Behind a balanced offensive attack, the No. 13 Stanford Cardinal routed the Arizona women’s basketball team 82-58 Friday in Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto, California.
Twelve different Stanford players scored and it led for all but the first 19 seconds of the game. It’s the Cardinal’s 26th win against Arizona in its last 27 tries. The Cardinal improved to 20-5 overall and 10-3 in Pac-12 Conference play.
Meanwhile, it’s Arizona’s seventh straight loss and the team is now 11-14 overall and 2-9 in Pac-12 Conference play.
The Cardinal hit nine of its first 11 shots and a 3-pointer by Karlie Samuelson would put Stanford up 20-4 midway through the first quarter.
Stanford would ultimately take a 24-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and wouldn’t look back from there.
Samuelson and Erica McCall each had eight points and four rebounds in the first half for the Stanford, and the Cardinal would go into the locker room up 41-21. McCall would finish with a team-high 12 points, while Samuelson finished with four rebounds and four assists in addition to the eight points.
Arizona head coach Niya Butts has often said the team has been a tale of two halves this season, but that wouldn’t be true in this game as Stanford would outscore Arizona 26-15 in the third quarter to go up 67-36 heading into the fourth quarter.
Stanford would take a 34-point lead, its largest of the game, in the fourth quarter, though the Wildcats would end up outscoring the Cardinal 22-15 in the final period.
The Wildcats managed to shoot a respectable 42 percent from the field, but also had 20 turnovers, which Stanford turned into 21 points.
JaLea Bennett and Michal Miller each had 12 points for Arizona, and LaBrittney Jones added nine of her own. Taryn Griffey, who returned from a leave of absence last week, has yet to play since returning the the team.
The Wildcats will return to action Sunday to take on the California Golden Bears in Berkeley, California. With Cal also holding a 2-11 Pac-12 Conference record, it’s a great opportunity for Arizona to snap its losing streak. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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