In front of a small but lively crowd at Maples Pavilion, the No. 5 women’s basketball team dismantled overmatched San Francisco, clobbering the Dons 96-61.

Freshman forward Kayla Pedersen led the Cardinal with 18 points while junior forward Jillian Harmon chipped in 16 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Senior guard Candice Wiggins and freshman guard Jeanette Pohlen also scored in double figures.

But the star of the night — and certainly the fan favorite — was freshman guard Hannah Donaghe, who, in her first action of her Cardinal career, scored 11 points off the bench.

“It’s exciting to see,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “She’s a very good athlete, and she knocks her shot down.”

Cardinal freshmen contributed 32 points in total on the night.

“Not bad,” according to VanDerveer.

Despite coming off a long road trip, Stanford seemed energized throughout the contest, running its up-tempo game plan to near perfection. Harmon said that it helped create “more possessions, which means more shots up.”

The attack was well distributed, as the Cardinal had five players in double figures. Wiggins saw it as a relief.

“The best thing that could happen is for people to look for their shot,” she said. “Having an offense that’s balanced is hardest to defend.”

Stanford shot well the entire game, knocking down 58 percent of its shots. Their opponents did not: the Dons shot only 32.8 percent on 21-64 shooting.

San Francisco found much of their success from behind the arc, nailing 8-21 three-point shots. Junior guard Shay Rollins, the younger sister of reigning National League MVP Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies, was the game’s top scorer with 19 points. Rollins, along with senior forward Dominique Carter and junior forward Necolia Simmons, who had 12 points each, led the Dons against Stanford. Simmons also contributed 11 rebounds, a game high.

To its credit, the Cardinal protected the basket well, too. VanDerveer’s squad blocked nine shots, including four by sophomore center Jayne Appel. Stanford’s swarming defense prevented USF from finding passing lanes, and, on many occasions, the Dons had to rush their shots as the shot clock ran down. The Cardinal’s defensive prowess also caused a number of turnovers — Stanford seemed to excel in getting to loose balls, which led to plenty of fast-break opportunities.

The Cardinal and the Dons each began the game slowly, as both teams committed three turnovers in the first four minutes. But after a media timeout a little more than four minutes in, Stanford’s offense found its groove, and by the time San Francisco got going halfway through the first, the Cardinal was already cruising, 29-11.

Throughout the rest of the half, the Dons were able to keep pace and stay within 20 points. But Stanford went on a 20-2 run to start the second half to put the game away. With the exception of senior guard Cissy Pierce, the Cardinal’s starters played sparingly in the second half, as the reserves definitively sealed the victory.

“They kept playing, and we kind of gave up a bit at the end,” Carter said.

In truth, the Dons, out of the West Coast Conference, barely stood a chance against a quicker, stronger, bigger and more skilled Stanford team.

“Their size clearly bothered us,” USF coach Tanya Haave said. Carter would add that the Cardinal was the biggest team the Dons had played so far this year.

Stanford was playing without guard Melanie Murphy or forward Michelle Harrison. The two sophomores, who were key contributors to last year’s squad, are both out for the season with torn ACLs. Murphy’s diagnosis is more recent, as she injured herself on the last road trip.

“It’s nothing we can control,” VanDerveer said. “It happens at higher frequencies than it should.”

Donaghe, Pohlen and sophomore guard JJ Hones will be expected to pick up the slack at the guard position.

Stanford is next in action against UC-Davis at Maples Pavilion on Sunday. The Aggies are 5-0 on the year and beat Washington to win the Waikiki Beach Marriot Classic last week. However, except for the Huskies, UC-Davis has not played tough competition, unlike the Stanford women, who have already faced No. 2 Connecticut, whom they lost to, and then-No. 3 Rutgers, which fell to the Cardinal in a 60-58 nail-biter on Nov. 11.

If they can hold off the Aggies, the Cardinal will head into a well-deserved 14-day break with an impressive 7-1 record.