Nov. 6, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. - The size and strength in the paint for the No. 3/2 Stanford women's basketball team made the difference Saturday, as the Cardinal grabbed 67 rebounds and punished Vanguard with second-chance points in a 116-65 exhibition victory Saturday at Maples Pavilion.
Stanford closes out its exhibition season Tuesday night, hosting UC San Diego for a 7 p.m. contest. The Cardinal opens the 2010-11 regular season Sunday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. against Rutgers at Maples Pavilion.
In a game in which the two teams combined to make 30 three-pointers and shoot a collective 49.2 percent (30-for-61) from behind the arc, Stanford's rebounding on both ends of the court would make the difference. Out-rebounding the Lions by a 67-27 margin, including 30-8 on the offensive glass, allowed the Cardinal to follow up misses and keep the Lions well behind.
Senior Wade Trophy candidate Kayla Pedersen and freshman Chiney Ogwumike combined to score 49 points in the win, with Pedersen scoring 25 on 9-for-13 shooting (2-for-2 on threes) and Oguwmike going 10-for-18 while also grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds. This all despite the absence of 2010 State Farm Coaches' All-American Nnemkadi Ogwumike, who, in a precautionary measure, sat out the game with a sore left ankle.
Guards Jeanette Pohlen and Sara James each hit four three-pointers to turn in identical 16-point games. Sophomore Joslyn Tinkle scored 10 points and Sarah Boothe made her much-anticipated return to the court after redshirting 2009-10 with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Stanford shot 51.9 percent (14-for-27) from behind the arc, just better than Vanguard's 47.1 mark (16-for-34). The Lions were led by Ariel Castillo's 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including 6-of-8 on three-pointers.
The scoring on Saturday was appropriately opened up with a three-pointer, this one coming from Pedersen with the game just 13 seconds old. That three would spark an 8-0 Cardinal run to open the contest.
Vanguard finally got on the board at 17:15 on a Castillo three to cut things to 8-3. The Lions' first 12 points would come from three-pointers, and it was not until 9:53 remained in the first half that Taylor Belmont's jumper gave the Lions their bucket inside the arc.
That was a testament to the dominance of Stanford's post presence, consistently altering the shots of the smaller Vanguard players and reducing the Lion offense to long-range attacks. Nowhere was that more evident than on the halftime box score, which showed Vanguard going 13-for-32 from the field, with a 2-for-12 mark on two-point attempts.
Stanford would stretch its lead to 20 at 32-12 just 8:21 into the game. The lead got to as high as 25 before more three-pointers from Vanguard brought the Lions to within 18 by halftime, at 57-39.
The Lions got to within 15 with 16:50 to play, but the Cardinal turned to its size up front to pull away once more. Pedersen hit three field goals from inside the paint and Tinkle and Boothe added field goals of their own to help the Cardinal lead swell back up to 30 at 83-53 with 10:24 to play.
The quartet of Pedersen, Boothe, Tinkle and Ogwumike combined to shoot 50.0 percent (28-for-56) with all but three of those field goals coming from the inside. That dominance in the paint, along with the hot three-point shooting of Ruef, James and Pohlen, combined to keep the Cardinal comfortably ahead all game long.