Stanford starts weekend with takedown of Arizona State and a milestone, Arizona up next
STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford (13-8, 7-2) maintained its second-place position in the Pac-12 with a Friday night 74-50 win over Arizona State (14-7, 5-4). The victory came with a milestone for senior guard Brittany McPhee who hit the 1,000-point career mark in the contest. She led the Cardinal with 24 points in an efficient performance making 9-of-11 field goals and hitting 5-of-6 of her free throws.
With the triumph over the Sun Devils, Stanford split the season series with ASU. The Cardinal lost on the road 73-66 to ASU on Jan. 6.
“I thought our team came out and was aggressive, focused, we rebounded well. We took care of the ball,” head coach Tara VanDerveer said of her team’s balanced performance with nine players scoring. She also commented that her team was determined to win at home and send a message to ASU, “no, not in our house.”
Stanford led wire to wire, with a quick 6-0 run started by a layup from McPhee. When ASU fell behind 8-2 nearly halfway through the quarter, the team called a timeout to attempt to regroup. The Sun Devils did manage to get within one point three times in the latter half of the period, but Stanford ended the quarter on a 4-0 run.
In the second quarter it was more of the same with the Cardinal executing an effective defensive strategy to limit ASU’s offense. Stanford outscored the Sun Devils 24-14 in the second period and went into the break with a 41-26 lead.
Arizona State performed better in the third period, outscoring Stanford by one point, 14-13. However, ASU’s chances of staging a comeback were dashed in the fourth quarter as they were outscored 20-10. The team’s head coach, Charli Turner Thorne, received a technical at 7:41 in the fourth quarter after verbalizing her frustration with the game to the officials as she walked far onto the court.
McPhee, Stanford’s leading scorer, notched her 1,000th point at 8:13 in the fourth quarter with a jumper. She came into the game needing just 14 points to reach the mark. She returned to play on Dec. 21 against Tennessee after missing nine games recovering from a right foot injury.
Junior guard Marta Sniezek added 13 points plus six assists for Stanford. VanDerveer praised her effort in leading the team.
“I thought Marta had a really outstanding game,” VanDerveer said. “She really controlled the flow of the game.”
Sophomore guard DiJonai Carrington also scored 13 in addition to pulling down eight rebounds.
Sophomore guard Robbi Ryan led the Sun Devils with 11 points. She was the only Arizona State player in double figures. ASU’s leading scorer Kianna Ibis only scored two points.
The contest marked the first of two games against the Pac-12’s Arizona schools this weekend for Stanford. While Arizona State dropped out of the Sport Tours International/Hoopfeed poll this week, they remained at No. 25 in the Associated Press poll. ASU was the ninth ranked team that the Cardinal faced so far this season.
Stanford turns its attention to Arizona (5-15, 1-8), the last place team in the conference standings. The Wildcats lost to California Friday night, 63-39. Stanford is 66-13 all-time against Arizona and has won 30 of the last 31 overall meetings in the series. The Cardinal beat Arizona 61-46 in a road contest on Jan. 5.
Former associate head coach Amy Tucker will be honored before the game against Arizona. She moved into an administrative role this season after 32 years on the Stanford bench.
Notes
- Stanford shot 66.7 percent from the field in the fourth quarter (8-of12). Nine players scored for the Cardinal.
- Stanford is now 60-16 all-time against Arizona State dating back to Jan. 5, 1979.
- The Cardinal’s 24-point win over Arizona State was its largest margin of victory over a ranked team in four seasons.
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