STANFORD, Calif. – It seemed like Stanford couldn't miss in the second half. The No. 16 Cardinal made 11 3-pointers in the third and fourth quarters to roll to an 86-66 victory at San Francisco on Wednesday night.
Four scored in double figures and Stanford made 11 of its 21 attempts (.524) from behind the arc after intermission, a school record for 3-pointers in a half. The Cardinal made 15 in the game, tied for the third-most in program history and its highest total since making 15 against Missouri State on Nov. 27, 2015.
Kiana Williams led the way with five 3-pointers as part of her career-high 17 points. Alanna Smith, DiJonai Carrington and Alexa Romano each made three and Anna Wilson contributed the other. Smith collected her third consecutive double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, Carrington added 19 points, five rebounds and three steals and Romano tied her career high with 13 points.
Kaylee Johnson pulled down 14 rebounds for Stanford, her highest total since Feb. 2, 2016 against Cal (16) and is now three shy of entering the school's all-time top 10 in that category.
The Cardinal (5-3) trailed 28-24 at the half as both teams shot less than 30 percent. For much of the second half, both shot better than 60 percent, with Stanford finishing at 59 percent (23-of-39) and the Dons dropping to 50 percent (12-of-24).
Stanford made its first six shots coming out of the locker room and quickly passed USF in the in the third quarter. The Cardinal took a four-point lead on a Carrington corner triple at 7:12, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Ninni Salmi put the Dons back in front 40-38.
The Cardinal responded with a 10-2 run punctuated by 3-pointers from Carrington and Williams to go up for good and Stanford led 56-49 heading into the fourth.
Stanford made 6-of-12 3-pointers in the final frame and scored 62 second-half points, just five shy of the school record for points in a half. The Cardinal dropped in 67 in the first half of a win against Cal State Fullerton on Dec. 10, 1994.
Brittany McPhee, Stanford's leading scorer at 16.5, missed her fourth-straight game with a right-foot injury.
Salmi and Michaela Rakova had 15 points each for San Francisco (2-4). The Dons are coached by Molly Goodenbour, who won two national championships playing for Stanford from 1989-93.