In their first game on the Farm this season, the No. 3 Stanford women’s basketball team (2-1) crushed the Cal Poly Mustangs (0-3) in a 86-51 victory.
Senior Chiney Ogwumike had a dominant showing as she led the Card with a career-high 36 points and 11 rebounds. Senior forward Mikaela Ruef also had a career night pulling down 14 boards.
The Cardinal got off to a rough start, with the Mustangs leading the Cardinal and forcing nine turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game. The dynamic guard duo of Jonae Ervin and Ariana Elegado led Cal Poly’s attack with 14 points and 13 points, respectively. In a solid performance, Molly Schlemer added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Mustangs.
Stanford pulled away midway through the first half, however, and never looked back. Once the Card got rolling, the Stanford women proved to be too much to handle and the game became a one-sided affair. After Ogwumike scored nine of the team’s first 11 points, the Cardinal raced to a 41-25 lead at halftime. The second leading scorer, Ruef chipped in with nine points.
Under the leadership of Ogwumike—the reigning Pac-12 Player of the year—Stanford overpowered the Mustangs throughout the second half, ending the game with a 57.1-percent field goal percentage.
Ogwumike told GoStanford it was “a good bounce back game finally getting to play in Maples. It seems like we haven’t been here for a while starting out on the road.”
The Cardinal’s quest to find young players to step up alongside Ogwumike and junior Amber Orrange continued Friday night. Freshman Lili Thompson earned her first start of the year at point guard, contributing six points and five assists in a high energy effort. Fellow freshmen Erica McCall, Kailee Johnson and Karlie Samuelson earned playing time as well, contributing eight, seven and six points, respectively, to the victory.
As the season progresses, similar to last year, it remains critical to find players who can take the scoring load off of the shoulders of Ogwumike and Orrange. With an impressive showing Friday, Ruef demonstrated that she plans to factor heavily into the team’s plans.
Head coach Tara VanDerveer emphasized the importance of finding the right combinations of players to help do just that.
“I call it shopping,” VanDerveer told GoStanford. “I’m shopping for players who can step up and make plays.”
All five players in the starting line-up scored at least six points. With multiple solid performances from young players, VanDerveer may be able to figure those combinations out sooner rather than later.
With the win, Stanford improves their all-time record against Cal Poly to 6-1. Friday’s contest was the first between the two schools since 1980. The game also moved VanDerveer one step closer to the 900-win milestone. Currently with 896 wins, she is on pace to become the 5th coach in women’s basketball history to reach 900 wins.
Next up, the Cardinal will look to improve on its winning ways as it takes on UC-Davis Sunday afternoon at Maples. As Stanford seeks to prove its No. 3 ranking, the Aggies (0-2) will be searching for their first win of the season.
Contact Lauren Lockett at llockett‘at’stanford.edu.