Brooke Demetre leads Stanford women's basketball past Cal Poly

Now sitting at 6-1, the Cardinal have started to get on a roll again.

Jan 29, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Brooke Demetre (21) controls the ball against the Oregon Ducks during the fourth quarter at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

Monday night marked another dominant outing for the Stanford Cardinal (6-1) who returned to action at Maples Pavilion for a matchup against Cal Poly. Taking home the 81-45 win, the Cardinal were able to go home with a convincing victory, continuing to put that loss to Indiana in the rearview mirror. And while it was a good night all around for the three-time national champions, a career night from Brooke Demetre was the catalyst for yet another big win.

Tying a career high of 17 points, Demetre was crucial in helping the Cardinal turn it up a notch in the second half. After only being up 33-25 at the break, her team-leading 12 second half points were a big reason why Stanford outscored Cal Poly 48-20 in the second half of the game. The Cardinal ended the game on a 31-10 run and despite going on a scoring drought for the last 3:30 minutes of the game, they started the fourth quarter with a 20-1 run.

Stanford only went 6-for-21 on three point shooting, but it was Demetre who was on fire from behind the arc, leading the team with three three pointers made, including in the opening minutes of the ball game when she converted from distance to get the Cardinal an early 5-0 lead.

Picking up right where we left off 🎯🔥@BrookeDemetre #GoStanford | 📺 ACCNX pic.twitter.com/YcnzUdUHFJ

— Stanford WBB 🌲🏀 (@StanfordWBB) November 26, 2024

Demetre also had three assists while defensively, she recorded seven rebounds and was dominant in defending the paint all game long. So far this season, she is averaging 10.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and two assists while shooting 60% from the field which are all career highs. Coming off the bench for her first three seasons, Demetre has become a fixture to the starting lineup night in and night out and has evolved into a key leader for the program this year.

As a team, the Cardinal attacked the basket more in this game than they normally have. Coming into the game as one of the nation’s best three point shooting teams, they instead were more effective at scoring the paint (42 points in the paint).

Aside from Demetre’s 17-point game, other scoring leaders included Nunu Agara (15 points), Tess Heal (14 points), Elena Bosgana (10 points) and Mary Ashley Stevenson (10 points). Scoreless in the first half, Stevenson scored all of her points in the second half as she went 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-3 at the free throw line. Heal drew six fouls and went 5-for-5 at the line while shooting 4-for-5 from the field. She also hit a big three late in the game while being fouled, leading to a four point play.

Converting only 42% of their shots in the first half, the Cardinal shot 18-for-31 in the second half while also making 9-of-13 shots in the fourth quarter, including a time frame when they made eight in a row that led to an 18-0 run. 

Now on a two-game winning streak, the Cardinal will continue their homestand on Black Friday when they host UC San Diego for an early game. Tip off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (PT) and will air on ACC Network Extra.