STANFORD, Calif. – All 14 players on the roster saw at least nine minutes of action, none played more than 20, 12 scored and No. 15 Stanford rode that balanced effort to a dominating win over visiting Cornell on Saturday in Maples Pavilion, 93-38.
Erica McCall and Alanna Smith led the way in the scoring column with 12 points each. Karlie Samuelson and Lili Thompson added 11 apiece and Kaylee Johnson had 10 points and 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. The Cardinal (8-2) put five players in double figures for the first time since a win at No. 7 Oregon State last February.
Stanford is next in action on Tuesday after at 2 p.m. when it hosts CSU Bakersfield. Season tickets, mini plans and single-game seats are available by calling 800-STANFORD or visiting gostanford.com/tickets.
TURNING POINT » Stanford raced out to a 13-2 lead after starting a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor and forcing a Cornell timeout with 6:21 on the clock in the opening period. The Cardinal's starting backcourt of Briana Roberson and Lili Thompson had 11 points in the opening spurt and assisted on three of the five field goals.
KEEP GOING » Stanford led 27-6 after the first quarter. Cornell's Megan LeDuc made a 3-pointer 1:53 into the game and then the Big Red missed its next nine from the floor. The Cardinal went on an 18-0 run over the next 5:10 and grabbed its first 20-point lead when Alanna Smith sank a pair of free throws to make the score 23-3. Stanford outscored the Big Red 22-2 over the first eight minutes of the second quarter and the Cardinal went into intermission up 53-13. The Cardinal shot 52 percent in the first half while Cornell (5-5) made just 5 of 39 shots.
GETTING EVERYONE TIME » Stanford's starters checked out for the last time midway through the third quarter, allowing for extended minutes for the Cardinal's bench unit. Senior Kiran Lakhian took full advantage of her career-high 10 minutes, draining three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter on four attempts.
DEFENDING » Cornell shot just 22.6 percent on the afternoon (14-of-62), the lowest for a Stanford opponent since Washington hit 16.9 percent on Feb. 28, 2013 (12-of-71). The Cardinal entered the day 22nd in the nation in field goal percentage defense and lowered that mark 32.6 percent after its stout performance against Cornell.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE » Erica McCall has been racking up the double-doubles this season, but it was Kaylee Johnson who got on the board in that category on Saturday. The sophomore was a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor, scored 10, grabbed 11 rebounds, handed out three assists and tallied three blocks. It was her first double-double of the year, the sixth of her career and her first in Stanford's last 23 games.
MARGIN » The 55-point victory is tied for the 13th largest in program history. It wasn't long ago that the Cardinal had an even bigger win. On Dec. 28, 2014, Stanford beat UC Santa Barbara by 56, 90-34.
