STANFORD, Calif. – With a new look and an updated attack, the Stanford women's basketball team utilized its speed and mobility to defeat Vanguard, 105-50, in exhibition action at Maples Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.
Lili Thompson led a quartet of Cardinal in double figures with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Starting posts Erica McCall and Kaylee Johnson each posted double-doubles, as the sophomore McCall went for 15 and 10 and the freshman Johnson tallied 12 points and 16 boards. Karlie Samuelson added 17 points off the bench in 19 minutes, was 5-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-6 from behind the arc.
From the outset, the sophomore Thompson set the tone and the accelerated pace. She scored 15 of Stanford's first 28 points all in the game's opening 12 minutes. And while her guard play carried the Cardinal early, McCall and Johnson closed the half in emphatic fashion.
McCall had her double-double in the first stanza and Johnson contributed eight points and 12 rebounds in her first taste of game action in a Stanford uniform. At the break, the three had combined for 40 of the Cardinal's 52 points and 23 of its 34 rebounds.
"I think our guards are very fast, very quick and set the tone," Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said after the game. "That's how we want to play. You don't have to pace yourself because one person can go hard and then another. I call it tag team. We can put some different people in because our bigs are very fast, too, and run the floor really well."
In the first go for Stanford's post-triangle offense, the Cardinal scored on 48 of 77 possessions and averaged 15 seconds per possession. As a team, Stanford shot 53.9 percent from the field (41-of-76) and the team's five starters – Amber Orrange, Lili Thompson, Taylor Greenfield, Kaylee Johnson and Erica McCall – were 27-of-47 (57.4 percent).
The efficient effort was on display midway through the second half, when Stanford went more than seven minutes without missing a shot. The 9-for-9 run from the floor, which started with 14:50 to go in the contest, was highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Karlie Samuelson and another from Alex Green.
"We have a lot of work to do," VanDerveer added on the new offense. "It's very early and it's very new, but I think people have bought in. It was a really good first game … (and) it's not a one-person show. We had four in double-figures and they're all going to get better. We are just scratching the surface of how good we can be."
Had a great time on the court with my teammates today! Thanks to everyone who came out. Also, thanks to #LaurenHill for inspiring us all.
— Lili Thompson (@Lili_Thompson) November 3, 2014
Stanford will have one more exhibition tune-up to get ready for the regular season when it hosts UC San Diego on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Like today, all youth (8th grade and under) are eligible to receive FREE admission to that game against the Tritons with advance registration through the following link. To receive voucher(s) for free youth admission, complete the form at the above mentioned URL and print out the confirmation email containing the voucher. Exchange the voucher (one per youth) on game day at the Maples Pavilion Ticket Office for one free general admission youth ticket. Additional adult tickets may be purchased at the time of exchange. Free youth admission is only valid with paid adult admission. Single-game reserved tickets cost $12 (upper) and $15 (lower), while general admission adult seats are $8 and $5 for seniors.