BERKELEY, Calif. – Stanford's forward trio of Erica McCall, Kaylee Johnson and Kailee Johnson combined to score 35 points on 52 percent shooting and the No. 15 Cardinal dominated down low to earn a regular-season sweep of rival California with a 60-55 win in Haas Pavilion on Friday night.
The three, who led a quintet of Cardinal (19-5, 9-3 Pac-12) in double figures, were efficient and aggressive on the block. McCall notched her 14th double-double of the season and third straight with 14 points on 7-of-15 shooting and 10 rebounds. Kaylee Johnson scored 11, went 4-of-8 from the floor and added seven boards. Kailee Johnson was successful on her first five attempts from the field, finished 5-of-8, and contributed 10 in the scoring column, her fourth career game with 10 or more points.
Stanford was +20 in the paint, outscoring Cal (11-12, 2-10 Pac-12) in that area 38-18.
TURNING POINT » Cal led 34-27 at the half, but with Lili Thompson scoring five and Brittany McPhee four, Stanford opened the third quarter on a 13-0 run to take its first and last lead. Cal didn't score until six minutes had elapsed and only dropped in four points in the frame, a season-low for a Cardinal opponent in any one quarter. In that third period, Stanford made 6-of-16 attempts and limited the Bears to just 1-of-10. The Cardinal scored 10 of its 15 points in the paint and forced Cal into five turnovers, scoring nearly half its points (7) off those miscues.
STAYING AHEAD » Cal would close within two four times, but each time Stanford had an answer. A pair of Kristine Anigwe free throws made it 40-38 Stanford with 2:47 left in the third, but Marta Sniezek drove, drew contact and calmly sank both from the line. Gabby Green started the fourth quarter with a layup for Cal, but McCall answered with one of her own off a feed from Sniezek to extend the Cardinal lead back to four, 44-40. Courtney Range would hit a pair of freebies a minute later to again pull the Bears close, but Lili Thompson nailed a 3-pointer to give Stanford some breathing room, 47-42. Finally, Cal inched within two yet again on free throws from Anigwe with 2:51 remaining, but back-to-back buckets from McCall extended Stanford's lead back to six, 56-50, with 1:21 to go.
BALANCE » Stanford had five players score in double figures for the second time this season. In addition to the Cardinal frontcourt, Lili Thompson added 10 and Brittany McPhee 12 off the bench. Stanford also had five score at least 10 in a Dec. 19 victory over Cornell.
SHARING THE LOAD » Johnson and Johnson did their damage in the first half, combining to score 19 of Stanford's first 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting. In the second half, McCall, McPhee and Thompson carried the Cardinal. The three scored 29 of Stanford's 33 in the final 20 minutes, including all of the team's 18 in the fourth quarter.
BATTLE OF THE BAY » Stanford moved to 66-19 all-time against Cal and 29-11 against the Golden Bears in Berkeley. The Cardinal has won seven straight in Haas pavilion. Stanford also swept Cal in the regular season for the 22nd time in the past 29 seasons.
