Cal Poly women’s basketball drops season opener to No. 10/11 Stanford

The Cal Poly women’s basketball team gave No. 10/11 Stanford a fight early on in Friday night’s action at Maples Pavilion, but fell 83-55 in the season opener for both squads.

The Mustangs cut Stanford’s lead to 25-23 midway through the second quarter before the Cardinal answered with a 12-0 run on the way to a 38-27 halftime advantage. Stanford scored the first seven points of the third quarter before Cal Poly junior Lynn Leaupepe converted a put-back to make it 45-29.

Stanford — which made an Elite Eight run during its 29th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance a year ago — ended the third up 61-41.

Mustangs senior forward Hannah Gilbert, a preseason All-Big West Conference honoree, finished with a game-high 17 points. Also with six rebounds, she now has 480 for her career — 28 boards away from joining the top 10 in school history.

Junior guard Gabby Grupalo and Leaupepe each were next with 11 points for the Mustangs. Leaupepe also secured a game-best 10 rebounds, earning her fourth career double-double.

Highlighted by two apiece for Grupalo, Lovely and Gilbert, Cal Poly had a 9-6 edge in steals on the evening. Roberson finished with 16 points, while All-Pac-12 senior forward Erica McCall added14 for Stanford.

The Mustangs will continue their road trip by heading to Sacramento State for a 2 p.m. tipoff Sunday. The home opener will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 18 against Northern Arizona.

This story was originally published November 11, 2016 at 10:19 PM with the headline "Cal Poly women’s basketball drops season opener to No. 10/11 Stanford."