Brink, Jones help No. 3 Stanford edge Oregon State 63-60
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Cameron Brink had 21 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks, Haley Jones added 17 points and eight rebounds and No. 3 Stanford beat Oregon State 63-60 on Friday night.
Agnes Emma-Nnopu added eight points and five rebounds as Stanford (20-2, 8-1 Pac-12) extended its Pac-12 home winning streak to 20 games.
An intense matchup against a plucky conference opponent may help the Cardinal prepare for what’s expected to be another title run, Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said.
“We definitely think it can help us,” VanDerveer said.
“In the beginning of the game I don’t think we were aggressive enough defensively. We weren’t out on people and we need to be more aggressive and get to be more handsy, but we found a way to win, and I’m really excited that our team did that.”
Timea Gardiner scored 16 points for Oregon State (11-9, 3-6).
The game was tied at 60 with just over a minute left before Jones connected on 3 of 4 free throws to give Stanford a 63-60 lead with 23 seconds left.
After Noelle Mannen missed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left, Shalexxus Aaron came up with the offensive rebound, but Talana Lepolo’s steal in the closing seconds sealed the win for Stanford.
Stanford led 58-52 midway through the fourth quarter on Emma-Nnopu’s 3-pointer. The Beavers scored six straight points, tying the game on Bendu Yeaney’s layup.
“We played a really gritty, tough, gutsy game, and gave ourselves a chance to win,” Oregon State coach Scott Rueck said. “That showed a ton of progress, I thought.”
The Beavers are 1-5 against ranked opponents this season.
The Beavers haven’t won at Maples Pavilion since Jan. 8, 2017, when they beat the Cardinal 72-69 in overtime.
No team has scored more than 77 points against Stanford since the end of the 2019-20 season.
ON THE BRINK
Brink increased her total to 78 blocks this season, the most through 22 games in school history,
TIMEA TIME
Gardiner, who was chosen Pac-12 freshman of the week after scoring 15 points against Oregon, has reached double digits in scoring in all three games in which she’s played.
“We know she’s a really good player,” VanDerveer said. “She shoots the ball very well, she’s got great size, so you’ve got to be big on her because she can post up.”
BIG PICTURE
Oregon State: The Beavers more than held their own against an elite team and the emergence of freshman standout Gardiner figures to give them confidence moving forward.
Stanford: The Cardinal may not have played their best game but gained experience in a closely contested game against a scrappy conference opponent that should be valuable experience for tournament play.
UP NEXT
Oregon State: Visits California on Sunday.
Stanford: Hosts Oregon on Sunday.
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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
