It was gritty and a banner makes it pretty. Stanford won the regular season conference title for the 24th time and for the first time since the 2014-2015 season by defeating Arizona 62-48.
Not much really came easy for Stanford on offense but head coach Tara VanDerveer's crew made sure that accomplishing anything on the court was even more difficult for the Fighting Aari McDonalds. Arizona's offense is largely entirely dependent on the All-American guard and she needed 24 shots to score 20 points. Remarkably only three of her teammates scored a field goal in the entire second half — a combined 3-of-7 effort by players not named McDonald.
Anna Wilson started the game on McDonald and took on the most minutes of the group assignment to slow down the speedy Wildcat. Wilson caused two charges by McDonald and also stole the ball once off her.
Wilson's effort exemplifies the drive of the entire team to win the conference during the most bizarre and challenging season ever. The Cardinal were nomads (first-world nomads, to be clear) who made Santa Cruz their home for several "home" games and isolation was their daily schedule. Through all the travel, suitcase living and playing against a conference deep with talent, they managed to establish themselves as a no-doubt No. 1 seed for the tournament that will be played entirely in Kiana Williams' hometown, San Antonio.
Williams again started hot and her shot making in the first quarter helped keep the Cardinal going when everyone else suffered through the clanks. Lexie Hull eventually got going and put together a very Lexie Hull game (minus the four turnovers): 16 points (6-11 FGA), nine rebounds and two blocks. Her first block brought some energy into an otherwise sluggish game.
Arizona's best chance to set the game on the right path for them to claim the conference title was wasted in the first quarter. Time and again Stanford came up empty on offense but the Wildcats could only muster 13 points of their own. The two teams combined to make only 9-of-27 FGA in the opening 10 minutes and both teams had five turnovers. Stanford had 16 turnovers in the game and Haley Jones earned some warranted criticism after the game because she had seven of them. (She repeatedly made poor decisions to force passes or lost control of her footing when she over-penetrated without a plan of what to do with the ball.)
Once the Cardinal had a chance to get their feet under them a bit with the help of Hull's block and Wilson's charge, the play that seemed to put the game out of reach also involved a hustle play by Hull.
VanDerveer told media members after the game that she got a bit emotional during the celebration on the court because of how proud she is of this team. She thinks it's one of the most remarkable titles won of the 24 since she came to The Farm.
The team calls themselves a sisterhood and they had to go through the ups and downs of the season entirely in their own bubble. As Hull said after the game it's a good thing they all like each other so much. The close-knit bond among the players made the postgame ceremony meaningful in an empty arena without the normal emotional boosters that elevate moment to a championship feel.
Not much really came easy for Stanford on offense but head coach Tara VanDerveer's crew made sure that accomplishing anything on the court was even more difficult for the Fighting Aari McDonalds. Arizona's offense is largely entirely dependent on the All-American guard and she needed 24 shots to score 20 points. Remarkably only three of her teammates scored a field goal in the entire second half — a combined 3-of-7 effort by players not named McDonald.
Anna Wilson started the game on McDonald and took on the most minutes of the group assignment to slow down the speedy Wildcat. Wilson caused two charges by McDonald and also stole the ball once off her.
Wilson's effort exemplifies the drive of the entire team to win the conference during the most bizarre and challenging season ever. The Cardinal were nomads (first-world nomads, to be clear) who made Santa Cruz their home for several "home" games and isolation was their daily schedule. Through all the travel, suitcase living and playing against a conference deep with talent, they managed to establish themselves as a no-doubt No. 1 seed for the tournament that will be played entirely in Kiana Williams' hometown, San Antonio.
Williams again started hot and her shot making in the first quarter helped keep the Cardinal going when everyone else suffered through the clanks. Lexie Hull eventually got going and put together a very Lexie Hull game (minus the four turnovers): 16 points (6-11 FGA), nine rebounds and two blocks. Her first block brought some energy into an otherwise sluggish game.
Arizona's best chance to set the game on the right path for them to claim the conference title was wasted in the first quarter. Time and again Stanford came up empty on offense but the Wildcats could only muster 13 points of their own. The two teams combined to make only 9-of-27 FGA in the opening 10 minutes and both teams had five turnovers. Stanford had 16 turnovers in the game and Haley Jones earned some warranted criticism after the game because she had seven of them. (She repeatedly made poor decisions to force passes or lost control of her footing when she over-penetrated without a plan of what to do with the ball.)
Once the Cardinal had a chance to get their feet under them a bit with the help of Hull's block and Wilson's charge, the play that seemed to put the game out of reach also involved a hustle play by Hull.
VanDerveer told media members after the game that she got a bit emotional during the celebration on the court because of how proud she is of this team. She thinks it's one of the most remarkable titles won of the 24 since she came to The Farm.
The team calls themselves a sisterhood and they had to go through the ups and downs of the season entirely in their own bubble. As Hull said after the game it's a good thing they all like each other so much. The close-knit bond among the players made the postgame ceremony meaningful in an empty arena without the normal emotional boosters that elevate moment to a championship feel.
