Aggies' head coach Jen Gross said that they viewed tonight's game as "an amazing opportunity to test ourselves against the very best."
Before play began, the announcer introduced Stanford as, "The number 1 team in the country!" and recited every one of Stanford's impressive team statistics.
That didn't daunt the Aggies, who tested the Cardinal with fierce trapping defense and fast precise offense, nor the 2,612 raucous fans who supported them with wild enthusiasm.
But the Cardinal's skill and strength and excellent game plan prevailed, and they won 87-38.
Two of the Cardinal Big Three were outstanding again tonight. Chiney tied her career-high scoring with 27 points – nine of them on 100% shooting from the free throw line. She added 13 rebounds (six offensive and seven defensive) for her fifth double-double of the season. She also blocked three shots and stole the ball once.
Jos supplied answers everywhere: eight points, seven rebounds, seven blocks (a career high and one short of the Stanford record), an assist and a steal.
The littlest Big Three, Amber, seemed a bit rattled by the Aggies' intense defense and turned the ball over six times. She got into foul trouble and played just 15 minutes. But she still had seven assists, six points and four rebounds.
Sara had her best game of the season in what is practically her home town – she's from El Dorado Hills, about 40 miles east of Davis. She scored 10 points, including two of six long ones, and had two rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Toni started and took Amber's place at the point for much of the evening, as well as scoring at a rate of 80%. She made all three of her three-point attempts and scored a total of eleven points.
Erica is still wearing a bandage/wrap on her right knee, but it didn't slow her down a bit tonight. The fast pace of the game appeared to fire her up! And that's a lot of energy! She scored seven points, grabbed nine rebounds, and deflected several Aggie passes and shots.
Taylor continues to shoot often and well. She attempted six shots and made three of them – two were from beyond the arc. She also contributed three reounds and a steal on offense.
Mikaela played hard, as always, with contributions that don't all show up in the box score. She tallied five rebounds, two points, an assist, two blocks and a steal.
Jasmine isn't contributing much to the box score yet, but her poise and performance improve with each game. She played for 15 minutes tonight and had two assists and four rebounds.
Denia got to play for a career-high three minutes tonight. One of the best things about sitting behind the Stanford bench is seeing how the Cardinal celebrate each other's achievements. Mikaela and Chiney went wild when Denia sank her first collegiate three-pointer. And when she sank her second one two minutes later, well ... !!!
Kiran also got more playing time than usual and used it well. She had two points and three rebounds in four minutes.
Tess played just 10 minutes tonight. Perhaps Tara felt that it wasn't fair to use her much against an opponent who was out-rebounded 62-24 – Tess got three of those.
Bonnie fell hard during the first half and grimaced in pain as she was helped off the court and into the locker room. She returned (to the bench) after the halftime break with a light brace on her right ankle. I wouldn't be surprised if she misses the Gonzaga game, but the injury didn't appear to be very serious.
It was certainly a fun evening for Cardinal fans. The team made field goals at a rate of 56% and three-pointers at a rate of 43%.
Here is the game recap: No. 1 Cardinal Hold UC Davis to 38 Points by Michael Wagaman (Associated Press)
The box score and play-by-play,
and a gallery of photos by Rich Pedroncelli (Associated Press)
