to go before USC would start to make their comeback.  USC would make a comeback once again shrinking the Stanford lead to just four with 42 seconds remaining.

Bonnie Samuelson would knock both of her foul shots down giving the Cardinal a 62-56 lead.  The next possession for the Trojans would see a missed shot, but an offensive rebound would give Ariya Cook a chance for a three pointer.  She wouldn’t miss, cutting the lead to just three with 14 seconds to go.  Samuelson would get fouled once again, sending her to the foul line, she would knock down both once again.  Samuelson finished the game perfect from the charity strike, going eight for eight.

The game wouldn’t see another basket, and Stanford would be able to hold on for the win.

Chiney Ogwumike led all scorers with 27 points, however the Academic All-American would shot only 50% from the field.  Ogwumike finished the game with seven rebounds, three blocks and a steal.  On top of Samuelson’s eight free throws, she also knocked down two three-pointers to finish the game with 14 points.

Cook led the way for the Trojans with 24 points, nine of them coming from beyond the arc.

With the victory Stanford has now clinched at least a shared title of the Pac-12 regular season.  They can become the sole champions with either a California loss, or a win on Sunday over the UCLA Bruins.