Cardinal extend roll, defeat Bears
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer presented flowers to each of her three seniors Sunday and said that she was sorry that their parents or family members couldn’t be at Maples Pavilion for Senior Day.
Then, there they all were — moms and dads, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, even a few aunts and uncles — brought in on the big screen via video call sharing their congratulations and love.
“This is our very first Zoom Senior Day,” VanDerveer said in a touching event given the COVID19 protocols and restrictions.
Kiana Williams scored 12 points in her final home game and fifthyear senior Anna Wilson added three steals while playing for the final time on The Farm and the fourthranked Cardinal used a dominant second half to beat Cal 7233 to close out the regular season.
“We’ll be in San Antonio soon,” Williams told her family in Texas, referencing the Final Four to be played in her hometown.
“Williams family, get ready!” added VanDerveer. “We’ll keep working hard.”
Williams, Wilson and Alyssa Jerome received postgame bouquets and took turns sharing remarks at midcourt as their teammates showered them with top memories.
Hannah Jump added 14 points for Stanford (222, 192 Pac12), which won its 11th straight game since a twogame skid in January.
VanDerveer took advantage of a chance to use her entire bench to prepare for the upcoming Pac12 tourney as Stanford closed the game with a 90 run over the final 3:35.
Freshman Dalayah Daniels had 11 points and seven rebounds for Cal (115, 112), which was coming off a win over Arizona State achieved a week earlier.
“We’ve got a lot of growth on this team and we’re going to keep fighting,” said Bears coach Charmin Smith, who played for VanDerveer at Stanford and later coached with her here before going to Berkeley.
Cal trailed 3125 at halftime, but couldn’t keep pace after the intermission. The Bears missed eight consecutive shots in a third quarter in which it was outscored 272. Stanford outscored Cal 418 overall in the second half.
“Charmin’s very resilient,” VanDerveer said. “She’s a great coach, she’s a great person. They have really talented young players that have gotten thrown into the deep end of the pool.”
Leilani McIntosh was held to nine points and missed all six of her 3point tries coming off a careerhigh 21 points with four 3pointers in the 6755 victory over the Sun Devils.
The Cardinal earned their sixth straight win in the rivalry and 10th in the past 12.
Stanford won 8338 in Berkeley on Dec. 13 just before COVID19 health restrictions imposed by Santa Clara County sent the Cardinal on the road for more than two months.