Ole Miss stuns Stanford, reaches first Sweet 16 in 16 years

Associated PressMar 20, 2023, 12:49 AM EDT

John Todd/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

STANFORD, Calif. – Sobbing as she received hugs from friends and administrators, Mississippi coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin tried to grasp the magnitude of her team’s stunning win against top-seeded Stanford when someone reminded her there’s more basketball to be played.

Her two young daughters danced on the floor.

Her proud father provided a shoutout to everybody back home in The Bahamas.

Her team posed and midcourt and shouted, “Seattle!” That’s where the Rebels are headed next.

Madison Scott hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left that gave Mississippi the lead for good, Angel Baker scored 13 points, and the Rebels delivered on their declaration to get defensive, stunning top-seeded Stanford 54-49 on Sunday night to reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the first time in 16 years.

“This is such a big accomplishment. A lot of us came here to make history and that’s what we’re doing,” freshman Ayanna Thompson said.

Behind the entire game, Stanford called timeout with 28 seconds left then Hannah Jump turned the ball over and Scott converted. Haley Jones lost the ball out of bounds on the Cardinal’s last possession with a chance to tie then again in the waning moments.

Marquesha Davis hit a pair of free throws with 15.4 seconds to play as Ole Miss overcame not making a field goal over the final 5:47, going 0 for 8.

These upstart Rebels (25-8) advance to the Seattle Regional semifinal next weekend, while Tara VanDerveer’s Stanford team (29-6) is eliminated far earlier than this group envisioned – the season ending on the Cardinal’s home floor. Jones fought tears after her final game, finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds but five turnovers.

Only four No. 1 seeds had lost before the Sweet 16 since 1994, with Duke the last one in 2009. Stanford did so once before, falling to 16th-seeded Harvard in the first round of the 1998 tournament.

The Cardinal had reached 14 straight Sweet 16s and hadn’t lost in the first or second rounds since No. 10 seed Florida State shocked the fifth-seeded Cardinal 68-61 at Maples Pavilion in the second round exactly 16 years ago to the day before on March 19, 2007.

Cameron Brink came back from a one-game absence because of a stomach bug to finish with 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots, but Stanford never led and tried to come from behind all night. The program’s career blocks leader, she finished with 118 on the season and has 297 total.

Stanford had won 21 consecutive NCAA games on its home floor and is 41-5 all-time at Maples during March Madness.

Ole Miss led the entire first half on the way to a 29-20 lead at the break at raucous Maples Pavilion, where the crowd went wild when Brink blocked three straight shots in the same sequence by Rita Igbokwe midway through the second quarter. About two minutes later, Igbokwe grabbed at her mouth after being hit.

The Rebels got a scare when senior guard Myah Taylor went down hard grabbing at her chest with 6:41 left in the third after colliding with Francesca Belibi while moving to defend Indya Nivar. After a short break to catch her breath, Taylor was back running the point.

The fourth-best team in the Southeastern Conference and runner-up in the conference tournament to No. 1 South Carolina, Ole Miss has regularly faced bigger teams and physical tests.

The Rebels declared from Day 1 in the Bay Area they were ready to get defensive to make their mark on the NCAA Tournament. Stanford’s layups regularly rolled out. The Cardinal got called for repeated offensive fouls.

BIG PICTURE Ole Miss: Proud parents Gladstone and Daisy cheered on fifth-year coach McPhee-McCuin as her team reached the second round after last year’s first-round exit by South Dakota. Her daughters, 10-year-old Yasmine and Yuri, 5, rooted the team all the way, with Yasmine yelling, “That’s my mom!” when Ole Miss came out before tipoff. … The Rebels advanced to the Elite Eight in 2007. After grabbing 24 offensive rebounds in the win against Gonzaga, the Rebels crashed the boards again to create second chances with 20 more.

Stanford: The Cardinal also never led in the first half of 55-46 loss at USC on Jan. 15. … They had a 14-game home winning streak since a 76-71 overtime loss to No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 20.

Without Brink, Stanford reaches 2nd round of March Madness

Associated PressMar 17, 2023, 9:56 PM EDT

John Todd/Getty Images

STANFORD, Calif. — Haley Jones scored 17 points for a top-seeded Stanford team missing star Cameron Brink because of a stomach bug, and the Cardinal advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament by beating 16th-seeded Sacred Heart 92-49 on Friday night.

