RECAP
STANFORD, Calif. -- Lili Thompson knew she would have more responsibility without Chiney Ogwumike to carry the load. The sophomore guard responded.
Thompson scored a career-high 26 points and No. 6 Stanford won its 14th consecutive season-opener, beating Boston College 96-63 on Friday night.
"The new offense means the floor is a little more open, more spread," Thompson said. "I have to knock down shots so we could open the post more."
Cardinal sophomore forward Erica McCall was the beneficiary of Thompson's accurate shooting. She added a career-high 16 points for the Cardinal, senior point guard Amber Orrange added 11 points, six assists and matched her career-high with nine rebounds.
"I put in a lot of work with my teammates over the summer to learn the offense," said McCall, who was given the nickname `Bird' by Ogwumike last year. "I'm getting more comfortable with it."
Emilee Dailey matched her career-high with 13 points to lead the Eagles, who were looking to beat their first top 10 opponent in nearly five years. Nicole Boudreau, starting her 63rd consecutive game, added 11 points, including making all three of her 3-point shots, and freshman Ashley Kelsick had 10.
"This is a fun game, an important game for us," Eagles' coach Erik Johnson said. "It turns out Stanford is still pretty good. They don't have the same superstars but their guards are explosive and relentless."
Stanford outscored the Eagles 27-8 through the first 10 minutes of the second half, with Thompson and McCall combining for 15 points, to take a commanding lead. The Cardinal led by 35 at one point.
"They were sticking with us and forcing us to do things we weren't comfortable doing," Boudreau said. "As a result, we got a little stagnant."
The Eagles made things interesting in the first half after Stanford opened a 9-point edge at 8:45.
Boston was 5 of 6 from long range, including three straight from Boudreau, over the next three minutes to pull even at 32.
The Cardinal eventually opened an 11-point lead en route to a 49-40 halftime advantage.
TIP-INS
Boston College: Dailey matched her career-high for made 3-pointers in her first four attempts of the first half. The Eagles were 9 of 16 from long range in the first half and missed all five tries in the second half.
Stanford: The Cardinal extended their home winning streak to 27 straight, third-longest active streak in the nation. Stanford is 109-2 at home since 2007-08. McCall and Thompson were a combined 16 of 24 from the field and Stanford shot just over 64 percent for the game.
UP NEXT
Boston College travels to the East Bay to meet St. Mary's (Calif.) on Sunday.
Stanford hosts top-ranked Connecticut on Monday night.
SHARPSHOOTERS
Stanford's 64.9 percent shooting was its fifth best performance in program history and best since the Cardinal set the school record with a 67.3 shooting percentage against Oregon State in 2010.
For Boston College, Kelsick, Dailey and Boudreau combined to shot 54.1 percent. The rest of the team was limited to 30.7 percent.
MORE NCAAW COVERAGE
