By: Katelyn Stevens
Unranked Duke sent No. 6 Stanford into overtime, but Stanford accepted the challenge and won 82-79 over the Blue Devils.
There have been many upsets and surprising outcomes throughout the first two weeks of college women’s basketball like LSU, UConn and Iowa, but Stanford is staying strong with a 4-0 record so far. After yesterday’s win, they moved up two places on the AP Top 25 poll making them No. 4.
The Stanford women’s basketball team started their season as No. 15 on the AP poll, but have been inching their way to the top more and more each week.
Ashlon Jackson and Duke (3-2) gave Stanford a run for their money. Jackson had 22 points by the end of the game, Delaney Thomas trailed with 14 points and Oluchi Okananwa and Camilla Emsbo both ended with 12 points for the Blue Devils.
“We knew it was gonna be a hard fight. This is a great team. This is a top team in the country,” Jackson said. “We knew that in order to make a name for ourselves or in order to show people who we actually are, we had to fight. We had to compete.”
Jackson and the Blue Devils showed their grit and their grind during the second quarter when they went on a 9-1 run, but once they surpassed Stanford by halftime, each team’s fans were on the edge of their seats until the final buzzer blew.
Jackson dropped five of her six 3s in the second half and they had Brink in foul trouble by the third quarter. But Stanford responded with a 7-0 run and took home the victory.
“Tough loss for us,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said. “We battled and battled. Just really proud of my group just to hang in there and go toe-to-toe. We have a lot to learn, we have a lot of ways we have to grow. But it was fun to watch them compete on this floor.”
While surviving foul trouble against Duke, Brink ended last night’s game with a career-high 29 points. She scored nine of Stanford’s 11 points in OT.
Embed from Getty Images“We’re such a young team, getting a game like this under our belts shows us that we can fight through stuff,” Brink said.
The two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, hasn’t missed a free throw since February. Brink’s free throw streak hit 72 in a row yesterday putting her in second place for all-time in NCAA women’s basketball history.
Kiki Iriafen had a career 27 points and nine rebounds for Stanford. Hannah Jump trailed with 15 points– all three-pointers.
After this season, Duke v. Stanford will be a conference matchup going forward. Due to the demise of the Pac-12, Stanford announced that they have accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference at the beginning of the next school year.
Stanford got a glimpse of what their competition will look like for next season after Sunday’s game.
Stanford plays Belmont on Wednesday as part of the Ball Dawgs Classic in Nevada.
Duke will return home to play NC Central on Sunday. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