Freshman Talana Lepolo dished out seven assists in her NCAA debut as Stanford advances to the second round Sunday against the winner of Friday’s second game between No. 8 seed Ole Miss and ninth-seeded Gonzaga.

Stanford, earning a No. 1 seed for a third straight year, notched the program’s 100th NCAA Tournament victory – third most all-time behind Tennessee and UConn. The Cardinal (29-5) have reached the Sweet 16 in 14 consecutive tournaments and haven’t lost in the first two rounds since falling to Florida State at home in 2007.

Freshman Ny’Ceara Pryor scored 12 points to lead cold-shooting Sacred Heart (19-14), which overcame a 2-9 start to the season, won its first NCAA Tournament game and kept surprising all the way to March and extended its visit to the Bay Area.

Without Brink, Hall of Fame Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer leaned on her post depth. Seniors Francesca Belibi and Ashten Prechtel played more minutes and 6-foot-7 freshman Lauren Betts was counted on regularly in the paint. Belibi started in place of Brink and in Brink-like fashion swatted a 3-point try by Kelsey Wood in the closing minutes of the first half. Belibi wound up with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Well-rested Stanford played one week after squandering a 16-point lead in a semifinal loss to UCLA at the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas following a conference regular-season crown.

The Cardinal grabbed the bracket’s final No. 1 seed – and VanDerveer knew many people weren’t sure Stanford deserved a top seed. Her team used that as fuel and motivation on the way to a 14th straight home win.

Stanford made its final seven field goals of the first quarter, with Jones corralling a defensive rebound then going coast to coast for a layup and getting fouled before scoring on a reverse layup the next time down.

The Cardinal shot 10 of 14 in the opening quarter for a 23-18 lead then went on a 10-0 run in the second to take control as the Pioneers missed five straight shots.

Scrappy Sacred Heart wanted nothing more than to leave a mark during this postseason journey, pulling off the program’s first NCAA win by beating Southern 57-47 in a First Four game here Wednesday night.

But it has now been 25 years since Stanford lost as a No. 1 seed to 16th-seeded Harvard right here on campus – and VanDerveer was determined not to have a repeat.

JUMP’S FEAT

Hannah Jump’s 3 to beat the halftime buzzer gave her 97 3-pointers this season, breaking the single-season mark previously held by Karlie Samuelson and Jeanette Pohlen.

Jump finished with 12 points on four 3s.

BRINK OUT

Stanford made the announcement about 50 minutes before tipoff that Brink, the Cardinal’s leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker, was out because of a non-COVID illness.

The junior forward’s status is day-to-day.

“Not how I expected March Madness to start but cheering my girls on today. Just a stomach bug & I’ll be back asap,” Brink posted on her Instagram account.

The school’s career blocks leader, the 6-foot-4 Brink is averaging 14.9 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.4 blocks and 1.9 assists. Her 111 blocks rank second in the nation.

BIG PICTURE

Sacred Heart: Emotional at the end Friday, coach Jessica Mannetti had hundreds of congratulatory text messages to go through after Wednesday’s win, and she planned to respond as her timing allowed. … The Pioneers talked about how that 1998 Harvard team pulled off the unthinkable beating Stanford on its home floor. In fact, Manetti mentioned how league opponent Stonehill is coached by former Harvard assistant Trisha Brown who was part of that upset. Stanford: Sophomore Kiki Iriafen added nine points and five rebounds while Indya Nivar scored 11 points. … Stanford has hosted 77 NCAA Tournament games, second-most behind Knoxville, Tennessee – and Maples has hosted more than any other venue. … Stanford has won 21 consecutive NCAA games on its home floor and is 41-4 all-time at Maples during March Madness.

Stanford star Cameron Brink out of NCAA opener with illness

Associated PressMar 17, 2023, 7:45 PM EDT

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford star Cameron Brink is out for the top-seeded Cardinal in their NCAA Tournament opener because of a non-COVID illness.

The school made the announcement about 50 minutes before tipoff Friday against 16th-seeded Sacred Heart at Maples Pavilion. Stanford said the junior forward’s status is day-to-day.

Brink is the team’s leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker.

The school’s career blocks leader, the 6-foot-4 Brink is averaging 14.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists. She has blocked 111 shots, ranking second-best in the nation.

Brink, Jones power No. 3 Stanford women past No. 16 UCLA

Associated PressFeb 20, 2023, 11:47 PM EST

John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

STANFORD, Calif. – Cameron Brink scored 25 points and made all 15 of her free throws, the last of which put Stanford ahead for good, and the third-ranked Cardinal beat No. 17 UCLA 71-66 on Monday night in their final regular-season home game.

