No. 2 Stanford pushes pace in 2nd half for 93-69 win vs FGCU

By KALANI TAKASE
Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) — Haley Jones had 24 points and 14 rebounds to help No. 2 Stanford pull away from Florida Gulf Coast 93-69 on Friday in the first round of the Rainbow Wahine Showdown.

The Cardinal (6-1) got back in the win column five days after losing to top-ranked South Carolina. Jones had 14 points by halftime and finished 12-of-18 shooting from the field. She also had three assists and a steal.

Stanford shot 52.1% overall was 13 of 16 from the free-throw line. The Cardinal led just 41-37 at halftime.

Tishara Morehouse paced the Eagles (4-1) with 26 points. Uju Ezeudu had 10 of her 13 points in the first half.

BIG PICTURE

FGCU: The Eagles have led the nation in 3-pointers made per game in four of the last five years. Its average of 11.5 made 3-pointers per game entering Friday ranked second in the country and they finished 13 of 46 attempts from beyond the arc.

Stanford: The Cardinal committed two costly and uncharacteristic end-of-game mistakes against South Carolina last weekend. Stanford finished strong this time, outscoring the Eagles in the final quarter 32-16.

UP NEXT

FGCU: Plays tournament-host Hawaii on Saturday. It will be the second meeting between the teams in eight days; the Eagles won 65-45 on Nov. 18.

Stanford: Faces Grambling State on Saturday for just the second time in program history. The Cardinal won 82-43 on March 16, 1996.

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AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25