San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Cal, Stanford players do justice to No. 30
Cal’s Jayda Curry put on an ESPN special Friday evening at Maples Pavilion: a 30 for 30. A freshman guard, Curry wears No. 30, but her gamehigh 30 points didn’t result in a victory. Second-ranked Stanford rolled 97-74, in large part because its No. 30, junior guard Haley Jones, filled the stat sheet with 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
The Cardinal and Bears were supposed to have a rematch at Haas Pavilion on Sunday, but that game was postponed Saturday because of coronavirus issues in the Bears’ program. Whenever the teams meet again, Cal head coach Charmin Smith said she and Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer occasionally might do what many fans likely will do: focus their attention on the respective No. 30s.
“Haley Jones, I mean, she’s special,” Smith said after Friday night’s game. “You have moments when you end up watching her, like, ‘Oh, that’s nice,’ and I think Tara has moments where she’s like, ‘Oh, wow. That Curry kid is nice, too.’ ”
That Curry kid leads the Pac-12 in scoring at 20.3 points per game. Listed at 5-foot-6, Curry makes up for whatever she lacks in height with quickness, exceptional shooting range (she went 4-for-8 from beyond the arc Friday) and a fearlessness when knifing through the lane.
She went 0-for-4 from the field in the first quarter but said that didn’t diminish her self-belief.
“I just wasn’t hitting how I felt like I should have,” Curry said. “I think I kept my confidence. Obviously, I was able to start hitting shots and I think the only way for that to happen is keeping your confidence. It never wavers.”
Curry went 7-for-13 from the floor in the final three quarters. For the game, she was 12-for-14 from the foul line.
“I’m just so proud of Jayda,” Smith said. “I have a lot of respect for Stanford’s defense and Tara’s game-planning ability, and she doesn’t let someone have 30 points. Jayda earned it.”
Jones, meanwhile, went 9-for-13 from the floor and 7-for-7 at the line. Listed at 6-1, Jones posed particular problems for Cal when the Bears played zone and she got the ball near the free-throw line.
From there, she could feed forwards Fran Belibi (20 points Friday) or Cameron Brink (12) on the low block, drive to the goal or nail a jumper.
The lone blemish on Jones’ line: She committed seven turnovers. That led to some vintage player-coach repartee between Jones and VanDerveer in their postgame news conference.
Jones: “Sometimes I try to make plays that aren’t always there. I try to force things. I think of myself as very highrisk, high-reward, so I think I need to lower the risk factor.”
VanDerveer: “That’s not a bad idea.”
Jones: “Yeah, I’ll work on that.”
VanDerveer: “I like the reward, though.”
Jones, a Mitty High grad from Santa Cruz, was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player last year when Stanford won the national title. This season, Jones is averaging 13.1 points (tied with Brink for 11th in the Pac-12), 8.2 rebounds (second in the Pac-12) and 3.8 assists (sixth in the Pac-12).
“I think 30’s a good number in the Bay Area,” VanDerveer said. “I really like it when Haley’s aggressive, attacking the basket, aggressive defensively, getting her hands on the ball. She’s a tremendous talent, as Curry is for them — and as (Stephen) Curry is for the Warriors.
“She doesn’t have the same last name, but she’s got a great game.”
Yes, around the time VanDerveer made those comments Friday night, Stephen Curry drilled a jumper at the buzzer to give the Warriors a 105-103 win over the Houston Rockets.
For the record, Jayda Curry has not met Stephen, but the Southern California native said she has worn No. 30 since she was in about the sixth grade as a tribute to him.
If Jayda Curry and Haley Jones keep doing what they’re doing, some young players might choose to wear No. 30 as a tribute to either or both of them.