STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Hall of Fame Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer has all the confidence in the world that Hannah Jump could hang in a shooting contest with Stephen Curry.
“I can put Hannah against Steph any day of the week,” VanDerveer said, smiling, in reference to her senior guard. “Hannah is one of the best shooters in the country.”
With NBA superstar Curry in the house, Jump hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points in 17 minutes, and No. 2 Stanford ran away from Cal State Northridge for a 104-40 win on Wednesday night.
Curry and wife Ayesha sat on the baseline with the parents of Stanford star Cameron Brink, who contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds. She was one of two women along with UConn star Azzi Fudd invited to Curry’s elite basketball camp in 2018.
Good-natured Golden State Warriors guard Curry obliged the Stanford band with a halftime photo and waved his arms in the air for a timeout T-shirt toss.
“It’s great that he’s here supporting women’s athletics, women’s sports,” Jump said. “We put on a show tonight and it’s just super fun and people want to come watch.”
Haley Jones had nine points and seven rebounds for the Cardinal (2-0), ranked second in the nation for 14 straight weeks. The senior guard made her initial three field-goal tries in the opening 6:40 minutes.
VanDerveer used all 12 of her players to get everyone valuable minutes in the early going of the season as she likes to do whenever possible during the non-conference slate.
“I was really excited about our team improvement,” VanDerveer said, thrilled with only six turnovers.
Stanford’s youth are showing their talent.
Sophomore Kiki Iriafen added 10 points, four rebounds and three assists while showing she is ready to take on a greater role during her second collegiate season. And 6-foot-7 freshman Lauren Betts scored 18 points, while sophomore Brooke Demetre had 13 points.
Cheyenne Givens had eight points to lead cold-shooting Northridge (0-2), which is in a tough stretch starting the season against three straight Pac-12 opponents.
The Cardinal put together an impressive 50-point first half shooting 56.7% as the Matadors managed to go just 6 for 31 and Stanford reached 100 points despite the reserves playing the bulk of the minutes down the stretch.
VanDerveer was pleased the Cardinal limited their turnovers to six while forcing 15 by Cal State Northridge.
“I think we’re doing a better job of taking care of the ball,” she said.
Before tipoff, Stanford held a moment of silence to remember WNBA star Brittney Griner during her incarceration in Russia.
BIG PICTURE
Cal State Northridge: The Matadors trailed 14-3 before making their first field goal at the 5:23 mark of the first on a jumper by Macy Smith after missing five straight shots to begin the game. … The team from the Big West Conference featuring players from New Zealand, Portugal and Russia shot 4 for 19 from deep.
Stanford: The Cardinal improved to 48-3 over the past two seasons when Jump makes at least one 3-pointer. … No team has scored more than 77 points against Stanford dating to the end of the 2019-20 season. … The Cardinal lead the all-time series 5-0. The teams had last played in 2018.
UP NEXT
Cal State Northridge: Plays a third straight road game to start the season at Arizona on Sunday.
Stanford: The Cardinal make the 2-hour drive east to Stockton to face Pacific on Friday before at game at Portland on Sunday.
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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
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