Brink swatted two more shots to give her 102 blocks for the season, and her 15 free throws were the most without a miss by a Stanford player since at least 1999. Haley Jones added 18 points and converted a layup with 1:22 remaining to put the Cardinal ahead by three.

Stanford (26-3, 14-2 Pac-12) has won four straight and is closing in on a third straight Pac-12 regular-season title with games remaining this week at No. 21 Colorado and No. 8 Utah.

Jones hit a go-ahead jumper with 2:45 to play before Lina Sontag answered with a 3 moments later to put UCLA ahead 65-64. Brink’s final two free throws made it 66-65 with 1:53 left.

Londynn Jones scored 14 points for the Bruins (21-7, 10-6), who dropped one spot in the AP Top 25 this week and had their four-game winning streak snapped. UCLA pounded the boards for a 36-33 advantage, getting 17 on the offensive glass.

Brink also converted a go-ahead three-point play with 8:55 remaining. The 6-foot-4 junior reached 100 blocks for the first time in her stellar career and set the all-time Stanford record during Friday’s 50-47 win over Southern California – and she still has another collegiate season left to play. Brink has 280 blocks, having topped Jayne Appel’s mark of 273 set from 2006-10.

Stanford won the first meeting 72-59 on Jan. 13 after the teams were tied after three quarters. UCLA made it interesting until the end this time.

The cold-shooting Bruins began 3 of 11 and went 5:39 without a basket in the second quarter, missing 10 straight shots as the Cardinal went on a 6-0 run. Christeen Iwuala’s putback with 3:36 left in the quarter ended a nearly six-minute stretch without a field goal by UCLA.

But the Bruins came out energized after halftime, using a 25-point third quarter – they had just 26 points at halftime – while holding Stanford to just four field goals in the period to take a 51-50 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

CURRY SUPPORTS

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry attended his second straight Stanford game. He has been a regular this season at women’s games on The Farm and also at California in Berkeley. He sat on the baseline with Brink’s parents, Michelle and Greg.

The reigning NBA Finals MVP’s family is close with the Brinks.

“When I was growing up I played with a lot of young girls, we played a lot of pickup together,” Curry said. “I love that the game is growing and getting some more exposure. I grew up watching sports and now to drive awareness on how good the women’s game is, all that stuff matters. I’ve had my daughters here with me to watch, I’ve had my son here with me to watch the game, and they love it. And I’m supporting family, too.”

SENIOR NIGHT

The Cardinal recognized their seniors in a postgame ceremony but also acknowledged each UCLA senior before the game. The four Stanford seniors have won 116 games during their careers.

BIG PICTURE

UCLA: Scored 14 points off Stanford’s 15 turnovers. … The Bruins were 2 of 11 on 3s in the first half and 7 for 25 overall, with freshman Kiki Rice going 0 for 3. … UCLA has lost six of the last seven in the series.

Stanford: Brink has scored in double figures in 21 straight games. … After Stanford limited USC to 22% shooting Friday for its lowest by an opponent since 2010, UCLA finished at 36%.

UP NEXT

UCLA: Hosts Washington State on Thursday night.

Stanford: Visits Colorado on Thursday.

Jones’ hot hand powers No. 2 Stanford past rival Cal 90-69

Associated PressDec 23, 2022, 6:12 PM EST

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

STANFORD, Calif. – Haley Jones hit her initial six shots and scored 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go with 10 rebounds and four assists, leading No. 2 Stanford past California 90-69 on Friday in the Pac-12 Conference opener for both schools.

Hannah Jump knocked down five 3-pointers on the way to 17 points to emphatically bounce back after missing all five of her tries from long range in Tuesday’s 72-59 home win against No. 21 Creighton. It was her first game without making a 3 since an NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game vs. Texas last March.

Cameron Brink had 11 points, five rebounds and two blocks while Kiki Iriafen added nine points and seven boards as Stanford (13-1, 1-0 Pac-12). The Cardinal got 26 points from the bench in its eighth straight victory since a 76-71 overtime setback to top-ranked South Carolina at home on Nov. 20.

Jayda Curry scored 20 points and Leilani McIntosh added 17 for Cal (9-3, 0-1), which came in averaging 76.1 points and allowing 83.8. The Cardinal haven’t given up more than 77 points to an opponent since the end of the 2019-20 season.

