Stanford Cruises By Cougs

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) – Karlie Samuelson had 16 points and seven rebounds to help No. 10 Stanford turn a dominating interior performance into a 76-54 win over Washington State on Friday and maintain a share of first-place in the Pac-12.
 
Samuelson, whose 43.9 percent career 3-point shooting is third in the nation, hit 4 of 9 from beyond the arc. The Cardinal shot 51.9 percent from the field and outrebounded the Cougars by 16.
 
Pinelopi Pavlopoulou and Alexys Swedlund led Washington State with 13 points each.
 
Stanford jumped out to a 10-1 lead and Washington State made just 4 of its 12 shots in the first quarter.
 
The Cardinal clamped down on shooters, holding Cougars shooters to 28.6 percent in the first half while building a 41-24 lead at the break. Stanford was shooting 59.8 percent, which it sustained for nearly the rest of the game.
 
The margin continued to grow. McCall hit a pair of free throws with 5:40 left in the third quarter to push the lead to 30. Washington State clawed back, but ultimately never threatened.
 
Stanford improved to 61-0 against Washington State dating back to 1983. The Cardinal are tied with No. 7 Washington and No. 11 Oregon State for the top spot in the conference.
 
BIG PICTURE
 
Washington State: The Cougars, down their top three scorers to season-ending injuries, dropped their second consecutive game to a top-10 team. WSU is playing without Borislava Hristova (14.7 points per game), Louise Brown (10.4) and Chanelle Molina (12.8).
 
Stanford: It took overtime for Stanford to beat WSU last time the teams played in Pullman in 2015, but this year was a smoother trip. The Cardinal are a double overtime loss at Oregon State away from being undefeated in conference play, and face their next big test on Sunday.
 
INCHING TOWARD 1000

VanDerveer is now two wins away from her 1000th win, something only four coaches in college basketball -- both men's and women's -- can hold claim to. The Hall of Fame coach is a pair of wins shy of joining the late Pat Summitt as the second-ever women's college basketball coach to claim 1000 career victories. 846 of those wins have come at Stanford.

UP NEXT
 
Washington State: The Cougars host California on Sunday before heading to play Colorado and Utah next week.
 
Stanford: The Cardinal face No. 7 Washington in Seattle Sunday, then return home to host USC and No. 13 UCLA week.