BOSTON – Boston College had a harsh welcome to the new season.
The Eagles kept up with No. 3 Stanford and even led for much of the first 10 minutes, then saw firsthand why Cardinal senior Chiney Ogwumike was a unanimous pick for the AP preseason All-America team.
Ogwumike scored 30 and pulled down 14 rebounds and point guard Amber Orrange nearly had a triple-double for Stanford in an 83-71 win over Boston College on Saturday.
The Cardinal quickly turned a small deficit into a giant lead with a 28-0 run late in the first half and held a 20-point halftime lead that was too much for the Eagles to overcome, even with a much stronger second half.
"Stanford is a very good team and you can't get yourself down 20 and expect to win the game," BC coach Erik Johnson said. "The reality is had we not got ourselves in that hole we are good enough to play with anybody."
Orrange had 19 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, just missing a triple-double.
Bonnie Samuelson scored 15 for the Cardinal, who gave coach Tara VanDerveer her 895th career victory.
Kristen Doherty had 16 points and Shayra Brown scored 10 for the Eagles, who took an 18-13 lead midway through the first half and then didn't score again for more than 10 minutes.
Boston College shot 52 percent in the second half and outscored Stanford by eight points after the break, but Stanford's 44-24 halftime lead was just too big.
"I thought we came out with great energy and got Stanford back on their heels a little bit," Johnson said. "But it turns out they have a Hall of Fame coach and a Player of the Year candidate who proved today how good she was. They made great adjustments and unfortunately the second part of the first half was devastating to us and we just did not adjust quick enough."
Mikaela Ruef pulled down 10 rebounds as Stanford dominated inside and finished with 44 rebounds while holding Boston College to 26.
Stanford travels to face No. 1 Connecticut on Monday.
Midway through the first half, the Cardinal overwhelmed the Eagles with the combination of Ogwumike inside and Orrange from wherever she took a shot. Orrange made 5 of 6 shots, hitting both attempts from 3-point range. Orrange and Ogwumike led the Cardinal with 13 point at intermission.
Brown gave BC an 18-13 lead on a jumper, then Stanford took control.
Orrange hit a jumper to pull the Cardinal within 18-17, then made a 3-pointer to give Stanford a 20-18 lead.
The Cardinal pulled away as the Eagles missed shots and the ensuing rebounds. The Cardinal defense didn't allow a point after Brown's jumper with 11:29 left in the half until Emilee Daley's 3-pointer at 1:08.
Stanford struggled at the foul line, making 11 of 19 foul shots in the first 20 minutes. However, the Eagles only went to the line for a pair of attempts.
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