Stanford bounces back to beat UCLA
>> Tara VanDerveer pulled each of her star post players aside and asked them to stay within themselves and play to their strengths.
Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen made all the right decisions two days after a rare loss.
Brink had 19 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocked shots, and No. 4 Stanford beat No. 7 UCLA 80-60 on Sunday.
Iriafen scored 18 points as the Cardinal (20-3, 9-2 Pac-12) bounced back nicely after losing 67-58 to JuJu Watkins and No. 15 Southern California on Friday night.
“For us the most important thing honestly is that after a loss our team didn't throw anybody under the bus. No one liked it, we were all very disappointed. I personally took it really hard just because I just felt like I hadn't done a good enough job,” VanDerveer said. “So I really talked to Cam and Kiki about helping us run our offense and the first couple plays you could see they were totally locked in, doing the right thing.”
The chat with VanDerveer meant a lot to both women.
“Just instilling that confidence in us,” Iriafen said. “We're both All-Americans and we should be confident in what we can do. So she just instilled that confidence in us and reminded us that we can run offense better and facilitate more.”
Brink and Iriafen combined to shoot 16 for 26 and helped Stanford to a 43-29 rebounding advantage on a day when a sellout crowd of 7,207 braved a wild Bay Area rain and
wind storm to pack Maples Pavilion.
“I just think we were ready to play against anybody,” VanDerveer said.
Charisma Osborne scored 13 points for the Bruins (17-4, 6-4), still missing second-leading scorer Lauren Betts because of undisclosed medical reasons. The 6-foot-7 center, a Stanford transfer who is averaging 15.4 points and 8.6 rebounds, was sidelined for a fourth straight game.
Coach Cori Close said she expects Betts back at some point this season.
Osborne followed her 32-point performance in Friday's 78-58 win against California in Berkeley by shooting just 5 for 18 in the final regular-season meeting between the storied programs in Pac-12 play before the Bruins leave for the Big Ten next season.
“Tonight was really embarrassing playing out there,” Osborne said. “We have to figure it out.”
Close said discussions are underway and went on this weekend with Cal and Stanford about future home-and-home matchups for nonconference play.
Stanford wanted to move forward from its first home loss, when it was unable to stop Watkins as the freshman poured in a Trojans-record 51 points — the most in major NCAA women's basketball this season.
VanDerveer asked her players to take better shots and take care of the ball — and her team wound up with its best shooting percentage since 2014.