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Stanford’s hot start helps the Cardinal take down Cal, 75-50, to even the season’s Battle of the Bay series

STANFORD, Calif. (Feb. 2, 2019) -- Stanford tops Cal 75-50.
STANFORD, Calif. (Feb. 2, 2019) — Stanford tops Cal 75-50.

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STANFORD, Calif. – No. 8 Stanford (18-3, 8-2 Pac-12) played aggressively early and wasted no time in dominating California 75-50 in the second game of the Battle of the Bay series between the teams Saturday afternoon at Maples Pavilion.

With two losses on their minds, one at Cal on Thursday and the other, a road loss at Utah on January 27, the Cardinal were in no mood to go into a three-game slide. In fact, the last time Stanford lost three games in a row within a season was during 2000-01 in a stretch against Tennessee, Purdue and Oklahoma.

“I liked this game a lot more than the other one,” Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer quipped postgame. “We were playing with a chip on our shoulder. We didn’t like what happened the last two games. We talked about learning from Thursday night and we did everything better.”

On Saturday, the Cardinal established the tone of the game at the outset as younger players started the action with a 7-0 run. Freshman forward Lacie Hull made the first two shots of the game with sophomore forward Maya Dodson following up with a layup.

Dodson recently returned to action for the Cardinal after missing the first eight games of the year with a left foot injury. She was a key factor in helping to limit the effectiveness of Cal’s All-American forward/center Kristine Anigwe who leads the nation in double-doubles.

“She’s not going to play against anybody better all year,” said VanDerveer when asked about Dodson’s matchup with Anigwe. “I thought she did really well….To be able to come out after sitting for a whole month, you know, and not playing, to step up to that challenge, it was impressive. I think we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg with her.”

Junior guard DiJonai Carrington took over the latter part of the period and led all scorers with seven points after the first ten minutes.

Cal junior guard/forward Jaelyn Brown ended the first quarter with an exciting moment for the Bears, hitting a shot from beyond the halfcourt mark as the buzzer went off. But after a review, the officials decided the incredible long-range jumper was no good.

Stanford shot 52.6 percent from the field and went 40 percent from beyond the arc in the first period. Cal, on the other hand, was 11 percent from the field (2-of-18) and 1-of-5 from the free throw line.

Five different Stanford players scored in the first quarter compared to just two from Cal. However, Anigwe grabbed eight rebounds. The Cardinal went into the second period with a 22-5 advantage.

Cal picked up the pace offensively in the second quarter, with a furious attempt to make up for the slow start, but they were still outscored by Stanford 15-12. The Cardinal went into the break with a 37-17 lead.

In Thursday’s game, Cal made a season-high 12 treys, going 40 percent from three-point land. However, in Saturday’s game, the treys were not in abundance. The Bears did not make their first one until 6:02 in the third quarter.

Stanford pulled away early in the quarter and finished with a 25-point lead heading into the last period, 56-31.

As with the rest of the game, the fourth quarter was an intense and physical affair with both teams jockeying for position in the paint. The teams scored 19 points each in the last period. There was never a point where it seemed Cal would overcome their double-digit deficit and come close to mounting a realistic comeback even with a 9-0 run midway through the fourth quarter. To make matters worse, Anigwe fouled out with 2:24 to go. She left the game with 20 points plus 20 rebounds. She is now one point shy of breaking Cal’s all-time scoring record which stands at 2,320.

“They played well and we weren’t ready,” Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said about the defeat. “We got that same team coming off a loss and we didn’t respond well enough.”

For Stanford, Carrington and sophomore guard Kiana Williams finished with 19 points and five rebounds each. Senior forward Alanna Smith added 16 points plus four rebounds. Dodson contributed nine points, four rebounds and three blocks.

Grad transfer Receé Caldwell was the only other Cal player in double figures. She scored 12 points.

Next weekend, Cal and Stanford will host the Pac-12 teams from Oregon with the first two games scheduled for Friday, Feb. 8. Cal hosts Oregon while Stanford faces Oregon State.

Notes

  • Washing Mystics assistant coach Marianne Stanley attended both games in the Battle of the Bay. Stanley was the co-coach of the Cardinal in 1996 when VanDerveer took the year off to coach the U.S. senior women’s national team to gold in the 1996 Summer Olympics.
  • Anigwe also leads the nation in rebounding with 15.6 rebounds per game. She is just 21 rebounds away from breaking the program record.
  • Anigwe became the first player in the nation this season to earn back-to-back 20-point, 20-rebound games. She had 25 points and 24 rebounds in Thursday’s game.

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