STANFORD, Calif. – Lili Thompson scored 21 points, Erica McCall had 18 points and 10 rebounds and No. 15 Stanford beat No. 22 George Washington, 84-63, in its home opener at Maples Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.
Thompson made three of the Cardinal's nine 3-pointers and scored 20-plus for a second consecutive game. McCall recorded her third straight double-double to open the season. Karlie Samuelson hit four 3-pointers and finished with 17 points for Stanford (3-0), while Alanna Smith added 10 points.
The win was the Cardinal's largest over a top-25 opponent since beating No. 14 Penn State by 25 in the NCAA tournament on March 30, 2014.
Stanford is next in action on Monday night at 7 p.m. when it hosts Santa Clara. The Cardinal will be wearing Nike N7-inspired turquoise uniforms to honor Native American Heritage Month. Turquoise represents harmony, friendship and fellowship in Native American culture. Season tickets, mini plans and single-game seats are available by calling 800-STANFORD or visiting gostanford.com/tickets.
TURNING POINT » Stanford used a strong second quarter to win going away. Down four after the first, 19-15, the Cardinal outscored George Washington 31-11 in the period when Thompson, Samuelson, McCall and Smith combined to score 29. Jonquel Jones hit a 3-pointer for the Colonials with 6:12 until intermission, but Stanford closed the half on a 21-4 run to lead 46-30 at the break.
HAVE A FIRST HALF » Erica McCall and Karlie Samuelson were perfect in the first half, literally. The two combined to go 10-of-10 from the field for 24 points.
STAYING WITH IT » George Washington started 8-of-18 from the floor and was led by a 15-point, seven-rebound first quarter from Jonquel Jones, but Stanford's defense remained resolute. The Colonials missed 11 straight shots after that hot start and finished the game shooting just 29.4 percent. After those first 18 attempts, GW made just 17 of its last 67 (.253). Jones was impressive all afternoon, finishing with a game-high 27 points and 17 rebounds in 34 minutes.
LILI LIKES NOVEMBER » Lili Thompson, starting for the first time this season, put up 20 for the second straight game. Her 21-point outing featured 3-of-6 shooting from behind the arc and a perfect 6-of-6 on free throws. She also handed out six assists without turning the ball over once. Thompson, who earlier this week was named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top 30 has had seven 20-point performances in her career, with all but one coming in the month of November.
MACHINE » Stanford has played three games this season and Erica McCall has notched a double-double in each one. In the past decade, only Chiney Ogwumike has had a better start to a year for the Cardinal. Ogwumike had four straight double-doubles to start the 2013-14 campaign.
SEASON START » Stanford is 3-0 to start a season for the first time since 2011-12 when it opened with victories over No. 24 Texas (72-59), Gonzaga (76-61) and Old Dominion (97-48). The Cardinal has also won 17 consecutive home openers. Its last loss in such a game came to No. 24 Illinois on Nov. 19, 1998.
TWO WITH TEN » Erica McCall and Kaylee Johnson each pulled down 10 rebounds on Saturday. It's the first time Stanford has had two players reach double digits in rebounds since the aforementioned NCAA game against Penn State on March 30, 2014. That night, Chiney Oguwmike had 15 boards and Mikaela Ruef had 13.
