Alyssa Jerome, Toronto native and Stanford women’s basketball forward, ended her senior season with a national championship after spending more than two months on the road due to the pandemic.
Jerome, a consistent depth player for the Cardinal, had four rebounds and an assist off the bench in Stanford’s one-point win over Arizona in the national championship game, a 54-53 result.
“Our team has been through so much, we weren’t able to be at Stanford, we were on the road for 87 days straight from hotel to hotel, it’s really prepared us for this moment,” Jerome said on Smith and Jones on Sportsnet 590 The Fan Tuesday. “It makes winning this championship that much sweeter, everyone gave up so much for this season.”
The Cardinal had a deep rotation in the paint, with freshman forward Cameron Brink and sophomore Ashten Prechtel also fighting for spots in the rotation, but as the two got into foul trouble against a physical Arizona team, Jerome came off the bench to control the boards and help Stanford sustain their slim lead.
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For Jerome, the fact that the win came against PAC-12 conference rival Arizona made it a little bit sweeter. The game marked the first time two schools from the conference met in the women’s national title game.
“It’s such a testament to the PAC-12, every game you have to prepare, the competition is really remarkable and that really prepared us for what we had to do,” Jerome said. “Playing against all these really good teams and these really great players makes the national championship a little bit easier.”
Graduating from Stanford this year, Jerome is also a member of the Canadian senior national pool and won gold with the U16 team at FIBA Americas, securing the tournament MVP honours, averaging 13.2 points per game. The win was Canada’s first-ever gold medal in the tournament.
Representing Canada for Stanford, the Final Four also had Canadians Aaliyah Edwards (UConn), Laeticia Amihere (South Carolina) and Shaina Pellington (Arizona).
“There were four Canadians in the Final Four, one on each team, I think it’s a testament to the work Canada Basketball is putting in,” said Jerome. “It’s cool to see the emergence specifically on the female side for Canadians, I hope I’m inspiring people and showing people that anything is possible.”
Jerome is allowed an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, and though her decision to return to basketball at Stanford or not is undecided, her goal is to compete for Canada as well as play overseas while still healthy.
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