Brink helps No. 7 Stanford hold off No. 4 Indiana 69-66
Thu, Nov 25, 2021
NCAAB News (AP)
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) - Cameron Brink had 21 points, 22 rebounds and five blocks to help seventh-ranked Stanford edge No. 4 Indiana 69-66 on Thursday at the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship tournament.
Brink, who set a career high on the boards, also added five assists for the Cardinal (4-1) and made one of two free throws with 6.8 seconds left to make it a three-point game.
Indiana had one last chance, but Ali Patberg's 3-pointer was off the mark.
With the Cardinal clinging to a 61-59 lead with 4:33 left, Brink scored to start a 6-0 run that gave the Cardinal an eight-point lead with 2:19 to go. The Hoosiers (4-1) had gone without a field goal for 5:19 before Aleksa Gulbe swished a 3-pointer from the wing with 37.5 seconds left that made it 68-66.
Indiana got a stop on the defensive end when Brink turned it over with 13.2 seconds remaining. The Hoosiers had a chance to tie it, but Grace Berger missed both free throws with 8.7 seconds left after she was fouled.
Brink the made one of two free throws, setting up the Hoosier's final chance.
Patberg had 19 points to lead Indiana.
The game was played at the Baha Mar resort in the Bahamas in a converted ballroom complete with a low ceiling and a raised stage right off midcourt that held up the scoreboard. There were bleachers behind the two benches for fans to sit on.
It was the first year that there was a women's tournament, and the event brought in four of the top seven teams in the country. No. 5 North Carolina State beat second-ranked Maryland 78-60 in the opener of the tournament.
This was a matchup of veteran squads that returned most of their starters from last season, and the two highly ranked teams put on a show. Stanford jumped out to a 10-point lead behind Fran Belibi before the Hoosiers rallied to within 37-34 at the half. Indiana scored the final seven points of the second quarter.
Stanford couldn't extend the lead to more than eight in the second half, and Indiana was able to close to within a single point a few times in the fourth quarter and trailed by two before the Cardinal's final push.
TIP-INS
This was Indiana's first trip to the Bahamas since the 2009-10 season, when the team went 1-1 playing against Virginia and Charlotte. ... The court used in this tournament was one of the two used in the Alamodome at the NCAA Tournament in San Antonio last season. ... Stanford outrebounded Indiana 59-38.
BIG PICTURE
Indiana: Went toe-to-toe with the defending national champions but couldn't pull out the victory. The Hoosiers showed they can play with the best.
Stanford: The Cardinal need to clean up a few things on both ends of the court but pulled out a win over a top-five opponent.
FAMOUS ALUMNA
Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer starred at Indiana from 1973-75 after transferring from Albany. She helped the Hoosiers to the AIAW Final Four in 1973. Indiana has faced VanDerveer just one other time in school history, an 87-72 loss in 2001 at a tournament Stanford hosted.
TRAVEL WOES
It took Stanford about 19 hours to get from Gonzaga on Sunday - its last game - to the Bahamas because of travel delays. Stanford went from Spokane, Washington, to Phoenix. The Cardinal then flew to Miami but had to divert to Fort Myers, Florida, because of fog. Finally, after sitting on the plane for a few hours, the team was able to get to the Bahamas.
STRUGGLING STAR
Haley Jones returned to Stanford's lineup after missing the Cardinal's win over Gonzaga for an undisclosed illness. The Most Outstanding Performer of last season's Final Four had a rough game. She played 22 minutes and finished with eight points. Jones had her left ankle taped in between the third and fourth quarters.
UP NEXT
Stanford: Faces No. 18 South Florida on Friday.
Indiana: Plays Miami to close out the tournament on Friday.
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More 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
