WOMENS BASKETBALL
Stanford 74, Washington State 65
BY NATHAN CANILAO
ASSOCIATED PRESS
STANFORD, Calif. - Cameron Brink had 20 points and 18 rebounds, Kiki Iriafen scored 17 points and No. 8 Stanford beat Washington State 74-65.
The Cardinal (13-1, 1-0 Pac-12) won for the 73rd straight meeting and have not lost to the Cougars (11-4, 0-2) since the teams started playing each other in 1983. Brink had her fifth game with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds.
“I think we were much better when Cameron was on the floor,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “She did a great job of playing in the second half. We did a great job at the free throw line and I thought our rebounding was a really big key.”
Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 22 points to lead Washington State, and Bella Murekatete added 13 points.
After falling behind 35-34 at halftime, Stanford found its groove in the third quarter. After going back-and-forth through the first five minutes of the second half, Brooke Demetre hit a step-back 3-pointer to cap off a 10-0 run and gave the Cardinal a 54-44 lead at the 2:18 mark of the third quarter.
″I think we just fought through,” Brink said. “Our freshman came in and they played great. I’m always super proud of them.”
Demetre tied her season-high with 12 points and was the spark Stanford needed in the second half.
“She’s so steady,” VanDerveer said. “She’s a high-energy player whether she plays the three or the four. I thought she was a real difference maker.”
Stanford had its biggest lead of the game after Iriafen scored on a three-point play for a 69-54 lead. The Cougars cut the deficit to just four points with under two minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Stanford pulled away for the nine-point win.
Stanford outrebounded Washington State 43-28 while going to the free throw line 19 times to the Cougars’ six.
Washington State coach Kamie Ethridge said the Cougars just didn’t score enough in the second half to beat a Stanford team who was building momentum.
“Stanford is really good and we just weren’t as good offensively,” Ethridge said. “We just didn’t have enough scoring punch to stay with them in the second half. We made some good plays and kept it close, but we got to be able to score in the seventies and eighties to beat Stanford.”
The Cardinal got out to a 18-12 lead in the first quarter behind Brink as she scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds.
Brink picked up her second foul at the 7:31 mark of the second quarter, but the Cardinal kept the momentum going with a 10-4 run to build a 30-21 lead. Washington State went on a run of its own and finished the final five minutes of the first half on a 14-4 spurt to pull to 35-34.
The Cougars forced 10 Stanford turnovers and held the Cardinal to just two free throw attempts in the first half. Murekatete led Washington State with 11 points.
January 5, 2024
