Friday night’s contest proved difficult for Stanford women’s basketball (24-5, 13-4 Pac-12), who lost to No. 13 Arizona (23-5, 12-5 Pac-12) in a tight match-up, 73-72. When the game was pushed into overtime, the extra minutes were no different. Neither team could score for the first two minutes until Arizona went on a run.
Stanford went on a momentary comeback and even took the lead, but the Wildcats had more in the tank, winning in overtime on a layup with nine seconds left.
Junior guard Kiana Williams had an opportunity for a buzzer beater, but her runner clanked off the rim and none of her teammates could corral the rebound. Williams once again carried the Stanford offense with 27 points, six rebounds and five assists.
In her return, Arizona’s Aari McDonald lifted her team with 20 points, including the game-winning layup. McDonald was joined by three other teammates in double figures, led by 17 from Sam Thomas.
Nearly three minutes of the first quarter had ticked away before the first points were scored. A struggling Stanford offense managed just 11 for the quarter, and freshman forward Fran Belibi accounted for eight of those. The rest of the squad went 1-for-9 from the field.
Led by 13 points from Williams, Stanford battled back in the second quarter and stormed ahead in the third. With a chance to close out the game in the fourth quarter, the Cardinal went 1-for-2 at the line on three separate occasions. Tied with 13 seconds, Stanford committed its 20th turnover of the game on an inbounds play.
Stanford added two more turnovers in overtime to finish with a season-high 22, led by sophomore guard Lexie Hull’s seven.
Stanford was plus-nine with sophomore guard Lacie Hull on the court, largely owing to her defense. On the other end, Belibi and freshman guard Hannah Jump were minus-seven and minus-eight, respectively.
After losing back-to-back games for the first time this season and dropping its overtime record to 2-1, Stanford will face No. 24 Arizona State on Sunday to close out the regular season. Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. PT.
Contact Daniel Martinez-Krams at danielmk ‘at’ stanford.edu.