Fingall scores 20 to lead No. 5 Stanford past the Cougars

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Nadia Fingall had a season-high 20 points and six rebounds and No. 5 Stanford beat Washington State for the 66th consecutive time, 77-58 on Friday night.

Kiana Williams added 12 points for the Cardinal (12-1, 1-0 Pac-12), who have won two straight since their only loss of the season, at Texas on Dec. 22. Haley Jones had 10 points and seven rebounds.

Chanelle Molina scored a season-high 27 points for the Cougars (7-7, 0-2), who lost their third straight and fell to 0-66 all-time against the Cardinal.

Borislava Hristova scored 21 points, all in the first three quarters. She is eight points away from becoming Washington State’s all-time leading scorer.

Molina and Hristova were the only Washington State players to make field goals until Johanna Muzet hit a layup off a Stanford turnover with 3:05 left in the third quarter. Molina and Hristova were a combined 13 of 22 at the time, while the rest of the team was 0 for 14.

Molina and Hristova made 19 of the team’s 22 field goals. The Cougars shot 42.3% from the field, the best against Stanford this season.

Stanford, which never trailed, established a double-digit lead at the end of the first quarter and maintained it the rest of the way.

Anna Wilson sank a pair of free throws in the final seven seconds to give Stanford a 41-23 lead at halftime.

BIG PICTURE

Washington State: The smallest margin of victory in the series between the Cougars and Cardinal was the 2000 meeting at Stanford, a 78-73 decision. … Coach Kamie Ethridge is a victory short of 100 career wins. She’s currently at 99-71. … Chanelle Molina and Hristova are 1-2 in the Pac-12 in minutes played.

Stanford: Senior Kiana Williams has 179 3-pointers, 12 shy of Jennifer Azzi for 10th all-time. … Freshman Hannah Jump ranks second in the Pac-12 and 26th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.462). … Fingall set a career-high for 3-pointers with three in the first half. She’s reached double figures in scoring a season-high three straight games.

UP NEXT

Washington State: Plays at California on Sunday.

Stanford: Hosts Washington on Sunday.