No. 11 Stanford women’s basketball (1-0) defeated Cal Poly (0-1) 83-55 at home during its season opener last Friday night.
Cal Poly’s early 5-2 advantage in the first two minutes of the first quarter was its only lead of the game. Although the game was nearly tied in the second quarter – 25 points to 23 – the Cardinal women went on a 13-0 streak before the half. After the break, Stanford reentered the court on a 12-2 run.
Five Stanford players – senior guard Briana Robertson, junior forward Kaylee Johnson, senior forward Erica McCall, junior guard Brittany McPhee and senior guard Karlie Samuelson – scored more than 10 points each, while 10 out of 12 women scored during the game. The Cardinal bench combined for 30 points, completing Stanford’s very balanced performance. On the defensive end, the Cardinal held the Mustangs to 30 percent shooting, and the team combined for eight blocks.
After the game, head coach Tara VanDerveer highlighted the team effort.
“I thought it was a great first game for us,” she said. “Everyone contributed in some way, either scoring or rebounding.”
Robertson led the Cardinal with 16 points, shooting 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. Although these numbers stand out on paper, VanDerveer said that Briana’s defense made the difference. Robertson, on the other hand, credited her teammates.
“We all did a really good job of finding one another,” Robertson said.
Despite scoring only one basket, sophomore guard Marta Sniezek led the team with 10 assists. Sniezek showed her capacity to lead the Cardinal offense, while reminding everyone that she can also score taking a drive to the net late in the third quarter.
“I think she has tremendous potential,” Robertson said.
All three Stanford freshmen played during the game, and each of them showed why they were recruited. Forward Nadia Fingall had six points and two blocks, while guard Mikaela Brewer scored six points and forward DiJonai Carrington showed her aggression through several drives to the basket in the fourth quarter.
“[The freshmen] should feel very good about themselves,” VanDerveer said.
Stanford women’s basketball returns to action on Monday, hosting No. 8 Texas in a game that will be the Longhorns’ season opener.
VanDerveer pointed out that the team has to make some adjustments in terms of turnovers and rebounds before the face-off.
During Friday’s performance, the Cardinal turned the ball over 16 times, while the Mustangs were able to collect 15 offensive rebounds.
“I think we can take care of the ball better and rebound better,” she said.
The whole team is looking forward to this game. Last time these teams met, on Dec. 13, 2015, the Longhorns outscored the Cardinal 77-69.
“We want to be a great team, so we want to play great teams,” VanDerveer said.
Contact Alexandre Bucquet at bucqueta ‘at’ stanford.edu.