Starbird-Led Stanford Pummels Bears

Kate Starbird scored 18 points and Vanessa Nygaard had 17 as No. 3 Stanford overpowered California 82-50 Friday night for its 43rd straight win over a Pac-10 opponent.

The Cardinal (28-1, 16-0 Pac-10), who substituted freely throughout the second half, had five players score in double figures in sending Cal (6-19, 2-14) to its 11th straight loss.

Stanford, which has won 19 straight since its only loss of the season (83-66 at No. 2 Old Dominion on Dec. 17), outshot Cal from the floor 42 percent to 35 percent.

Jamila Wideman added 13 points and Olympia Scott and Christina Batastini had 10 points apiece.

The defeat for Cal was still an improvement over the Golden Bears’ school-record, 51-point loss to the Cardinal on Jan. 31.

Patrycja Czepiec, Cal’s leading scorer, was held to three points in the first half, when Stanford seized control. She finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds but had a game-high eight turnovers. Cal overall had 26 giveaways to just 12 for Stanford.

No other Cal player scored in double figures. Jennie Leander and Marie Folsom each had eight.

Down by 22 at the break, Cal lost more ground when Stanford started the second half with a 9-2 burst.

Stanford opened the game with a 29-6 run, getting 11 points from Starbird, including two 3-pointers, en route to a 39-17 halftime lead over cold-shooting Cal.

The Bears made only seven of their 25 first-half shots (28 percent) and were even worse from 3-point range, making one of nine in that span.

Both Stanford and Cal finish the regular season with road games next week against the Arizona schools.

The contest marked the final women’s basketball game at Harmon Gym before the arena undergoes extensive renovation and expansion. A crowd of 4,908 turned out.