Lexie Hull scores 21 to lead No. 3 Stanford past Buffalo,

STANFORD, Calif. -- Ashten Prechtel didn’t quite know what to expect when she arrived at Stanford. She continues to show she belongs.

Prechtel scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds, Lexie Hull added 21 points, her third 20-plus game, and No. 3 Stanford beat Buffalo 88-69 on Sunday.

“We’re still building team chemistry, but everybody makes it fun to play,” Prechtel said. “I’m just trying to finish around the basket.”

The 6-foot-5 freshman recorded her first career double-double with season highs in both categories.

“She’s able to bring people in and she’s a good passer so she can get it to an open player,” Hull said. “She helps open things up for us.”

Kiana Williams added 14 points for the Cardinal (5-0), who hosted the Bulls for the first time. Haley Jones had 10.

Dyaisha Fair scored 24 points to lead the Bulls (4-2), who lost their second straight after opening with four wins.

“She’s a terrific player,” Cardinal coach Tara VanDerveer said. “She’s super quick and can shoot the 3. She’s a tough guard for us.”

Freshman Elea Gaba scored 16 points, her first double-figure contest. Theresa Onwuka had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Loren Christie added 12 points.

“We needed this kind of game,” VanDerveer said. “Playing against Fair, she’s tremendous. She has a lot of moves. They brought their ‘A’ game. They were aggressive.”

Buffalo was within nine points early in the fourth quarter before Stanford began to pull away.

Prechtel hit a basket with 2:31 left in the third quarter, culminating a 10-0 run that gave Stanford a 13-point edge at 58-48.

Buffalo narrowed the gap to six points a minute later but Prechtel completed a three-point play to give Stanford a 63-52 advantage into the fourth quarter.

The Cardinal never trailed in the game but it was tied several times in the first half. Williams hit a running jumper in the final seconds of the second quarter to give Stanford a 19-17 halftime lead.

EARLY CONTRIBUTIONS

The four freshmen have each reached double figures in scoring at least once. Jones, rated the nation’s No. 1 recruit, has scored at least 10 points in each of her past three games and VanDerveer likes the way she handles herself as point guard. “She gets the ball in the middle and facilitates the offense well,” she said. “People are moving the ball around and recognizing the open looks quicker. Hannah Jump came in and hit a couple of big 3s. We’ve seen Fran (Belibi) play better.”

STAT OF THE DAY

Stanford junior Estella Moschkau hit both of her 3-point shots against Buffalo and is now 5 for 5 on the season.

DOUBLING UP

Onwuka recorded her second consecutive double-double and the sixth of her career. The last time she had a double-double in two straight games was in January of 2017, when she did it three games in a row.

BIG PICTURE

Buffalo: Fair and Theresa Onwuka have each scored at least 30 points in a game. Buffalo is the only team in the nation with two different 30-plus scorers. Preseason Big 4 Player of the Year Summer Hemphill has yet to play as she rehabs from a leg injury.

Stanford: The Cardinal had been limiting teams to 26.5% shooting this season, fifth in the nation, and was tested by Buffalo’s sharpshooters. Lexie Hull, one of Stanford’s top defenders, was limited by foul trouble in the first half. With her in the game, the Bulls shooting percentage dropped in the second half.

UP NEXT

Buffalo: The Bulls open the Saint Joseph’s Hawk Class against Drexel on Saturday.

Stanford: The Cardinal opens the Victoria Invitational in Canada against Cal Baptist on Thursday.