Nov. 7, 2008
STANFORD, Calif. - The second-ranked Stanford women's basketball team closed out its exhibition slate Friday night with an 87-41 victory over defending NAIA national champion Vanguard University at Maples Pavilion. Jayne Appel led four Stanford players scoring in double figures with 20 point while Jillian Harmon grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
Stanford now looks ahead to its regular-season opener next Friday night, Nov. 14. The Cardinal will host the Minnesota Golden Gophers for the 7 p.m. season opener at Maples Pavilion.
Sarah Boothe posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Nnemkadi Ogwumike shot 8-of-11 from the floor for 16 points in the contest. Michelle Harrison would round out the Cardinal leaders with 14 points and Jeanette Pohlen would come close to a triple-double with eight points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Appel scored eight points in Stanford's 16-0 run to start Friday night's contest, including the first six of the game. After Vanguard's Rachel Copeland hit a three-pointer to register the first points of the game for the Lions, the Cardinal responded with a 17-4 run over the next 7:10 to take a 28-point lead at 35-7 with 6:05 to play in the half.
Vanguard would outscore the Cardinal 9-4 over the next four minutes, but Stanford would get a pair of buckets from Harrison, who went 7-for-9 from the floor Friday, in the final minute and a half to take a 43-16 halftime lead.
The second half would begin with Appel scoring 10 of Stanford's first 16 points as the Cardinal lead ballooned to 37 points at 59-22 with 13:48 remaining. Pohlen's three-pointer just 18 seconds later would cap a 17-0 run that took the Stanford advantage to 62-22.
The Stanford defense enjoyed a sturdy performance for the second time in this exhibition season, limiting the Lions to a 16-of-64 showing from the floor and out-rebounding them by a 56-26 margin. Appel would also block four shots in the defensive effort.
On the other end of the court, the Cardinal shot 55.7 percent (39-for-70) from the field and passed out 27 assists, paced by nine from redshirt sophomore guard Melanie Murphy.