In a long, arduous conference season, consistency is rare, but improvement is even more difficult to come by. Nevertheless, No. 6 Stanford (20-2, 9-1 Pac-12) has defied the odds and held its opponent below 50 points for the third consecutive game, while not permitting a single 3-pointer. In doing so, the Cardinal secured a 71-49 victory over Washington State (10-12, 3-7 Pac-12) for the second time this season and 67th consecutive time in program history.
The Cougars’ Chanelle Molina and Borislava Hristova combined for 48 points against Stanford earlier this season. On Sunday, the defense of sophomore guards Lacie and Lexie Hull, among others, limited the pair of offensive juggernauts to a combined 25 points on 9-of-31 shooting. Jovana Subasic was the only consistent offensive weapon for Washington State with 12 points on 6-of-11 from the field.
Meanwhile, Stanford shot 34.8% from beyond the arc — perfectly in line with the team’s 34.9% season average — including three from freshman forward Ashten Prechtel, who set career highs with 19 points and 14 rebounds. Lexie Hull and senior forward Nadia Fingall each drained a couple triples of their own to go along with nine and eight rebounds, respectively. The pair combine for a total 175 defensive rebounds on the season; Lexie Hull leads with 103 to her name, while Fingall has snagged 72.
As usual, junior guard Kiana Williams was crucial in the wire-to-wire victory, jumpstarting the offense with five assists, no turnovers and 17 points in 35 minutes. Lexie Hull added 16 points to round out the trio of double digit scorers.
Although each team took 65 shots, Stanford converted on nine more than Washington State and held a 10-rebound margin. The chasm between the two sides was evident as early as the first quarter, when the Cardinal jumped out to a 23-8 lead in Beasley Coliseum.
By the final whistle, junior forward Alyssa Jerome had made her return from injury and senior guard Mikaela Brewer recorded her first points of the campaign on a layup with just under a minute of action left in the contest. Washington State, playing without starter Ula Motuga, had little answer for the Cardinal on either end of the court.
Stanford will now head home to host the Los Angeles schools. First up on Friday is No. 8 UCLA, coming off a split series in Arizona. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. PT at Maples Pavilion.
Contact Daniel Martinez-Krams at danielmk ‘at’ stanford.edu.