This week, No. 10 Stanford women’s basketball (15-3, 5-1) returns home to host Arizona (11-6, 2-4) on Friday and No. 18 Arizona State (13-4, 4-2) on Sunday.
Stanford is currently one of the five teams in the NCAA in the top 20 in both made field goal percentage and allowed field goal percentage, as the team made 45 percent of its attempts from distance in its past six games. The Cardinal have won 22 games in a row when shooting more than 40 percent.
Stanford is 64-13 all time against Arizona and has won 28 of the 29 past confrontations. Stanford outscored Arizona by 22 points on average since March 2004.
This season, the Cardinal traveled to Arizona on New Year’s Day 2017 and scorched the Wildcats 77-55. During the game, seniors Erica McCall and Karlie Samuelson each scored 19 points, while McCall grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds to record a double-double. Overall, the Cardinal showcased a very balanced game, recording 21 assists on 27 made baskets.
While the Cardinal’s all-time record against the Sun Devils is 58-15, Arizona State has outscored Stanford in four of the past six contests. The Cardinal nevertheless managed to get a win on the road this season in their conference season opener in December. During this last contest, the Cardinal beat the Sun Devils 64-57, thanks to six free-throws made late in the fourth quarter.
Samuelson scored 16, while McCall recorded her sixth double-double of the season. Stanford will need to improve its defensive performance on Sunday, though, as it was out-rebounded 42-31 and outscored 21-8 on second-chance points.
The Cardinal will take on Arizona at 7 p.m. on Friday and Arizona State 3 p.m. on Sunday. Both games will be streamed on Pac-12 Networks.
Contact Alexandre Bucquet at [email protected].