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Tuscon, AZ — The Arizona Wildcats stood no real chance Friday night, as the No. 24 Stanford Cardinal (9-6) handed the Wildcats (4-10) a 61-46 defeat.
Stanford arrived in Tucson ranked first in the Pac-12, coming off two big wins off of two Los Angeles schools and left Arizona with their third straight conference win. Arizona, however, has still yet to win a conference match-up.
The Cardinal got off to a fast start with a lot of support from the bench, outscoring the Wildcats 8-0. Stanford with their size and strength, out rebounded Arizona 15-8. At the end of the first, the more experienced Cardinal led Arizona 23-11.
In the second, Arizona still held the edge in rebounds (13-6) while the Wildcats were only outscored by only two. Arizona freshman Sam Thomas had two three-pointers, but couldn't keep Stamford from ending the half with an 8-0 run. Stanford rolled into halftime with a 35-21 lead.
This would be the narrative for the remainder of the game.
Both teams showed aggressiveness out of the gate, but Stanford (just like the first half) won the rebounding battle 10-7. The Cardinal withheld a strong push by the Wildcats to keep the lead at 51–37 going into the final frame.
Arizona, at the beginning of the fourth, missed 10 straight shots. Stanford's size and quicker play helped them maintain a continuous lead for all 40 minutes with great help from their bench. The Cardinal bench outscored Arizona’s 24-3 as they breezed along to a 61-46 win.
Alanna Smith and Kiana Williams led Stanford with 12 points apiece, while Lucia Alonso led Arizona with 15. Sam Thomas finished with 10 for the Wildcats, who dropped to 0-3 in conference play.