Chiney Ogwumike attracts so much attention both on and off the court and deservedly so. Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer would like to see other players step up and help out.
Ogwumike had 28 points and 15 rebounds in helping No. 3 Stanford beat UC Davis 66-48 Sunday.
''We've been spoiled with Chiney,'' VanDerveer said. ''We need more help and more people doing it. We need to see what we can do to help her.''
Ogwumike, who missed her first two shots, recorded her fourth double-double of the year and has 62 for her career. The All-America senior had her way with the shorter Aggies. Stanford missed its first five shots, though the Aggies were only slightly more successful.
Amber Orrange added 10 points for the Cardinal (3-1), who beat the Aggies for the eighth straight time and even the series, dating to 1971, at 9-9.
VanDerveer continues to search for a supporting cast around Ogwumike and Orrange, inserting Erica McCall into the starting lineup for the first time. McCall became the third freshman to get a start. Karlie Samuelson, the younger sister of junior Bonnie Samuelson, may become the fourth. She was the first off the bench and played 33 minutes.
''She did a great job defensively and we can play her at the 2 or 3,'' VanDerveer said. ''Whoever gets the job done, I don't know who it is, we need more help.''
Karlie Samuelson had eight points and six assists and defended Aggies' top scorer Sydnee Fipps, who had 13 of her 14 points for the Aggies (0-3) in the first half.
Fipps was 5 of 9 from the field in the first half and 0 of 5 in the second half.
''I was trying to take away her shot and drive,'' Samuelson said. ''When she drove, I had a lot of help from my team. When she drove to the basket, Chiney was always there to help.''
UC Davis coach Jennifer Gross saw the same thing.
''They clogged up the paint on her drives,'' she said. ''Sydnee usually does a good job of finding the open player but we needed her to get us going. They keyed on her a little more.''
VanDerveer, in her 35th season and 28th at Stanford, earned her 897th career win, three shy of becoming the fifth women's basketball coach to record at least 900 victories.
''We have a lot of young players on a steep learning curve who, frankly, don't know what they are doing,'' VanDerveer said. ''Those are players who, in five months, will help us more.''
Stanford led 34-20 at the half.
It was tied at 6 when the Cardinal scored 11 unanswered points and continued to pull away.
The Cardinal scored 11 points as a result of 11 Aggies turnovers in the first half.
''We try to focus on the improvement,'' Gross said. ''Every game has provided a different challenge. We started with a difficult schedule and we feel like we can get some momentum.''
The Aggies will travel to top-ranked UConn in early December.
UC Davis' Brianna Salvatore made her second start since returning from last year's season-ending injury. She hit both of her 3-point attempts and is 6 of 7 from long range for her career.
Kelsey Harris had nine points and seven rebounds for the Aggies while Mikaela Ruef had eight points and eight rebounds for the Cardinal.
