STANFORD, Calif. – In its first Battle of the Bay matchup of the year, No. 15 Stanford used a lethal inside-outside combination of Erica McCall and Karlie Samuelson to defeat Bay Area rival California, 53-46, on Tuesday night.
McCall's double-double of 11 points and 13 boards was her 13th of the season and Samuelson poured in 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting as the Cardinal (18-5, 8-3 Pac-12) dispatched the Bears (11-11, 2-9 Pac-12) for the 15th time in the teams' last 17 meetings.
Forward Kristine Anigwe paced Cal in the first quarter, scoring nine of her team's first 11 points to give the Bears a 15-8 lead at the end of one. The freshman was active defensively as well and her presence in the paint helped hold Stanford to 2-of-15 shooting in the opening period and just one point over the last 4:46.
Anigwe was limited to just eight points over the final three quarters, and finished under her season average of 20.1. Stanford limited Cal to just 29 percent shooting, the eighth opponent it has held below 30 this season and third in conference play.
The Cardinal was up one at halftime and two at the end of the third. A free throw by Courtney Range brought Cal within two at the 7:46 mark in the fourth, but Stanford allowed just two field goals the rest of way to complete a sweep of its three-game homestand.
Lili Thompson, named espnW's National Player of the Week for her sensational play against Washington and Washington State, finished with 11 points and three assists. Kaylee Johnson led all players with 15 rebounds, her third straight game with more than 10.
Anigwe and Range combined for 32 points and 12 boards for Cal, but collectively shot 10-of-27.
TURNING POINT » Trailing 15-8 at the start of the second, two quick lay-ins by McCall brought the Cardinal within three, and five points from Samuelson kept the team close in the middle of the quarter. Another basket from McCall narrowed the Bears' advantage to a single point before Bri Roberson's three with 25 seconds left in the half gave Stanford its first lead of the game. Cal remained close in the third, holding the Cardinal to just one made field goal over the final 6:21 of the period. But Stanford, thanks to the inside-outside combination of McCall and Samuelson, outscored its rivals 9-4 in the opening minutes of the fourth and hung on for the seven-point victory.
TARA VANDERVEER » I told our team it wasn't pretty, but it was gritty. People stayed with things really well. This speaks to the strength of our league, when a 2-8 team plays you to the wire. Cal has some really talented players and it was a hard-fought win for us.
THIRD TIME'S A CHARM » Tuesday marked the third time this season Karlie Samuelson has scored in double-figures in three consecutive games. It was her 12th double-digit scoring game this year and the 24th of her career (84 games). The junior captain is now averaging 9.7 points per game in 2015-16, and still ranks in the top-10 nationally in three-point field goal percentage (47 percent). Samuelson, who nailed three treys on Tuesday, also grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists against the Bears.
TARA VANDERVEER II » Tonight, Karlie stepped up big. Knocking down her three, knocking down her free throws. I thought she worked really hard defensively.
ALWAYS IN THE RIGHT PLACE » Kaylee Johnson's double-digit rebounding performance was her eighth of the season and fourth in five games. She's averaging 13.0 boards over that span, during which the Carinal is 4-1. McCall also has 10-plus rebounds in four of her last five, averaging 10.8 during those games.
ERICA MCCALL » (We had to be) aggressive on the zone. In the zone, it's hard to box-out and find people, so we always have to attack the boards.
BATTLE OF THE BAY HISTORY » With the win, Stanford moved to 65-19 all-time versus Cal, and 15-2 in their last 17 meetings. The two Bay Area squads played the first ever college women's basketball game in April 1896, which saw the Cardinal prevail by a score of 2-1.
