WASHINGTON – Brittany McPhee scored 21 points, Erica McCall joined the 1,000-point club and No. 14 Stanford beat George Washington 71-52 at the Smith Center on Wednesday night.
Up just one point after the first quarter, the Cardinal (9-2) grabbed a stranglehold on the game with a dominant second in which it outscored the Colonials 30-9. Stanford made 11 of its 15 shots in its best offensive period of the season. GW (7-5) made a field goal with 6:17 on the clock in the first and didn't connect on another until there were five minutes to go in the second.
McPhee had 11 points in the quarter, including a nifty bank shot with her off hand, and Stanford dominated in the paint 14-2, off turnovers 6-1 and on the break 6-0. The Cardinal's 14-1 run to open the second was started with a 3-point play from McPhee.
McCall backed down her defender on Stanford's next possession, spun and hit a jumper off glass to become Stanford's 37th 1,000-point scorer. She'd finish with 13 and 10 to notch her fifth double-double of the season and 25th of her career.
Marta Sniezek grabbed a rebound and pushed ahead to streaking McPhee to put Stanford up 18-10 and force a GW timeout, but the stoppage didn't halt the spurt. Karlie Samuelson nailed a 3-pointer, McPhee hit another jumper and Samuelson sank two free throws before the Colonials' 11-minute drought from the floor was ended on a Mei-Lyn Bautista jumper.
George Washington started the second half on a 12-2 run and shot 53 percent in the third quarter, including a perfect 2-of-2 from deep, but Stanford was able to weather the storm and led 54-41 heading into the fourth.
GW cut its deficit to single digits with 6:02 left, 58-50, but Stanford closed on a 13-2 run to secure the win.
Sniezek, who graduated from nearby National Cathedral School, had seven points, five rebounds and three assists in her homecoming. Freshman Nadia Fingall, who graduated from high school in Florida but now calls the capital region home, had 11 points and six rebounds in a career-high 25 minutes.
Briana Roberson chipped in 10 on 5-of-7 shooting.
George Washington outrebounded Stanford 47-36 but shot just 28 percent, making 19-of-67 field goals and committing 16 turnovers.
Stanford closes out its nonconference schedule at home on Wednesday, Dec. 28 with a 2 p.m. tip against Yale.
