Stanford forward Francesca Belibi (5) shoots against Sacred Heart center Kelsey Wood (34) during the first half at Maple Pavilion in Palo Alto on Fri Mar 17, 2023 (AP News photo)
By Daniel Dullum
Friday, March 17, 2023
Even without the services of star center Cameron Brink, No. 1-seed Stanford had little trouble rolling over No. 16-seed Sacred Heart 92-49 in Friday’s opening round of the Seattle 4 Region women’s basketball tournament.
Brink missed NCAA tournament opener with what was described as
“a non-COVID=19 illness.” Specifics about Brink’s illness have yet to be disclosed and there’s no timetable for how long she will be out of the Cardinal lineup.
Brink confirmed on an Instagram post that she has been experiencing a stomach virus that has been going around the team over the last few days, adding that “I’ll be back asap.”
Haley Jones stepped up and led the Cardinal (29-5) with 17 points while grabbing six rebounds and shooting 7-of-12 from the field. Francesca Belibi added12 points and ten rebounds for Stanford, which shot 49.3 percent (37 of 75) and outrebounded Sacred Heart 57-28.
Hannah Jump also had 12 points for Stanford, Indya Niyar had 11 and Lauren Betts added 10. Talana Lepolo contributed seven assists and three steals.
Ny’Ceara Pryor was the top scorer for the Pioneers (15-14) with 12 points.
The Cardinal faces Mississippi in the second round on Sunday 6:30pm tip off.
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