Fifteenth-ranked Stanford women’s basketball (8-2) demolished the Ivy League’s Cornell Big Red (5-5) on Saturday afternoon with a 93-38 performance in which all 14 players saw game time and 12 of them scored.
Entering the game today after a key victory against then-No. 14 Tennessee, the Cardinal continued their high while outperforming Cornell in every facet of the game, jumping out to a 27-6 first-quarter lead by shooting lights-out from beyond the arc. In addition to the success from the field, Stanford physically controlled the low post against Cornell’s frontcourt, earning a 54-28 rebound advantage in total.
Ultimately, Cornell simply couldn’t adjust to the versatile Stanford offense that attacked it from all sides. The Cardinal shot 31-of-63, just under 50 percent, from the field and opened the game 5-of-5 to take an early lead. While Stanford maintained significant advantages throughout the game, the 20 accumulated assists from Stanford, generated by quick and precise ball movement, became the true highlight from the game.
Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer credited this unselfishness as the main point of the win against Cornell.
“We are really trying to emphasize people moving the ball and getting a better shot, passing more,” she said. “Getting 20 assists was real big for us.”
However, the statistics do not do justice to the all-out destruction that Cornell endured. While scoring only 9 points throughout the game, junior guard Briana Roberson facilitated the Stanford offense and provided a momentous three early on. Furthermore, Stanford continued to rely on its star junior forward Erica McCall, who co-led the Stanford offense, alongside freshman Alanna Smith, who had 12 points.
Yet among the four Cardinal players in double figures, the night belonged to sophomore forward Kaylee Johnson, who came off the bench to record her first double-double of the season, scoring 10 points and earning 11 rebounds on the day. In addition to the double-double, she went a perfect 4-of-4 from the field and dished 3 assists and accumulated 3 blocks.
“Kaylee was a terror on the boards; she got a double-double, which we are excited about,” VanDerveer said. “She’s coming off a big game against Tennessee, and it’s great to see her follow that up with playing aggressive and playing tough.”
Cornell really didn’t show any life until the third quarter, when it scored 15 points, the most of any quarter of the game for the Big Red. Cornell junior forward Nia Marshall, who was coming off a season-high 21-point game against Fairfield, was held to only 8 points and 4 rebounds by the quick man-to-man defense employed by the Cardinal.
Saturday’s matchup was the second game of a four-game homestand for the Cardinal, who will be facing Cal State University Bakersfield this Tuesday at 2 p.m. before the week-long Christmas break.
Even with a blowout in the rearview mirror, VanDerveer wants to make sure that the team doesn’t lose any intensity heading into its later matchups.
“I don’t think that our team will ever think that we can just show up and play,” she said. “And we didn’t. We came out and played hard today and we need to come out and play hard on Tuesday.”
Contact Lorenzo Rosas at enzor9 ‘at’ stanford.edu.