STANFORD, Calif. – Brittany McPhee had 25 points and 12 rebounds and No. 17 Stanford beat Colorado 62-53 on Sunday.
The Cardinal (18-8, 12-2), which has won six in a row and nine of its last 10, closes out its regular-season home schedule on Thursday night at 7 p.m. against Cal.
Kennedy Leonard and Annika Jank made back-to-back jumpers to give Colorado (12-13, 3-11) a two-point edge midway through the second quarter, but Stanford closed the half on an 18-2 run to head in the locker room with a 35-21 lead. Stanford scored the final 12 points and held the Buffs without a bucket for almost four minutes.
McPhee scored 11 during the stretch, which was capped by an Alyssa Jerome 3-pointer with less than a minute remaining until halftime. McPhee started it with an offensive rebound and laid it in, then made another layup after an Alanna Smith steal. She hit two at the line and then Kiana Williams nailed a midrange jumper to make it 27-21.
McPhee dribbled her way to the block and sank a tough jumper in the lane, hit a free throw and then made another layup in transition before Jerome's triple. The senior, who was honored postgame along with Kaylee Johnson, posted her second double-double in the past four games and third of her career.
The Cardinal scored 10 of the first 14 third-quarter points, including five by McPhee, to push the margin to 20.
Johnson grabbed 10 rebounds for the ninth time this season and 41st in her career.
Quinessa Caylao-Do had 16 points and Leonard scored 12 for Colorado.
The Buffs used a 10-2 spurt to trim their deficit to 56-44 late in the fourth quarter and Peyton Carter's layup with eight seconds to play pulled them within single digits for the first time in the second half.
The Cardinal made 19 of its season-high 35 foul shots, while Colorado hit seven of its 12 free throws.