Chiney Ogwumike scored 14 of her 18 points in the second half and the sixth-ranked Stanford women’s basketball team rallied to beat host Texas, 63-54, in a nonconference game Saturday.
Mikaela Ruef recorded her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinal (4-1), which won its third straight.
Stanford heads to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico for three games, beginning with Purdue on Tuesday, followed by Florida Gulf Coast on Wednesday and South Dakota State on Thursday.
The Cardinal takes a two-week break for finals before returning home to host Gonzaga on Dec. 14.
Ogwumike scored 10 points during a 16-0 Stanford run in the second half that put Stanford ahead to stay. Amber Orrange hit a 3-pointer with 13:19 remaining to play for a 41-40 advantage.
“We had great leadership with Chiney and Mikaela. I thought Mikaela really helped us out early, hitting her shot, and Chiney picked us up in the second half, hitting her shot,” VanDerveer said.
Texas led at halftime, 37-30, and hit its first basket of the second half to make it 39-30 before the Cardinal began its comeback. The Longhorns outscored Stanford, 11-2, during a stretch that spanned both halves.
“We had a rough first half, we had to make some adjustments at halftime, which I think our team did,” said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer, who won her 898th career game. “We came out and were much more aggressive in the second half. I’m proud of how our team battled. This wasn’t a pretty game, but a very big game for us to win.”
Stanford was a different team in the second half, limiting Texas to 5 of 29 shooting (.172) in the second half.
“We stoked it up on defense, forced them to make mistakes and got some easy baskets in transition,” Ruef said. “And Chiney was making shots. That always helps.”
Ogwumike missed the final seven shots she took in the first half and went scoreless for over 14 minutes.
“This game forced me to be outside. It was a little uncomfortable,” said Ogwumike, who won a pair of state high school titles on the same court. “I’m just really proud of my team for helping me build my confidence back in the second half.”
Orrange finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and five steals. Sara James led the Cardinal with four assists.
Ogwumike was limited to a season-low six rebounds before fouling out with just over two minutes remaining.
“Sometimes the big games are what people talk about, but this game really taught me, and our team in particular, how to be mentally tough and stick with things,” Ogwumike said.
Men’s water polo
The Steve Heaston Trophy returned to Stanford Saturday as the third-ranked Cardinal came from behind to defeat No. 5 California, 11-10, in the Big Splash at Avery Aquatic Center.
Sophomore Bret Bonanni scored five goals to pace the Cardinal, which had trailed 3-0 after the opening period. Bonanni got the Cardinal on the board on a penalty shot in the second period and scored a second as the Cardinal fought back with five goals in the second period.
“Cal played very well in the first quarter, they came out and were ready to play, but I felt it was just a matter of time before we got ourselves back into the game” said Stanford head coach John Vargas. “It was all about defense. We were pretty upset to give up seven goals in the first half. It was more of our defense getting us back into our offensive series.”
BJ Churnside posted a hat trick, Forrest Watkins had two goals while Alex Bowen and Paul Rudoolph scored a goal apiece. In the cage, Drew Holland made seven saves for the Cardinal.
“[The win] felt great, I haven’t won a Big Splash since I started playing in my freshman year when I redshirted, so it feels great,” Watkins said afterwards on Senior Day.
Stanford’s five-goal second period only trimmed the California lead to two at 7-5 at halftime, as the Golden Bears scored four of their own in the frame.
California blitzed the Cardinal with a pair of goals from Giacomo Cupido and Aleksa Saponjic over the opening two minutes and got a third from Mitchell Hamilton before the end of the first period.
Stanford cut the lead to one twice in the second frame, but California went ahead 7-4 before Alex Bowen’s goal 16 seconds before halftime made it 7-5 at the break.
It was third period where the Cardinal finally turned the momentum, scoring four times while Holland and the defense held the Golden Bears scoreless, turning a two-goal deficit into a two-goal lead at 9-7.
Watkins got that rally started with a 6-on-5 goal at the 5:53 mark, and Churnside followed just over a minute later to bring the Cardinal even for the first time.
Stanford’s defense fought off a couple of man-down situations before Bonanni zipped another goal in on a Cardinal power play at 1:58, giving Stanford its first lead of the game.
The sophomore would put in another goal 13 seconds before the end of the frame to create the multi-goal cushion for the Cardinal.
Churnside got the lead to three at 10-7 just 29 seconds into the fourth period, but California would not go away.
The Golden Bear offense snapped out of its drought, which lasted 11:54, by scoring two quick power-play goals at Aleksa Saponjic and Collin Smith at 6:08 and 5:43, respectively.
Stanford’s defense recovered, though, and continued to hold strong over the next five minutes.
Watkins would provide the clincher with 20 seconds remaining, firing home to make it 11-9. California would score with two seconds left, but it was too late and the Cardinal claimed its first Big Splash victory in three seasons.
“I knew they would double-team BJ, so I stepped in, hoped he’d see me, and was there to take the shot,” Watkins said of the clinching goal. “There’s nothing like it. When there’s 20 seconds, up by two, you know that’s the game.”
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports
By Palo Alto Online Sports