No. 13 Stanford women’s basketball (10-2) dominated Yale (8-4) 102-44 on Wednesday at Maples Pavilion during the Cardinal’s last game before the start of the conference season.

Scoring more than a hundred points for the first time since 2011, the team showed high intensity from start to finish. Able to turn great defense into efficient offense, the Cardinal handed the Bulldogs their worst loss in Yale’s history.

With four players—junior forward Brittany McPhee, senior forward Erica McCall, senior guard Karlie Samuelson and freshman guard Anna Wilson—scoring double figures, Stanford was able to move the ball well to get through the Bulldogs defense, scoring 58 points in the paint.

On the defensive end, Stanford forced 19 turnovers, 13 of which were steals. Moreover, the team combined for five blocks while holding Yale to a mere 27 percent shooting.

“The defensive preparation is something the coach really stressed this week,” freshman forward Nadia Fingall said. “We are glad we were able to get some good stops tonight.”

Contributing eight points, six rebounds and three assists for her first Stanford start, Fingall exemplified the intense effort achieved by all Stanford players.

“We’ve used this game as a prep for the Pac-12 season, and it was great to see everyone coming out with such intensity tonight,” Fingall added.

The Cardinal were coming off two road games in Tennessee and Washington, D.C., which resulted in a loss to Tennessee, 59-51, and a win over George Washington (71-52). Unable to hold on to an early 11-point lead against Tennessee, the Cardinal had their six-game winning streak snapped by the Lady Vols, before bouncing back and showing a strong performance against George Washington.

The Cardinal return to action as they face No. 18 Arizona State (9-2) in Tempe, Arizona on Friday.

 

Contact Alexandre Bucquet at bucqueta ‘at’ stanford.edu.