SEATTLE – Sophomore KZ Okpala scored 22 points and senior Josh Sharma added 17 for Stanford, but it wasn't enough, as the Cardinal could not erase an early deficit in an 80-64 defeat to Washington at Alaska Airlines Arena Thursday night.
Okpala collected 18 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, finishing 8-of-11 from the field after halftime. The forward posted his third straight 20-point game and his 10th 20-point performance of the season.
The Cardinal sophomore tried to rally a Stanford (8-9, 1-4 Pac-12) squad that fell behind early, after Washington (13-4, 4-0 Pac-12) used an 11-0 run to go ahead 18-8 midway through the first half. The Huskies led by as many as 13 in the opening half, taking a 37-24 advantage into the break.
Stanford tried to cut into the Huskies' lead early in the second half, connecting on its first six field goals after the break. Washington, however, continued to shoot the ball well, connecting on 55 percent of its field goals over the final 20 minutes.
Stanford was able to cut it to nine (53-44) on an Okpala jumper midway through the second period, but Washington responded with the next five points to extend its advantage.
An Isaac White three got Stanford within 10 with two minutes left, before the Huskies scored eight of the final 10 points of the game to for the 16-point win.
Sharma collected 11 of his 17 points in the opening half. He was forced to go to the bench early in the second half with his third foul. The senior was active on both ends for the Cardinal, highlighted by a steal and dunk on the other end with five minutes to go. He also pulled down eight rebounds in the contest.
Jaylen Nowell had 22 points to lead Washington in the victory.
Stanford heads to the eastern part of Washington to face Washington State Saturday at noon. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network, while the Stanford Cardinal Sports Network has the audio broadcast.
