Cardinal roll in opener against Spartans
The expectation is for Stanford to get beyond the first weekend in every NCAA Tournament. Even as a No. 2 seed, even if it was a perceived slight to not be given a top seed, the Cardinal were supposed to beat No. 15 Norfolk State on Friday night. And they did.
The 79-50 win at Maples Pavilion propelled Stanford to a date with No. 7 seed Iowa State on Sunday, a second-round matchup that meant a little bit more for the Cardinal (26-5). At this point a year ago, the Cardinal — as a No. 1 seed — won their first-round game by 43 points, only to lose to No. 8 seed Mississippi in the second round.
Sunday was to be Cameron Brink's and Hannah Jump's finale on the Farm, but they'd prefer that their last season with the Cardinal include a trip through Portland, Ore., and into Cleveland for the Final Four.
Last year “was very painful,” head coach Tara VanDerveer said. “People took it very personally and committed themselves to hard work in the gym and hard work on being better connected as a team. … We just need to continue to play hard and play for each other and we have a lot of confidence in our team.”
On Friday, it was All-America honorable mention Kiki Iriafen who did much of the damage against the Spartans (27-6) with 17 points and nine rebounds. Brink, without much of a threat against her in the paint, added 17 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks. Jump netted 13 points while going 4for-6 from 3-point range.
Elena Bosgana built off a strong Pac-12 tournament with a career-high 18 points, shooting 6-for-10 and tying her season-high with four 3-pointers.
Cardinal players who experienced last season's letdown echoed VanDerveer in saying that was left in the past and is not a part of this team's identity. Throughout the season, Cardinal veterans have emphasized how much they enjoy playing with each other and a different level of joy and teamwork they've achieved.
Junior Brooke Demetre said that after the Ole Miss loss, the returners “set a pact” in the offseason and VanDerveer brought in leadership coaches to speak to the team.
“We didn't have a skill issue last year,” Demetre said. “Building as a team this year is the difference. … It was a mentality last year. We fixed that, and I'm proud of that.”
Norfolk State hadn't lost since Jan. 20, a span of 15 games, and entered Friday night with the third-best scoring defense in the nation, allowing 52.2 points per game. However, the Spartans' 122 NET ranking is indicative of the weaker opponents across their schedule, making Stanford by far their toughest foe this season, and the Cardinal led for all but the first 16 seconds of the game.
Led by former North Carolina State starter Diamond Johnson, the Spartans were the class of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference this season, but with their tallest player at 6foot-2, they didn't have the size to compete with Stanford's double-post attack.
“I thought we came out tight, I know the pressure (we) feel of when you're supposed to win the game,” VanDerveer said. “We got a lot looser I think at halftime and it was a fun game to play.”
Johnson scored 19 points on 24 shots, but that wasn't enough for the Spartans. Unlike USC and Juju Watkins, who Stanford effectively shut down in the Pac-12 tournament championship game only to see the rest of the Trojans pick up the slack and lead the way to victory, Norfolk State didn't have the surrounding cast to relieve defensive pressure on Johnson.
It did take until 5:44 left in the third quarter for a fifth player to score for the Cardinal when Demetre picked up her first field goal. Until then, just Brink, Iriafen, Jump, and Bosgana were on the board, similar to their game against Cal in the Pac-12 tournament when just four players scored that entire game.
In an ideal world, Stanford would have a wider distribution of scoring, but the breakout from Bosgana and five bench points from Courtney Ogden is a positive. Plus, the Cardinal shot 52% from the floor overall, something they will never complain about.