The 2022-23 women’s college basketball continues to outdo itself on what seems like a nightly basis. Whether we are getting freakish stat lines from players such as LSU’s Angel Reese and Villanova’s Maddy Siegrist, or a spectacular finish like any of Diamond Miller’s multiple game-winners for the Maryland Terapins this year, there’s always something special happening that’s worth the price of admission.
And while a good individual performance is more than welcomed, sometimes all that the sport needs is for two titans to clash, which is what will happen on Friday night when No. 2 Stanford travels south to Westwood to take on No. 8 UCLA.
A top-10 road battle up next 👀#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/CscbTY0Z6u
— Stanford Women’s Basketball (@StanfordWBB) January 10, 2023
I won’t go as far as to say this is the matchup of the year in women’s basketball, seeing as Stanford’s early-season date with South Carolina may take the cake. But as far as Pac-12 games go, there’s a chance this could be the best.
Despite blowing a six-point lead to the Gamecocks with two minutes left in regulation before ultimately falling in overtime, the Cardinal have a legitimate case for being the best team in the nation. Haley Jones controls the game on both ends of the court like few others in the nation do, and when Cameron Brink is on the court and out of foul trouble, she’s one of the most dynamic two-way players the sport has. Together, they could present some problems for UCLA’s smaller lineups.
However, UCLA’s got experience against teams with tremendous size and length, as well — namely South Carolina. Ironically, the Bruins also led Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks during the fourth quarter of their matchup before surrendering the lead and blowing a chance at pulling off an upset. Will that experience prove to be helpful enough for the Bruins’ guards Kiki Rice and Charisma Osborne when facing Stanford on Friday night?
Stanford enters this contest as the winner of 11 straight games with just one loss on the season (South Carolina), while UCLA has rebounded from its first loss of the season (South Carolina) to win seven of eight games.
Follow the action live at 11:00 pm ET on the Pac-12 Network.
