Jump leads No. 4 Stanford women past No. 24 Colorado 62-49

By BEN ROSS
Associated Press

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Hannah Jump scored 21 points, Haley Jones added 11 and a season-high 18 rebounds and fourth-ranked Stanford beat No. 24 Colorado 62-49 on Sunday to claim sole possession of first place in the Pac-12.

“I’m playing with confidence,” Jump said. “I think I have the confidence of all my teammates and my coaches so every time I shoot, I know that’s what they want me to do.”

Cameron Brink scored 14 points for her 13th straight game in double-figures. She also had six of the Cardinal’s season-high 14 blocks. Brink reached 72 blocks for the season, swatting at least one shot in every game.

“I think our defense was spot-on,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “To hold them to 49 points, and one quarter they scored seven and (another) they scored eight, that’s great defense. Now do we want to score more? Yes we do. And do we want to move the ball better? Yes we do.”

Jaylyn Sherrod led Colorado with 16 points and three steals. Quay Miller had 14 points and nine rebounds and Aaronette Vonleh added 13 and 10 boards as the Buffaloes saw their seven-game win streak end.

“We were really good defensively,” Colorado coach JR Payne said. “We just couldn’t score the ball. It’s hard to score against them. We’ve got to be able to find a way to get cleaner looks consistently.”

Stanford (19-2, 7-1 Pac-12) used a 12-0 run in the first quarter to surge to a 16-4 lead. Colorado (15-4, 6-2) cut the lead to 10 in the fourth quarter after trailing by as many as 17.

“We never quit,” Payne praised. “We never wilt. We never stop competing. We definitely showed that (today). We just needed more shots to fall.”

The Cardinal gained a major advantage at the free-throw line, making 17 of 22 attempts compared to the Buffaloes’ 6-of-16 rate.

Stanford won its 19th straight home conference game and held its 22nd consecutive Pac-12 opponent under 70 points. The Cardinal have not allowed more than 77 points since the 2019-20 season.

BIG PICTURE

Colorado: The Buffaloes entered the game winning six of their first seven Pac-12 contests, marking their best conference start since the 2003-04 season. Their 15-3 overall record matched their best 18-game start since 2012-13. … Despite the loss, Colorado has won seven of its last eight games, including two victories over top-15 opponents.

Stanford: Freshman G Indya Nivar moved into the starting lineup in place of the injured Talana Lepolo, who suffered a left ankle injury Friday against Utah. Nivar had two points and an assist in 17 minutes. … Stanford leads the all-time series vs. Colorado 26-5, including a perfect 14-0 mark at home. … The Cardinal has outrebounded every opponent this season.

UP NEXT

Colorado: Returns home to face UCLA on Friday night.

Stanford: Hosts Oregon State on Friday night, seeking a 12th straight win over the Beavers.

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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