Stanford will be without star Cameron Brink to start the NCAA tournament.
Brink will miss No. 1 Stanford’s first game in the tournament on Friday due to a non-COVID-19 illness, the school confirmed. The Cardinals are set to host No. 16 Sacred Heart on Friday afternoon in the Seattle 4 Region.
Specific details about Brink’s illness are not yet known, and it is unclear how long he will be sidelined. He is considered day by day, According to Marisa Engemi of the San Francisco Chronicle, Brink didn’t practice Thursday, and there’s a stomach bug going around the team.
Brink is averaging a team-high 14.9 points and 9.5 rebounds for the Cardinals this season. She also averaged 3.4 blocks per game, second best in the country behind only St. Louis’ Brooke Flowers.
Stanford finished the season with an overall record of 28–5 and clinched the final No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, despite losing two of their last three games. The Cardinal overtook No. 2 Iowa in the Seattle 4 region for that final spot, and were joined by South Carolina, Indiana and Virginia Tech on the 1-seed line.
Sacred Heart entered Friday’s game with a record of 19–13. The Pioneers, who opened the season losing eight of their first nine games, defeated Fairleigh Dickinson in the Northeast Conference Tournament championship game to secure their spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 11 years.
