Stanford spoils Plum’s big night, upsets No. 7 Washington

Published 7:00 pm Sunday, January 29, 2017

By Rich Myhre

Herald Writer

SEATTLE — Fans in Alaska Airlines Arena on Sunday night were treated to a remarkable effort by University of Washington guard Kelsey Plum, who lived up to her billing as perhaps the premier player in women’s college basketball with a dazzling 44-point effort against visiting Stanford.

About the only thing missing to make the night truly special was a UW victory.

Despite jumping out to an 18-point first half lead and a 12-point halftime margin, the Huskies lost their offensive prowess in the second half and the result was a 72-68 Cardinal victory before a noisy sellout crowd — also a UW women’s basketball record crowd — of 10,000.

In a showdown between the seventh-ranked Huskies and the No. 10 Cardinal, Plum tossed in 44 points, coming within one point of her career best, which is also the all-time UW record. But the other Huskies gave her insufficient offensive help, managing a total of just 24 points, with just 11 points in the second, third and fourth quarters.

Plum was 17-for-27 from the field and 7-for-8 from the 3-point stripe. Her teammates were a combined 6-for-37.

“We’re at our best when we spread (the scoring) around a little bit,” UW coach Mike Neighbors said. “But I like the shots we got. … There’s no other reason (the other Huskies shot so poorly) than we were jacked up sky-high. We had adrenalin coursing through our veins that none of us had felt.”

That adrenalin was due to a standing-room crowd that squeezed into the arena. The atmosphere, Neighbors said, was “unbelievable. For us to come out and see 10,000 people, and regardless of the score … it was a day we’ve all worked for and a day we’ll all remember.”

“It was awesome,” Plum agreed. “I’m so grateful. And I’m kind of bummed that we couldn’t get a win for (the UW fans).”

Plum, a senior, would have set a UW single-game scoring high if she had converted her final 3-pointer, a try from the left angle that would have tied the score in the late seconds. But the shot, with Stanford leading 71-68, banged off the rim, banged the rim again, and then bounced away.

“I got as good a look as you can get, and it actually felt really good coming off my hand,” Plum said. “I was kind of bummed about that.”

But to that point Plum was sensational and, from Stanford’s perspective, virtually unstoppable. In one amazing stretch of the second quarter, Plum scored 18 straight points for the Huskies in barely more than 4½ minutes. In that run, in which she personally outscored Stanford 18-8, Plum swished four 3-pointers, and also sank two layins and a 10-foot turnaround jumper from the key.

Plum, the NCAA Division I scoring leader at 31.3 points a game, usually plays the entire game, but she ended up sitting four minutes because of foul trouble. She was frustrated after the game by the officials’ calls, saying “I’m not trying to make excuses, but the momentum can really shift. And you guys (in the media) know me, I don’t get in foul trouble. … A couple of the fouls they called on me, and I’m not trying to make excuses, but they were not fouls. And usually I don’t get calls like that.

“We’re in a top-10 matchup and the refs are going to take control (of the game), I think that’s really sad,” she added.

“I support Kelsey Plum 100 percent,” Neighbors said. “I’m sure on the court it was way more frustrating than what I went through (on the sideline). I have no comment other than to say that I believe whatever Kelsey said because she was the one going through it.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever had to take her out because of foul trouble, ever,” he said. “And it sucked having to take her out.”

The loss drops Washington to 20-3 overall and 8-2 in the Pacific-12 Conference, and into third place in the league standings. Stanford, which shares the Pac-12 lead with Oregon State at 9-1, is 19-3 overall.

It was the only meeting of the regular season between the teams, though showdowns in the upcoming Pac-12 and NCAA tournaments are certainly possible.

With the victory, Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer notched career coaching win No. 999 in a 37-season coaching career.