STANFORD, Calif. – For the first 20 minutes, Saturday's contest between No. 12 Stanford and Washington State bore a striking resemblance to the overtime tug-of-war in Pullman on Jan. 11, but the Cardinal left no doubt when the final buzzer sounded. Stanford employed a sterling second half en route to a comfortable 75-56 win over the visiting Cougars and upped its all-time record in the series to a perfect 59-0.
The Cardinal (16-5, 8-1 Pac-12) trailed at the half for the tenth time this season, 39-37, but outscored Washington State (13-7, 4-5 Pac-12) 38-17 in the second to cruise to the 19-point victory. Stanford is now 5-5 this season when it's down at the break.
Amber Orrange led the way for the Cardinal with 15 points, five rebounds and six assists. Her final first-half assist, one which set up an Erica McCall layup, was the 500th of her career and moved the senior into elite Cardinal company. She joined Sonja Henning (757), Jennifer Azzi (751), Milena Flores (644), Jamila Wideman (585), Nicole Powell (577) and Jeanette Pohlen (560) as the only players to reach the 500-assist plateau in their careers on The Farm.
McCall added 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocks and was part of a group of five Cardinal to reach double figures in scoring. Briana Roberson put in 11, Karlie Samuelson 10 and Lili Thompson 10. Stanford is a perfect 8-0 when at least four players score 10 or more. Kaylee Johnson grabbed 11 rebounds in 16 minutes, her 10th double-digit performance on the glass this season.
"[McCall] came out with energy, was working hard on the glass and scored 14 points," head coach Tara VanDerveer said. "She's at the tip of the iceberg for what's capable of doing the rest of the year. You can get used to her scoring."
The sophomore had made nine straight shots from the floor over the past two games before an early second-half misfire. She finished 6-of-10 from the field.
Kaylee Johnson gave Stanford a two-point lead early in the second half, 41-39, but Washington State was still within 46-44 with 15:48 remaining.
The Cardinal went on a 12-1 run over the next four minutes to race out to a 13-point advantage and never looked back.
Stanford hit on 49 percent of its shots in the game and ratcheted up the defense in the final frame. In in the second half, the Cardinal held the Cougars to just 17 points on 20 percent shooting (7-of-35). Washington State missed its last five shots, six of its last seven, 16 of its last 18 and didn't score in the final three minutes.
The Cardinal's defensive effort was highlighted by a lockdown performance on senior guard Tia Presley, who entered Saturday's contest third in the Pac-12 in scoring at 18.9 points per game. Presley was held to a season-low four points on 1-of-10 shooting in 28 minutes.
Lia Galdeira, second in the conference in scoring, nearly reached her 19.6 average with 18 points to go along with nine rebounds. But the junior contributed just five in the second half on 2-of-9 shooting.
Stanford outrebounded the Cougars 47-30 and outscored them 38-12 in the paint.
The Cardinal trailed at the half despite shooting 54 percent in the first stanza. Stanford committed 13 turnovers, which resulted in 14 points for Washington State.
Stanford receives its next test when it hosts Washington on Monday at 7 p.m. in a game televised on the Pac-12 Networks.