Nov. 4, 2006
STANFORD, Calif.- Kristen Newlin and Brooke Smith dominated in the post, combining for 39 points in Stanford's 84-78 victory over Love and Basketball in exhibition action on Saturday afternoon at Maples Pavilion.
Newlin's game-high 20 points included a 10-10 free throw clip to match nine rebounds while Smith made 8-14 from the field for 19 points and dished out six assists. The senior duo also helped the Cardinal own a 37-26 rebounding edge.
Cissy Pierce turned in another impressive performance, scoring 14 points on 6-8 shooting while making her second straight start. Jillian Harmon added 12 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Stanford also forced 20 turnovers, held a 23-5 edge in assists and shot 53.6-percent overall from the field.
The Cardinal held its largest lead of the game at halftime, ahead 50-35. However, Love and Basketball (who had already registered wins over UCLA and Saint Mary's) managed to hang within single-digits for most of the second half and even cut the lead to 79-76 with 1:20 remaining.
In almost a mirror image of Thursday's performance against Chico State, Stanford raced out to a large lead and went up 17-3 with 14:27 on the clock. Love and Basketball cut the lead to 25-20 with just under 10 minutes to play, only to see the Cardinal respond with a 20-10 scoring run.
Love and Basketball, led by Aja Parham and Jessica Cheeks with 19 points apiece, outscored Stanford 43-34 in the second half and embarked on a 10-0 scoring burst to begin the period.
A lay-up from Smith increased Stanford's lead back to double-digits at 58-48 with 10:33 remaining. The Cardinal enjoyed its biggest second-half lead at 74-60 following a lay-up from Jillian Harmon.
Leading 79-76 with 1:20 remaining, the Cardinal managed to secure the victory.
Stanford hosts Loyola Marymount on Thursday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in the opening round of the Preseason WNIT.
NOTES: Stanford fans received good news before the opening tip. Two-time All-American Candice Wiggins, who played only 10 minutes in Thursday's exhibition before leaving with an injury, suffered only a bruise to her left foot. She did not play Saturday and is listed as day-to-day ... In its first exhibition game on Thursday night, Stanford breezed past Chico State 103-57 behind Brooke Smith's 28 points ... Against Chico State on Thursday, the Cardinal was 29-43 from the free throw line. On Saturday against Love and Basketball, the Cardinal turned in a 20-25 performance ... JJ Hones, who dished out five assists against Chico State, led Stanford with seven assists on Saturday to give her 12 overall for the two exhibition contests ... Love and Basketball's AAU roster is comprised of mainly Southern California residents, most of whom were former collegiate players at local universities ... Kristen Newlin missed a double-double by one rebound (20 points, nine boards) ... Love and Basketball tallied 17 steals ... Clare Bodensteiner grabbed seven rebounds.