TUCSON, Ariz. – Alanna Smith and
Kiana Williams had 12 points apiece and No. 24 Stanford used a strong first quarter to beat Arizona 61-46 on Friday night.
Â
The Cardinal (9-6, 3-0) led 23-11 at the end of the one after shooting 50 percent from the floor, assisting on six of its nine field goals and turning the ball over just once. The Wildcats (4-10, 0-3) took their only lead, 4-3 on a 3-pointer from Kat Wright, before freshmen reeled off the next 11 points for Stanford.
Â
Maya Dodson hit a jumper and then Williams found her spot on the left wing and drained three 3-pointers in a row on the Cardinal's next trio of trips down the floor. The final in the sequence came off a Smith offensive rebound. Stanford beat Arizona 51-32 on the glass and its 24 offensive rebound were its most in over three years.
Â
The Cardinal closed the quarter on an 8-1 run and held Arizona without a field goal over the final three minutes. The drought for the Wildcats would extend into the second and Stanford went up 14 following a
DiJonai Carrington 3-pointer just over a minute in.
Â
Stanford solidified its double-digit lead for good late in the second with an 8-0 run to take a 35-21 into halftime. Another freshman,
Alyssa Jerome, started the spurt with a make from behind the arc at 3:47 and Smith ended with a 3-pointer of her own and a jumper.
Â
Arizona got as close as 45-35 late in the third before Stanford put together a 13-4 run to build its largest lead at 58-39 with 6:11 to play. The Wildcats missed 10 straight field goal attempts to start the fourth quarter.
Â
Carrington added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Cardinal and
Brittany McPhee had eight points and seven rebounds. Smith and
Kaylee Johnson each had three blocks and Stanford had a season-high 10 rejections as a team.
Â
Lucia Alonso had 15 points and Sam Thomas scored 10 for Arizona.
Â