Stanford women pound Portland
Four games into the season, Stanford guard Haley Jones feels like the secondranked Cardinal is on the right path.
Jones had 17 points and Cameron Brink added 12 to help Stanford rout host Portland 87-47 on Sunday.
“I think it’s coming along great. It starts with our off-the-court chemistry and that’s great so far. And I think on the court we’re just continuing to get better,” Jones said. “It is also only November. There are things that we need to work on, but I think we have great communication, we’re great listening to one another and we’re playing with a lot of energy out there.”
Stanford (4-0), which led by as many as 43 points, has not lost to a WCC team since falling at Gonzaga in 2018.
Liana Kaitu’u led Portland (2-1) with 13 points. Maisie Burnham, who had 22 points in the Pilots’ previous game, was held to seven points on 2-for-12 shooting.
“We’re well aware of what an awesome team (Stanford) is and how much talent they have and how well they’re coached,” Portland coach Michael Meek said. “I just think it was a great opportunity for our kids to have a chance to play a team of this caliber. And it gives the opportunity to get better.”
Stanford took over the game in the second quarter, going up 41-13 on Jones’ layup. The Cardinal led 43-17 at halftime.
“I was really proud of our effort today,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “Portland is a very good team and we have to play well to be successful. Haley and Cam really stepped up but it was a total team effort. It was really fun.”
Cal State Fullerton 71, San Jose State 63: The host Spartans (0-2) jumped to a four-point halftime lead but could not hold off the Titans (1-1).
Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland alum Jada Holland had 16 points and Sabrina
Ma (St. Ignatius) added 13 to pace San Jose State, which was 2-for-14 from the floor in the fourth quarter.
“We’re young and we’re just going to continue to chip away and get better day by day, game by game,” San Jose State head coach April Phillips said. “We’ve got to get better at making consecutive shots.”
Fujika Nimmo led Cal State Fullerton with 19 points and Pinewood-Los Altos Hills alum Una Jovanovic added 10.
Men
USF 88, UC Merced 71: Khalil Shabazz scored 21 points and Volodymyr Markovetskyy added 20 as the host Dons (3-0) downed the Bobcats (3-3).
USF shot 53% in the first half while taking a 13point lead before pushing the margin to 22 in the second half.
Mason Westlake had 20 points and Alameda alum Kingsley Obiorah had 15 points and 13 rebounds for UC Merced.
“I felt like we got better in some areas today,” USF head coach Chris Gerlufsen said. “I was happy that some guys individually
stepped up. But again, I think we’re still kind of a work in progress. We’re really learning what our team is about and what we need to do moving forward.”
St. Mary’s 63, North Texas 33: Alex Ducas scored 11 points to lead a balanced offense as the host Gaels (3-0) topped the Mean Green (1-1).
St. Mary’s limited North Texas to 23.5% shooting and outrebounded the Mean Green 43-23 while extending its home winning streak to 21 games.
Jayden Martinez scored 13 points to lead North Texas.