Stanford handles Cal Poly, 81-45
STANFORD, Calif. – The Stanford Cardinal (6-1) continued their home dominance, by taming the Cal Poly Mustangs (3-4) 81-45, on a cool Monday Night on the Farm.
The Cardinal were on a mission to dominate their opponent from wire to wire. Sophomore forward Nunu Agara began the task by converting the first basket of the game on a jumper in the paint, less than 30 seconds into the contest. The home team added seven consecutive additional points to that original bucket, to go on a 9-0 run.
Cal Poly did respond immediately to the Cardinal ambush. They went on a 5-0 run of their own, with one player. Senior guard Sidney Richards scored five of the team’s seven points during that push.
After 10 minutes of action, Stanford led by eight, 15-7. Stanford’s defense caused their visitors to shoot a putrid 17% overall and from behind the arc. They also forced seven turnovers.
In the second quarter, the Mustangs did a lot better, despite being down as much as 11 points. They scored the same number of points as Stanford (18) while shooting 57% from the floor, and 50% from beyond the three-point line.
At intermission, the Cardinal held an eight-point lead, 33-25. One player scored at least 10 points from both teams. Agara contributed 11 points, three rebounds, and a blocked shot during the first 20 minutes of the battle. Richards’ seven points also led the Mustangs’ scoring tally at the half.
“Honestly, it did not look like Stanford basketball out there for a stretch,” said Cardinal head coach Kate Paye. “You know, just kind of undisciplined, poor shot selection, kind of taking shortcuts, not playing together. And you know, again, credit to our team you know, that we regrouped at half time and really kind of, what I call, got it together….We very easily could have put ourselves in a hole coming out playing like that. And hopefully, we learn a lesson from that.”
In the second half, Stanford began its onslaught by ballooning their lead to 33 points in the third quarter, and 39 points in the final stanza. During the third segment of the contest, the home team went on a 13-0 run and also took total control of the game. However, Cal Poly still managed to score 16 points in the quarter, but unfortunately for them, the Cardinal put up 28 points on the scoreboard. At the 30-minute juncture of the game, Stanford led by 20, 61-41.
The Cardinal defense tightened up again in the 10-minute block of time, as the Mustangs were only able to muster up four points in the 4th quarter, while Stanford added 20 points to their impressive total. Cal Poly shot, and abysmal 6% (1-16) from the floor and 0-6 from three.
After all the dust had cleared 40 minutes later, Stanford had won by a 36-point margin with five players with double-digit scoring. Brooke Demetre led the way with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Agara added 15 points and 6 rebounds, while Tess Heal (14) and Mary Ashley Stevenson (10) also contributed.
Cal Poly players Annika Shah and Mary Carter had 12 points each.
Stanford will next be in action on November 29 at Maples, hosting UC San Diego, at 1:00 p.m. PT on the ACC Network. Cal Poly heads back home to host UC Davis on Thursday, December 5 at 6:00 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
