Stanford completes weekend with 79-42 rout of Arizona, team alumnae and fans honor Amy Tucker

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STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford Cardinal (14-8, 8-2) are still undefeated (6-0) at home in Pac-12 conference play, after taming the Arizona Wildcats 79-42 inside cozy Maples Pavilion Sunday evening.

“There’s probably a comfort level [at home],” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said, “but I think this is a challenge for our team to be road warriors and get ready for whatever team we’re playing with confidence in our ability to be successful anywhere we play,”

The Cardinal led from opening tap to final horn, including starting off the game with seven threes in the first quarter (22-10), which constituted all of their field goals within the initial 10 minutes of play.

The onslaught got worse, as Stanford’s lead ballooned to as much as 43 points in the fourth quarter. The winning margin was by a whopping 37. The Cardinal defense also held the Arizona (5-16, 1-9) to slightly less than 28 percent shooting. Stanford stole the ball nine times and led in rebounds and assists by double digits.

Stanford senior guard Brittany McPhee and junior forward Alanna Smith tallied 15 points each and made three treys apiece, while shooting 63 percent and 75 percent from the field, respectively.

The freshman duo of guard Kiana Williams and forward Maya Dodson contributed in double digits as well. Williams had 11 points and a career high seven assists while Dodson added 10 points and five rebounds.

“Everyone has been playing well and contributing,” Williams said of her teammates. “I think the overall confidence we have is going to help us on the road next weekend.”

Dodson described the team’s stifling defense.

“We did a great job switching and getting on the glass and just working hard on every possession to make sure that every shot is hard for them.”

Arizona senior guard JaLea Bennett led the team in scoring with 11 points and seven rebounds. Freshman guard Marlee Kyle chipped in 10 points. Junior forward and Bay Area native (Eastside College Prep, San Francisco) Destiny Graham added nine points and six rebounds.

Cardinal legend and 1990 national champion, Sonja Henning, made a rare appearance in Maples as part of a pregame ceremony, honoring Stanford former associate head coach, Amy Tucker, who was on the bench for 32 seasons.

The win over Arizona concluded a weekend of two wins, the first over Arizona State, in which the Cardinal never trailed.

Stanford heads north to the Beaver State to take on Oregon State on Feb. 2 and the Oregon Ducks on Feb. 4. Arizona travels back to Tucson to host Washington State on Feb. 2, and Washington on Feb. 4.