'Sunday Showdown' women's basketball preview: No. 10 Stanford at No. 7 Washington
'Sunday Showdown' women's basketball preview: No. 10 Stanford at No. 7 Washington
Who: No. 10 Stanford at No. 7 Washington
When: Sunday, January 29 at 5 p.m. PT/ 6 p.m. MT on Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Washington.
On the call: Krista Blunk and Mary Murphy
On the home side: No. 7 Washington (20-2, 8-1 Pac-12)
Although Washington is 17-47 all-time against Stanford, the Huskies have found a way to win their last two meetings, which were both critical games. Washington not only knocked Stanford out of the Pac-12 tournament in the quarterfinals last season, but they also advanced to their first-ever Final Four after knocking Stanford off in the Elite Eight.
The Huskies are on a six game win streak and are 3-2 against ranked opponents so far this season.
Huskies to watch:
Kelsey Plum: A little over halfway through the season, the senior guard has made history a few times. Plum, the Pac-12 leading scorer, currently has 3,094 career points, putting her at the number six scorer in NCAA history. She is the first player in Pac-12 history, male or female, to score 3,000 career points. Plum currently averages 30.3 points a game, which leads the nation and currently holds Washington’s 3-point record with 303 made. Plum has scored 20 plus points in every game so far this season, which makes it is no surprise that she has been named Pac-12 Player of the Week four times so far this season.
Chantel Osahor: Pac-12 player of the week for the second time this season, Osahor broke the Pac-12 rebounding record last week with 30 against Washington State. She now has 1,027 career rebounds, third in program history. Osahor also accounts for 18 double-doubles so far this season- the most in the NCAA. She currently leads the nation in rebounds per game with 14.5.
On the visiting side: No. 10 Stanford (18-3, 8-1 Pac-12)
Stanford heads into this Sunday's Showdown coming off a 76-54 win against Washington State Friday night. The Cardinal are 5-0 in road conference games- the only Pac-12 school to do so this season.
The team is on a five-game win streak and is lead by head coach, Tara VanDerveer, who heads into Sunday’s game with 998 career wins. A win Sunday would put her one win away from joining Pat Summitt as the only NCAA women’s basketball coaches with 1,000 wins.
Cardinal to watch:
Erica McCall: Captain of the Cardinal, the senior forward was most recently named to the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Midseason Watch List. McCall is one of seven Pac-12 Players that made the list of 28. McCall leads the team and conference in offensive rebounds averaging 3.7 a game while also leading the team in total rebounds averaging 8.3 a game. McCall also has 171 career blocks (fourth at Stanford) and 28 career double-doubles (tied for 15th among active players).
Karlie Samuelson: A team captain, the senior guard is third in career 3-point field goal percentage (43.9%) among active players and sits at sixth in Stanford history with 207 3-pointers made. In nine conference games, Samuelson currently averages 14.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists while she shoots 54.1% from the field and 56.3% from deep.
Story to watch:
This week’s Suday Showdown features two of the three teams that are currently tied for first in Pac-12 standings. Kelsey Plum and Osahor have consistently proven to be a tough duo to stop. Combined, they average 46.2 points per game- that’s more Stanford’s top 3 scorers in Erica McCall, Karlie Samuelson, and Brittany McPhee combined.
While Washington leads the Pac-12 in field goal percentage with 47.8%, Stanford sits at second in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage defense with 33.8%. This Sunday Showdown should be fast and exciting, with each team battling hard to remain at the top of the Pac-12 Conference.