Following their tournament title in Cancun last weekend, the Cardinal returned to their winning ways in their first true away game of the season at Bakersfield. In front of a hostile crowd, Stanford continued its fiery defense, holding the Roadrunners to a meager 40 percent from the field and 25 percent from outside the perimeter.

Both teams initially started the game with sharp shooting, ending the first quarter tied at 20-20 despite a standout performance from veteran forward Erica McCall. The senior put up 10 points in addition to four rebounds and one assist in an astounding first quarter.

The rest of the team then came to the life to begin the second quarter. Within the first few minutes of play, sophomore guard Marta Sniezek passed a stolen ball toward the basket to fellow sophomore Alanna Smith, who sunk the transition layup, earning the foul and putting Stanford up six in the second.

Senior guard Karlie Samuelson put up the last points of the half when she sank two free throws at the two-minute mark, finishing the half with a 40-26 lead over the Roadrunners. The Cardinal’s defense also showed throughout that critical second quarter as Stanford held CSUB to only six points during all 10 minutes. Stanford ended the half shooting 50 percent (14-of-28) compared to CSUB’s 39.3 percent (11-of-28).

Stanford came out of halftime with the same intensity as before, throttling the Roadrunners’ defense and refusing to let the game enter competitiveness. With such a large margin heading late into the game, head coach Tara VanDerveer decided to play with younger rotations, ultimately allowing freshman forward Nadia Fingall to earn seven points and three rebounds in seven second-half minutes.

Last night’s win marks the fifth in a row for this surging team that heads back home to face UC Davis (4-1) on Sunday.

Contact Lorenzo Rosas at enzor9 ‘at’ stanford.edu and Sydney Shaw at sshaw17 ‘at’ stanford.edu.