Another top-5 opponent, another win for Cardinal

NASSAU, Bahamas — After dealing with a sprained left ankle for the past week, Haley Jones seemed to be back to her usual self.

Jones had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead seventhranked Stanford to a 86-67 win over No. 2 Maryland on Saturday at the Pink Flamingo Championship.

“She has some genes,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “For her to be moving the way she was, I didn’t think it would happen. I was hoping she might be able to play in this game. Haley did a lot of rehab and she looked great out there.”

The win was the second over a top-five team for the Cardinal in three days. Stanford edged No. 4 Indiana 69-66 on Thursday before falling by three points to No. 18 South Florida on Friday.

“This has been a real grind of a week,” VanDerveer said. “Playing last Sunday at Gonzaga, 19 hours to get down here, play such great competition, I’m really proud of our team. Thought today I challenged our team to play their best basketball. We rebounded.”

Hannah Jump, a last-minute addition to the starting lineup because Cameron Brink was sick just before the game, had 21 points, hitting seven 3-pointers.

“Hannah had a breakout game,” VanDerveer said.

Stanford (5-2) took command with a 12-2 run late in the first quarter, capped by Jump’s third 3 of the period. The Cardinal, who lost on a shot in the final few seconds to South Florida 24 hours earlier, kept the run going in the second.

After Chloe Bibby hit a jumper to make it a five-point game, Stanford outscored the Terrapins 24-7 the rest of the quarter to go up 46-24 at the half.

Maryland (6-2) was shorthanded to begin with as only seven players were dressed because of illness and injuries. Point guard Ashley Owusu picked up her third foul in the second quarter on an offensive foul and then was hit with a technical right after, sending her to the bench with 2:56 left in the period. The Terrapins didn’t score the rest of the half.

It didn’t get much better in the second half for the Terrapins.

“That’s what a championship team looks like,” Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. “That’s where we strive to be. They showed it for four straight quarters.”

Owusu scored 29 points to lead Maryland.

“We didn’t come out to compete this whole tournament,” Owusu said. “We came out flat against both teams. With topfive, top-10 teams, this is what happens.”

Brink warmed up, but before the game she had her head in her lap on the training table. Toward the end of the first quarter, after throwing up into a nearby garbage can, she started working out on the sideline with the Stanford training staff.

Brink, who had averaged 22 points and 17 rebounds in the first two games in the Bahamas, entered with 3:43 left in the second quarter.

She finished the game with eight points in nine minutes.

The game was played at the Baha Mar resort in a converted ballroom complete with a low ceiling and a raised stage right off midcourt.

There were high school-style bleachers behind the two benches for fans.