Women's basketball: Stanford escapes Cal Baptist; USF falls to Mississippi State

Nadia Fingall scored 18 points, Kiana Williams had 15 and Lexie Hull had 13 points and 10 rebounds as No. 3 Stanford held off Cal Baptist 83-78 on Thursday night at the Greater Victoria Invitational in Victoria, British Columbia.

The Cardinal (6-0) built a big lead before the Lancers (7-1) rallied over the final 20 minutes with sharp 3-point shooting.

Ane Olaeta led Cal Baptist with 18 points, Sydney Palma added 17 - while going 4 for 6 from 3-point territory - and Tiena Afu had 14 points.

CBU converted 17 of 40 3-point attempts while the Cardinal were good on just 4 of 23.

The Lancers led by eight midway through the first quarter, but the Cardinal clawed back and took off, turning a 23-21 deficit after the first quarter into a 46-33 halftime lead. Keana Williams capped Stanford's first-half scoring after stealing the ball from Olaeta while she looked to coach Jarrod Olson for instructions from the sidelines.

The Cardinal stretched their advantage to 59-38 early in the third quarter. Just when it looked like the game was over, the Lancers connected on seven 3s in the third quarter and kept hitting more in the fourth.

CBU pulled within 71-70 with just over six minutes left and stayed close, but the Cardinal managed to control the Lancers' outside shooting down the stretch.

No. 10 Mississippi St. 73, San Francisco 38

Jordan Danberry had 17 points and four rebounds and No. 10 Mississippi State survived an early scare to thump San Francisco in the opening game for both teams in the Greater Victoria Invitational.

The Dons (2-4) kept it close in the first quarter and for much of the second, but were no match for the Bulldogs (7-0) in the final 20 minutes.

“It is early in the season, but it's always good to stay undefeated,” Danberry said.

Andra Espinoza-Hunte added 12 points for Mississippi State, and Chloe Bibby had 10.

Lucie Hoskova led San Francisco (2-4) with 14 points as the Dons were forced to rely on outside shooting while Mississippi State dominated the glass defensively.

“In the first quarter, our defense was so good, so I think that was the biggest difference, and then we just dropped off after that,” Hoskova said.

No other San Francisco scorers reached double figures.

“They had a good plan of attack for us, and I thought we adjusted really well based on how well we shot the ball,” Bulldogs coach Vic Shaefer said. “Basically, we were on the road.”

Mississippi State was looking for a strong effort after almost being upset by unranked Marquette on Monday in a game in which the lead changed hands 19 times. The Bulldogs shot 66.7% Thursday after connecting on just 38.7% of their field goals against Marquette.

The Dons came out wanting to deliver a better effort than the one provided Friday in a 79-67 road loss to UC Davis. And, they did for a while.

San Francisco overcame a slow start to forge a 16-16 tie after the opening quarter. But strong defensive play late in the second quarter helped the Bulldogs secure the win after they were in danger of squandering a nine-point lead.