Nov 29, 2001

Box Score

Kelley Suminski and Bethany Donaphin moved off the bench and into Stanford's game plan.

Suminski, a freshman, scored a season-high 23 points to lead No. 7 Stanford to a 103-70 victory over San Francisco on Wednesday night.

Donaphin added 22 points and 10 rebounds, and tied a school record with six blocked shots as the Cardinal (6-0) continued their best start since opening the 1996-97 season with nine victories.

Suminski and Donaphin started the game on the bench.

"I like people who can come off the bench and do a good job," Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. "But if they don't start, they'll come in pretty quick."

Stanford survived a sluggish first half, in which the Lady Dons closed within a point on two free throws by Toni Russell with 4:13 left.

Suminski and Donaphin sparked the Cardinal in the second-half, combining for 27 points and nearly matching San Francisco's total of 32.

Suminski was 5-of-5 from 3-point range in the final 20 minutes.

"People were setting me with open shots and I was hitting them," said Suminski, 14-of-21 from 3-point range this season. "I really felt the energy the team was creating."

Alicia Hernandez scored 16 points to lead San Francisco (0-3).

Nicole Powell had 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Lindsey Yamasaki scored 16 points for the Cardinal.

"When you're hot, you're hot. I felt comfortable," said Donaphin. "I wanted to give more to the team because I didn't feel like I was contributing enough."

Celeste Farmer had 13 points for USF. Melanie Turner and Lisa Whiteside each added 12.

"There was a point they started hitting their 3s and getting some momentum," Turner said. "We didn't match it on our side. They're a great team and they did a great job."

Stanford, which has beaten its first six opponents by an average of 20.4 points, won its 12th straight at home against nonconference teams.

The Lady Dons, who lost to Stanford for the 10th straight time, have not beaten a ranked team in their last four attempts.

"We kept it close in the first half," San Francisco coach Mary Hile said. "I thought the game opened up when we were in a zone and they got a couple of 3-pointers."

Stanford reeled off 17 unanswered points in a five-minute span to take a 76-57 lead with 9:30 remaining. Suminski hit two 3-pointers in the run.

Stanford led 43-38 at halftime.