Dec. 20, 2005
PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) - Brooke Smith scored 17 points Tuesday night to lead No. 10 Stanford to a 76-56 victory over Washington State.
Candice Wiggins and Krista Rappahahn added 14 points each for the Cardinal (6-2, 1-0 Pac-10). Kate Benz led Washington State (6-3, 0-1) with 12 points.
Stanford, which has won or shared a record-tying five consecutive Pac-10 regular-season championships, improved to 41-0 against Washington State. The Cougars have lost two straight games to Top 25 teams since matching their total of six wins for each of the previous two seasons.
The Cougars led 15-11 before Smith, working inside, scored eight points during a 10-0 run midway through the first half. Stanford led the rest of the way.
Washington State pulled within five at 28-23 before Stanford took a 40-25 halftime lead by outscoring the Cougars 12-2 over the final 3:33 of the half.
Wiggins, a second-team All-American as a freshman last season, hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first minute of the second half to spur another 10-0 run by Stanford. She sat out most of the second half for the Cardinal, which also played without star forward Kristen Newlin, who has a leg injury.
Rappahahn, one of the national leaders with 53 percent shooting on 3-pointers, went 4-for-8 from 3-point range.
Freshmen guards Katie Appleton and Amanda Durocher both scored 11 points for Washington State. However, Appleton made all seven of her turnovers in the first half, and Durocher missed her first eight field-goal attempts before finishing 3-for-13, including 3-for-11 on 3-pointers.