While the majority of students headed home for Thanksgiving Break, the No. 3 Stanford women’s basketball team set out on a road trip of its own, first traveling to the East Coast to face No. 2 Connecticut last Monday and then on to Ohio to square up against Xavier on Friday.
It was the seventh time the Cardinal (4-1) has faced the Huskies (6-0) in just four short years in what has become the most important rivalry in the sport. With both teams seemingly unable to lose on their home court—UConn is riding an 89-game home win streak, and the Card is on an only slightly less impressive 65-gamer—it was not surprising to see the Huskies come out on top, 68-58.
The teams, though, were not the familiar pair that has closed out the top two spots in the rankings for so long. Both Stanford and Connecticut have graduated key players in the last two years, and sophomores and freshmen now make up the majority of both rosters. WNBA guard Maya Moore was still present, but as a recent graduate could do nothing more than watch from the sidelines. However, in her absence, Huskies fans were not to be disappointed as rising-star freshman forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis grabbed 25 points and eight rebounds to make her mark and lead her team to victory.
Rallying early in the second half to retake the lead, Stanford showed promise of its own but ultimately was outplayed by UConn. Pressing hard on defense, the Huskies forced the Card to commit 16 turnovers, and on offense, UConn found enough room to score from inside and outside and stretched back into a stable lead by the end. Foul trouble for Stanford senior forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike limited her contribution to 23 minutes, and though she tallied 22 points in that time, her absence may have made a crucial difference.
Heading on to Cincinnati, the Cardinal was looking to bounce back from that early-season loss and continue its unbeaten record against Xavier (1-2). The Musketeers came in to this contest on a two-game slide in head coach Amy Waugh’s first season at Xavier, but though they could stay close throughout the first period—they trailed by just a single point at the half—the Card stretched ahead in the next 20 minutes to win comfortably, 80-64.
This time, there was no serious foul trouble for Nnemkadi Ogwumike, and in her 30 minutes on the hardwood she notched her second double-double of the year, leading the Cardinal with 34 points and 16 rebounds. Adding to this, two other Stanford players managed to put up double-figure points, her sister sophomore forward Chiney Ogwumike with 18 points and sophomore guard Toni Kokenis with 14 points. In comparison, the Musketeers also showed depth with four of their starting five scoring more than 10 points each, but perhaps the crucial difference between the two was turnovers. Not only did the Card force 20 turnovers to Xavier’s 10, but its ability to make this change in possession count meant Stanford scored 23 points from these opportunities and the Musketeers just five.
Though the Card struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just three of 17 shots, it was able to make up for this on the inside, as evidenced by the 32 points in the paint, 26 second-chance points and the fact that the Ogwumike sisters accounted for well over half of Stanford’s final score.
Since first meeting Xavier in the 2010 NCAA Sacramento Regional Final, Stanford now holds a 3-0 record over the Midwestern foe. That first encounter could not have been closer, with a layup by guard Jeanette Pohlen in the dying seconds winning the game for the Cardinal, but the other two have been far more comfortable victories. This one provided a much-needed bounce-back after the loss to Connecticut.
The Cardinal now returns to the West Coast to face UC-Davis at Maples Pavilion on Wednesday and then travels to Fresno State on Sunday.