After winning its 17th consecutive Pac-12 opener, against No. 18 Arizona State in Tempe on Friday, No. 13 Stanford women’s basketball (12-2, 2-0 Pac-12) continued its conference success against another Arizona foe — this time the University of Arizona Wildcats (9-4, 0-2) — ringing in the New Year with a 77-55 win in Tucson.
Stanford improved to 2-0 in the Pac-12 conference, having won six straight conference games dating back to last season. While the Stanford women dominated the board against the Wildcats 43-25, the Cardinal bench led the storyline, recording 22 points to Arizona’s three as the team closed out its first conference road trip of the season.
Senior forward Erica McCall paced the Cardinal with 19 points and 16 rebounds, her sixth double-double in her last eight games. Senior guard Karlie Samuelson and freshman forward Nadia Fingall also reached double digits, with 17 and 12 points, respectively. Samuelson accounted for five of Stanford’s 10 three-pointers in the match.
Samuelson, Stanford’s marquee shooter, had an excellent road trip against both Arizona schools, scoring 16 and 17 points in each respective matchup. Beyond the stats, however, Samuelson’s consistent threat on the wing not only provided increased spacing and a deadly outlet option but also continually freed more pick-and-roll plays to the basket for the Cardinal.
Down 21-20 at the end of a back-and-forth first quarter, Stanford answered with dominant second-quarter play, holding the Wildcats to just five points. Tied 23-23 with eight minutes to play, the Cardinal closed out the half with a 17-3 run, demoralizing the Wildcats in front of a home crowd. The team would not relinquish this lead, maintaining a double-digit lead for all but one minute of the second half.
With a sizable lead heading into the third period, Stanford was held scoreless for the first four minutes until sophomore guard Marta Sniezek broke through with a three-pointer. Sniezek scored all nine of her points in the third, carrying the Cardinal offensively despite the team putting up just 11 points in the quarter.
Stanford put the game away in the fourth, scoring 26 points on 66.7-percent shooting. Six points in quick succession by Fingall stretched the lead to 20 with just over three minutes left in the game.
Up next, Stanford will take on Oregon (10-4, 0-2) on Friday in its first home conference game of the season. The 8 p.m. game will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
Contact Laura Anderson at lauraand ‘at’ stanford.edu.