Game one is won

The Stanford women’s basketball team opened its regular season with a decisive 83-55 win over Cal Poly in Maples on Nov. 11.

Except for the very first few minutes, Cal Poly never led. The closest the Mustangs got after that came late in the second quarter, when they trailed 25-23. That’s when junior guard Brittany McPhee knocked in two consecutive baskets to put the Cardinal ahead 29-23. There was no looking back after that.

The score was 38-27 at the half and 61-41 after the third quarter.

Bri led all Cardinal players with 16 points

Bri leads the way in scoring

Senior guard Briana Roberson was the night’s star, compiling 16 points, including four 3’s, to lead the team.

Also contributing to the team’s eight 3’s were senior guard Karlie Samuelson and freshman guard Mikaela Brewer with two each. Sharpshooter Karlie’s first 3 came late in the second quarter, a good sign for a player who had been cleared to play only a few days earlier after recovering from a hairline fracture in her left forearm.

She also was the first player off the bench, entering the game to loud applause about halfway through the first half. She finished the game with 10 points plus two assists and a steal in 19 minutes.

Besides Bri and Karlie, the other three players in double figures were senior forward Erica “Bird” McCall with 14, junior forward Kaylee Johnson with 11 and Brittany with 10.

Bird, Kaylee, Brittany, Bri and sophomore guard Marta Sniezek started the game. By the time it was over, all 12 available players saw action and contributed in some way. Freshman guard Anna Wilson has yet to be cleared.

Mikaela on her way toward making both of her 3's

Freshmen show their mettle

Fans were especially pleased at the other three freshmen’s contributions. Besides Mikaela’s 6 points, forward Nadia Fingall chipped in with 6 points, while guard DiJonai Carrington had 5. Moreover, Nadia had two blocks, and Di had one steal. In all, the freshmen scored 17 points, slightly more than 20 percent of the team’s total.

With everyone making at least two, the team had 45 rebounds, led by Kaylee and sophomore forward Alanna Smith with eight each. The team also had 21 assists, including 10 from Marta.

The 2,684 fans were joined by the band, Tree, Dollies and cheerleaders. The game opened with a presentation of colors by a Navy contingent in honor of Veterans Day.

Alexa talks about trip to India

Sophomore guard Alexa Romano was the featured player, speaking in a video about her experiences with a Stanford-Duke program in India during the summer. She also was featured in This or That questions with such queries as whether she liked pie or cake, or pancakes or waffles.

Although there were many bright spots for the team, there also were areas for improvement, such as free throws, only 7 of 15, or 46.7 percent; and turnovers, 16.

Next up is Texas at 5 p.m. Nov. 14 at Maples.