Nov. 9, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. - Seventy-five percent. Three out of every four. Forty-five shots made out of 60 attempts. That is the astounding figure that No. 3/2 Stanford posted in Tuesday night's 100-52 exhibition victory over UC San Diego at Maples Pavilion.
The bulk of Stanford's 100 points came from inside the key, as the Cardinal went 42-for-54 (.778) from inside the arc, whereas the team attempted just six three-pointers, hitting on half.
Stanford's size inside and speed in moving up and down the court kept the Tritons off-balance all night, as UCSD could not catch up with Stanford's pace.
Tuesday's win also served as Stanford's final exhibition tuneup before the Cardinal hosts Rutgers this Sunday, Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. for the 2010-11 regular season opener.
Freshman forward Chiney Ogwumike led Stanford with 24 points (on 10-of-12 shooting) and eight rebounds Tuesday night. Forwards Joslyn Tinkle and Sarah Boothe each scored 14 points while shooting a combined 76.5 percent (13-for-17), and senior Kayla Pedersen hit both of her three-point attempts and scored 13 points in just 20 minutes of action.
Rookie guard Toni Kokenis showcased her speed and defensive talent over 23 minutes, dishing out three assists, making a steal and fueling the Stanford offense in the first half.
Junior forward and 2010 State Farm Coaches' All-American Nnemkadi Ogwumike saw her first on-court action after sitting out Sunday's exhibition against Vanguard due to a sore left ankle. The elder Ogwumike played just 13 minutes but that was long enough for her to hit all four field-goal attempts for eight points and grab three rebounds.
UC San Diego's Chelsea Carlisle went 9-for-18 from the field with a game-high 25 points. Daisy Feder hit four three-pointers and added 14 points.
Stanford got its first points of the game thanks to speed rather than size as Kokenis, following a Boothe mis and UCSD rebound, picked the pocket of the Triton ball handler and went in for the layup and 2-0 lead.
From there Kokenis' speed complemented the dominance of Stanford's bigs, as Chiney Ogwumike took a feed from Jeanette Pohlen and laid in the next bucket, and Pedersen powered her way inside for the next field goal, drawing a foul in the process.
Chiney Ogwumike and Pedersen, who combined for 49 points in Stanford's exhibition win over Vanguard on Saturday, gave further evidence to their powerful combination as they combined to score 10 of Stanford's first 14 points Tuesday. A three-point play from Ogwumike with 12:10 left in the half would stretch the Cardinal lead to 23-5.
The lead swelled to 19 at 29-10 after Sarah Boothe picked up an easy two inside with 10:14 to play in the half. Stanford posts scored 15 consecutive points over a stretch of 5:13 in the first half, getting the Cardinal lead up to 35-15. Seven straight from Chiney Ogwumike got the lead up to 44-17 and Mikaela Ruef hit a pair of buckets to help complete a 22-2 run that got the lead to 51-17 before Carlisle hit a three-pointer with four seconds left in the half to make it 51-20 at the break.
Head coach Tara VanDerveer kept her main rotation in for the first 10 minutes of the second half, and the group responded by stretching the lead out to 49 points at 84-35 with 10:09 to play.
With time winding down and the Cardinal approaching the century mark, Ashley Cimino and Tinkle hit layups over an 18-second span in the final minute to hit the mark, punctuating Stanford's 8-0 run to end the contest.