With a decisive win against the CSUN Matadors in the books, No. 11 Stanford women’s basketball (3-1) will now fly south to play in the Cancun Challenge. The Cardinal face Northeastern (2-2), Wichita State (1-2)  and Purdue (1-3) on consecutive days starting on Thanksgiving.     

In its last game, Stanford showed a well-rounded style of play. Eleven players contributed points in the win, and half of all Cardinal points came off the bench. The team shot 33-of-69, much improved from its Nov. 18 loss to Gonzaga.  

Stanford also improved defensively against the Matadors. The Cardinal defense held CSUN to 15.8 percent three-point shooting and outrebounded their opponent 52-29.  Freshman forward Nadia Fingall, sophomore forward Alanna Smith and junior forward Kaylee Johnson each recorded seven rebounds and contributed to aggressive play in the paint, where Stanford scored 52 of its 88 points.

This tournament in Cancun will be another opportunity for Stanford to compete with non-conference opponents. The team will wait for Pac-12 matchups to start on Dec. 30.  

The Cardinal will take on teams in Cancun, Mexico, this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Matches against Northeastern and Wichita State start at 8 a.m. PT, while the Saturday match against Purdue begins at 10:30 a.m. All matches are available on Triple Crown Sports.   

Contact Laura Anderson at lauraand ‘at’ stanford.edu.