Pac-12 favorite Stanford has won the last eight meetings in the rivalry, which currently features all-time winningest women’s coach and Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer of Stanford opposite former Cardinal star Charmin Smith beginning her fourth season in Berkeley.

BIG PICTURE

California: Cal has lost 12 of 14 to Stanford overall and eight straight at Maples Pavilion since a win here on Feb. 22, 2015. … The Bears made their final three field goals of the second quarter yet trailed 47-29 at halftime. … Former Cal and Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour was again here at Maples today. She retired this year.

Stanford: Brink has 43 blocks through the first 14 games. … Stanford has held 77 of its last 83 opponents to 41.8% shooting or below, with Cal finishing at 39%. … The Cardinal held a 25-10 rebounding advantage in the first half and 48-25 overall. … Stanford is 37-8 vs. Cal on its home floor. The Cardinal are 8-1 at home this season. … Stanford was 2 of 9 from 3-point range in the opening half then wound up 7 for 24.

UP NEXT

California: Hosts No. 18 Arizona on Dec. 31.

Stanford: Hosts Arizona State on Dec. 31.

Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer tops women’s AP Top 25 appearances

Associated PressDec 5, 2022, 1:42 PM EST

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer stands atop The Associated Press women’s basketball poll with the most appearances all time, breaking a tie with the late Pat Summitt.

VanDerveer’s Cardinal remained No. 2 behind top-ranked South Carolina, giving her 619 weeks with one of her teams in the AP Top 25: 592 weeks with Stanford and 27 with Ohio State when she was in charge of that program. Summitt’s 618 weeks in the poll all came with Tennessee.

The Hall of Fame coach downplayed the achievement.

“Fortunate to be here for 36 years. We have great players and have been successful,” VanDerveer said. “I don’t pay attention to (records). People bring it up and I’m like `OK, great.”‘

Louisville fell out of the Top 25 for the first time since 2016, a span of 127 weeks. That was the fifth longest active streak. The Cardinals (5-4) started the season ranked seventh and have struggled to find consistency this year, dropping their last two games to Ohio State and Middle Tennessee.

They are the third preseason top 10 team to fall out of the poll, joining Texas (this week) and Tennessee (last week). Before this year, only 10 preseason top 10 teams had fallen out of the rankings at some point during the year since the AP Top 25 became a writers’ poll in 1994-95.

Even more rare has been a preseason top five school dropping out. Only five teams had done that prior to this year and none before January. Tennessee was the last to do it, starting the 2015-16 season at No. 4 before falling out of the rankings Feb. 22.

Now Texas and Tennessee are both out before the New Year.

“Two factors are at play here. One of them is more parity with more good teams,” said Rebecca Lobo, the former UConn star, ESPN analyst and Top 25 voter. “The other factor at play is the transfer portal. I think those three teams all have multiple players who start who weren’t in their program a year ago. It’s a reflection that you can’t just assemble teams and right away expect them to be good. I think all those teams will in the poll by the end of the season.”

Ohio State moved up to No. 3 after, the Buckeyes’ best ranking since Nov. 30, 2009, when they also were third. Indiana and Notre Dame round out the top five.

UConn fell three spots to sixth with Virginia Tech seventh, the best ranking ever for the school. North Carolina and N.C. State were tied in eighth and Iowa State is 10th.

RANKED RAZORBACKS

Arkansas (10-0) vaulted into the poll at No. 21. The Razorbacks have a difficult month ahead with games against No. 18 Creighton and a tournament in San Diego that has Oregon, South Florida and Ohio State.

“I do think we know a lot about our team,” Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors said.

He was also happy his team made the poll as every sports team on campus that has played this year has been ranked, including football, men’s basketball, soccer and cross country.

“We didn’t want to be the team that stops that streak,” he said..

FALLING LOUISVILLE

The Cardinals had been ranked ever week since Jan. 11, 2016. That was the same season they started the year at No. 8 before falling out on Nov. 30, the earliest a top 10 team had fallen out of the poll until last week. Things got better for Louisville as the Cardinals finished that regular season 24-6 and went 15-1 in the ACC.

HISTORIC WEEK

With Louisville, Texas and Tennessee all out of the Top 25, it marks only the second time in the poll’s history that none of those three teams were ranked. The only other time was the first-ever poll in 1976.

COMING AND GOING

Oklahoma and Kansas State also returned to the Top 25 this week, coming in at No. 23 and No. 24. Marquette dropped out after losing to Seton Hall.